243 for big game at 300-350 yards?

[357smallbore]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

 

[Boattale]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

If you did that to me I'd be a goner. I'm as big as any deer you're gonna shoot.

 

[js8588]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

It'll get the job done. I'd prefer a 120 grain GMX in 6.5x55, but that's just my preference.

 

[ECVMatt]

Yes. I have taken quite a few deer sized animals at that range with the .243 and the 6mm Remington. They all died quickly.

This is my bullet of choice:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1010527237

Super accurate and super deadly.

 

[horsey300]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

Yeah, no critter laughs at my .243, do you handload? I've had some factory load bullets fail to meet my standards, but I'm not undergunned with my .243 at your ranges (or further being truthful). Also, what barrel twist are you running?

 

[mshootnit]

Was told by a pretty experienced hunter that 243 was good to 300 yds on good sized deer. And cautioned against much farther than that.

 

[Olympus]

At 300 yards, you’re looking at roughly 2400fps and 1250ft lbs is energy. I would certainly keep shots under 350 yards, but the 243 will definitely get the job done.

 

[LoonWulf]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

Yes, tho I'd prefer more bullet weight with how large a Muley can get.

My early load for the .243 was a 100gr psp at 2800fps, and that's killed animals reliably upto about 800lbs. It doesn't always do so quickly tho.
Id take any advantage I could get in bullet performance and velocity with the .243, my 2800fps loads weren't as effective as my 3k loadings with the same bullet (tho I haven't shot anything over about 120lbs with the new loads).

 

[ford8nr]

If you did that to me I'd be a goner. I'm as big as any deer you're gonna shoot

I can guarantee deer are tougher.

 

[Olympus]

I can guarantee deer are tougher.

I think physically they are not any “tougher” than a human. What they do have is a much higher pain tolerance plus the animal instinct to survive. But physically, their skin, bones, organs, etc are no “tougher” than a human. They will expire in the same manner as a human when shot in comparable locations which I think was the point the gentleman was trying to make.

 

[sage5907]

Under hunting conditions with wind and cold I think you are going to cripple and loose a lot of animals if you taking shots at over 300 yards. If the shot doesn't feel good don't take it. Poor judgement can make you a very disappointed hunter.

 

[horsey300]

Under hunting conditions with wind and cold I think you are going to cripple and loose a lot of animals if you taking shots at over 300 yards. If the shot doesn't feel good don't take it. Poor judgement can make you a very disappointed hunter.

This, this is a wonderful point! The .243 is capable of clean kills further away than most folks have any business shooting at an animal. With a select few loads, I'm very comfortable on pronghorn to deer sized vitals out of the .243 at distances I would NEVER recommend to 95% of my good hunting buddies, every time we practice, the 9" plate tells them they're, on average, a 200 yard hunter. If you're not putting in the time 350 yards with any kind of a breeze on a 100 gr projectile sure is different than what you see at 100 yards.

 

[Chuck R.]

I think physically they are not any “tougher” than a human. What they do have is a much higher pain tolerance plus the animal instinct to survive. But physically, their skin, bones, organs, etc are no “tougher” than a human. They will expire in the same manner as a human when shot in comparable locations which I think was the point the gentleman was trying to make.

Yup, there's no such thing as a "Psychological Stop" when it comes to a game animal...........

 

[FL-NC]

It could do it, but something with more energy would do it better.

 

[Varminterror]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

My personal cap with a 243win on big whitetails and mulies is 600, with a realism that I wouldn’t turn one down at 700.

300-350 is just warming up for the 243win.

ETA: the opportunity for wind error at 350yrds is very small. The mistake is to “not hold any wind.” As long as you’re crossing the threshold into measuring/observing wind and holding for it, the typical measurement/estimate error of a moderately experienced shooter is close enough to deliver the shot. Anyone with a $20 Caldwell Wind Wizard can be within +/-2mph net wind on a 350yrd shot, which keeps you within 3” impact - only enough to turn hind-heart broadside shot into either a heart + double lung forward or double lung rearward.

Delivering the 5” or less group, reliably from field positions, at 350yrds is typically the most difficult part for most shooters.

 

[hq]

Haven't been hunting with .243 in a long time but back in the day it was my go-to long range caliber. As far as in-flight and terminal ballistics on deer-sized game are concerned, 500yd or more isn't a problem at all. Probably the most underrated caliber for the purpose, along with .270Win.

 

[fireside44]

whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn hunting with a 243. If a shot presented itself at 300-350 yards do you feel the caliber would get the job done? The bullet would be a 100 grain soft point. I am talking about putting a solid hit on the game also.

243=outdated youth rifle caliber, kept alive because hype and type keep saying it's the ultimate whitetail caliber. A deer told me so.

Everyone here claims its good for what you are asking. I have a 243 that I have killed many deer with but not at those ranges. Saying it does the job isn't really a selling point to me. There has never been a time I wouldn't have rather had a harder hitting cartridge so that's what I did. My .243 does the job as a wall hanger these days. If you are planning on taking shots that long I don't know why you wouldn't select a harder hitting more capable cartridge to begin with unless this is a gun you already own. I always feel ethically responsible for a dying animal so I want death as quickly as possible and I think a larger bore does the job better.

