Deer harvest

[Shawnee]

How many deer have you harvested with a .243 caliber rifle.


Please note:

The question is NOT "How many have you read or heard about being harvested (or lost) with a .243."

and the question is NOT: "How many deer have your hunting pals harvested (or lost) with a .243.

and the question is NOT "What does your favorite gun scribbler or your military friends think of the .243".

and the question is NOT: "How many deer have you harvested with some other caliber?"

Once again, the question IS: How many deer have you harvested with a .243 caliber rifle ?

I'm in the "more than 40" category.

 

[Triple S]

Just a guess, but I checked 11-39. Maybe a few more??? Growing up, I used a Model 70 and a pretty little A-Bolt that accounted for quite a few deer. Eventually, I switched to something else (actually, quite a few something else's!!!!), but the .243 served me well in TX, FL, GA, & SC. In my experience, the 100 grain bullets (Sierrra's, Core-Lokts, & Partitions) worked much better on deer, than the HP's and BT types.

 

[ECVMatt]

I put more than 40,but...

I included the use of my 6mm Remington. I really like these rounds for smallish TX white tails.. I have also shot quite a few pigs as well and they dropped quickly. Great round and very accurate (Both I should say).

Matt

 

[PercyShelley]

Deer? Never.

Elk?

Different story.

 

[Win75]

I chose between 11 and 39. I harvested two opening morning of this Missouri season. I have used a Remington 7600, H&R Ultra, and Winchester M70.

My favorite is the Model 70. I just purchased a second in .243 so that my wife can go with me next season.

100 gr. Nosler Partitions with 39.5 grs. of IMR4350 has always been the bullet and load for me.

One deer this year went about 20 yards. I was disappointed because I have NEVER had a deer run that far with the .243 and that load.

David.

 

[Triple S]

100 gr. Nosler Partitions with 39.5 grs. of IMR4350 has always been the bullet and load for me.

Pretty much the perfect load out of a .243 for deer in my opinion......

 

[rust collector]

Something like 20 with my 6mm, but I put none down as I've never owned a 243.

They'll all work, if you know how to use them.

 

[Legionnaire]

Voted 4 or fewer. Took a couple with a .243 Encore pistol a couple of years ago. No longer own it.

 

[R.W.Dale]

What's with the self aggrandizing topics revolving around .243win? Jeff Cooper 45acp tall tales have nothing on your recent postings for that self given pat on the back factor.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My son has killed 4 deer with my remington 600 in .243. He rants and raves about those expensive ballistic silvertips. His friend who is 15 shot a doe at a measured 425 yds. this year. It was a neck shot and she dropped in her tracks. Can't argue with that.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

Don't own a .243. Don't see any use.

If I wanted a really flat shooting, small round I would get a .204 Ruger or .223 or something. If I wanted a deer caliber, I would get a .308(and am, mind you). Go ahead and use .243 if you want. I just don't like it. I kind of see it as a transition round from the smaller calibers.

I'm probably wrong, though.

 

[mejeepnut]

I think the question should have been "For those of us that have hunted with a .243,How many deer have you recovered that you have shot?"For me and my dad that would be every one!My dad bought a Savage 99DL in .243 back in 1963,2 years before I was born.He hunted with it for 16 years before he handed it to me when I was 14.The rifle has been used to harvest 11 Maine whitetails,not one That was shot at got away.As a matter of fact,8 of the 11 were shot using Frontier ammo from the same box of 20!The gun was always sighted in with Remington Cor-loks and then filled with the frontiers for hunting.2005 was the last year it hunted.I sadly used the last of the Frontiers without thinking back in about 1983 and did not keep the box.Young and stupid was me!
I have no idea how the tradition of only hunting with the Frontiers came about,must have been a "I feel lucky with these" thing.I have asked my dad about it and he says he does not remember the Frontiers but he is over 80 now so I don't push it.Some day I will find a mint box and display it with the gun that is still in great shape.Our .243 may not have shot alot of deer but it was more than enough for the ones that it did!

 

[Shawnee]

The earlier thread about shooting deer at 300 yds. with a .243 - added to this thread seems to be substantiating a perception I've had about this forum for a while now.

Perhaps others like myself who know the Sun does NOT rise at 30/06am every day have noticed that too.

First - in spite of the daily plethora of "All bow to the .30 caliber" and "Yea but the '06 will do it better" threads and posts - all it takes is two (count 'em, 2) posts about the .243 to kindle the caustic comments from the .30 caliber- Holier-than-Thou's.

