GTBUZZ, Let' s not turn this into a ' tire watering contest' , some people consider .308' s hard recoiling, bragging about being able to shoot a .30-06class for 100rnds doesn' t gain you any respect or recognition here, High-power shooters do so all the time, as do B-R shooters, and many of us that just enjoy shooting for fun...Week before last I shot 100rnds of .416Rigby on wednesday, and 65rnds of Hot rodded .45-70, plus 50rnds of .30-06 on Thursday, followed by a handgun tourney on Saturday where I ran out of handrolled ammo which I packed 150rnds of, and borrowed another box from a friend in .44mag ' that' ll put some hair on your arse' loads. Truth be told, it wasn' t a very busy week, a 500-1000rnds of centerfire ammunition in a week isn' t very uncommon for me, especially during match seasons....

BUT, for my fiance it is, I have a good recoil pad on her .308 sporterized mauser, but she still won' t sit through a box of ammo without putting on a PAST shoulder pad, when she shoots my .22-250' s, she can outshoot most guys I know, even some of the B-R guys I used to run around with, and she' ll shoot a tray faster than I can walk back to the truck for another one...that might indicate that she doesn' t care for the recoil of the .308' s, no matter how bad you think you are because the recoil of a .30-06 doesn' t bother you, so what, you' re probably a full sized adult man, a .30-06 shouldn' t bother you, but there are some people that just don' t need the recoil of even a .308, the .243 doesn' t have it, and it gives more than enough stank on the business end to do the job for hunters. I' ve hunted coyotes with .243' s in compacts on occasion, and even though recoil isn' t an issue for me, I appreciate it when I don' t feel a thing after I carried the rifle all day and took more shots than I should have.

Whew my cyber bladder is full so i guess i' ll empty it here!

How many times has this been debated?

Anyway i own a 243 and a 6mm rem. both WILL kill deer . i will testify to the fact. my 243 killed four deer this year. my son hunts with it and by god he is a great shot! one shot kills all. none ran over 50 yards.

the only problem i have is self induced. i had him shooting 70 grain BT' s. no blood trail!
as rockytop sad avoid ballistic tips.
i am now working a load for partitions 100gr.
i bet it drops a few more this fall. anybody up for a bet?



Oh yeah i have tracked a few deer that were shot with bigger calibers much farther, why? poor bullet placement!

It ain' t the gun it' s the shooter!

I am just curious what you guys think about the .243 as compared to the 25-06? Seems like the 25-06 is the .243 but more so. Wouldn' t the 25-06 be a better choice than the .243 in most deer hunting situations? Still low recoil but can use 120 grain bullets if you want to as well as 100. I don' t know if you can find the really light bullets for the 25-06 like the .243 such as the 55 grain bullets for varmits (anyone know?) but the original question was about deer. What do you guys think? I know we are splitting hairs because any caliber from .243 to .300 win mag or even .375 HandH will work for deer. We have dozens of choices. But I think the 25-.06 might be one of the best for whitetails. I ask partly because I have a .223, .308, and 30-06.. so my next deer rifle is going to be a .243 or 25-06. In a few years, I will be teaching my son to deer hunt so I want something that doesn' t kick much. Also, 7mm-08 would be a good choice but I think the 25-06 kicks even less and would shoot flatter.

Truer words were never spoken Duffy,you summed this whole thread up in that sentence.
I don' t think its so much a tire watering contest as there are simply calibers out there that have very little recoil and will handle a poorer position shot (angling/moving)or a bone contact shot and offer better results.The 243 is best suited for a shooter that doesn' t attempt poor angle shots or moving shots and pick their broadside behind the shoulder H&L or neck shots with care.A 260 - 7mm-08 - 25-06 - 7x57 - will develop little recoil with a proper fitting stock and recoil pad and yet give a little heavier bullet choice for the occasional poor shot that occurs with the best of situations.I think the 260 is real hard to beat for low recoil and excellant bullet performance on deer.Yes the 243 will work fine on deer especially with 100gr nosler parition bullets but the above calibers will do it just as well with more leeway for operator error and a MUCH better chance of an exit wound and blood trail for recovery.I shot a large bodied buck with a 243 and hit him at an angle with no pass thru and absolutley NO blood trail at all to follow,I knew he was hit good but you couldn' t tell from the sign following him down.

woods

One of my best friends had a 25-06 years ago and it is definately a great whitetail killer. Shoots flat and packs more wallop than a 243..BUT I would say it kicks significantly harder than a 243. Not a concern for the average Joe but if you are looking for a kid or ladies gun it bears mentioning.

Not that faltter and recoil is about the same. I can launch a 140 grain bullet from my 7mm-08 Rem at within a few feet per second as what you can shoot a 120 grain bullet from a 25-06 Rem. Actually I often wonder why there is a 25-06 since the 270 Win will cover all its bases and then some.

frizzellr The reason for a 25-06 is most of us already had a 270 win and needed something different . Now that I have both I have to start all over again looking for the next latest thing . Can' t you imagine life and how dull it would be if everyone shoot the same caliber .

Halcon,
You sure got that right. In reality, all most of us need is a 30-06 anyway. But where is the fun in just having one caliber?

I think you must have read into what I said and interpreted a meaning that wasn' t intended. Certainly no bragging on my part intended. In about 4000 posts of posting as either Buzz or GTBuzz on many of the more popular boards, I' m not a boaster or one that insults others. I like yourself shoot thousands of rounds per month from .22 LR up to hot rodded .45-70 rounds. All I was trying to state is that an averaged sized man, it really shouldn' t be any problem shooting several boxes of ammo off a bench in a .30-06 class rifle. In an 8 pound hunting rifle with no reoil pad, my personal limit is about 100 rounds of .30-06. For the unported Guide Gun I have, I always go for the Decelerator.

Most of the people I' ve seen that have trouble with recoil in a .308 class rifle are having it because they don' t hold their gun properly or the gun doesn' t fit them properly. I am NOT talking about youth or ladies here, mostly at least average sized guys. I have hunted with several BIG guys (6' 2 230+ pounds) that griped about the punishing recoil of a .30-06 and even a .270 Winchester. Taking a couple of them to the range resulted in them thinking their rifles had almost no recoil at all. I suppose I have been more amuzed at the comments of " I picked a 7mm/08 because of the lighter recoil than the .308" . If I had 2 of the same rifles, 1 in .308 the other in .7mm/08, I seriously doubt I could tell on either end which one I was shooting. When I say amuzed, it doesn' t mean that I am ridiculing anyone - I am just amuzed because I for the life of me cannot see a difference.

Since I put nice cushy 1 inch pachmyers on my .308 and 30-06 I say what recoil? I can even shoot them from a benchrest with no sandbag on my shoulder and am ok for 10-20 rounds. In the field it is a non issue. If you hate the recoil, get the stock cut to fit you with a nice soft thick vented recoil pad put on. Enjoy!!