Just curious...what is everyone's preference when going deer hunting? I ask because I've only been deer hunting a handful of times and never shot anything, but my father just recently gave me a .243 rifle. So I was wondering if this is good enough to take down a good size deer? Thoughts?

[This message has been edited by YouLikeDags (edited 10/26/2006 2:40p).]

If you're in Texas you should be golden.

.243 for me. Not as much by choice as that's what I inherited (free). Don't do a lot of deer hunting, and that I do isn't in South Texas...so the .243 has a nice trajectory and enough power for the smaller deer that I may shoot.

Pedro...I am in Texas and the few deer hunting trips I've taken have all been to East Texas just outside of Lufkin. You see nothing wrong with a .243?

I generally shoot a 6mm (pretty much the same round) and it's plenty. I hve not had a problem with anything I've shot with it 450lb hog included.

I love .243. I have one now and am getting another built.

I shoot a Browning A-Bolt Stalker in a .270 with a Zeiss 3.5x9x40 Conquest.

.243 is a great round, it'll do the job and has minimal kick.

I hunt in east TX too, and thats what everyone I hunt with uses...

I personally love the .308
Rem700VS 20in barrel Leupold 4.5x14 scope

Can't wait till next weekend~

[This message has been edited by rhtexfish (edited 10/26/2006 3:19p).]

Place your shot in the vitals and you will have no problem. I shot this 8pt at 200yds with my 243 and he went about 20yds before going down for good. This was in the panhandle. You will be fine in E.Tx.

.30/30 for me.

.243 is a wonderful deer rifle in Texas. I just wish I owned one. I usually carry 2 to the blind - .30-06 and .25-06. I know, the .30-06 is overkill, I just love that gun, and it's fun after a morning/evening hunt when everybody knows how many times I shot.

Trying out the New Winnie Mod 70 Coyote Lite in Stainless 25 WSSM w/Pentax Pioneer 4x12-42 on top....It is the sweetest rig around!!

I also ALWAYS carry my Mod 94 30/30 out with me to use when I am stalking or working the bluffs and cedar breaks in Burnet county....

The 22 hornet is fun for head shots on does for meat at under 100 yards:>!

approx 1 week and counting!!

Happy Hunting

Amen on the Mod94 30/30. I got an old one last year from a coworker. Its a beautiful gun - a pleasure to carry and shoot.

If you're not shooting .50 cal then you're a wuss.

Well, most of us generally prefer at least a little meat left over.

Well I have hunted all over the states and some in BC. I have never gone over my 30-06. If I am hunting in Texas I usually hunt with a 25-06 or even a 22-250. A .243 is fine for Texas deer and is a fine round in itself.

I hunted whitetail with a .243 for the first 20 years of my hunting life. It's a great gun.

I now have a 7mm Rem. Magnum. Made the upgrade because I was going Elk hunting and I also now hunt almost entirely in South Texas (not that a .243 wouldn't work equally as well in So. Texas.)

have both a .280 and my dads old .243

both great guns.

.243 will do you a fine job. My favorite for the past several years has been my trusty Ruger No. 1, 25-06. I am going with a new one this year though....6.5 Grendel.

Just hit'em square in the boiler plate.

In fact, I'm picking up a .243 today. I intend to shoot it but its a present for my ol lady. She's always wanted a "pretty" rifle so I'm getting her one. Really its a present for both of us, cuz I like shooting different rifles for some reason and my other three deer rifles get boring sometimes.

Lots of deer have met their demise at the hands of the .243. A bunch too with .223 and .22-250.

I'll share a story... last year I dropped a doe in her tracks with a 150 gr Hornady SST in 30-06 at about 75 yds. A few minutes later another doe comes by, but even closer and I figure "well I'm going to have to clean one anyway" so I squeeze off a round, but at that instant she catches wind of something and quarters.

What would have been a likely heart lung shot, turned into a lung / liver shot. She falls down and I glass her through the scope. I see her blinking and I sit still. About 5 minutes pass by and I see her lift her head to get up.

Now I think to myself, I better squeeze off another. I do and guess where I hit her? Right through her right eye. I don't mean grazing it, I mean right through the eye (couldn't find an exit wound later but then entry was definitely there). At impact, you could see the little red cloud, if you know what I mean.

