The case for the .243 as a deer cartridge.

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I have no respect for the .243. Years ago I got a really good deal on a 700ADL .243. Really liked the rifle and it shot great, under an inch. Loaned it to the old man and saw a 100gr Federal blow up on a doe's shoulder and I instantly gave up on it. Have the same dim view of the .250Savage, though I love the Ruger I own that chambers it. After watching 100gr Remingtons come completely unglued and barely have enough steam left to finish the job, I'll only use Barnes bullets in it. IMHO, a proper deer cartridge shouldn't need super premium bullets to kill deer. Maybe some day I'll have it rebarreled to a 6.5 or 7mm.

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CraigC said:
IMHO, a proper deer cartridge shouldn't need super premium bullets to kill deer.
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This is much my feeling too though I have never been able to articulate it as such.

My feelings always come out as a variation of “bigger is better” but really I just want a cartridge that I don’t have to have perfect animal orientation to still make a killing shot.
 
earlthegoat2 said:
This is much my feeling too though I have never been able to articulate it as such.

My feelings always come out as a variation of “bigger is better” but really I just want a cartridge that I don’t have to have perfect animal orientation to still make a killing shot.
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Exactly. I guess, oddly enough, as a handgun hunter and big believer in cast bullets, I'm spoiled by the "any angle" penetration I'm accustomed to. Don't like the idea of having to wait for a perfect broadside shot because my bullet can't withstand impact with bone. Even just ribs or the edge of the scapula.
 
CraigC said:
I have no respect for the .243. Years ago I got a really good deal on a 700ADL .243. Really liked the rifle and it shot great, under an inch. Loaned it to the old man and saw a 100gr Federal blow up on a doe's shoulder and I instantly gave up on it. Have the same dim view of the .250Savage, though I love the Ruger I own that chambers it. After watching 100gr Remingtons come completely unglued and barely have enough steam left to finish the job, I'll only use Barnes bullets in it. IMHO, a proper deer cartridge shouldn't need super premium bullets to kill deer. Maybe some day I'll have it rebarreled to a 6.5 or 7mm.

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I don't consider 100 grain Remington PSP core lokt a super premium bullet. And I can assure you they work just fine on deer.
 
CraigC said:
Read it again. I didn't say it was. I said it failed miserably and barely got the job done.
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Yeah, I like to live my life like that too. If I try something once and it doesn't work as I unrealistically expected it should, I immediately lose all respect for it and run around disparaging it and everyone who tells me it actually does work. A sample size of one should be enough for anyone, no matter what the experience of others may be.
 
Aletheia said:
Yeah, I like to live my life like that too. If I try something once and it doesn't work as I unrealistically expected it should, I immediately lose all respect for it and run around disparaging it and everyone who tells me it actually does work. A sample size of one should be enough for anyone, no matter what the experience of others may be.
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Unrealistic??? :scrutiny:

How many failures are acceptable then??? :rofl:
 
I still remember the time I put 3 of those Remington core-lokt bullets into an old cull buck. Any of them would have killed him eventually, the first he didn’t move at all, the 2nd he flinched like a fly bit him, the 3rd he went in a circle around his unusable front shoulder, .30 cal 150 gn.
 
jmorris said:
I still remember the time I put 3 of those Remington core-lokt bullets into an old cull buck. Any of them would have killed him eventually, the first he didn’t move at all, the 2nd he flinched like a fly bit him, the 3rd he went in a circle around his unusable front shoulder, .30 cal 150 gn.
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Ive done the same thing with 12 ga foster slugs at very close range on a whitetail. After an experience like that, it is hard to justify barely enough.
 
Hog huntin Harry said:
I've studied "Game Loads And Practical Ballistics For The American Hunter" by Bob Hagel. In my findings from the information provided to me in said book, I have developed the opinion that when comparing different cartridges of similar velocity and bullet construction, the cartridge that utilizes a higher S.D bullet is superior.
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That’s a great book as is John Pondoro Taylor’s book “Big Game and Big Game Rifles”. They are both a great read and provide some good information. And both were written before the advent of really good hunting bullets. So both are obsolete in that crucial respect. While it’s fine to garner information from books, to really develop an opinion nothing beats time in the field and critters shot.

