My nephew's kids all got nice bucks this year, all with .243s, no issues. Some kind of factory ammo, dunno what kind, whatever was cheap at the Walmart, no doubt. Apparently, the .243 is okay for kids and wimmens, but not enough for he-men.
I know my father would cripple a lot of deer with his .243, but he'd never practice, and used factory 80gr. bullets, because they killed coyotes faster, and he shot at more coyotes than deer. Most notably, though, he just didn't practice, and wasn't a great shot. In fact, he was a pretty poor shot, overall.
The 80 wasn't the problem. Seen too many killed with an 80 grain Sierra Varminter SBT. They get unalive very quick.
I have seen some of my fastest kills in a 243/6mm with an 80 or 85 grain bullet. Next up would be a soft 100 or 95 grain Partition which has a softer front core than most realize.
Like you say, it's the Indian not the arrow.
A guy I used to converse with on the old Huntamerica boards was a professional game manager with 20 years experience responsible for culling 600 deer per year. He used a .243 for awhile and then abandoned it. Said it didn't produce good blood trails consistently enough to suit him. Of course I'm sure the campfire crowd are all better marksmen and trackers than he was and kill far more deer as well. I filled my buck tag last Saturday morning with a 165 grain bullet fired from my .30-06. One shot, off hand, 50 yards, instant dead. I'm amazed it didn't break my shoulder and in fact I didn't even notice any recoil. Apparently my shoulder just isn't quite as tender as most here so I'm having a hard time seeing a downside to using my old '06. If it hadn't been raining I would have been carrying my .30-30 and the buck would have been just as dead but my '06 is stainless/synthetic so it got the job that morning. I agree the .243 will kill deer and is a good choice for little girls or old men with dainty/tender shoulders who have a hard time with recoil but I don't fit either description and have no trouble placing my shots when using something bigger.
