243 for deer?

[deadon]

I just purchased a pre 64 mod 70 win feather weight. Had to have it.I Have been looking to go back to a 243 for several years due to the kick of my 270. I love to shoot and for 50 yrs have believed very strongly in bullet placement. What do you guys think of a 243 as a whitetail deer rifle> Thank you,Rusty

[Deleted]

Deadon...
That's a fine rifle you got there. I bought one just like yours for my son quite a while back. Good 200yd shooter and the pre-64 mod 70 is the best in my book.
Zen

[ozark]

With a good performing bullet between 70 and 100 grain and good bullet placement on the animal the .243 is as close to perfect as they get. It is my choice and I have owned most calibers. I can predict that you will find it as I have. Put a good scope on it and zero it in at 50 yards dead on. It will be a little high at 100 and shoots so flat that you don't need to compensate for drop at normal ranges. It will reach on out to 5 or 6 hundred yards but you may need to hold over a bit at extreme ranges. For meat does at close range you may want to make head shot. Naturally if you are confident in hitting the head solid in the brain area.
I am consistently killing crows out to 200 yards and at 160 yards crows are easy picking.
I like the 25-06, 223, 22-250 and others but a few years ago I got a new .243 and haven't looked back with regret or forward with hopes of better. That is my review. Mine is a savage bolt action with the accu-trigger.

[whyohe]

good deer gun. good bullet choice and good shot placement equals DEAD DEER! I bought one for my dad for the same reason you got yours!

[cfvickers]

Remington Core lokt bullets in my oppinion are designed specifically for a .243. That is the only bullet I have seen consistently drop deer dead out of a .243. Other good bullets, if you reload, are 105 gr. speer hot core, 100 gr partition, and the Speer grand slam, not sure of weight, but I have killed deer decisively dead with it and they ran no more than 20 yards. No others have killed like my father in laws core lokts though. DO NOT USE A 85 Gr. X bullet unless you are going to slow it to less than 3000 fps or are shooting over 150 yards. I crippled a bunch of deer when x bullets were new and I was a child shooting a .243 with x bullets, and other seriously controlled expansion bullets. Most of my shots were inside 100 yards and my dad always had ammo reloaded to as fast as he could make them go. I prefer a 6.5x55 or a .260 rem. (essentially the same but different casings) for a kid or inexperienced hunter. But a .243 can be deadly using the correct projectile. Even still 6.5s at moderate velocities make things die RIGHT NOW.

[Tarheel]

I have killed a number of deer with a 243. The most important thing is shot placement. I tried to stay away from deep angling shots, especially at a distance. Secondly, 100gr soft point bullets or 90gr+ controlled expansion bullets are the way to go.

[dougedwards]

Funny thing is that you don't see too many comments concerning critical shot placement when talking about the .270 or 30-06 calibers. Shot placement is always critical for a quick recovery but there might be times when perfect placement might be comprimised by wind, angle of shot or a moving whitetail.

In any case, the bullet choice is more of an issue than caliber. As said, the .243 Remington Core Lokt bullets in 100 grain will bring down most whitetails in short order even if placement is a bit faulty. But good shot placement is always enhanced by a rifle that shoots flat without strong recoil. The .243 covers both of those bases.

Doug

[ozark]

I have studied this rifle from A to Z and I like it very much. I sight mine in to be dead on at 140 yards for my area of hunting. I can loan it to friends ant tell them to just aim dead on at the commonly used boiler room. I am completely sold and satisfied with this rifle. Not solely on deer but it doubles as a coyote, bobcat, crow and woodchuck rifle. For two years my rifle has shined at cracking eggs at our egg shoot. More and more are asking me to let them use my rifle there. As might be imagined there are a dozen others.

[Tarheel]

Doug your right, but what I was thinking of is that a 100 gr 243 might not consistently get to the vitals on "quartering to" shots, if you hit the shoulder bone, due to bullet weight. Whereas a 270 or 30.06 may handle the quartering shots better. I know when I hunt with mine I have to be more conscious of the angle. The deer I hit and get a pass thru usually bleed fine, but the ones that are hit at steep angles that don't pass thru are usually a bear the track. I have killed deer out to 400yds with a 243 (double lung) shot and they usually run a short distance, but past 200yds shot placement importance increases exponentially.

[deadon]

Hey Guys, Thank you all very much, Rusty