Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting deer with a .243 vs. 30-06

I find asthmatic deer the toughest to time your shot on.

i can't believe some of the stuff people post. sometimes its better to not say anything...

.243 vs .30-06;

If you have lung tissue you should have a dead deer within 60 yards, More likely 40 yards.

I've killed a few deer with a .243 and seen several more .243 vs .30-06 killed by .243's and 6mm's. Around 20 deer total and 2 elk.

Part of the family that shoots 6mm's use 80 grain bullets. I and mine have always used 100 grain bullets. I have some Noslers but they are for a daughter's elk hunt. I load core lokts, Hornady's and Power Points depending on what is available. I like the Hornady's the best.

Barrel length has varied from 18.5 inches to 22 with the shorter length the most common.

I have only seen one deer shot with a .243 that got back up and it was hit high. The run distance is nearly the same.

Beyond that I don't see much difference between a .243 and an 06 on our deer.

I still shoot the '06 more than anything else at deer [using 180 grain bullets]. Every once in awile I get to see all four feet in the air with the '06. I haven't seen that with the .243 yet. Of course I have killed a whole bunch more deer with an '06.

Any novice can time the shot on an asthmatic deer- Try a running buck with the Whooping cough

The 30 cal is probably a bit too much for you from a recoil perspective. Recommend you stick with a 6mm round.

You're joking, right? You're just messing with Ryan I assume.

You are correct..

lol, good one! considering the rifle I shoot just as much as the others for targets is a .300 win mag

I forgot my , but not sure what else would make one a better killer with a 243 over a 300 all things being equal.

My brother and I both use a .243, neither exclusively and have never had a problem. I load for both of us and found that the 100 gr. Hornady SP with H4350 shot well in both of our guns. With 22 in. barrels velocity averages 2850 fps. He has taken more deer with the .243 than I have because I use the 30-06 more. We have never recovered the Hornady bullet and have never lost a deer using the .243. Considering we have about 600 rounds of it loaded I'm glad we're happy with it. No deer taken with our .243s could have been recovered any quicker using an 06.

.243 and bullet combo do a nice job, have skinned many killed buy it...look further. you'll find the deer..Ignore hype and BS

Ditto that. Too funny.

it was a new rifle to you and you misplaced your shot. Nothing else could have happened, your just mistaken in where you hit it.

I enjoy your posts because they are mostly BS but fun reading anyway. In my few years on this planet I have killed a few animals, not as many as some here but a few and I have never, not even once had as much trouble recovering an animal as some on this forum seem to have. Unless I personally made a mistake with a shot and hit the wrong spot, twice this has happened in 40 years with a gun in my hand.

+1

Shoot through both front shoulder and you don't have to track them. Heart/lung shots are for bow hunters.

Rest my case.

I've used a .44 mag (handgun), .243, 25-06, 7mm-08, & 30-06 for deer. The 25-06 is the only one that trumped my .243. I've taken most with a 30-06. The .243 put them down quicker than my 30-06 or 7mm-08. I use 100gr Corelokts for my .243 load. I use 165gr bullets (cup & core) in my 30-06 and 140gr Corelokts in my 7mm-08. IMHO for me to get the same performance of my .243 in my 30-06 or 7mm-08 I would have to use a more fragile bullet.

in my case, possible familiarity? I bought that 243 when I was 16, it was my first rifle. I've shot a majority of my coyotes with it, antelope, whitetails, mulies you name it. I've used many .30 cals to kill things from antelope to prairie dogs. I don't think they work any better or worse. its like building something, do you use a 3lb hammer for the whole job simply because you can hit harder with it? or will a framing hammer do for 90% of what you need done. both will drive a nail, and how its done isn't really noticeably different.


also have you ever noticed that those of us who hint with "small" guns for deer. like the 22-250,223, 243, 6mm are never the ones to rag on the people who use .30 cals? how often have you heard someone out of the blue start ridiculing someone for using any caliber for an animal?

its not that we "don't know better" like some would think. perhaps we are enlightened to a point where we realize to each their own and some guys prefer this over that. shoot what you know and are good with and game will die

So did you recover the deer?