Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles The 243Win for big-game

Not if your results are any indication.

It's kinda funny - my 6 year old is wanting to step up to a 243 after some big hogs had the gall to run off squealing without leaving a good blood trail after he shot them with a 60 partition out of his little 223...so, he's moving up, and I think I'll move down to a 223, at least for a bunch of stuff.

Of course, I'll try to earhole those hog he was shoulder shootin', although I'll have to give the little 62's a chance to strut their stuff on penetration on shots where I'm certain of placement instead of having an exasperated 5 year old telling me he KNOWS he smacked them right in the shoulder from 200 yards...grin.

Should be fun, I'm thinkin'

DJ

I like the 243 bore diameter. I have so many rifles I don't use it a lot for deer anymore, maybe one a year but my 6MM Remington has never failed me unless I missed. I like the 95 gr. Ballistic Tips best. My use of the 100 gr. Partition shows it gives good penetration but slower kills meaning the deer seem to go farther than when hit with the 95 gr. Ballistic Tip which does also exit more than half the time. However using the latter I get many very quick kills with the deer seldom going as far as 30 yards. And these are Texas deer, legendarily tough thorn loving creatures.

Yeah...well...I would avoid the 243...it is a miserable cartridge... a total waste of time and money!

I once made the mistake of buying a couple of 243s as donors.

Well...those durn things are still here and I still need donors.

I am afraid to buy any more!

TC

And that they will...definitely a step up from the partition in the penetration dept.

The 62 TSX is a good choice for all around, but the 53 TSX is a slam dunk and doesn't seem to give up any penetration.

Under 250 yards you still may not recover any.

TC

I have read so much about the poor performance of a 6mm on game that at one point I came to doubt it and wanted to move some folks to .260's 0r 7mm-08's. I never did as we have never seen any failures we could attribute to the cartridge.

The .243 [and 6mm Rem] has been the mainstay in our families for first rifles and gals rifles for many years. We have always used 100 grain cup and core bullets, usually Hornady's for deer. A lot of factory Core-Lokts went down range also.

Only two of the gals have went on to .270's when they started elk hunting [if they did]. One of them now hunts a .300 Weatherby. They kill elk with them [the 6mm's fairly regularly]

Most of the rifles have 18-20" barrels. I have long wondered if the 2750 +- that the 100 grainers generate doesn't result in better performance.

I don't use a .243 for much except in the spring. Then I want something that will kill a coyote, sage rat, badger and black bear [if I get lucky].

They won't kill moose as witnessed by this one that my wife shot. Her first big game animal ever with a 243 Win in a NEF Handirifle. I believe the load was a 90 gr XFB with H414 doing about 3200 ft/sec. Took out about 2" of a rib and drove the rib shards and bullet through both lungs. Moose went about 20 yards and expired.

She's shooting a 30-06 now with 150 gr TSX and H4895 at around 2840 ft/sec. Same results - different head gear.

Most of my elk have been killed with "minimal" or "barely adequate" cartridges--phssssss.

The last 8 elk have died with my 243 and Partitions, along with 2 muleys and 2 midwestern whitetails.

These days it ain't about using enough cartridge, it's about using enough bullet. A 243 with a Partition or TSX will take care of any whitetail from point blank to waaaaay out there.

My reloading mentor eventually settled on a 7x57 and a 243 as his battery of big game rigs. In 1979 I watched him kill a B&C pronghorn running dead away at about 350 yds. The 100gr flatbase Sierra exited out the buck's chest.......


Casey

I entirely agree--use a premium bullet with the 243......


Casey

there you go again snagging all the good Kimbers and leaving the left over bad ones for everyone else to get and complain about!

no flys on the 243 imo. put a decent bullet thru the ribs and the prey dies. my one 243 is a 30 yr old rem 700 bdl. with 100gr partitions it takes deer and hogs easily.

I just have to say this :

"Anything that .243 can do, the 6mm Rem. can do better".

Yeah--but not as elegantly.....




Casey

I have killed 50+ deer with the 243. I used Rem Core-Lokt for years. Now I reload the Sierra 85 BTHP or the Hornady 87 V-Max. both very deadly on deer.
I have a custom rifle in 243AI that uses the 95grn Berger VLD and it will penetrate 1/2" steel plates @ 300 yds.
Both the custom and my hunting rifle have a 24" bbl.

Coach

50 grain varmint bullets from my 223 crater a plate at 200 yards more than my 308 shooting 165s. Which do you think I want when the shoulder of a big buck is under the crosshairs?

The 243 for deer? Find anyone who has had unsatisfactory results with non-varmint bullet hits to the vitals. People that shun the 243 haven't used it.

I don't shun the 243, I'm happy to use the even milder 250 Savage. I'm just noting that steel drilling and shoulder and chest cavity drilling don't exactly relate.

Have shot plenty of critters with the 243. Shot placement.. It is nearly identical to the 6.5x55 swed and it is the biggest Moose killer there is in the Sweds are of operations..

a 105 Berger VLD is plenty for most larger things..

Have hit a 300lb black bear at 90 yds with a 90gr Nosler and he asked no questions on the ride home..

That's the beauty of buying stuff from guys you know on the 'Fire!

Have picked up lightly used, known commodities from buddies on the 'Fire for my last two Montanas, and I'm very happy - plus I got plenty fair deals in the process - especially for known good shooters.

DJ

Elegant - shamelegant.

Which way are you looking at your fingernails?



All in good

It may have been a fluke but I had a Hornady 100 grain BTSP come apart on the nearside shoulder of a 95 pound whitetail. Said deer was still alive 30 minutes later when I found it and finished it off.

Not two months ago,I had a 85 grain Sierra BTSP fail to kill a 200 pound hog despite a perfect center neck shot. It came apart and stopped short of the spine. Again a finisher was required.

From now own,nothing but Partitions for me in my 243s.