Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting .243 on deer

i'll have to disagree with you a little. i've made bad shots with my 7mm rem mag, knocked the deer down, and had plenty of time for a follow up anchor. with a small caliber i have seen bad shot deer flinch like a bee stung them and never be seen again. in a perfect world, a heart, lung, ect shot is desired, unfortunately things happen and bad shots result, no matter how hard you try. i just think the energy delivered from some of the larger calibers shocks the animal more than a small caliber. thanks for all the input.............

55 grains are VARMINT bullets(VERY thin jackets MEANT to "explode" when anything solid is hit ...to cause severe damage to varmints AND to minimize richochets).....which would severely limit penetration on anything with much size to it....

That being said; I'm not sure I agree with the 100 grain as the ONLY choice in the .243; the Nosler 85 grain partition looks as if it may be a "good min" in that caliber, for women and children especially; fast,accurate, reduced recoil, AND the ability to exit on whitetails and 'lopes! In fact I happen to have several I've loaded for my son(he'll be 11 this season) to find out just how deadly they are on KY whitetails, (I'm not worried in the least FWIW) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

IF one doesn't reload, the 100 is probably the best choice; however that's why we reload to increase our choices in what we can use!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

BTW I think PaulBarnard "hit the nail squarely on the head"; a bad hit IS a bad hit with anything; too many dead critters from a .243 to question it's ability IMHO...

I absolutely love the 243 for whitetails. I have used two bullets, both factory offerings with great results.

Federal Premium 85 HPBT Gameking and Hornady 100gr. BTSP.

I will not debate which is better, but I really like the 85 HP.

Usually when you say HP (hollow point) you immediately get the "curl lip" response. That was my reaction too. But the Sierra techs assured me that the HP Gameking was in fact a big game bullet. I tried them and I like them.

This combonation is refreshingly pleasent to shoot. No problem in pulling the trigger, hearing the report and "see the hit."

I do not reccommend taking shoulder shots at close range with this bullet (3300 fps.). But lung shots at close range are absolutely devistating. The same principle that damages meat (velocity) is the same principle that causes "tissue shock" in the lungs or heart. This bullet has a simular profile to there "matchking" bullet and is scarey accurate.

She'll love it, and it will work. (You might like it too...when none of your macho friends are looking or course. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> )

GB

GeorgiaBoy:

I know a lot of folks use the 85gr HPBT with success on deer. And we seem to get differing opinions from Sierra techs from time to time.

But FWIW, here's a quote from the Sierra Manual, 4th Edition:

pg 75: Referring to the HPBT GameKings:"We also produce .224 diameter 55 grain, .243 diameter 85 grain and .257 diameter 90 grain HPBT's which despite their GameKing nomenclature are intended for varminting"

I'm not disagreeing with your experience, just sharing what the manufacturer says. Jim

Southtexas,

I remember a tread a year or so back where we were discussing Sierra's HPBT.

A poster quoted the same source and was pretty adamintly convinced in his opinion even though he never tried the bullet.

I unashamably like that bullet non the less. I wouldn't argue one way or the other.

GB

Truer words are rarely spoken!

BMT

WHAT!!!!!

You mean that if I can't shoot a .243 well then using a big cannon won't make all the difference!!!!

Man, and I was thinking I had it all figured out...

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Disappointing, ain't it? BMT

I killed a lot of deer with a 243. and never lost a single one. yes even a running buck (once) that was the only chancy time i shot at a deer. I am very pickey when I shoot and select my shots very carefully as it's not a life or death sitiuation. for me.Hubert

There are times when more bullet is a good thing.
For instance one year my brother in law was looking at a buck in the brush. He thought it was facing him. He fired and it turned out that the buck was facing away from him looking back. He thought it was a chest shot, which isn't a good shot anyhow. It turned out to be a Texas heart shot. It was lucky that he was using a 308 with 180grs of lead that day (in my opinion). <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
I have a 25-06 that is getting dusty in the safe since I discovered the 35 Whelen. It is everything I want in a deer rifle, and works pretty well on big stuff too, according to people like Elmer Keith, whoever he is. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />
GWN

Quote:
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The six mm in either flavor (243 or 244 or 6 mm or what ever Remington is calling theirs now) is a fine deer cartridge with this proviso.

The shooter has to be able to shoot.


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Truer words are rarely spoken!

BMT


That's exactly correct. And with 300 magnums the shooter needn't have any marksmanship skills to kill deer.

Keep the humor coming!

