# 243 for deer?



## tshuntin (Jul 13, 2008)

Huge has got me thinking of adding a 243 to my gun cabinet. What are your thoughts on a 243 being a proficient mule deer rifle? (Of course I know shot placement is kep to anything) My thoughts are to get this for more of a youth and wife rifle for deer and maybe a plinking varmint type gun for me on occasion. I was thinking of doing this with a 270 I have, but I think the lighter shooting 243 may be the better choice for now. Also, what grain bullet? It looks like about a 100 grain bullet is about the biggest you can get. Is an 85-100 grain bullet sufficient? I like Barnes triple shot x bullets and it looks like those are factory made in 85 grains... Other suggestions? Thank you all for your replies, TS


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

This has always been a confusing topic for me as well. It seems that on the surface, the .243 isnt that great of a big game cartridge, but when you take a little time to read up on the ballistics and the bullet performance, you soon realize that the .243 will do a fine job taking a mule deer.

I would definitely suggest using a high quality bullet from someone like Barnes to ensure good weight retention and energy transfer into the animal. 

Chaser has a neat Model 70 in .243 and I have had the pleasure of shooting it a few times as well as watching him do some long distance target practice with it, and that thing really performs much better than I ever expected.

Is the .243 an IDEAL cartridge for mule deer? Probably not. However it is probably the smallest caliber that I personally would feel comfortable using on a deer. And I would say that it would do just fine in harvesting an animal within its respective limits of range.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

The .243 slays 'em.... I have personally killed 7 or 8 deer using the .243 and most of the deer have been DRT. Shoot a good bullet and you'll have no worries. I use a 100gr Nosler partition for mulies.

My .243 is the Ruger M77 and it's a fun gun to shoot. Another good short action for mule deer would be a 7mm-08 or .308.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

Man those Partition bullets are hard to beat!


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

Bax* said:


> Man those Partition bullets are hard to beat!


They sure are and I like them. As with any bullet, or caliber for that matter, you just need to place 'em in the right spot as has been mentioned...

I say get that .243 tshuntin, the wife will love it! -8/-


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

tshuntin....if you really feel the need to dink around with a .243, why not make it a 25-06? 

The 25-06 and .243 carry just about the same ballistics but the 25-06, being a wildcat cartridge, is just way more cool to shoot and own. Take it elk or deer hunting, some people will think you're nuts but one thing to remember....it's the shooter, not the firearm. 

Good luck, everwhich you choose...


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## tshuntin (Jul 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone for your replies. I am going to get it done. Hmmmm, hadn't really thought about a 25-06 yet... How is the availability of good factory ammo? I have everything to re-load plus some, one day I hope to start doing it, but till then...


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Just get both, trust me.


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## Vmax (Jan 28, 2010)

My wife shoots the 243 and it has done great on speed goat and deer with the 100gr partition!! Love those "partitions" :mrgreen:


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

I love my 243 for deer, I have shot plenty and not one has gone anywhere. Last year I took one at 400 yards and it dropped in its tracks. I shoot the 100 gr sierras spbt. I use mine mostly for coyotes but the wife likes it so we take it on the deer hunts.


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## Mojo1 (Sep 8, 2007)

When I started out hunting I killed a few dozen with a 243. I finally upgraded to a 7mm Mag, but it didn't kill them any deader. I only seem to remember only losing one, I made a piss poor shot on, hit it in the leg while it was trotting under my stand. I still occasionally carry mine, killed a buck 3 years ago with in OK, he moved 2 ft at the shot, straight down! :shock: 

I used 100 gr core loks in mine when I was young, granted that was back before the factory availability of premium bullet loads. Those Core-loks put a hurting on those deer. Now I load Partitions, or x bullets in mine.


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## Huge29 (Sep 17, 2007)

As I read so many positive comments on the partition, I did a little searching and found this article, while it is specifically about African game, I think it is still relevant. http://www.africanoutfitter.com/backiss ... ailure.php
Portions that stood out to me (they are not hot on the partitions at all):


> "Everybody wants to see a bullet expanded into a mushroom cap. Some ammunition companies even make full-colour, full-page ads showing some bullet that has expanded back into some giant mushroom cap or umbrella with the exterior of the petals at or slightly behind the base of the bullet. They seem to think that this is excellent performance. Nothing would be further from the truth . . . a bullet should expand absolutely no further than double of its original diameter if it is to maintain any stability within the animal". (Any shot you want, pages 123 & 125).
> 
> What Art Alphin is implying here is that if a bullet expands too much, the increased frontal area shows the bullet down to such a degree, or reduces the rotational velocity in such a manner that it invariably loses its direction (or forward) stability. If such a bullet does not travel in a straight line, it may not reach the vital organs.


