Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Can a person ruin a cartridge for you?

I might regret this but what’s the problem with the 300 BO?

I've only used a 300 BO once with a borrowed rifle but was pleasantly surprised with the results below. When I bought my Wilson Combat, I decided to go for a bit more power & got a 300 HAM'R instead. This is the only recently designed cartridge I own. Most of the other ones in my safe (6.5x55, 275 Rigby, 303 British, 9.3x74r, 405 Winchester, etc.) predate the creation of my 375 H&H cartridge in 1912. But I like them all regardless of whether they're old or new. They're all fun to shoot.

PS - Geaux Tigers!

Pretty much my own thoughts on the .243 Win.
Lot'sa deer have fallen to the .243. Lot'sa deer have been lost because an inexperienced hunter was started with a .243.

I'm of the opinion that the .243 is best suited to an experienced hunter.
Hey, I killed my biggest buck (156#) with a .22 Hornet.
I would not start a hunter with a .22 Hornet!

IME, if you're a pisspoor shooter the cartridge you're using isn't a factor.

That makes sense. With such a wide range of bullet weights in 22 cal, at the extreme ends of cartridge size, whether it's a 22 Hornet or 223 WSSM, they can't be everything to everybody.

Your loss.

Lots of deer have been lost because an inexperienced hunter was started with a 30-06 as well.

I am never lead around by my feelers and others really don't effect my decisions. With that said I try to be more graceful in my approach to others every day and hope I effect others in a positive way.

I have had 2 30-06's and sold them both. The cartridge likely is the end all be all of cartridges however I prefer less recoil. The 6.5 creedmoor is my newest and latest end all be all cartridge. Not because it's magic but because it fits the recoil department and 6.5 bullets seem to penetrate very well. I really don't need anything of significant horse power to effectively hunt the game I hunt which is up to elk sized game

I suppose you could ruin one for yourself by poor shooting or choosing the wrong bullet.

“I shot him four times right in the chest and he just ran off! I need a bigger gun.” Well, maybe, once in a great while, but not as often as that’s claimed.

Many years ago I actually met a guy who claimed the .308 Winchester was a lousy deer round, because he'd shot a whitetail "right in the heart" and never found the buck....

While I wouldn’t say the blackout is exciting it feels like a useful chambering. Fun as hell to shoot subs with a suppressor. Kids recently got a model 7 so chambered and while it wouldn’t have been my first choice I have no doubt it will be a low recoil deer killing machine with supers and when I get a can we’ll already have a bolt gun gun ready to run subs. I’m not mad about it.

GEAUX TIGERS. Only 10 days to go until football season…

The Ham'r is something I am interested in for sure.

It had more to do with pizz poor shooting or too tough of a bullet than the 243 not being adequate.

I have killed deer with everything from 22 LR to 7mm and 300 Mags.

Have killed 90% of them with a 6mm Remington and an 85 grain Sierra Varminter SP. Can't tell any difference when hit in the same spot.

Even some hits that weren't perfect with a 22-250 resulted in rather quick kills due to a softish bullet really upsetting their apple carts.

IMO the 243/6mm gets a bad reputation because everyone thinks you need a railroad spike tough bullet to kill a 250# or less animal. Get a semi soft bullet and quick kills are the norm in smaller bores.

I agree.

I've set up my nieces with a 243 Win, had them shooting last summer to get comfortable with the gun. They were shooting it pretty good, so when fall came around, I took them out in the youth season. First afternoon out, a mule buck was spotted, 175 yard shot, lung shot, dropped on the spot. Clean pass through with the 100gr corelokt. This spring the same thing happened with a big 7 foot chocolate phase black bear. 150 yards, double lung with pass through, bear dropped on the spot. I've seen good results with other youth I've taken out as well and have a neighbor who took a bull moose down with a single shot from a 243.

I personally prefer the 257 Roberts and 6.5's over the 243 win but in saying that, I wouldn't feel handicapped if the 243 was all I had.

It really comes down to good shot placement and using a decent bullet and the animal wont make it far. Aim small, hit small.

Bear squared 7".

Would not be an issue but for people failing to keep their 5.56 uppers far from their .300 BO ammunition.

A now deceased cousin swore the 308 wasn't any good.
"It don't kill like my 06. Had one, lost a couple deer, got rid of of it."


Might have been true, might not have been his shooting (he sucked).
Scope? Bullet issue?
Damn sure wasn't the headstamp.

ndIt does not take much for some folks to form an opinion. It takes less for many to convert those opinions to iron clad fact.

Dad hunted most of his life with a Rem 760 in 30-06. He carried 150 gr Silvertip for deer and 180 gr Silvertip for elk. His hunting partner was a Korean War Vet, and hunted with a bolt action in 308.

One day, about 1968, they spotted some deer at 800 yds or a bit further. They both started lobbing rounds in that direction. By his fourth shot, Dad had walked rounds on target and killed a deer. His buddy never got the range.

Despite my explanation that there was virtually no difference between his factory loaded '06 and the 150 gr 308, Dad was convinced the 308 was a lesser round. "He couldn't even reach a deer at 1/2 mile."

When I suggested it had something to do with the guy behind the trigger, and his ability to compensate for range. Dad claimed nonsense, the guy was an Army trained marksman. The fault was a vastly inferior round.

I wish I could give you an actual field report but it was one of my later acquisitions & I haven’t had opportunities to test it on various game yet. So far it’s only been to the range. I’m shooting 130gr Speer Hot-Cor bullets & from a statistical standpoint, the numbers look promising for the moderate distances I hunt at. It’s definitely a fun gun to shoot.

I don’t have enough experience with other rounds to compare it to cartridges like the 6.5 Grendel or 6.8 SPC. But it seemed like a legitimate effort to fire a .30 caliber bullet with as much power as possible using a standard 5.56 bolt. I was intrigued enough to veer away from my preferred single-shot falling blocks & try something totally different. So far, it’s been a fun experiment.

My point is the .243 and it's light bullets are perfectly capable of killing deer ... in the hands of an experienced shooter who is aware that bullet placement is key.

Too many times, beginning hunters are started on the .243 and don't have enough experience to not rush their shot or aren't cognizant of bullet placement in the excitement of the moment.

You are correct. Hunters lose deer every year due to poor shot placement ... regardless of bullet caliber.

"Bullet diameter cannot compensate for poor shot placement."

....and even in the hands of a competent and experienced hunter, old "Murphy" kicks in and an "Aw s#¡t!" happens.

So you've unsuccessfully spoke out of both sides of your mouth. You'd have done better admitting your first post was out in left field.