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

But all "Hail" the Mighty 338 Win

Just gimme my .243AI and 85g TSX's and let me go kill schitt ...

John: Fixed it for ya!

Nice comeback, love it when it comes down to that being the best one can find...

So what are you arguing? that a .22 mag won't kill deer?

Can't shoot that on deer, to big , and you still have to hit them in the middle of the heart, so what is the point??? Everyone knows a .338 put 3 inches behind the lungs will never kill a whitetail, it hardly has any kenetic energy at all, haha

If Elmer Keith would have had the Barnes X bullet he would have used a K-Hornet........

If Elmer would have had the "Original X Bullits" he would have changed to a Partition!!

+1 again. I have no idea why you lost them, but if nothing else, it wasn't the cartridges fault.

Actually I've killed several with a .22 mag... And a few with a .22 LR too. Both work if you put the bullets where they need to go.

Shot placement seems to be the key factor we don't talk about all that much in these discussions.

For the great majority of shooters, bullets just go where they are supposed to much more consistently with less recoil and muzzle blast.

Have a buddy whose son has killed several truckloads of deer and hogs with a 243. He puts the bullet in the right place, and they die - and this with 100 CL's and 100 Power Shoks, along with some Speers of cup and core construction...

I've got a son whose killed a truckload or two himself with plain old 100 Grain Federal Power Shoks - the faux Ti 243 dotes on them...Here he is after he busted a couple with his Granddad...



When he was a little younger, he was with me when we shot this Axis with an 85 TSX out of a 243...We busted shoulders - shattered near one and exited far one, and he hobbled 50 or 60 yards on three legs and fell over dead - with an easy blood trail.



I doubt many whitetails or mule deer will be much bigger than this toad...



We stalked him as he came to water, and I shot him as he was leaving the little tank in the background...



Today's bullets make the 243 lethal on even the biggest deer, IMHO...and give enough margin to allow for even raking shots if necessary.

Hope to have a few more with animals taken with the 80 TTSX, which I will use with utmost confidence in the next few weeks, Lord willing.

Have a pard who can show what an 85 TSX out of a 243 does on a raking shot on a pig of mature Texas whitetail when he gets around to it...

DJ

That does it, looks like we need canons to kil deer.

Therefore I'm buying a WW2 surplus Tiger next week. 88mm that ought to do it.

In Alaska a lot of big game (including Caribou, Moose, and even large Yogi's) are taken each year with cartridges much less powerful than the .243.

When hunting deer proper bullet construction and shot placement will get the job done, no matter if you are using the .243, .30-06, or just about any other cartridge.

I just killed a big doe with a 60 gr. HP out of a 22-250, she is in the freezer as we speak but maybe I better take another look. Personally I feel that the 95 gr. BT out of my 6MM Remington is a darn hard to beat deer rifle. I also feel that in a lot of cases the damage done by said Ballistic Tip is greater than that done by your average 180 gr. 30-06 load.

I think everyone needs to get a 270-08 and shut the hell up.

I'm building one, standby.

You're just trying to get one before 65BR does.

Holler at me when you come thru AR. I'll get the boy to teach you how to use the .243

Jeezus. Every pic I see of that kid cracks me up.

Yep, he stated in another thread that the lad strikes the same pose in school pictures and it drives his mom nuts. I like that!