Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 243

Looking for opinions on the 243 for deer. Max effective range etc
Thanks

The 243 is an excellent deer cartridge. They are usually very accurate, have low recoil,and lots of bullet choices. Pick a bullet from 85 to 100 grains that shoots well in your rifle. As to the second part of your question, that is subjective. How good do you shoot, and how accurate is your rifle. You should be good to 400 yds with good quality shots from the prone position, or a solid rest platform. My boys and I have killed a lot of deer from 350 to 400 yds with ours. But my boys are very good shots, and are shooting accurate rifles. They also practice alot. Hope you have lots of luck.

I killed a cow elk at 585 yards and a 95gr NBT from a ruger m77mkII .243. I've also killed a pile of deer and antelope at various ranges. it flat out kills stuff.

Thanks

Excellent. 400 yards for me anyway...

Just be sure to use a bullet designed for deer and not varmints

I wouldn't hesitate to shoot out to 400 yards. And even then the limitation is the shooter (me) and not the bullet nor caliber. I've whacked quite a few whitetails with Hornady 95 grain SST, DRT.

I"d be willing to shoot further than I"m willing to admit with a 243... and the right bullet and as usual the right shot and conditions

^^^This^^^

Saw a buddy kill a big hog with his .243 GAP rifle at 800 yards confirmed by rangefinder. Don’t remember what bullet he was using at the time. I think it was a 95 grain, but don’t recall the Brand.

I have a 99 in 243 to try this year. I have never hunted with a 243, never shot one before this summer when I sighted the 99 in. My grandkids have them loaded with 80 TTSX. They make short work of deer and pigs up to 300 yds.

I have killed a lot of coyote s between 500 and 600 yds with my 243 and 105 hybrids. Haven't shot any deer past 400, haven't needed to,but it will kill quickly a l long ways past that. I think scenar shooter killed a cow elk last year with the 6 creed and 105s at 600 meters. Killed it on the spot if I recall correctly.

Great cartridge.

Someday I might add a BLR to the collection.

Excellent cartridge.
My son killed a coues buck at 400 yds with one a few yrs ago.
He was shooting 80 grain Barnes ttsxs.
The bullet blew on through the deer.
Have killed numerous since with the .243 but not at that distance again.
Haven’t lost a critter yet to a .243.

This is almost like asking if a 30-30 will kill deer. The negatives you'll hear about the 243 is usually due to poor bullet choice, like using a varmint bullet for deer. The other thing is the 243 is given to hunters, women. and kids just starting out and it doesn't allow much room for shooting error. Excitable types, buck fever or unpracticed hunters and any firearm is not going to perform it's best.

With the 243 or any rifle I use the pie plate theory, actually I use a 6" paper plate. Any range I can hit the plate every time in that particular position becomes my maximum range. For field shooting this is about 400 yards or less depending on if a steady rest is available. With a bench rest type set up this could be extended quite a bit. Off hand shooting which I try to avoid the range would be around 150 yards. More practice can extend all of these ranges.

The 243 is a great choice and I would only look for something more if elk and big bear are going to be hunted. As always check how the rifle fits and feels before buying if you can. I have shot over 200 deer with a 243 and I have only lost two. One a bad shot due to a flinch when I was about 10 yrs. old and the other due to poor bullet performance and running out of light. The bullet deflected on a rib on a sharply angled shot and only damaged one lung. Both could have happened with any other cartridge, not the 243s fault.

Wanted a 6mm Remington for years. Finally gave up and got an old Sako .243, but that went to my son. Have had a couple since, and finally scored a bargain Howa Alpine. Also have a tightly twisted 6mm Creed for the long pointy bullets. I think any if the .24s in that power group are fine all-around cartridges; just pick the one that lets you shoot the bullets you like. I have bigger rifles, but don't know for how long as the little ones work fine. Actually, except for the odd bear I might encounter here, a .223, .22 Creed, or .22/250 would be fine too, just not in next-door VA where .23 is still the minimum.

Killed two deer so far with .243s; one with a 100gr Partition, the other with a 100gr Sierra PH. With broadside shots, either will do, but wouldn't want to push the Sierra through too much meat and bone getting to the good stuff.

I would also look at the 6mm Creedmoor. I am not a fan boy but it is a better package. You might gain some barrel life too. If ammo availability is a big factor then the 243 will offer more options for quite a while. But I don't buy this argument as I rarely buy factory loads and almost never do I stop at the mom and pop hardware store and buy ammo on the way to a hunt. Just don't forget your ammo and then no problems.

Glad you posted this, makes me want to use my 99 even more.

Since I don't get to practice much beyond 300 yards I'd say its effective range is beyond mine.

My camp mate, his son and I have had fine results from 95 grain SSTs, Ballistic Tips and Fusions. I've got the 80 grain TTSX loaded this year but I haven't pulled the trigger yet, though I'm pretty sure of what will happen when I do.

I've shot some big whitetail and mule deer with my .243's . Maximum range has been around 200 yards. One rifle I use 100 grain Partition because it doesn't shoot barnes bullets all that well. The other rifle I use 85 grain barnes TSX. Both have worked well but my preference is the barnes.

I killed a number of deer with a .243, but I have killed over a hundred (lost count) with a 6mm Rem. A 100-grain Interlock was the ticket out past 400 yards on a couple of occasions.