Another general point quoted from Ackley that relates well to my 243 question:


> My advice to old and new hunters alike, is for them to shoot any gun they like and have confidence in and can shoot consistently without flinching.
> 
> But to pay more attention to the bullets they use than to the calibre. And no type of gun or calibre is any better than its bullets


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## cfarnwide (Sep 10, 2007)

.45 said:


> tshuntin....if you really feel the need to dink around with a .243, why not make it a 25-06?
> 
> The 25-06 and .243 carry just about the same ballistics but the 25-06, being a wildcat cartridge, is just way more cool to shoot and own. Take it elk or deer hunting, some people will think you're nuts but one thing to remember....it's the shooter, not the firearm.
> 
> Good luck, everwhich you choose...


Bingo! I had this internal debate last year when picking out a rifle for my wife. I went with the Ruger M77 in 25-06. Awesome rifle and throws a bitter pill. But, like Goob said, if you can afford it get 'em both!


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## Chaser (Sep 28, 2007)

Like Bax* mentioned, I have an old Model 70 in .243. Never shot a deer with it. Its too damned heavy to justify carrying through the hills looking for deer. I have been shooting reloads with 100 or 110 gr Hornady soft point bullets and 70gr V-Max bullets. I'm not sold on the accuracy of the V-Max's from my gun though. I think the heavier bullets stabilized better. I at least feel more confident with them in the chamber anyway.

Here's what a Core-Lokt 110 (maybe 100, can't remember for sure) will do to a rabbit though:[attachment=0:2rm49jos]Rabbit.JPG[/attachment:2rm49jos]

I hit the little bugger on the run at around 80 yards. Lucky shot I guess.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Chaser said:


> Like Bax* mentioned, I have an old Model 70 in .243. Never shot a deer with it. Its too damned heavy to justify carrying through the hills looking for deer. I have been shooting reloads with 100 or 110 gr Hornady soft point bullets and 70gr V-Max bullets. I'm not sold on the accuracy of the V-Max's from my gun though. I think the heavier bullets stabilized better. I at least feel more confident with them in the chamber anyway.
> 
> Here's what a Core-Lokt 110 (maybe 100, can't remember for sure) will do to a rabbit though:[attachment=0:3326mjn2]Rabbit.JPG[/attachment:3326mjn2]
> 
> I hit the little bugger on the run at around 80 yards. Lucky shot I guess.


Hey Chaser try 70 gr Nosler BT, I had the same problem with the v-max in my Ruger 243 but the 70 gr noslers perform fanastic.


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

I shoot 58 gr. VMax's in mine at 3900 fps. They don't leave a piece of rabbit big enough to pick up with out a spoon. The rifle is a bit heavy for a deer hunt. 14+ pounds with a 4-16 Redfield scope. But it is fun to shoot at squirrels. When it was a Remington 700 ADL, it killed deer just fine with a 100 gr. Hornady BTSP. As long as I kept the ranges sane.


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## tshuntin (Jul 13, 2008)

Let me throw one other thing out there. If this is going to be primarily a deer gun for youth and maybe my wife someday (which gives me a chance to get a more varmint only gun for myself later), am I any better off with going with the 243 or 25-06 than I would be to just get a 270 and do a few things to lighten up the recoil (muzzbrake, better pad)??? 

I have a 300 win mag that I use for my deer/elk gun. I really want to get a 300 ultra in a rem sendero at some point for a fun longer shooting project gun. If I go with a 270 now, I could get a 243, 223, or 22-250 later for just varmints. Which of those three is the best coyote cal? 

Thanks again everyone.


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## cfarnwide (Sep 10, 2007)

My .270 was just a little too much for my wife.

