.243 and Whitetail

[novice870]

My son will be shooting a .243 for whitetail this year. I currently have him shooting 100grain bullets...my question is, is that adequate weight for hunting whitetail? I totally understand that shot placement is paramount, but I am just wondering if more weight is required for an ethical kill?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Matt

[92xj]

You can only determine your ethics, not anyone of us.
I believe its plenty of bullet to hunt deer.
Deer have been killed with 22s for many many years.
Hit where you are aiming and aim in the right spot and you/he will kill deer every shot.

If you continue to question this load, switch.  The bullet is fine, but your questioning will now be a mental thing in the field and your mind will be on the bullet and it doing its job and not shot placement.  Hunt with something you will not question or think twice about.

[Huntbear]

I am shooting a .243 WSSM this year, using 95 gr. Ballistic tips.  If he knows where to place the bullet, and knows his limitations, he will do fine.

In other words, do not try to bust a shoulder to get through to the vitals.  He will have to wait till the leg is forward on a broadside shot.    IF he is taking nothing but headshots, good to go....

[novice870]

Thank you both! This is his second year hunting and I am really impressed with his improvement in terms of shooting from last year to this year. I will keep those thougts in mind when we head to the field! Thanks again!

[Dan-o]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

[brokenvet]

If you reload I would suggest that you try Barnes 85 grain TTSX.  That is what I am using this year.

[packmule]

The .243 is an excellent deer caliber.  I've used 100 grain Partitions, 100 grain Hornady spire points, and 85 grain TSXs with great luck.  Best of luck to your son this fall.

[Huntbear]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

That is because the .257 Roberts is actually an Elk and Bear gun for THOSE OF US who know how to shoot.. unlike others like.. cough cough DAN-O cough cough.... that obviously have to make up for a shortage of something by using SUPER MAGNUM rifles on Mice, and chipmunks.....   

[HighCountryHunter88]

It works great! every deer ive killed has been with a 6mm rem or a 243 85-100 grain bullets all clean kills! last year i shot a large body muledeer with 100 grain corloks it took 2 steps and went down

[blacktailcody]

I know its a blackie but I shot my first deer with a 243 and it turned the lungs into jelly before poppin out the other side. I was shooting a 95Gr Nosler partition.

[dscubame]

Barnes Vortex .243 80 grain ttsx here.  Bought this gun this year, one bear down this season next a doe with my 11 year old daughter.

[TheFewTheProud]

My first deer was a decent sized blacktail. My .243 did just fine.

[C-Money]

100 grain bullet from a 243 has killed a crap ton of deer. My wife's uncle ended up needing to hunt elk with his wife's 243 due to an issue with his .270win. He killed a 360'' bull, one shot in the engine room and he watched him fall over dead. I think you will be happy with the wound channel in the chest of the deer your kid shoots. Good luck, happy hunting!

[TheFewTheProud]

Those little bullets go in and bounce around creating a lot of damage.

[Caseyd]

Im hunting with a 243 this year for the fun of it 

[Derailed]

I have killed many whitetails and Mulies with a .243, it will do just fine!

[BULLBLASTER]

My gf and I have killed numerous deer with 243. Been using 95 ballistic tips but made a switch this year to 90 grain accubonds. Awesome deer Cal.

[novice870]

Wow! Thank you for all of the feedback! I will report back next weekend...we are heading for ducks this weekend and deer next weekend!

You all are alright! 

[wsucowboy]

a 243. is a great deer gun, killed several deer with my 243 over the years 

[CHUCK S]

Both boys took these mule deer with 243's.  Both deer were about 275 lbs.  Plenty of gun as long as bullet placement is kept in mind

[novice870]

Holy smokes Chuck! Those are great pics and dandy bucks! T

[bradslam]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

I can only hope you are joking about the .257 Roberts not being adequate for white-tail. 

[runamuk]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

I can only hope you are joking about the .257 Roberts not being adequate for white-tail.

he is razzing huntbear.....  messing up this good thread.....

I think if modern doesn't open soon everyone is gonna implode around here

[Huntbear]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

I can only hope you are joking about the .257 Roberts not being adequate for white-tail.

Yes, he is trying to mess with me... what he does not know, is I sent pictures of his human wife to his Bigfoot wife via Chipmunk messenger....

