A .243 is the same as any other cartridge it has its place. I would call someone hunting deer, in the east, with a 300 win mag an idiot before I would call someone with a .243 If you can you should shot a .270 over a .243, just in the case something stupid happens. My grandfather is 70 years old, A .243 is all the recoil he can handle. My neice is 12 a .243 is all the recoil she can handle. It is a great low reciol deer cartridge. However, until I cannot handle the recoil I will chose a .270 over a .243.

I want to add that the size of deer matters IMHO. Never been hunting in the south or back east, but from what I hear the deer there are a lot smaller than the average whitetail around here in Idaho or Montaina. Also the mule deer here out west beside being bigger, can sometimes take a beating and keep ticking. I have seen many get shot with a .7 Mag through the boiler and ack like nothing happened. I konw that the 22's are outlawed in a lot of states here in the west and for good reason. I think that anyone who uses a 22 for deer is playing with fire. Yes their are hunters who are skilled enough to use the 22's to harvest almost all of the big game animals in North America. But the average hunter doesn't have the skills to accomplish that task, in fack very few do. I am friends with a lot of outfitters and the two of questions asked first to clients are. How good of shape are you in? And how accurate are you at shooting on live game? A smart client will tell the truth to both questions, because the truth will reveal itself on a hunt, lieing about it will only make you look like a idiot. Anyway back to the subject I think a premium 100 gr. bullet for a .243 is an minimum for deer size game, well at least for the local deer around here in the west. A hunter who uses a .243 needs to choose their shots carefully. I had a coworker who took his wife elk hunting, she shot a .243 which is not recomended for elk, but it can work if you keep your shots under 150 yards and broadside. BTW on that hunt she killed a 330 B&C class 6x6 bull at 70 yards, one shot kill using a 100 Gr. Nosler Partition. She has also killed a few bulls with her bow so she can control herself in exciting situations. My point to all this is that there are so many variables in hunting, that is why there are recomended minimums, so fewer mistakes are made. I can no more tell who here on this board is a excellent shot than any other hunter I meet in the field. In real life some people have skills and some people only have skills on the computer, and in their own mind. Remember hunting is a privledge not a right and we need to be ethical at all times. Just my 2 cents

I have owned and shot a 243 Rem. Mohawk 600 for 30 years. I can't say i haven't missed or wounded a deer or other game animal. I have been able to recover all but a couple over the years. I started with factory ammo and found out that better bullets were available to reloading. The game we shoot deserves our attention to details as we shoot. Don't shoot just because the deer may get away or its huge rack is a must! Make a good clean shot not a do or die shot. I use Barnes X bullets as they penetrate better than any other i have ever shot . I haven't used Sierra bullets in 25 years, found out i didn't like the way they performed![&:]

lets be honest here guys. There r alot of variables when it comes to deer hunting and there is no RIGHT or WRONG guns to use(providing it is legal).

I use a .243 to deer hunt and I love it, I have larger guns, (and smaller ones)but this is my favorite. I think what oldelkinstructer said about location is key, though. I probably would not take my .243 on a Canadian deer hunt. I would use my .06 or another larger caliber. The deer here in lower Alabama are not huge and on average do not require a superultraegomagnum to kill them. I use to work as a gun salesman and I loved to laugh at the guys who came in to buy the latest XXX ultramags. To be honest I have more respect for someone who can competantly shoot and kill deer with a 22-250 than a lead happy idiot that just wants to shoot the biggest gun he can't afford. That has a flipside though...if you cant shoot well enough to KILL deer with a .223,22.250, etc.. DONT DO IT!! Dont even try!!!!! I CAN shoot well enough to kill deer with a .223 ( I have done it), but, when I am in the field I want a gun that I feel will accomodate any situation that comes up. For me that is a .243 on up. For me in Alaska it might be a .270 on up...get it...sorry, I tried.....


Oh and guys...LIGHTEN UP, its just a board. I think it is funny when people get mad playin video games and throw controllers across the room.....man Ill bet some of you buy three or four Dells a week!

My buddy's got a mohawk in 6mm, and this is his favorite gun too, over a few other calibers he owns.

I would love to own a 6mm remington, and someday I will when money is not so tight. Is the fastest factory .243 on market the 6mm or is the 243 WSSM faster? Oh I guess the 240 WBY would be up there too, anyone know what the fastest .243 is?

243 will work fine. I have a 6mm REM and LOVE IT! I used a 243 last year and it performed well. Either gun is going to perform well and kill deer with the right bullet. I load 95gr nosler BT's for my 6mm and they r awesome on everything i have killed with them!

That would be a .243-06 (wildcat).
They are all pretty close. you can get the .243 in hornady light magnum and it performs as good or better than the 6mm. But in reality I doubt you can see a difference in them. they say the .243 wssm has exaggerated balistics. I would stay away from the .240. I hear nothing but bad things about weatherby.
you know winchester loads a 55 gr for the .243 ? shoots almost 4000 fps. Prolly to light for deer though, but for varmints it would be great, man its a flat shooter.

Indeed they are but you can't convince some people until they get their backside singed a few times. And few will be man enough to come on here and publically admit that they lost a deer due to poor bullet performance from one of these varmit rounds.

I agree, I live in lower Alabama and I have said many times that people don't really need a 300 magnum or any magnum for whitetails. However if they can shoot one of these ubermagnums accurately there is little doubt that they will consistently inflict terminal wounds on whitetails. Overkill wounds maybe but consistently terminal. The fact that some people cannot shoot their new ubermagnum accurately is their fault not the guns.

I have also been a defender of the 243 when used with a good 100 grain bullet but as others have said I firmly believe it is the minimun ethical caliber to use on whitetails. Just because you or someone you know has done something a few times and it worked out okay doesn't necessarily make it a smart thing to do. You have an 83 percent chance of surviving a round of Russian Roulette. 5 empty chambers to 1 loaded but that doesn't make it a smart game to play.

They're pretty awesome ! I was given a really nice Steyr Model L .6mm by my father in law ...........and man..........it's a deer slayer ! It has dropped virtually every deer I have shot instantly ! I guess like a lot of guys said it's shot placement.............because I have tracked many of deer shot with 300 mags , 7 mags , 30-06's , etc. shot in the liver , heart, lungs , etc. for a long ways !! I shoot them in the shoulder and they drop like lightning hit 'em ..............even with a little ole .6mm !