Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Goodbye 243 I'm done

Agree’d

It is not that the 243 won't kill deer with well placed hits, generally broadside, spine and neck hits drop deer with just about any rifle. It is also not just about deer. It is about the lack of blood trails most of the time and the need for just about perfect placement. I just find the 22-250 a better varmint rifle for me and the 7x57 a far better deer and feral hog rifle under less than perfect conditions. I find the 243 more than I need for coyote calling and not any better than my 22-250 on deer with the shots I will take with either.

rickt300, it's good you know your limitations. Rio7

I’m with Pablo.

Odd how the 243 fans feel it is the panacea of deer rifles when it obviously isn't. I have never lost a deer I hit with either a 22-250 or a 243 but I have followed up some long and pretty thin blood trails for myself and others. I also note that those 243 afficionado's are generally from states where pretty open country is the norm or shoot from stands overlooking feeders. If a deer goes 150 yards and crosses a property line, even if it's carcass is visible it is lost. If your night hunting feral hogs the problem is a lot worse and the 243 is certainly no better than a 22-250 in that case. So at the no fault of the 243 I will say your right it was the fault of the guy who chose it to hunt with!

rick300,Your getting no argument from me. I think you will really like shooting and hunting when you learn how. Rio7

And the limitations of the 243. I don't need a 6.5 Creed but am grateful it has been introduced, as it is a much less limited round than the 243 and will eat up shelf space the 243 once dominated. That said the niche for the 243 is as a coyote round. I prefer the 22-250 but would hapily use the 243 for any of my coyote hunting. Even then a 6MM that has less of a tendency to eat barrels would be better.

It was interesting to read all the opinions on the .243 Win. I formed my very narrow-minded opinion many years ago when I decided that it made a lot of bang and blast for what went out the other end. I have never owned one and never will. I’ll just stick to my obsolete and unworthy .257 Roberts and .250-3000’s. Happy Trails

I understand the lack of enthusiasm for the .243 Winch (which I have never used) but do not understand why the .250-3000 (which I have used) is preferable. Unless, of course, it is simply nostalgia.

No one on this thread has mentioned a head stamp or caliber that I haven't used at one time or other, we all settle on what works for us for what ever reasons. In my case If I really like a rifle by that I mean the way it handles and fits and shoots for me there's a good chance I will like he head stamp that goes with it, I have never found a caliber that I hated I have found a few rifles I hated, shoot what works for you that's what I do. After all i'm not buying your guns or ammo. Rio7

There is a statement, the rifle has to fit you or you fit it. It has to feel right.

Whats weird, is for years we shot M1A in competition, felt like a rifle. Hunted with em too. Moved to the AR. Felt like crap. But almost 25 years behind the AR that gun FEELs right, fits right, second nature etc...

To stir the pot there are a few rounds that work better than what they seem like they should, to me... 243 and 223 are among them. Many work as well as I expect, like the 308. Some don't work as well as I expected. 257 wtby. 50 BMG

That said all of the above work. Even the 270 works, though I am fairly sure I'll never use one, but I hear and see that it works. Scratch that I did shoot my buddies dads 270 on a spike after his dad died, just seemed right for that rifle to keep shooting deer and the brothers have been to emotional to use it. So I know it works, even though its on the bottom of my list. LOL.

I started both of my daughters out hunting deer with a tang safety Ruger 77 RSI in .243. We shot several big Nebraska whitetails and several more desert mule deer with that little rifle, and I used it to shoot a couple of nilgai one year while I was helping a friend in south Texas with a wildlife management plan. We never lost an animal, and I can only remember one big mule deer buck that stayed on his feet long enough to take a second shot. I loaded all of the ammo--either 95-grain Partitions or 95-grain Ballistic Tips. Probably shot at least a dozen feral hogs on the ranch down here, all of them big ones. After I built the younger daughter a 7mm-08, I finally sold the .243 because no one was shooting it--still wish that I hadn't done that.

I'll bet your granddaughter feels the same way.

She is determined to win every shooting contest at Armijo Springs.

Ed

Funny post Rio. When you get unstuck on the 243 and try some better rounds your learning curve will improve also.

She will have her own rifle this summer, but they will not be able to make the Armijo Springs bash this year. It overlaps with start of school activities in the little town where they live. However, they are going to spend a few days with me in July somewhere up on the Gila or the Apache National Forest where it's cool. We plan to burn a lot of ammo.

You are helplessly, hopelessly clueless.

I am reminded of the saying: "It is the poor craftsman who blames his tools."

For most of my hunting career, I considered the 243 to be marginal, as I saw a lot of deer shot with it that ended up either not being recovered, or found after they had been dead for some time. Then I began to think about it, and in just about every one of those cases, the shooter was either an inexperienced hunter, or someone who simply made a bad hit. I've seen plenty of deer killed with the 243 where it worked just fine, and I've killed a few with it myself. So, as in just about any other cartridge, success or failure, can be laid squarely at the feet of the person using it.

The issue of a deer being shot and crossing a property line can happen regardless of caliber used. I have an idiot of a neighbor who uses a 300 Mag, and every season I find deer on my property that were originally shot on his. Once again, it all falls back on the shooter, and if a deer is too close to a property line, it's not going to matter what it's shot with.

Pal, Amen I remember my Grandfather telling me that when I was cussing my hammer for hitting my thumb. Rio7

Too bad about Armijo Springs. Your family will certainly be missed and the competition will not be the same.

Good news about the visit, though. Just don't coach her too well. I'd like to at least a have a chance to beat her the next time we shoot against each other.

Ed

P.S. Did you ever buy that Ruger Ranch Rifle you talked about? The offer to set it up like mine still stands.

Ed