DAN-O you gonna have a lot of explainin to dooooooooo.....   

[huntnphool]

My son will be shooting a .243 for whitetail this year. I currently have him shooting 100grain bullets...my question is, is that adequate weight for hunting whitetail? I totally understand that shot placement is paramount, but I am just wondering if more weight is required for an ethical kill?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Matt

I seriously doubt you will find a bigger whitetail than these two muley's and both of these were dropped with single shots from a 100gr. Nosler Partition from a .243.

[dbor]

Nice deer, congrats to your hunting party. I have harvested more deer the I can remember with a .243.

[Mxracer532]

PLENTY!
My nephew used my Custom Rem .243 last year and shot his muley buck at 367 yards with my handload of 95gn Berger VLD"s with 40 gns of H4895 and the buck just humped up and walked out to 404 before i reset the turret to 400 and he dropped him with the 2nd shot. Both bullets were within 3 inches of eachother right in the boiler room.

[bradslam]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

I can only hope you are joking about the .257 Roberts not being adequate for white-tail.

he is razzing huntbear.....  messing up this good thread.....

I think if modern doesn't open soon everyone is gonna implode around here

OK.  I feel better now.  I was about to implode myself.  BOB RULES!

[mallard79]

Great thread! I am taking my son over for whitetails with his 243 next weeken. It shoots 100 graon bullets good. I just loaded up some 90 grain x bullets tonight. If they shoot as good as they shot out of my 243 that is what my son will be shooting.

[Huntbear]

243 is way plenty for whitetail.

Any round in that neighborhood (with the obvious exception of the 257 Roberts)     is fine.

I can only hope you are joking about the .257 Roberts not being adequate for white-tail.

he is razzing huntbear.....  messing up this good thread.....

I think if modern doesn't open soon everyone is gonna implode around here

OK.  I feel better now.  I was about to implode myself.  BOB RULES!

And the Improved version is even better.....   

[flinter]

My girl friend has killed 3 branched antler bull elk, 2 black bear (one booker), and a bunch of deer with her .243. Just shoot a premium bullet and you will love that rifle. She shoots federal ammo with 100 gr. Nosler Partitions, one shot kills every time when she does her part.

[steeleywhopper]

My Stepdad took cow elk two years in a row with a .243, both were shot at and near 300 yards and dropped stone dead. Not my particular choice of a elk gun, but hey what do I know? I guess Im a glutten for punishment with the Magnum calibers.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Think the posts speak for themselves ...own 2 of them since I was a kid and still one of my favorite guns to hunt and shoot with today...I like the 100gr bullet for deer but have used the 87 gr hornaday SST on a couple blacktail and they put them down quick ...Just do not shoot them in the shoulder 

[novice870]

Again, thank for all of the feedback! I really do appreciate when someone takes the time to reply...even with all of the crazy tangents and "implodes" recently on here, this site is really a great resource.

I took my little man out again last night to shoot...the confidence factor is definitely present. He is anxious to shoot his gun, and out of 10 rounds, he pulled two and both times told me what he had done before I could look through the spotting scope. I think his shot placement will be there. Also, (this may have been overkill) but I had him go through one of my hunting mags and tack a black sharpie and put an X on where he would put the crosshairs on each deer. I just wanted him to get used to seeing a deer "target" and thinking about shot placement. He came running in when he was done and we looked at each one...he was money! And it was actually really fun for both of us!

Bring on the real thing!!!!

Again, thanks!

Matt

[DeKuma]

Again, thank for all of the feedback! I really do appreciate when someone takes the time to reply...even with all of the crazy tangents and "implodes" recently on here, this site is really a great resource.

I took my little man out again last night to shoot...the confidence factor is definitely present. He is anxious to shoot his gun, and out of 10 rounds, he pulled two and both times told me what he had done before I could look through the spotting scope. I think his shot placement will be there. Also, (this may have been overkill) but I had him go through one of my hunting mags and tack a black sharpie and put an X on where he would put the crosshairs on each deer. I just wanted him to get used to seeing a deer "target" and thinking about shot placement. He came running in when he was done and we looked at each one...he was money! And it was actually really fun for both of us!

Bring on the real thing!!!!

Again, thanks!