I liked the 25-06 bullet choice a little better than the .243. You can get up to 120gr. bullets with it. Its easily good out to 200 yards for elk which is what she wants to hunt.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

tshuntin said:


> Let me throw one other thing out there. If this is going to be primarily a deer gun for youth and maybe my wife someday (which gives me a chance to get a more varmint only gun for myself later), am I any better off with going with the 243 or 25-06 than I would be to just get a 270 and do a few things to lighten up the recoil (muzzbrake, better pad)???
> 
> I have a 300 win mag that I use for my deer/elk gun. I really want to get a 300 ultra in a rem sendero at some point for a fun longer shooting project gun. If I go with a 270 now, I could get a 243, 223, or 22-250 later for just varmints. Which of those three is the best coyote cal?
> 
> Thanks again everyone.


My wife who is recoil sensitive, refuses to shoot a 270. I'm sure with a muzzlebrake and pad might change that. I would get the 25-06 for her its a great caliber and like was said you can get a 120 gr bullet. 
For a coyote caliber all the ones you listed are good. If I was to buy a caliber just for coyotes I would go with the 22-250. The things you can do with reloads in that gun are amazing. 
If you want ammo availabilty go with the 223 everybody carries ammo in that caliber.
I have a 300 WM for my big game, I use my 243 for deer antelope(mostly for the wife) and as a varmint gun. I bought a Savage 204 model 12fvs and use it as my primary varmint gun. 
So I have been thinking of either buying another 243 for the wife or a 22-250 for myself and basically giving her the rights to my 243.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

I had someone tell me about these new Savages and I had a buddy buy one. I held it and it seems to be a pretty well made rifle for the price. It doesn't have the accu-trigger but my buddy just did a minor trigger job and it seems like it is pretty crisp now.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting ... 753240.uts
This is the camo/scope combo.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting ... _105523380
This is the basic. 
They are pretty small and would fit a youth or wife just fine.


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## tshuntin (Jul 13, 2008)

Links didn't work? what are they?


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

Probably cuz I just updated to cabelas new website. I'll try to get the old one back.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true
Try these.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true


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## tshuntin (Jul 13, 2008)

Got it, thanks


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

tshuntin said:


> Let me throw one other thing out there. If this is going to be primarily a deer gun for youth and maybe my wife someday (which gives me a chance to get a more varmint only gun for myself later), am I any better off with going with the 243 or 25-06 than I would be to just get a 270 and do a few things to lighten up the recoil (muzzbrake, better pad)???
> 
> I have a 300 win mag that I use for my deer/elk gun. I really want to get a 300 ultra in a rem sendero at some point for a fun longer shooting project gun. If I go with a 270 now, I could get a 243, 223, or 22-250 later for just varmints. Which of those three is the best coyote cal?
> 
> Thanks again everyone.


For deer *and* varmints, I'd stay with the .243. If you want an excuse to get an additional gun, I would go with the 25-06 for deer and any of the other three you have mentioned for coyotes... they are all good calibers. You have good taste tshuntin!

We haven't talked about the 7mm-08 or .204 yet.... :O•-: Now there's a deer and varmint combo...


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## toasty (May 15, 2008)

sawsman said:


> For deer *and* varmints, I'd stay with the .243. If you want an excuse to get an additional gun, I would go with the 25-06 for deer and any of the other three you have mentioned for coyotes... they are all good calibers. You have good taste tshuntin!
> 
> We haven't talked about the 7mm-08 or .204 yet.... :O•-: Now there's a deer and varmint combo...


Ding Ding Ding... I shoot a 204 ruger for pdogs, a 7mm-08 for big game, and a 243 win for long range pdogs and rockchucks, smaller big game, yotes, and everything else. You can tell the guys that have a passion for ballistics, accuracy and long range shooting from the guns they shoot.

I've had excellent results with a 243 win on deer and antelope with the 85g sierra HPBT that federal offers at 3330 fps.


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## El Matador (Dec 21, 2007)

I always think of the .243 as being the minimum deer cartridge, so it will be adequate if you shoot good 100 grain bullets. I would be more comfortable shooting a bullet closer to 120 or 130 grains for big muleys though, especially if you get the urge to start stretching your range. The .25-06 would be a fantastic choice with the 120s. One step better would be the .260 Remington (same performance as a 25-06 with the ability to shoot bullets up to 160 grains), but factory ammo is limited so I'd only go that route if you reload. The .260 starts right where the .243 leaves off with respect to bullet weights though - 100 grains. And it's the same basic case as a .243 so recoil will be mild. A 125 grain partition at around 2800-2900 fps would be a sweet deer load. The 25-06 will perform similarly with a 120 grain bullet, but lacks the ability to shoot the larger 130-160 grain bullets. For me that just means its not an elk gun.


