MizzoukiSpot

280

Briman

It ain't the cartridge or the rifle, any of the cartridges listed so far in this thread will do the job if the guy behind the rifle is up to it. A .243 is more than adequate for well past 300 yards if you know what you are doing.

driftrider

True, but there is a point where any given cartridge just "runs out of gas" and becomes inadequate despite the shooters ability. For some cartridges it may be 150 yards, others may be 500+ yards. Better to err on the side of caution and choose a cartridge that allows some margin for error (which all but the finest/luckiest marksmen needs when shots get past 300 yards in field shooting conditions). When one selects a cartridge, they must accept any limitations inherent to that cartridge simply because a cartridge that is on the light side for a given game animal will only get lighter as it goes down range. No sense going undergunned, perticularly when ranges are expected to be long.

Mike

Briman

Driftrider-
I'm saying this from personal experience. Many people look at the .243 or any other .308 based cartridge and automatically dismiss it as being too weak for long shots without ever actually shooting the cartridges. I've shot a 200 lb buck at 400 yars with a .243, not only did it put the deer down right away, but the bullet passed all the way through and still left a golf ball sized exit wound. A 7mm STW or a 338 WM wouldn't have killed the deer any deader.

driftrider

Not everyone, including me. I feel that the .243, .260 Rem, and 7mm-08, and the .308 Win itself, are all fine cartridges. Your experience indicates that it can be done, and done well. I guess my issue is that if one is planning on taking long shots on game, that they should factor that into their cartridge selection. The .243 Win worked for you with your long shot, but I'd bet you didn't take the .243 out of the safe that morning planning to make that shot either. It happened, and your knowledge of your rifle and your marksmanship skills allowed you to make a clean kill.

One would not (wisely) pick a 16oz claw hammer for a job thats suited to a 6lb sledge. Nor would they use a pile driver. The same logic applies to selecting a cartridge based on the intended application. If you want to take long shots, choose a rifle and cartridge suited to that purpose. It is my opinion that the .243 is not intended for long range work against deer. The little 6mm bullet doesn't retain much energy out past 300 yards, and with the marginal sectional density there's no guarantee that it'd get through a deers shoulder. The 7mm-08 is much better suited to longer ranges, because while the trajectory is similar, the 7mm bullet will have a lot more energy when it gets there than its 6mm cousin.

Mike