Is a .243 a good deer gun?
10-30-2007, 08:22 AM
#12
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location:
Posts: 41
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
I have used a .223 for several years and it works great as long as you pick your shots. I hunt from a box stand or my climber and that is not normally a big problem to me. Of the several deer I have killed with it, all have been pass throughs with good entry and exit holes and good blood trails, and none have run over 30 yards. You can't ask for much better performance than that!
The .243 is at least twice the cartridge my .223 is and over the long lifetime of the cartridge it has counted for hundreds of thousands of whitetails. Every good thing you could say for the .223 counts at least double for the .243!! If you want a accurate, light weight, long range, flat shooting, light kicking gun for use on deer size game, you will be hard pressed to find anything more appropriate.
As nchawkeye pointed out, there is a variety of bullet choices available to meet your needs.
The .243 is at least twice the cartridge my .223 is and over the long lifetime of the cartridge it has counted for hundreds of thousands of whitetails. Every good thing you could say for the .223 counts at least double for the .243!! If you want a accurate, light weight, long range, flat shooting, light kicking gun for use on deer size game, you will be hard pressed to find anything more appropriate.
As nchawkeye pointed out, there is a variety of bullet choices available to meet your needs.
10-30-2007, 09:12 AM
#14
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast MO but live in MD
Posts: 133
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
You know, I used to be one of those poeple that thought the .243 was too small, but I also took some questionable shots and liked to have enough gun to punch through. Thousands of dead deer can't be wrong though. Just wait for a good shot, and it'll kill them just as dead as a .375!
10-30-2007, 11:38 AM
#16
Fork Horn
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 216
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
I hunted with the .30-06 for years, and about 3 years ago I gave it up for a .243. My primary concern at that time was weight - I wanted a lighter rifle to carry around the woods. I was also concerned about the cartridge having enough punch to put the deer down, since my land borders a national park and that raises some tracking issues. I've shot six deer with it over the last three years, none has gone more than about 15 feet after being shot, and none have required more than one shot. So the round is plenty big enough, has plenty of energy, and will drop a deer with confidence.
The bigger issue is accuracy, more so than bullet weight or caliber. What you need most of all is a rifle that you are confident in and that you believe you can drive tacks with. A well placed shot with just about any big game cartidge will do the job, just as a poorly placed shot won't.
So, make sure your chosen rifle is a legal caliber (the .223 mentioned above is a great round, but not legal for deer in my state) and practice, practice, practice.
The bigger issue is accuracy, more so than bullet weight or caliber. What you need most of all is a rifle that you are confident in and that you believe you can drive tacks with. A well placed shot with just about any big game cartidge will do the job, just as a poorly placed shot won't.
So, make sure your chosen rifle is a legal caliber (the .223 mentioned above is a great round, but not legal for deer in my state) and practice, practice, practice.
10-31-2007, 07:13 AM
#18
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: MN - hunt Wisconsin
Posts: 88
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
ORIGINAL: ipscshooter
You're joking, right? A .257 Roberts is "perfect", but a .243 is "pretty good if you want to practice tracking"? Really?
The .243, with a 100 grain bullet, at 100 yards has over 1600 ft. lbs. of energy. The Roberts, with a 117 grain bullet, at 100 yards has 1363 ft. lbs. The .243 has almost as much energy at 200 yards as the Roberts does at 100.
But.. Yeah... that extra 17 grains of weight and 14 thousandths of an inch of diameter turn the Roberts into the Hammer of Thor.[/sarcasm]
BigDawgWill: If anyone tells you that the .243 is no good for whitetails, it's because (a) they've never shot a deer with a .243, (b) they're a lousy shot or are so afflicted with ADHD that they don't want to wait for a good shot, or (c) they simply don't have a clue what they're talking about and are just making crap up as they go along. I used to hunt with a .30-06. I switched to a .243 a couple years ago, and the deer I've shot have actually gone less distance after the shot with my .243 than they did with the 06. Just pick your shot.
ORIGINAL: USAF_hunter
Depends on where your hunting. A .243 is pretty good if you want to practice tracking deer. .257 Roberts or a .260 will work to perfection.
Depends on where your hunting. A .243 is pretty good if you want to practice tracking deer. .257 Roberts or a .260 will work to perfection.
The .243, with a 100 grain bullet, at 100 yards has over 1600 ft. lbs. of energy. The Roberts, with a 117 grain bullet, at 100 yards has 1363 ft. lbs. The .243 has almost as much energy at 200 yards as the Roberts does at 100.
But.. Yeah... that extra 17 grains of weight and 14 thousandths of an inch of diameter turn the Roberts into the Hammer of Thor.[/sarcasm]
BigDawgWill: If anyone tells you that the .243 is no good for whitetails, it's because (a) they've never shot a deer with a .243, (b) they're a lousy shot or are so afflicted with ADHD that they don't want to wait for a good shot, or (c) they simply don't have a clue what they're talking about and are just making crap up as they go along. I used to hunt with a .30-06. I switched to a .243 a couple years ago, and the deer I've shot have actually gone less distance after the shot with my .243 than they did with the 06. Just pick your shot.
One big advantage that the .243 has is that it will shred the vitals of the deer, but not do too much damage to the meat.
When it comes to ammo and cartridge selection, this is always a hot topic and everyone has its favorites. Still, the .243 is a FANTASTIC deer cartridge.
10-31-2007, 07:24 AM
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 2,414
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
It's a GREAT deer gun.
Although this post could have been about any one of 25 or so popular rounds and many others that are less commonand the answer would have been the same.
Although this post could have been about any one of 25 or so popular rounds and many others that are less commonand the answer would have been the same.
10-31-2007, 03:23 PM
#20
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location:
Posts: 91
RE: Is a .243 a good deer gun?
I shot a deer with a .243 last year. I shot it once and thought i had missed, and racked another one into it when it was walking away. The first shot did not miss and reduced both lungs to mush. The first shot just clipped the deer's back (he was trotting when i shot) and he only made it about 15 feetfrom the site of impact before dropping. .243 is a very good all around cartridge for deer size game and less...ground hogs, coyotes, deer, etc.it will get the job done on all of them just fine.