.243 vs 300 win mag

[Jed1124]

O.K, the title was just to get attention. But in a way I'm serious. Last year a buddy of mine borrowed my .243 for a deer hunt in Alabama. The guy he went with was toting a 3oo win mag. The guy with the win mag gut shot a doe and after tracking long stringers of intestines over barb wire they finished it off after about a 500 yard track:banghead: My buddy shot a 125 inch 8 at 200 yards hit it perfectly and the deer went 60 yards.Dressed at 180. Here's the point, a well constructed bullet (nosler partion) fired out of a .243 into the lungs of a deer is a guaranteed kill. Step up to a 300 win mag. How much forgiveness does one get with regards to shot placement with a heavy mag. A gut shot is still a gut shot, and a flesh wound is still a flesh wound. Many claim that too many deer are lost to shots from a.243 but how many of those are well placed shots?If both lung are popped, the deer is dead regardless of caliber.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Nothing at all wrong with either caliber...both require good shot placement.

Thats the thing that really makes me mad sometimes...people thinking the word "magnum" in the name of a round will make up for their inability to make a good hit...IT WONT.

 

[Sunray]

"...How much forgiveness does one get with regards to shot placement with a heavy mag...." None. You said it yourself, a gut shot is still a gut shot. Usually means the shooter can't shoot the rifle well enough.
The difference is that the guy with the .243 doesn't get hammered by felt recoil. So he's far more likely to practice with it than the guy with a .300 Mag.
"...Many claim that too many deer are lost..." Shot placement and using the wrong bullet. Lots of factory .243 ammo is loaded with varmint bullets. Varmint bullets aren't made for deer sized game. Not enough penetration.

 

[rizbunk77]

I once even had a 150 gr polymer tipped bullet behave funny when it hit a deer rib. I am pretty sure its spire points or bonded maybe for me from now on.
I am still impressed with Karamoja Bell. Killed over 1000 elephants with a 7X57 mauser and solids. That pretty much proves that shot placement is everything.

 

[dakotasin]

people thinking the word "magnum" in the name of a round will make up for their inability to make a good hit...IT WONT.

as is the case if a chambering lacks the word magnum...

if you don't practice w/ your rifle, you have no business hunting. period.
if you practice w/ your rifle, you will know your limits, and the rifle's limits.

 

[eldon519]

Pretty much any 6mm+ cartridge with good shot placement will kill deer. Smaller cartridges will do it as well with more specific shot placement or bullet selection. If you want to shoot deer without regard to shot placement, get a .50 BMG.

 

[oneounceload]

if you don't practice w/ your rifle, you have no business hunting. period.
if you practice w/ your rifle, you will know your limits, and the rifle's limits.

BINGO!...Saw WAY too many out West with the same mindset. Buy the big magnum a week or so before deer/elk season, shoot a few rounds through to see where they newly-mounted scope is hitting, then go hunting. When asked why they didn't practice more, they usually responded that it hurt too much to shoot..........

 

[ArmedBear]

The guy with the win mag gut shot a doe and after tracking long stringers of intestines over barb wire they finished it off after about a 500 yard track

Well, it does sound like the .300 made the deer easier to track.

The .300 WinMag certainly has its place. I don't think that place is in Alabama woods, shooting what y'all down there call an "8-point" deer.

Ol' Elmer even figured the .338-378 was a practical round for its intended use -- reaching across gaping Western canyons to anchor really big elk. Of course, he could shoot, too... For all he might have contributed to magnumitis over the years, he was certainly not one to advocate shooting two rounds through a gun and going hunting per oneounceload.

 

[schlockinz]

I'd say that the .243 is a mighty fine deer cartridge, only reason to consider a magnum is if you're hunting where long shots are the norm, and even then, a .308 or 30.06 will do the job with less recoil.

Learn to shoot, thats all there is to it. I can shoot a bow with tighter groups at 50yds than some people can shoot a rifle. To me, thats sad.

 

[AKElroy]

My take on this has a couple of points. First, understand that the purpose of magnum cartriges is two-fold IMO. To carry killing energy at great distance with minimal drop, and to carry enough energy to penetrate tough skinned / heavy boned game. Deer sized game rarely present either condition, so I think magnums for deer are overkill, at least in the type of country I hunt in Central Texas.

One other thought---Which are you more likely to practice with? I do not enjoy shooting magnums at the bench. I actually do not enjoy shooting long cartriges at the bench either. I DO enjoy shooting a .243 or .30-30, so I get the most practice with them, and hence have the most confidence in shot placement with them.

If you are shooting deer sized game, my vote is for whatever adequit power load you get the most practice with. I doubt that is a magnum--

 

[schlockinz]

I think that the only "Magnums" that are somewhat appropriate for most deer sized animals are the .257 wby, 7mm mag, and maybe the 7mm STW. I wouldn't want to see what any of these would do to a deer up close, that much velocity would probably make brisket jelly, but the kick isn't back, so practice is more likely to happen (I've only been told that the 7mm STW doesn't kick bad by a friend that has one, its pretty heavy though).

