zrexpilot

Theres no gun that will kill any quicker, most deer shot broadside behind the shoulder will sprint a little ways, 10 to a 100 yds with 50 being the average, I dont care what caliber you use, Ive used 7 mags and 300 mags and they sill run a little ways, no closer or farther than a .243. the only shure way to drop a deer in its tracks is a neck or head shot, high shoulder shots do it too but you ruin the shoulder meat.
Ive been using the .243 for about 30 years and my dad 20 before that, he actually went from a 308 to the .243 back in the 1960's and weve never looked back. Between him me and my brother who also uses the .243, weve killed literally hundreds of deer with it. It is very affective and will surprise you on the internal damage it does, makes soup of the lungs.
I dont care if your der weigh 400 lbs they cannot shake off the .243, many elk that go 1000 lbs have been killed with the 243. Ive shot hogs that have skin as much as 1" thick and it does nothing to stop the .243, hog skin is 10 times tougher than deers.
There are many caibers thaat are great for deer that are mild in recoil. you wouldnt go wrong with a .243, 25-06, 7mm-08, .270, .257 roberts, .250 savage, 30-30 and a bunch in between, all are affective and a deer nor you would no a diffrence.

Edcyclopedia

You put it through both air bags and it should not go more than 100 yards!

I have shot a yearling with my 180 gr. .30-06 @ 15 yards through the complete chest (lung-heart-lung), including the far shoulder blown to pieces and she ran 75 yards.
Amazing as it seems, some deer have a stronger will to live or just massive adrenaline??!! It still makes me scratch my head.
Unfortunately i didn't wind up with much meat.

whitetail_fanatic

"Unfortunately i didn't wind up with much meat."

Thats they exact reason I am switching to a .243 this season.

1shotkill1993

i call it the perfect one. i used it last year but this year i plan on using my 30-06 this coming season. cant wait

Manybeards

Fascinating thread! I grew up shooting a Remington in .243,and loved it. That rifle has a place of honor in my gun safe,but don't shoot it any longer..... As I grew as a hunter and learned more about bullet performance,I ultimately decided that a larger caliber suited me more. Nothing against the .243,but to me it's all about bullet weight and down range energy....... Let's say you drive a Mini Cooper into the side of a building at 45 mph... Major damage,right? Now,instead of the Mini Cooper, drive a Ford F350 into that same wall at 45mph...................Total destruction!

jbar174

My dad exclusively deer hunts with a Savage .243, been using it over 20 years, no lost deer, just dead deer right there!! Deadly, especially with 100 gr. Rem. Core-Lokts.

tickman1961

Take shot placement over caliberwhen shooting whitetails...

35lbs bows can bring em down with correct shot placement...

Bzlbubb

You never know how far a deer will run unless you're skilled and confident enough to shoot it in the brain or spinal chord in the neck. Otherwise, you can hit a deer double lung + heart with a 300 mag and it can still run an unbelievable distance. Or it might drop in its tracks. Case in point (but with a 3006, not a mag):

A half dozen deer run up through the woods as I watch. I decide to shoot the first one that stops (too excited to "pick the big one"). One stops broadside, and I nail a good chest shot. It runs 50-100 feet, hits a tree and falls over thrashing. The rest of the deer run off except for one that stops facing me. I take my time and hit her in the center of the chest. She drops on the spot and doesn't twitch.

First deer was TINY doe. (yearling I'm sure). The lungs were a bloody mess, totally destroyed. Huge wound (luckily no meat damaged though). Still it ran.

Second deer: one lung hit, no heart damage. Small, .30" wound and thumb sized exit. Dropped dead.

Why? I have no idea, but I've seen so much variability in what an animal does after it's hit well that I never think that "drop it" is a criterion for a successful caliber or bullet. The only animals that consistently drop on the spot - regardless of caliber - are spine shots, forward enough to either kill it or take the legs out.

LeftyBuckmaster

when i went on a trip to kentucky there was a local guy "poacher" the outfitter was telling our group about that would drive around in his car and he had a 6mm which is basically the same thing as a 243 and this fella would basically see how far he could shoot. he has been known to kill deer from over 600 yards away with his rifle. but unless the deer was close enough he would just let them lay. i never saw him thank god cause that is a waste of good meat to just do that

kybuck20032001

Probably my most trusted deer rifle. Last year I took this 10 pointer, he was in a dead run at about 150 yards. When I shot he did a flip end of story