If you have to access only factory ammo, you could also go for either 90 grain Swift Scirrocos from Remington, or 100 grain CoreLokt Ultras. If you want a factory load that will mushroom well and hold together all the way through just like in "bigger" calibers, then the CoreLokt Ultra is the ticket in the .243. You will get "CoreLokt" performance like everyone here is touting (nice mushroom) and greater penetration since the bullet will maintain so much weight. Usually, they are accurate also.

I think the Federal Fusion is coming out this summer for the .243 as well, and it looks like it will be the best of the "standard" lines of ammo for mushrooming and penetration. I think it will perform similar to the CoreLokt Ultra but at a cheaper price and be flatter-shooting.

If handloads, try the Barnes X style--they can make the .243 a pretty tough long-range thumper on deer, especially if you shoot for bone.

The .243 is one of those rounds that evoke a lot of argument on it's performance on big game. I'v used it, and if it were all that was available, I'd go with it. It can work amazingly well. It can also fail amazingly well. I fully admit that I haven't tried all the bullets available in 6mm, but I've use a handful and didn't particularly like the way they worked. Not that they were worthless on big game, they just didn't have the powerful punch that others have. I like the .243, for varmints, and as a crossover cartridge, it's ok. Use it with skill and it works, but there are many better cartridges for big game. For a small shooter or women, it might be a good compromise.

I guess you could characterize my feelings on the .243 as iffy. It's far and away not my favorite, in fact it's currently on my list of won't use on deer. Maybe in the future more experimentation is in order, but I doubt it's in the cards for me.

Well, I have never shot a deer with a 243 but used the 240 weatherby a good bit. my kids shoot a 250-3000 with 100 gr rem psp bullets. so far, they are 5 for 5 with one-shot kills. so much for the 243 being an "experts" cartridge. the 250-3000 is a bit anemic compared to the 243 but it has changed the way I think about what it takes to kill a deer. I don't even bother to handload for the 250, the green box stuff works so good. however, I do not let my kids shoot over 100 yards so that does make a difference.

Also, I think that PMC loads factory 85 grain Barnes XLC in their Gold line. Those will whack a deer pretty good from any angle for factory ammo.

Hey bchannell, you really have to give the .243 a try again with the new 'wonder' bullets--it is a whole different animal! The main problem with the .243 in the past has been bullet performance that you could NOT count on every shot. That variable has been eliminated with a number of the new bullets available. On deer, you can get great performance if the bullet is in the boiler room, and with Barnes X there will be an exit hole (small, yes, but it still bleeds).

There are many of us on here that have taken lots of deer, antelope, sheep, and SOME elk. NOW....that doesn't mean it is always the best choice for the bigger game in the lower 48....but it will do the trick with the right projectiles and by taking only the RIGHT shots.

All my non-muzzloader deer have fallen to a .243 loaded with Sierra 100 grain SPBTs at ranges from 12 to 155 yards. The biggest was a 187 lb eight point. None of these deer have gone more than twenty yards. The rifle is a pre-64 M70 featherweight that I was my fathers and have been shooting it since I was 14 and I'm 41 now so you know that tube has had lot of rounds down it and i still shoots 1". As many have said, held where it's supposed to it'll put any deer down.

Allen

The three deer that I took with a .243 were spectacular kills. The deer either jumped straight up in the air and was dead before it hit the ground or just poliaxed and dropped. These shots were all within 100yds.
I used the Federal Premium round with a Sierra 100gr.
Shot placement must be precise and we know that often times a deer does always present us with the perfect shot.
So I've opted for a 7x57 for my regular deer rifle.
For me a .243 would be a varmint/occaional deer rifle and not the other way around.

Georgiaboy

I believe its bullets like the 85gr hp that give the .243 and 6mm a bad rap. Why would anyone limit themselves to a bullet that they can only take lung shots with? What would a person do if a huge buck appeared but only gave his shoulder as a target?

The whole premise that shot placement is key is correct, but this is hunting and not shooting, when does the perfect broad side happen? Lets face it a 22-250 will kill deer like lightning, if its hit perfectly in the lungs.

I believe a 243 or 6mm is very good for deer, just use the right bullet. To me the right bullet is 100grs and preferrably of stout construction, especially with the higher velocity of the 6mms. The partition or even the barnes X makes the 6's deer killing machines.

Georgiaboy,

I have heard/read of several folk using the 85gr. Sierra HPBT on whitetails but they are all shots at 200 yards or longer typically. I've never used them so I cannot say either way. My shots are less than 200 yards(most are less than 100) so a 100gr. bullet works well for me, especially at the velocities I am able to achieve out of a 22" barrel. Like they say here at the campfire, your mileage may vary. Good luck