For the average hunter, I don't see the need to shoot deer with anything larger than a .270/30.06

 

[nathan]

Magnum ammo cost more .

 

[Grey Morel]

You can get PriviPartisan Soft points in 7mm Rem Mag for $18 per 20.

I've always found their ammo to be pretty decent. When I saw that, it made me start thinking about a 7mm

 

[rcmodel]

I think a much higher percentage of once-a-year rifle shooters / deer hunters would kill more deer with a light kicking .243 then a .300 Mag they shut their eyes and grit their teeth every time they pull the trigger..

rc

 

[nathan]

Plus on the Priv Partizan although i have not shot any with that brand. I did try some Igman 8 mm 196 gr SP before and it shoots really hot and accurate with my K 98 at 2.5 inch groups at 100 yds. Those were Serbian made and they are of high quality , brass cased and outstanding downrange performance .

 

[Offfhand]

The .260 Rem is earning a reputation as one of the best hunting cartridges introduced in the past half century because it is so easy to shoot. Which helps insure accurate shot placement.

 

[ArmedBear]

The .260 Rem is earning a reputation as one of the best hunting cartridges introduced in the past half century because it is so easy to shoot. Which helps insure accurate shot placement.

Its only downside, really, is that factory rifle support is so poor that it might as well be a wildcat. Maybe that will change. I sure hope so.

 

[Todd1700]

How much forgiveness does one get with regards to shot placement with a heavy mag.

Not much if any. But I still hear the old "margin of error" defense tossed into the ring by the magnum defenders all the time.

If you just like hunting deer with a 300 win mag then great, more power to you. But the only practical reason I can think of for taking a 300 mag on deer hunts is if you hunt in an area where you might also get charged by a grizzley.

 

[ColeK]

Quote:
How much forgiveness does one get with regards to shot placement with a heavy mag.

Not any!!!

 

[Lambo119]

.243 or .300 It's all about shot placement. I shoot any animal as if I were bow hunting no matter what I am actually using. A double lung works every time.

 

[Leaky Waders]

The problem with these kind of threads...small caliber vs large caliber threads is that the real variable isn't the caliber in so much as it is the rifleman. I was going to point this out in the last 223 debate, but the thread got locked for whatever reason.

So, I think, it would be better data if one could say...'my friend i shot a deer last year with my 243 and hit it in the lungs and it ran 60 yards. He borrowed 300 winchester magnum and gut shot a deer that took forever to find, so he is going to stick with the 243.'

Or....

'My friend borrowed a 243 last year and lung shot a deer that ran 60 yards, he borrowed a 300 winchester magnum and shot a deer later with the same shot, but it ruined so much meat that he decided to stick with the 243.'

Or, 'My friend borrowed a 243 and double lung shot a deer and it ran 60 yards, he borrowed a 300 winchester magnum and shot a deer later with the same shot placement and it ran 60 yards too, but since he plans on travelling to Alaska he plans on buying his own 300 win mag because he knows he can shoot it now.'

Basically, imho, to really judge the best caliber for the game of your choosing, one would get to try a variety of calibers in a variety of actions and see how well one could shoot those options at the range and in the field.

Due to cost and time contraints, we rely on gunwriter experts and internet geeks (I fall into the latter ) to help influence our decisions.

The cool thing about the magnums (I don't own any magnum rifles) is the reloading versatility.

L.W.

 

[Magnuumpwr]

I am no numbers cruncher, but I would like to think that the caliber war can be summed up with this.
The animal of your choice to hunt is affected by the following amounts:
5% bullet type selected,
5% the caliber,
10% the optics used,
10% the style of rifle, and lastly
70% is the profiency of the shooter using the above.
No matter what, preparation is always paramount.

 

[Leaky Waders]

So, to put it in Yogi Berra context....the caliber war is 25% firearm and 90% rifleman

 

[cooch]

The guy with the win mag gut shot a doe and after tracking long stringers of intestines over barb wire they finished it off after about a 500 yard track

Two question.
(1)How far would you have had to track that same deer had you gut-shot it with a .243?

(2) If your only option for a second shot on a wounded deer is a raking shot that requires several feet of penetration to hit a vital spot... which calibre would you rather use?

It gets rather tiring hearing people beat their chests over this issue. I note that the majority of the insulting comments come from people who wish to justify their own calibre choice by running down that of somebody else... and I further note that few such people acknowledge that shooting a medium-bore (and a .300 does not qualify as a hard-kicking rifle) is a learned skill. Someone who has not bothered to practice is as likely to miss with a .22RF as with a .458.

So what if Karamojo Bell shot elephants with a 7x57? Word is that you could fill a fair sized village graveyard with those who tried to imitate him and missed just once..... Even Bell had them get up again, just not while he was leaning against them for a photo.

The only people who never miss do all their hunting with a keyboard.

 

[dakotasin]

uh-oh... fellas, he done went and injected some logic into this 'un!