turkeyreaper

My friend was talked into buying a 243 WSSM for whitetails without consulting me first, he wanted a smaller gun with less kick. I am concerned that it is not enough gun for deer, however I admit I do not know much about the 243WSSM. I would have suggested a 7mm-08 or a 7mm mauser. should I be worried

TerryM

From what I have read about it is is comparable to a 6mm remington or about 100 fps faster than a .243. Lots of people kill lots of deer with the .243 but I agree with you that there are much better rounds for deer like the 7mm08 as an example.

gopher slayer

you only need the big rounds if your not a very good shot IMHO a standard 243 is penlty for deer. Ive taken Deer and mosse with a 243. It only takes a well planced shot just becaome fimaliar with it.

BeltedMag

I have seen alot of deer taken with a .243 and since the short magnum version has a little more punch to it, i dont see a problem with using it. Unlike some of your bigger calibers shot placement is a little more critical with the .24's. It should do a fine job on whitetail sized game.

TREEDOG

Do your part with shotplacement and selecting the right bullet and the 243 will do the rest, weather standard or wssm.

Nomercy

While the .243Win or .243WSSM may not be the perfect choice for the beginning shooter, they certainly are perfectly feasible choices for the experienced hunter/shooter (i.e. they've handled more than a couple rifles in their life and taken more than ten shots at a target)

No, they're certainly not in the same realm as say a .30-06, nor even a .257Bobby, but you don't honestly need 2000ft.lbs. to kill a deer.

If he does his job and gets the bullet where it needs to go, there is absolutely nothing wrong with his choice.

Briman

.243 is more than enough gun. It is a good gun for a beginning hunter. If a person canot hit a 6" circle with a rifle that shouldn't be hunting until they get more practice, and a bigger caliber isn't going to make any difference. As far as I'm concerned, a .243 with a premium bullet will knock a deer flat faster than a 30-06.

eldeguello

NO! If the .243 Wincester is enough gun for deer, (AND IT IS!!) why wouldn't this new magnum version be as good? Or better??

James B

I would never recommend the 243 as a deer rifle so I couldn't give a thumbs up to its slightly bigger cousin. I put the 243 in the same company as the 223 and 22-250. It will kill deer just as a 22 rimfire will but while I was guiding hunters for quite a few years I saw more deer hit and run off not to be found with the 243 than all others combined. Most of the problem was with the first bullets that came out in that caliber. A problem that for the most part does not exist any more but I got real sour on it and don't expect that I will get over it. It is however a perfect varmit rifle.

PAhunter86

With a .243 Win using 100 grain bullets, you can get about 1600 ft lbs of energy @ 100 yards, which is enough for a whitetail, as long as you know where to place your shots.

Here's a chart comparing .22-250, .223, and a .243