Hunting the North

I'm not sure what size the Whitetails are in the Northeast, but I am assuming that they are larger as here in Minnesota. So to answer your question, for economically priced and easily available ammo for larger Whitetails, I would go for the .270, .308, or .30-06. All of these calibers are availale in low-recoil, standard loads, and high energy/lightmags if needed. I shoot the .30-06 Federal Powershoks at $11.00 a box. I get 1/2" groups at 100 yards with a Remington 700.

Doe Dumper

I prefer..........................................











































something else...

DGH

Ditto to The Rifleman, Popeye, and Hunting The North. I have never hunted whitetail, living in California and owning a cattle ranch with fantastic California Blacktail Muley cross bucks. However, we will not allow a 6 MM of any sort be used on the ranch, and we discourage the 25-06 as well. It isn't that they won't kill deer, it is that they can easily hit deer well beyond their sure kill range.I have been around something like 1,000 deer kills, and have helped look for literaly dozens of cripples. Through all of the years (approaching 50 now), and all of the deer (about 1,000 kills) 95% of the deer lost were hit by very small calibre bullets where it didn't go through bone, or missed bone completely and the exit wound didn't bleed.

My advice - purchase over your perceived needs. We all shoot .270, .308, 30-06, 7 Rem Mag, and one 300 win Mag. All approximately equalto one another andall vastly superior to the .243 at longer range.

On the other hand, I shoot a .243 a lot for varmits; and if I have it with me during deer season, I take a 30-30 mentality with me - 150 yards max.

Something else I wonder about................................ Ah, I better leave that unsaid before I really stir the pot.

James B

After guiding deer hunters for several years, I agree 100 percent. 95 percent of the deer We had to look for were shot with the 243 and 223. As you stated these rifles will kill deer as will the 22 rimfire. However they are minimum for deer and without good shot placement, they just often fail to make a quick clean kill. Often the reason is that they are used often by beginning hunters who have not quite mastered the shot placement thing. Also as you state, often folks exceed their effective range and the 30-30 mentality is a good start. The 243 in the hands of a good shot who knows when to shoot and where to hold, they do a good job. But the truest statement I have heard is that there are better choices. Personally I have not seen many problems with the 25-06.

meh101465

I've owned and shot the 243 alot , as well as the 6mm rem . accuracy was great , I find them both easy to shoot well , but as long as i can take a little more recoil , i'll use a bigger caliber . my wife started out with a 243 , but now shoots a ruger ultra light . she shoots it well and has taken alot of deer with it . the 260 remington , is another easy to shoot (low recoil ) deer caliber , the 120 -140 bullets work great on deer. we shoot the 140 gr remington factory load as well as 140 serria handloadswith great results .if i were using the 243 now , i'd use the federal priemum 100 gr with the nosler partition bullet , or the new federal fusion100 gr load , ive seen both loads work well recently (a friend uses a 243 ). hope this helps

Todd1700

Almost all lost deer are due to a bad hit. And a bad hit is a bad hit whether you make it with a 243 or a 300 short mag.
I have never seen any scientific study that found a slightly larger hole in the intestines killed deer markedly faster than a slightly smaller one.
Put your shot in the vitals and a 243 will kill a whitetail graveyard dead every time. And if you can't keep your shots from a 243 in the kill zone
then moving up to a harder recoiling caliber probably won't improve that situation. I never lost a deer I shot with a 243.

quote:
and all of the deer (about 1,000 kills) 95% of the deer lost were hit by very small calibre bullets where it didn't go through bone,

Bullet type has far more to do with penetration than caliber size.
I'd trust a 100 grain nosler partition out of a 243 to give me an exit hole and penetrate bone more often than a
130 grain ballistic tip out of a 270.

nchawkeye

If I can help you guys that have problems killing deer cleanly with a .243 just ask me any questions you would like....

While we are giving our experience levels, I have killed over 300 deer, and at least 150 with a .243...If you are having deer run more than 100 yards after a lung shot you are either not using the right bullet or not hitting the deer properly...We own 3 family farms in eastern NC and for the past 35 years or so have killed 40-50 deer a year....So I have seen a few deer killed in my time as well...And with many different calibers....

In any given year we will have 15-20 hunters that we have hunt with us...
I cringe when I see a guest pull out anything over a .270 as most of them have gone to this caliber because either they are a fairly new hunter and figure "some day I'll go out west", or "its what the guy at the gun shop said I needed"...And some actually say, I use this _MM because I can hit them in the azz and they will go down....

Now guys, I started squirrel hunting with a .22 when I was 6-7, if they weren't hit in the head my dad gave me heck, and this was with open sights...He didn't give me a box of shells either, the limit was 6 and that's what I got...When we take these guys to check their scopes I'm really checking the hunter...if he puts 2 shots down range within 2 inches then he is OK....75% of the time he can not do this....I take his gun and say "let me check it out"....I'll look it over, check the scope screws and ask if I can try...Usually I'll put 2 shots within an inch of each other...Most deer hunters flinch, the bigger the gun the more they flinch...

I'm not saying the .243 is the "best deer rifle" as I don't believe any are "best", we can pick apart every caliber...I have seen too many deer hunters start with one rifle, lose a deer because of shot placement and next thing you know they have entirely too much gun for what they are hunting and their experience level,,,.The part about younger hunters needing a bigger gun is also a myth....I know 3 girls and one boy, all between 15-17 that started with a .243 their dads bought them, all have killed several whitetails with no problems....Frankly give me a 15 year old girl and I can teach her to out shoot a 15 year old boy, because she will listen....

And that part about the .243 being for women and children...I'll be 52 on Sunday, I'm 6' 5"...about 250...Have one daughter married, one at Wake Forest getting her Masters and one 15, sophmore in HS, Varsity Cheerleader,...And they can all 3 shoot...Guess I just never out grew mine...

ipscshooter

What do you suggest? Giving a beginning hunter a .338 RUM? Maybe the
deer will die laughing from watching that beginner flinch so hard before he
squeezes offa round from his cannon...

Deer lost from being hit by a .243 are not lost because it was a .243.
They are lost because of poor shot placement, and it is patently ridiculous
to suggest that you can make up for poor shot placement simply by
handing a poor shooter a bigger gun.

Hunting the North

I don't think some of the guys on this BB actually read the question asked. The fellow asking the question is not a woman, or a child, or a novice shooter. He said he hunted with slugs in the past, but now wants an opinionon a rifle. How did you guys come up with the novice shooter or recoil sensitive????

ipscshooter

We've read the question, and answered it. The discussion then evolved to include observations
of in-the-field performance by the cartridge.