.243 and Whitetail

[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