Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting First Year with 243

243 was my first, steady deer rifle. Savage 99. Used mainly the 100 gr Cor-lokt to take most of the deer. I've used the Federal Fusions as well. If I did my part in putting the bullet in the right spot, the deer died. I don't remember having one go more than 30 yards from any solid hit in the shoulders/chest area.
If I had to go back to factory stuff now and didn't want to spend an arm and a leg, I'd go to the Fusion.

I have not owned a 243 or a 6MM Remington in many years, but I did own both at one time and I killed deer with them. I have seen a lot of deer, antelope a handful of elk and one moose killed with 243s and having been a hunter as well as a guide on and off for the last 40 + years I can say with certainty that a 253 with a good bullet is a wonderful deer and antelope rifle. In the hands of an expert hunter and a good marksman, it's antiquity killed most game in North America.

Because I no longer have a 6MM bore rifle I am a bit out of touch with what is available in factory loads but one I have seen used in the last 8-10 years with excellent results is the Federal Fusion.
If I ever get another I will probably simply load the old 100 grain Nosler Partition that I used 30 years ago. Or I may try a Barnes X or GMX by Hornady or any of the good bonded core bullets made today.

Others here may have better and more timely info for you, but as far as feeling nervous about the caliber, you have no reason to.
Be assured, a good 243 is just fine as a deer rifle. What is available today is even better then most ammo and bullets available in the 70s-80 when I used the 243 and 6MM Remington, and they were both good then.

They are better today then ever.

We have killed a barn full of Whitetails with 100 grain Sierra Pro Hunters.

Thanks everyone, like i said I'm prolly over thinking this. Lots of good info given and i will follow through with some of the suggestions. After shooting larger calibers for a lot of years and looking at how small the bullet is on a 243 i was just worried, needlessly i guess.

Many years ago I shot a couple of does with the 70 grain BT, bang flops. They were broadside shots.

This is for the nice people who haven't seen this.
243 getting it done.

WOW, good stuff.

Recent kill with a .243...





And an older one from back in the day.....

1977, Remington green box, 100gr PSPCL.

Below are my only three experiences with the .243—my sons’ deer kills over the last 18 months. The .243 worked perfectly.

Nov. 2017: Barnes VOR-TX 80gr TTSX out of a 20” bbl: per chrono, roughly 2,920 fps impact velocity (at 50 yds). Deer dropped where it was hit and died within about 20 seconds. Bullet went through about 2-feet of deer, including rib bones and exited.



September 2018 (Youth-only season): Hornady 95gr SST out of a 24” bbl: per chrono, roughly 3,010 fps impact velocity (at 30 yds). Deer dropped where hit, and was dead when approached seconds later. Bullet went through about 2-feet of deer front-to-back and stopped under the hide on the far side.



This is the recovered bullet, next to a 225gr TTSX from my .340 I recovered from the moose in my avatar after going through about 4-feet of moose, including rib bones and a shoulder.



40 minutes later, my younger son got his first deer with shooting sticks at a deer 140 yds away with the .243 Hornady Lite load with an 87gr SST with a MV (per chrono) of 2,577 fps out of a 20” bbl. Impact velocity was about 2,270 fps (less than 1,000 ft-lbs)—i.e., about like a .223. Bullet exited after going laterally through the deer and destroying both lungs. The deer died where shot (could tell by the blood spatter right next to where it lay), and was dead by the 30 seconds or so it took us to get there.







I hunt deer and larger things with bigger calibers, because I can, but I was impressed with the .243’s performance. The .223-level reduced .243 Hornady load was devastating, even at 140 yards.

The cup-and-core SSTs actually seemed to produce better results even though one of them didn’t exit. However, given that there are large black bears (including a reported 600-lb one) and mountain lions in the same place, I might prefer the TTSX loads for my boys—not because they are better on deer, but because they might be better for self-defense on scarier critters around there.

That’s why my older son carries a potent pistol as a backup in case I’m not nearby.



He knows what to do.

Barnes Vortex 80ttsx

Winchester with the 95 ballistic tip

Federal Fusion 95gr


I’ve used the Barnes and Ballistic Tips in handloads and they’re excellent.


A friend has used the Fusion on a dozen or more deer and performance has been fantastic.

plain ol' 100 grain federal blue box. works and cheap at Walmart

Yeah, and its actually an excellent performer.

I have killed about everything but a grizzly bear with a 243 over the last 30 years, and it is about all I shoot. Truck loads of critters. Shoot it with confidence.

My daughters have shot several Alberta deer with the Federal Premium Barnes 85 gr TSX. It has impressed me.

We have also used a reduced load with 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips (the varmint version). Started at about 2400, we've never recovered one even when shot through both front shoulders. They did deep and don't "blow up" at that low velocity.

A friend shoots a lot of deer on his farm and swears by Federal Fusion ammo. His son uses it in 243 caliber.

I load Rem 100gr corelokts. The just plain work.

80 gr TTSX or GMX
I'm hand loading the TTSX for my daughter's rifle, but we have used the factory loaded Hornady GMX with same results.
11 dead deer and I have been thoroughly impressed.