After having shot and seen multiple critters shot I can tell you that there is no comparison in killing power and knock down between a 100 Gr .243 and a 150 Gr .308. The frontal area of the .308 wins every time. SD and BC don’t make up for the difference in this case. That of course is assuming both are using bullets of similar construction. Sectional Density becomes less important with good controlled expansion and especially mono metal bullets. A 150 Gr .308 Barnes X will out penetrate a 100 Gr cup and core .243. Will a 100 Gr .243 X bullet out penetrate a 150 Gr .308 X bullet? Maybe but I doubt it and it’s kind of a mute point because both provide adequate penetration on soft thin skinned critters.

When talking about deer, there is little noticeable difference. A deer is a soft, light boned animal that is easy to kill. Compare both on a big bull elk and the difference becomes more evident.
 
No one is saying that it is an elk round; I am saying it is a perfectly adequate deer round, and I will also say that, although there is no harm in doing so, there is no need to hunt deer with an ideal elk round. In addition, although I know of several elk killed quite efficiently with .243's, it would not be my choice for an elk hunt. We're talking deer.
 
Bob Hagel is also attributed to this:

[Paraphrase] "You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong."
 
Yet they sent us to Viet Nam with a varmint rifle, or at least that's what I called it. Back home, Dad was shooting woodchucks with his .222 Rem. 40X

I can't really comment though. Dad bought me a nice Sako in .243 when I was young but I never did get a shot with it back in the 60's. He handloaded a 100gr soft point for me but I never did get to see how well it performed. There was a time though in VN that I wished I had that scoped Sako with me when we were taking fire from a would be sniper sending rounds our way. Back then we had been issued M2 carbines. By the time I started hunting again I was sadly in Illinois, a non rifle state.
 
Aletheia said:
No one is saying that it is an elk round; I am saying it is a perfectly adequate deer round, and I will also say that, although there is no harm in doing so, there is no need to hunt deer with an ideal elk round. In addition, although I know of several elk killed quite efficiently with .243's, it would not be my choice for an elk hunt. We're talking deer.
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I also said it is a perfectly adequate deer round. I am curious as to why that is even in question? It’s always been a great deer round.
 
Before moving to Co, I shot few coastal deer in Calif with my wife's 243, buck tag in Sierra's I'd use 270 or 7mag. I've lived here almost 44yrs and never shot/ elk/deer/antelope with 243 or 243AI that I had build for coyotes. When I first move to Co we didn't have to draws for deer and I hunted elk/deer same season.

Circles I travel don't see lot using 243 for deer. See lot more using 6.5's
 
CraigC said:
I have no respect for the .243. Years ago I got a really good deal on a 700ADL .243. Really liked the rifle and it shot great, under an inch. Loaned it to the old man and saw a 100gr Federal blow up on a doe's shoulder and I instantly gave up on it. Have the same dim view of the .250Savage, though I love the Ruger I own that chambers it. After watching 100gr Remingtons come completely unglued and barely have enough steam left to finish the job, I'll only use Barnes bullets in it. IMHO, a proper deer cartridge shouldn't need super premium bullets to kill deer. Maybe some day I'll have it rebarreled to a 6.5 or 7mm.

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That is a beautiful rifle.

100gr Hornady Interlock will go right through a buck’s shoulder at 300yds. I just bought some 80gr TTSX to try out. Hope to get to use them on game sometime.
 
CraigC said:
Seen too many failures to trust them. XTP's separate all the time. I'd post a pic of the .405 bullet that came unglued on a doe but there was nothing but fragments. A piece that looked like an airgun pellet was all that made it through the vitals.
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I am not an interlock fan either. I’ve seen some totally unacceptable stuff happen with them on game.
 
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