Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting deer with a .243 vs. 30-06

I am a 30-06 veteran that shot my first deer with a .243 this evening. Handload with Sierra Gameking 85 grain BTHP.
Blood and lung all over the place, waist high.....No deer??
I know the .243 kills deer, but do they normally run farther when hit with a .243 vs. a larger caliber? Just wanted to know some other experiences with this, thanks.

Lung with no deer? Hmmph. He's there somewhere!

No, they don't; especially with a lung hit. That deer is dead somewhere very close by.

It is cutover, really thick and grown up, shot about 20 min. before dark, will go back early in the am and look some more.
May have almost stepped on the deer with it being dark. Thanks.

Any opinions on whether to use 85 gr, 100 gr, 105 gr.??

85 grain TSX.

Waist high lung and blood? Now that's a really tall deer. You have a dead deer within 50 yards.

One of the most necessary activities in hunting is tracking. I'm not much of an expert on the .243. I have only shot 9 deer with one. All 100gr. Sierra and all one shot kills. If I were hunting with it today I would use the Barns 80gr TTSX, or Barns 85gr TSX.

They didn't run any farther then they run when I put a 12 gauge shotgun slug through them and that is a larger caliber.

My friend, if you have blown lung tissue out of that deer you have a dead deer. I hope you find it. There should be an adequate blood trail unless it made only one or two jumps.
Best to you.

Jim

That's my experience, yours may differ.

I'm sure that I'll catch grief on this, but yes in my experience deer taken by heart/lung shot with the 6mms run further. I'm sure others will have different experience & opinions but that is my experience.

I started deer hunting in central Louisiana with a 243 and found after stepping up in caliber to 270 Win/280 Rem that the distances on the death runs on the heart/lung shot dropped noticeably. In heavy cover such as the area I started deer hunting and hunt now the additional distance deer run does make finding them more difficult.

These days I use a 7mm-08 and am very satisfied with it.

I'm also sure you've got a dead deer out there, but it's nice when there's little to no tracking involved.

The .243 was intended to be a varmint rifle, why people insist on hunting deer with it is beyond me. Use a cartridge that reliably produces quick humane kills and save the .243 for ground hogs, coyotes and such vermin. Deer deserve to be dispatched more humanely.

High lungs is were my 11 year old son hit his buck last year; at 70 yards, with a 243/ 80 TTSX, it went straight down, yours should be dead somewhere close.

Ive killed a pile of deer using a .243. If you hit lungs, go find your deer. A deer will not run any farther using a .243

You hit a kill zone, it's dead.

My first center fire rifle was a Rem. 660 in .243. I killed a LOT of deer with it in Texas between the ages of 7 and 15 years old.

We used exclusively 100 gr. bullets, mostly factory ammo. I know my Dad handloaded some as well, but they were always 100 grainers.

If hit correctly (heart/lungs), I don't remember deer going more than 50 yards, usually a LOT less.

If I were using a .243 now, I'd use the heavier bullet, unless I was shooting a monolithic bullet.

Funny [bleep], thanks for the laugh

If legal where you are, think about training up a dog for locating lost deer. Almost any breed will do, although some excel and are easier to train than others...

Agree. My ".243" is a 6mm Remington. Deer pretty much just drop when shot. Typically use a 95 gr Ballistic Tip, or a 100 gr Nosler solid base. Working great for me since 1974 and now my son is using it for the past few years. Couldn't ask for anything faster. Instant death is kind of tough to beat.

Judging from your post I;d wager that you have never ever used a 243 on Deer

Now .243's can't kill deer? JFC what would we do without the internet..

thats funny! HA!

I've only killed 30 deer or so, with everything from a stick with a razor to a 12 ga slug. the few I took with a .30 cal rifle went further than ANY I took with my .243 I never had one go more than 2 steps with the 243 that I can recall. that includes mule deer and antelope. shot a small buck antelope with a 30-30 at 50 yards, right through the heart/lungs he ran for 50-60 yards. every antelope with a 243 has been DRT.
never had to track an elk either, although those were shot with either 30-06, 30-30, 7mm rem, 25-06.

I'm a stickler for shot placement though.

Just where did you come by this pearl of "wisdom" ?

243 vs. 30-06 is much like asking what is the best 4x4 truck.

If you drive conservatively (or shoot conservatively) either works just fine.

If you push the envelope on penetration or distance things change.

Past 300 yards the 06 will do a much better job do to it's ability to carry energy - BUT most folks suck at shooting past 300 and have little if no business shooting that far.

Bad angles on a critter USED to mean you need a bigger bullet (lead bullets anyway) now with TSX out there this has changed.

- Focus on your shooting skills, and knowledge of how to find and get in the right shooting position and you'll kill alot more deer than you will by changing to an 06.. unless its a distance thing.

Spot