Most of the problem with people using the 243 comes from examples like just stated above. Using bullets that weren't designed for game on game.
I firmly believe there are more cripple loss each year to the supposeddly "suitable cartridges" than there are the 243. And quite a bit of the bashing the 243 gets is from folks who never used one, just regurgitating what they've heard or read.
I spent alot of time guiding deer hunters in the Black Hills of Wy. I always had my 243 on hand. There was no limit to the amount of ribbing I took about my peashooter rifle being no good in that kind of brush. But guess who got to go crawling thru that brush with which rifle to find the crippled deer that had been shot with the "better" cartridges.
Its all in the bullet placement, and bullet construction, and the hunters ability to follow up on a shot whether it looked good or not.
