243?

[Schwag173]

several questions.  is a 243 good enough to kill a large buck deer?  is there much difference in a 243 and say a 25-06,260 rem, 6 mm. or a 257?  i will be getting a deer rifle soon and want some expert opinions.  i had a 243 but my grand daughter wanted it so thats why i am looking.  thanks,  mike w

CAN it do the job?  Yes.  Would it be my first choice?  No, not even my 30th choice.  Almost anything between .257 and .308 will handle any deer perfectly well.  In fact, if it was my granddaughter, I'd rebarrel her rifle to .260 Rem or 7mm-08.  For yourself, nothing wrong with the same cartridges unless you might go for tougher animals (bear, elk, etc).  In that case, step it up to something .308 - .338. 

[muleracks]

I have a friend that hunts a lot of guided hunts.  He always uses his 243 and a 115 grain bullet even on his moose in 2009 and his OIL WA bighorn ram this year.  I like more lead but his gun works for him.  His trophy room has about 60 full body mounts including a couple Grand Slams on bear and caribou; all taken with his 243.  Yes, he does have a gun collection including about 45 rifles so he is not rifle poor.

[timber tiger]

 

[Hornseeker]

Since some were making a point of it....

The 6mm and the 243 both use the same diameter bullets... which are about .244...

However.... 6mm is actually equal to 0.2362204724412 inches... Or lets just say, ".237"

As for the 243 and deer.... Its a great choice. Buy good premium ammo or reload some Barnes or partitions or something good in there!

[Curly]

However.... 6mm is actually equal to 0.2362204724412 inches... Or lets just say, ".237"

But wouldn't you round down to 0.236 since it is only over by 0.0002...........
 

[FC]

This argument cracks me up, so many assume that a guy will only own one rifle and you never know...You might decide someday that you will want to hunt Godzilla and your *insert cartridge here* is a bit light for hunting Godzilla.

How many here who say .243 is a poor choice own another rifle?

Since the question was asked regarding usage of a 243 for brown bear. The difference is that you might need to STOP a brown/grizzly bear from actually attacking you and if you are having to make a shot at an animal running toward you it's likely you won't be shooting as neatly as you would from a bench, deep penetration and the ability to get through multiple big bones might come in handy. If hunting big bears/moose in the brush I would want the most potent cartridge that I could shoot well in my hands, deer/elk/black bears are a different story entirely.

[Schwag173]

.30/06 is in the 10-ring on this one.

[casey58]

I just went from my .280 a-bolt to a .243 this year and I love it great gun to shoot. I only use my .280 for elk now

[rtspring]

A buddy bought his son a 243 Savage for deer hunting last year. Talk about a tack driver, and one helluva deer slayer.......

just my 

[hokey97]

shot three with a 243 2 under 30 yards away. im 13 so i might move up to 270 or 308 but any gun you are comfortable shotting at what ever range you are comfortable with would be my 

[KDB]

I've been using a 257 Roberts for years and I've been very happy with it.  I'm using 110 grain bullets.

[demontang]

If you go 243 make sure you use a well made bullet

[Skillet]

If you go 243 make sure you use a well made bullet

That's the issue, really. 

Some food for thought -
We used to kill a bunch of ducks and geese with my 2-3/4" 12 guage.  As much as I wanted one for the cool factor,  a 3" gun was viewed as a bit of an unnecessary "*censored* extender" among my grandpa and his hunting buddies.  Thing is, we did all that killing right before they banned lead.  When it became "steel shot" as the only alternative, those good ol' boys really started becoming more interested in increased payload.  So, as the projectiles became inferior, the bigger payload was more valued.  Even 3-1/2" mags are commonplace now.

Rifles have basically gone the other way over time.  Projectiles have gotten better and better.  Now, for example, you can send 100 grains of .243 fury in the form of a Barnes bullet with great BC and have reliable terminal performance on deer-sized game vs. yesteryear, where you really needed more lead going through the air as in insurance policy because of a "not quite 100%" reliable performance.

This means, of course, that if you are using "minimum caliber for game" that grabbing whatever is cheapest off the shelf at the gunshop is probably not the best route to go if you can instead reload with premium bullets to ensure better terminal performance.  With the better bonded bullets and solid copper bullets out there now, I really think that today's .243 has the potential to be a step above the .243 of 25 years ago.
 

[DeerThug]

A .243 6x6 bull and a great mulie buck.  Each one shot kills.

Matthew started hunting when he was 8.  He is now 17.  His 243 has taken 12 bucks (Idaho and Wash combined) a couple of does and 2 bull elk.  Never had a crash to deal with.

It is all in the hands of the hunter.  Buy what you want and that you can shoot and just go hunting.  Forget all of the noise.

[blacktailcrzy]

that is all the proof i need