I am in the process of buying a deer gun for the first time. I only hunt a few times a year but I want something that will last and will kill something when hit. I was told by a guy at Cabelas that the 243 is all I would need but another guy at church told me a 243 is more of a varmint gun. I also hunt in the brush country and owuld like something that would kill the deer in its tracks preferably. Will a 243 do it?

yes

.243 is a fine caliber. It's on the low end when considering "power" of the cartridge, but it's killed millions of deer in Texas.

If you're looking to drop a deer in it's tracks, then you're talking more about bullet placement. Regardless of what you're shooting most deer will run when shot through the vitals.

If you're really worried about dropping them on the spot I'd bump up to a .270 and learn to hit 'em in the neck.

I've dropped many a deer with a 243. However, it is a little on the weak side. Unless you are buying the rifle for a younger hunter, I would go with a larger caliber rifle.

270 is my personal favorite.

I have always used my dad's 25-06 and dropped the deers in their tracks. Thaks for the info though.

I used to hunt with one, but wanted more power and shoot an '06 now.

Plenty of gun for Texas deer.

If you are recoil sensitive try one of these calibers: .260 Rem, 7mm-08 or .308. They all have plenty of power downrange. The .308 is almost a ballistic twin to the .30-06 but with less recoil. I prefer the .260 Rem but that's just my opinion.

I would go the 30-06 or 270 route. While a 243 is plenty of gun, if I only had one deer rifle I wold tend to get something a little larger.

.243

-------------------------------------------------------
"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!"

or .270

Speed kills. .243 is one of the best deer calibers ever made.

If you want to anchor a deer to the ground, shot placement is the key. I have always heard aim for the opposing shoulder and it will drop them. Break their shoulder, get them on the ground quickly, and they will stay down most of the time. It has definitely worked for me, even with a 22-250. .243 is a fine caliber and will do the job with proper shot placement. A bigger caliber will have more success in this regard, but not needed. I have taken many deer with .22 and .257 caliber rifles and have never had one run more than about 40 yards

[This message has been edited by str8shot1000 (edited 11/27/2006 6:07p).]

AFTER 4O YEARS AND MANY RIFLES, I STILL REACH FOR THE .270 WHEN ON A SERIOUS HUNT.

[This message has been edited by dvm57 (edited 11/28/2006 10:07a).]

I killed my first few deer with a .222 and never had one run more than 50 yds. Like everyone has said, shot placement is more critical with smaller calibers, but it is plenty of gun for most deer in Texas under 150 yds.

What is the heaviest bullet for a .243? 110 grain?

i started out with a .243 and can honestly say that out of..... 9 deer, only one ever ran on me and he only made it 20 yards. all except for one were shot behind the shoulder with the exception being shot in the neck.

i just got a .270 WSM a couple years ago and wouldn't trade it for anything. very very good gun.

my point is that both of these guns are good and you can't really go wrong with either one

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061109123620AAIHs86


Maybe this will help on bullet size.

Every year my father in law shoots a couple deer on our place with his 25.06 and every year I spend an hour tracking and backtracking the deer that have run off. Almost always the bullet placement is fine, just doesn't carry any knockdown.

I've killed numerous deer with a .223 but in all of those cases they were close shots that I put in the neck, never a shot at the vitals or shoulder.

All in all, I prefer our hunters shoot 30 cal bullets.

aggiecoach most of my family members and in-laws shoot a .243. In 30+ years of hunting with them, the 243 has proven to be a proven stopper. the key is proper shot placement. if you take good shots, broadside or neck, then they will either drop right where they are shot or may run 40 or 50 yds. i handload an 80g remington bullet for them and it has proven to more than adequate. i don't know if that bullet is available in a commercial load. But, if you pick one of the commercially loaded ballastic tipped bullets, you will be just as satisfied.
All that said. if i was buying a first rifle today, i would go with something in at least a remington 260 or 7mm-08. both of these offer heavier bullets than the 243 without much more "kick."

Wow. Urban, I guess y'all have bad luck with the .25-06. Personally it's my caliber of choice. I've shot close to 30 deer with my current one and I've never had those kinds of troubles.

3 years ago I shot my mule deer (close to 300 pounds of him) at over 400 yards and didn't have any trouble knocking him down.

Not trying to say that it has the kind of power that a .300 mag is carrying, but I've never had issues with it.

get at least a 6mm. 25-06 and 270 are great all around guns.

243 is for kids.

I'm not a kid.