 

[BigBore45]

Yes

 

[hq]

I always feel ethically responsible for a dying animal so I want death as quickly as possible and I think a larger bore does the job better.

It was a tough choice for me, between .243 Win and 20mm Solothurn, but eventually I decided that DRT at a high instead of near-absolute probability would suffice for now. Those pesky Solothurn high explosive shells would also ruin a lot of meat to boot.
(Oh yeah... .243 is not the ultimate whitetail caliber, such thing doesn't exist, but trust me, it'll do the job nicely and swiftly just like many others)

 

[stillquietvoice]

243=outdated youth rifle caliber, kept alive because hype and type keep saying it's the ultimate whitetail caliber. A deer told me so.

Everyone here claims its good for what you are asking. I have a 243 that I have killed many deer with but not at those ranges. Saying it does the job isn't really a selling point to me. There has never been a time I wouldn't have rather had a harder hitting cartridge so that's what I did. My .243 does the job as a wall hanger these days. If you are planning on taking shots that long I don't know why you wouldn't select a harder hitting more capable cartridge to begin with unless this is a gun you already own. I always feel ethically responsible for a dying animal so I want death as quickly as possible and I think a larger bore does the job better.

I'll take your out dated wall hanger off of your hands for you and use it out to about 400 or so if shot presented itself with no regrets.

 

[fireside44]

I'll take your out dated wall hanger off of your hands for you and use it out to about 400 or so if shot presented itself with no regrets.

If it wasn't an heirloom I would make you a great deal on it because I need money and I hate dust collectors. But unfortunately I'm caught in youth rifle caliber hell thanks to promoters of the now antiquated ultimate whitetail caliber.

 

[stillquietvoice]

I miss my 243 wife sold it because she thought it was her 223. Oops.

 

[Olympus]

If it wasn't an heirloom I would make you a great deal on it because I need money and I hate dust collectors. But unfortunately I'm caught in youth rifle caliber hell thanks to promoters of the now antiquated ultimate whitetail caliber.

Consider me a "youth rifle caliber" lover also! I absolutely love the 243, especially for whitetail. It is some bad medicine! I load the 95gr SST bullet and it absolutely jellies the internals on every deer I've ever shot. Right now, the only 243 that I own is a Ruger No.1 so it doesn't see much action, but I took a nice 8pt with it several years ago. I'm always on the lookout for a nice 243 though. I'll hunt with a 243 any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

If you strip away all of window-dressing from the 243 party-poopers, it always boils down to either a masculinity thing, just repeating what they've heard from others (refer back to the masculinity thing), or they had a single bad experience. And generally the single bad experience can sometimes be further stripped down to a poor bullet choice, particularly from 15+ years ago when factory ammo was not as advanced as it is in now. Joe Hunter buys a 243 a month before deer season, goes out to Walmart and buys the last box of 243 shells in stock, likely a dedicated varmint load because most of the more prepared hunters already bought all the deer loads, goes out and maybe makes a marginal shot or maybe makes a good shot, but because of the varmint load he's using, doesn't recover the deer. That story gets repeated back at deer camp or the coffee shop to guys who have no idea what bullet he was using or what kind of shot placement he made. Then those guys go out and tell other guys the story and now we have ourselves a bonafide myth. Why do I think this? Because my dad has been a part of this. Back in the late 1970s or early 1980s he shot a big buck with a 243 and never recovered it. Blamed the caliber, but can't remember what factory ammo he was shooting or what kind of a shot he made. He refuses to buy a 243 and regularly makes fun of me for shooting one, often with the same "youth caliber" jokes that we've just seen posted here. Fact of the matter is that I've killed more deer with a 243 than he has with much larger calibers combined. He makes fun of me being affected by recoil I think because it makes him feel more macho for saying that a 7mm Mag synthetic rifle doesn't bother him at all. I make fun of him for thinking he needs to use a sledge hammer to drive a nail when I can do the same thing with a nail gun and a lot less effort and fatigue!

 

[fireside44]

Consider me a "youth rifle caliber" lover also! I absolutely love the 243, especially for whitetail. It is some bad medicine! I load the 95gr SST bullet and it absolutely jellies the internals on every deer I've ever shot. Right now, the only 243 that I own is a Ruger No.1 so it doesn't see much action, but I took a nice 8pt with it several years ago. I'm always on the lookout for a nice 243 though. I'll hunt with a 243 any day of the week and twice on Sunday!

All that matters is that you have confidence and faith in your tools to get the job done, regardless of what type of activity you engage in. If you feel you could have selected better tools, your confidence might suffer. I apply that to guns and any other tools or instruments that are essential to what I do.

 

[stillquietvoice]

Truth be told if it wasn't for the 243 win I wouldn't be hunting anymore. I couldn't take the recoil of bigger calibre's like 3006, 7rm, and even 12 ga. after shoulder surgery. The recoil on the 243 was like being hit with a piece of paper.

I've since started working up in recoil levels. I can handle 308 win now without discomfort.