Further - perhaps those psychotic shooters who actually use and like non-military calibers have noticed that the size of the group who have never taken a deer with a .243 is - perhaps not coincidentally - about the same as the size of the group who pontificate long and loud about the inadequecy of anything less than .30 caliber for deer - even to the insanely laughable point of recommending .300 and .338 Winchester Magnums.

Now there is nothing intrinsically wrong with being enamoured with military cartridges and rifles. Multiple perfectly valid reasons could account for that and that's perfectly fine. And there's nothing wrong with using the caliber that Dear Old Great Grandpappy used or that one's favorite gun scribbler swoons over.

But this whole "Everything below the .308 is really just a gopher gun" apple sauce is nothing more than misguided self-aggrandizement of the first water. And it sure would be nice if those of you whose calendar is still stuck on 1906 would notice that you are sharing this forum with more than a few people who don't need a 2000 ft/lbs to take a 200 lb. Whitetail deer.

 

[Richard.Howe]

And it sure would be nice if those of you whose calendar is still stuck on 1906 would notice that you are sharing this forum with more than a few people who don't need a 2000 ft/lbs to take a 200 lb. Whitetail deer.

How true.

Even a 22lr can take a deer cleanly with the proper shot.

Question is, how much margin for error do you want to carry into the woods?

Rich

 

[Harve Curry]

None with a .243. Haven't harvested any either. But I have hunted and shot some with a .308, 30-06, and old reliable 45-70.

 

[JohnBT]

Me = 0

My father = 6 IIRC, before he moved on to a .280 BAR

My uncle the deer hunter = 0
(He's always used a first-year .30-06 BAR, although for 7 years he used his brother-in-law's Marlin 444.)

And yes, they've had some success with bear too.

 

[trueblue1776]

Perhaps others like myself who know the Sun does NOT rise at 30/06am every day have noticed that too.

It seems to rise at .243 recently...



I don't care what the name of the round is, I'll hunt with it if I'm convinced it will work.

A lot of guys swear by a .30-30, .30-06, .25-06, .270, .308, .257 Roberts, etc. etc. etc.

Want to impress me? Run down a deer on foot and kill it with a rock.

 

[MCgunner]

Only time I ever even fired a .243, it was to sight in a rifle for another fellow that had no place to shoot. Me, I have a .257 Roberts, why would I ever need a .243? The Roberts will do anything a .243 will do and more and if you can't handle the recoil of a .257, you need to change sports. I shot my first with that rifle at age 11.

 

[cracked butt]

5 deer with the .243

Perhaps others like myself who know the Sun does NOT rise at 30/06am every day have noticed that too.

It rises at 2:70 for you

 

[DogBonz]

Nope

Never took any deer wit a .243. All of mind have fell to the old Win 94 in 30-30 or my Model 70 in 30-06.

Hopefully my next deer will be with my 6.5 Grendel.

 

[SammyIamToday]

Don't own a .243 and never hunted with one so the answer is of course none. I think it's a fine round though and maybe one day that answer will change.

I have no doubts that it will do the job.

 

[Bill73]

Only one, and never again. My .25-06 and .270 are more efficient and humane.

 

[siglite]

even to the insanely laughable point of recommending .300 and .338 Winchester Magnums.

I don't own a .243, but if I did, I'd be in the 5-10 category. Every shot I've take with.... yes, my .300WinMag .... I can say with confidence would've dropped the deer cleanly and humanely with a .243. Just because I hunt with a cannon doesn't mean I'm not very careful with shot placement.

My grandfather had probably dropped several hundred deer with his .243. I have absolute confidence in the cartridge for whitetail.

Now... at this point you're probably asking why the hell I deer hunt with a 300win mag? Well, I only wanted to buy one gun. One gun that I'd be confident to hunt any critter in North America. I freely admit that it's obscene overkill for the whitetail I normally hunt.

 

[Pat S]

2 deer so far. A good caliber for deer-size animals. Less recoil and weight then bigger calibers I've used in the past but seems equally effective so far.

 

[41magsnub]

I started with a .243 and killed a lot of deer with it, I finally out grew the gun (youth stock) and it was a goofy action that a replacement adult stock would have been difficult to find. Killed between 11 and 39 deer with it plus a smattering of antelope, coyotes, and a few gophers (that was messy).