I think for sure she's down and done. I wait 10 minutes and am about to go check her. I'm already feeling bad about having to take a second shot... I replay everything in my head and I took a good shot, but sh*t happens sometimes. I mean I've been shooting a long time and never had this happen before.

Well I start getting ready to get up and she picks up her head and staggers up. I'm shocked and mad at myself by this point. Well to make an already long story a little shorter, #3 was the charm, but it was a mental beat down for me. I still feel bad how that doe went. If that last shot would not have worked, I would have had to do the deed by hand, because being a dummy that day, I only walked out of camp carrying four shells.

So whatever you use make it the best shot you can.

Can't go wrong with a .280. Best all around caliber, just doesn't have easily accessible ammo. your 243 should be alright in the thick woods, just be careful the ammo you practice with and the stuff you kill with is the same grain. That's one of the biggest mistakes I see amateurs make.

I have rifles in every caliber from .22LR to .300 Win Mag. I love to shoot all of them but I usually hunt with either my Remington Mod.7 in .260 Rem or my 700 SPS in .308 Both great calibers and very easy on the shoulders.

I have a .243 and a .308 but I hunt with my .308 I mostly hunt in NM with an average shot around 250yds all the way up to 400+ It is a great round, but will definitely make your shoulder sore after several shots. One of my hunting buddies has a .22 270 which has worked great for him on his longer shots.

I've never had one run over 15 yards with my .270.

I hunt with a 270 but I agree with everyone else that the 243 is a fine round.

.243 is fine for deer, i hunt with a 30-06 and love it

This is interesting discussion. I am partial to a 270, mainly because that's what I've used for many years (got one as a Christmas gift as a teen).

When I was around 10-11 years old, I got a 222 for Christmas. I've kept it all these years, and it rode in my truck for about 10 years as a coyote elmination tool. My son started hunting with it when he was about 9 yrs old, and has continued to hunt deer with it ever since (he is now 14). Several times I have thought about "upgrading" him to a 243 or 270, but he always points out this fact...in his 5-6 years of hunting, he's killed about 15 deer (two very nice wall-hanging bucks) with that little rifle. The furthest any of them ran was 20 yards. The vast majority fell over right where they were standing. Part of the reason is that he's an excellent shot (several of the does were head shots), but all the bucks were traditional heart/lung shots. The light round pretty much shatters on impact with the ribs and does not exit the other side. Amazing how much damage that small rifle can do and what it will knock down.

Now, I have to decide what to do this year. I am taking him on a very nice South Texas hunt, and I don't want to take a chance on him shooting a very nice buck and it getting away because he wasn't using enough gun. I think I'll probably have him shoot my 270 just to be safe.

your post reminded me of a gun i used to use. it was a slick little lever action .243

that was a neat gun. i sure wish i could have kept it (uncles gun).

My first deer was taken with a 243.

I've killed a few hogs with a 243 and it worked great. Even on large boars. I use a 270 because I have one and I don't miss with it.

.270 WSM will be my next caliber. Currently use 30-06 and it is deadly.

I've always shot a .243. I got one as a kid and later inherited my grandfather's Rem model 4--never seen a need to upgrade. I had one deer run on me that had a hole in his heart and switched to shooting center mass on the front crease of the shoulder/neck and in about 2 inches ( for under 200 yd shots). We had a guy on our lease that shot a 30-06 and was awful-- he flinched because it had peppered him before-- my dad sold him my old .243 and has been golden since-- I don't think you can underestimate comfort in shooting and confidence

Some day I may upgrade--but not sure to what--I've heard good things about the .280

I've been shooting a 300 Savage for the past few seasons, using 150 grain bullets. I inherited that rifle from my grandfather, but before that, I used a 30/30 for many seasons. My future father-in-law is looking to buy a rifle right now and I'm suggesting a 270 for him as a good all-around caliber.

jjh88,

I'm in the same boat as you. My grandpa loaned me a 222 years ago. It's the family starter gun. I killed my first deer with it. It was a great gun, I used it for a while.

Now, I have a 270. It's a great caliber. I think it's really versatile.

But like many have posted, the 243 is a classic whitetail gun.

I've always wanted a 260. It seems like a great middle of the road gun. But the guns and ammo are expensive. You might as well get a 243 and a 270, they'd cost about the same.