My experience has mostly been deer hunting with 7mm Rem Mag and 25-06. This is primarily northern whitetails. I have never shot a whitetail with the 7mm that has not seemed immediately and obviously hurt. I did shoot my best buck with a 25-06, a little high and a little far back. The shot killed him, but he actually ran away and then ran back to a hot doe, before he hightailed it into a draw where he died. Took a bit to find him. He was not immediately and obviously in “dire straits” although I knew he was hit well enough.
My shot could have been better, but there really wasn’t much sign that he was hurt. As I said, it killed him. Shot a nice antelope with the 25-06 last fall. I don’t know that there is a better pronghorn round than the 25-06. Responded to the shot like a whitetail typically does to the 7mm.
A 243 can effectively be put into a more compact/lighter package than a 25-06, which should really have a 24” barrel. The 25-06 recoils more, but not that much in my opinion. It feels a lot closer to a 243 than a 7mm RM in terms of recoil. If you have a shooter that doesn’t need a particularly light/compact rifle, but maybe a bit recoil shy, it is a great round. I can hardly think of a better one for use by a teenage boy. Or for pronghorn hunting. I’d have my daughter shoot a 243, simply because it is easier to carry.