I'll be using a .243 until I buy my own rifle (my dad's only hunting rifle got stolen out of my tsip cousin's truck). Plan on getting either a 30-06 or .308, can't decide which i want.

.270, 30-06, and a 7MAG are good deer rifles too.

.243 is plenty of gun for texas whitetail at probably any distance you will shoot. If you want a more versatile round for larger game, get something larger. I own a .243 all the way up to 7mm mag.

I'm with Urban except I will drop the min cal to 270. Kids have killed a lot of deer with the old 250 Savage, though.

When seeing an animal fight for its life I'm not surprised by anything anymore. They've got adrenaline and can do some pretty amazing things when hit.

For no real cost increase, step up to at least a .270 or .270WSM. You get a whole lot more bang for the buck.

My grandfather, my father and myself have all taken numerous white tail with a .243. It is a wonderful caliber, light on the recoil, heavy on the accuracy and for the most part, the perfect white tail round. You can easily drop a deer out to distances of 300-400 yards with one if you are a decent shot.

Personally I shoot a 95 grain Ballistic Silvertip (Winchester Supreme) out of my Winchester Model 70, and no deer has ever taken more than a step. Every deer I've shot with it have been heart/lung shots as well. The heaviest commercially loaded bullet weight I've come across is 100 grain, the lightest is 55 grain (I believe 55 is right).

I now live in AZ and work with several people that hunt elk religiously with a .243. When I moved out here I was planning on getting a .300 WSM for elk hunting, but more than a dozen people have told me that my .243 is more than enough round to drop one with good shot placement.

All of the other calibers mentioned on here are great calibers as well, but if you are looking for one of the best all around calibers out there, a .243 will cover game from varmints up to elk with no issue. You won't go wrong with it, and if you get a good rifle, you'll love shooting it. I promise.

scmel - a .243 is not enough gun for whitetail out to 400 yards, much less Elk. It just doesn't carry enough velocity and downrange punch to do the job unless you make the perfect hit. IMO - you are taking an unethical shot at a whitetail at that distance wit ha .243. I have done this from experience and dropped one with 4 solid chest hits at 350 yards. I then had to trail it a bit. When I cut it upon, two of the rounds were "stuck" in the chest wall on the entrance side, and the other two rounds lodged on one lung.

Be smart - get at least a .270/.270WSM or 300WSM. You have a a much greater chance of a one shot kill with these calibers than the .243 and less trailng for sure. I have a .270WSM for deer and a .300WSM for ELk/Bear and they are both awesome with the right loads. I will never "dropped down" to anything less. If recoil is an issue, the .270 is sweet, but if even that is too much, I wouldn't go less than a .25-06. My .243 is goingt to my boy as a fist rifle.

From 35 yds. I plugged this doe with a 7mm Mag and she still managed to run 50 yds after leaping about 3 ft in the air. When I found her she still had blood splatter on her neck, face, etc.



While this is obviously the exit wound, the entry wound came from just back and up off her opposite shoulder, transecting lung & heart region.

The buck I shot a few weeks back ran too and the placement was near perfect on him with the same caliber round.

Sometimes deer will run despite caliber and shot placement. I think back to the vid someone posted this summer that showed a buck running with blood pumping out his right side in gushes.

[This message has been edited by pedro_martinez (edited 11/29/2006 3:53p).]

Yes, adrenaline is an amazing thing. The deer is dead but does not know it. But, there is a direct relationship between the amount of ballistic damage and the distance an injured deer can run. Here is another, at 150-200 yards, a 100 grain SBT in .243 usually will not pass through a decent sized whitetail (160-180 pounds). However, a .270WSM or .300WSM will. The best blood trails are most often generated by profuse bleeding via the exit wound, not the smaller entrance wound. At 75 yards, a .243 is plenty of gun. At 175-250 yards, I would rather try my luck with more bullet and velocity than a .243. I love my .243, but I love my .270WSM a lot more for all around shooting.

It's not always just about 'passing through,' but about transferring energy from the bullet to the target. The best 'pass through' is one that barely drops out the other side, thus tranferring most of the energy from the bullet and creating heavy blood loss. A .243 is fine for Texas deer. 300 and 400 yards is probably a stretch for taking a clean, ethical shot. As far as elk are concerned, .24 caliber is usually the smallest legal round that can be used, so someone out there deems it 'appropriate,' but I wouldn't dare take a shot on a trophy elk at any distance.

I used to hunt with a .243 but I felt like it wasn't big enough.

I got a .308 and will never look back. I hope to get a .270 in the next few years, but I will hunt whitetail with either one for the rest of my life if I'm lucky.