Matt

Do the same thing with my wife.  She is getting pretty good at it.  Noticed our deer calendar has sharpie marks on the deer now too!

[huntnphool]

One more thing to think about in the years to come novice870. The .243 is a great caliber and one that is easily found in youth/compact sizes. If you ever feel the need to move the young man up to a larger bullet but don't want the added recoil as he gets a little older, the .243, 7mm-08 and .308 all utilize the same cartridge. They are all based on the .308 case, just necked down from .308 to 7mm (.284) and 6mm (.243). Very much similar load/recoil as the .243 but able to move up in bullet weight.

 My daughter shoots the same 140gr. Partition out of her 7mm-08 as I do out of my 7mm RM but substantially less felt recoil.

[BOWHUNTER45]

Thats exactly what I done with my son ....243 TO 7mm-08 and now he has a 25-06 which we love to shoot too ! That 7mm-08 is one heck of a gun and is fun to shoot ....

[novice870]

One more thing to think about in the years to come novice870. The .243 is a great caliber and one that is easily found in youth/compact sizes. If you ever feel the need to move the young man up to a larger bullet but don't want the added recoil as he gets a little older, the .243, 7mm-08 and .308 all utilize the same cartridge. They are all based on the .308 case, just necked down from .308 to 7mm (.284) and 6mm (.243). Very much similar load/recoil as the .243 but able to move up in bullet weight.

 My daughter shoots the same 140gr. Partition out of her 7mm-08 as I do out of my 7mm RM but substantially less felt recoil.

Stupid question but, the felt recoil is from the grains of powder not the bullet weight, right? So to move from a .243 to 7mm-08 would allow for a larger bullet weight (100 to 140 for example) but not significantly more grains of powder and therefore slightly more recoil? Am I tracking?

[Holg3107]

Slightly more but not really noticable. My frist deer gun was a 6mm. It is still by far my favorite deer rifle and has laid the smack down on numerous whitetail, mule deer, and elk. Just get a good expansion bullet for it and he will do great. Honestly most of the deer I have killed over the years with my 6mm were with good ol Remington Core Lokts. Havent had much luck with partitions or ballistic tips due to fragmenting. Also good work on having him show shot placement on photos  it all helps when it comes down to crunch time. Good luck!!!

[snowshoes22]

Some people won't like this but the right 100 grain bullet and correct shot placement from a 243 will kill any animal on this continent. People don't need super mags to kill whitetail.   

[Gamblin Guy]

I started my son with 243 WSSM, he's killed several deer including a whitetail doe in Montana at 370 yards (after missing one at 75  )

My daughter and I are headed out tonight for her first hunt this weekend and she'll be shooting a Remington 700 in 6mm with Hornady's 95 gr SST.  The gun was given to her by a good friend who shot numerous deer and elk with it over the years. 

Good luck to your son.

[blacktailcody]

One thing I would recommend is give him some help with the recoil by putting a rolled up jacket or a wallet beetween him and the gun. When he goes to shoot a deer he will be used to no recoil.

[huntnphool]

One more thing to think about in the years to come novice870. The .243 is a great caliber and one that is easily found in youth/compact sizes. If you ever feel the need to move the young man up to a larger bullet but don't want the added recoil as he gets a little older, the .243, 7mm-08 and .308 all utilize the same cartridge. They are all based on the .308 case, just necked down from .308 to 7mm (.284) and 6mm (.243). Very much similar load/recoil as the .243 but able to move up in bullet weight.

 My daughter shoots the same 140gr. Partition out of her 7mm-08 as I do out of my 7mm RM but substantially less felt recoil.

Stupid question but, the felt recoil is from the grains of powder not the bullet weight, right? So to move from a .243 to 7mm-08 would allow for a larger bullet weight (100 to 140 for example) but not significantly more grains of powder and therefore slightly more recoil? Am I tracking?

Correct, and if you get into reloading you can even get it down to zero difference in felt recoil depending on your loads.

 My grandmother used a .243 for years in Montana while I was growing up, she killed two moose, several elk and loads of deer with it before handing that same gun down to my brother that killed those two muleys in the pictures with it, and many more too.

[novice870]

Thank you so much huntnphool...i really appreciate it! 

How cool that you come from a hunting heritage where even your grandmother hunted! That is just awesome. I am jealous.

Matt