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## gwailow (Jan 20, 2008)

Don't be reluctant in the least bit to throw down on a .243. It will do the job on ANY SIZE of Mule Deer, largest deer my father ever killed was with a .243--1 shot kill. I load the Barnes 80gr TTSX in my wifes Ruger, and every deer she's shot has been one shot kills. A lot depends on the hunter obviously, but if you do your part the .243 will do it's part. 

.270 can be a little intimidating, for a beginning shooter and can be the beginning of bad habits like flinching. Start out small and work their way up into the larger calibers.

As far as the 25-06 goes, who would buy one of those when there is such a thing as a 257 WBY?


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

sawsman said:


> The .243 slays 'em.... I have personally killed 7 or 8 deer using the .243 and most of the deer have been DRT. Shoot a good bullet and you'll have no worries. I use a 100gr Nosler partition for mulies.
> 
> My .243 is the Ruger M77 and it's a fun gun to shoot. Another good short action for mule deer would be a 7mm-08 or .308.


me personally i havent but my .243 is a ruger m77 as well and my dad has killed a few mulies and a few antelope with 85 grain nosler partitions. its what ours likes we tried 100 grain and it wouldnt shoot them worth poo but it likes 85's and has killed for him.

i have yet to make a bullet connect with anything other than rabbits and squirrels out of it.


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## sawsman (Sep 13, 2007)

flyfisher117 said:


> sawsman said:
> 
> 
> > The .243 slays 'em.... I have personally killed 7 or 8 deer using the .243 and most of the deer have been DRT. Shoot a good bullet and you'll have no worries. I use a 100gr Nosler partition for mulies.
> ...


Here's my little deer slayer... do you have the same one?


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

sawsman said:


> flyfisher117 said:
> 
> 
> > sawsman said:
> ...


pretty close mines one my dad bought when they very first came out years ago its got just blued metal and a standard wood stock.


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## mdg01 (Sep 16, 2010)

Quite a bit if difference in 25.06 and 243. Short action vs long action, recoil, muzzle flash etc. I shoot both, and the 25.06 is a better deer gun, but the 243 is easier to handle, and is also a great gun for the younger ones and women.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

gwailow said:


> As far as the 25-06 goes, who would buy one of those when there is such a thing as a 257 WBY?


price, availibilty (ive seen A LOT more -06 ammo then .257), and the .25-06 doesnt burn its barrel out near as fast as the .257


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## Loke (Sep 7, 2007)

Oh how I love the burn the barrel out myth. If you don't let your barrel get too hot, it will last you a lifetime. If you get any barrel (regardless of chambering) too hot you will fry the throat. It took me about 100 rounds on a really good jack rabbit hunt to kill the barrel on my 243. Keep the shot strings short and your 257 will last just as long as a 25/06.


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## gwailow (Jan 20, 2008)

flyfisher117 said:


> gwailow said:
> 
> 
> > As far as the 25-06 goes, who would buy one of those when there is such a thing as a 257 WBY?
> ...


True, there is a lot more 25-06 ammo out there than 257 WBY, however if you reload it's a mute point, except for the extra cost on the brass.

As for buring out the barrel, Loke hit that right on the head. It's an operator issue, need to not heat em up and keep em clean. When you do this most normal people will never burn out a barrel.

Side note--I actually really like the 25-06,I think it's a great wildcat, I just like the 257WBY that much more.


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## stick_man (Sep 10, 2007)

The .243 is a great caliber for anything up to the big mulies. I have heard of people using it (successfully) for elk, but I wouldn't recommend that. Another caliber that hasn't been talked about much here (if at all) is the 6mm Remington. It will give you an extra 200 fps or so over the .243 but is not quite as available as the .243 ammo. They both make for better coyote guns than the 22-250 when there is a little breeze blowing and work well on the speed goats and deer. Neither has very much recoil.


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## flyfisher117 (Jun 29, 2009)

gwailow said:


> flyfisher117 said:
> 
> 
> > gwailow said:
> ...


i get what hes saying about keeping it cool but even then some guns will just destroy barrels. my dad has a .22-284 the gunsmith that built it said after about 1500 to 2000 shots the barrel will be toast. so really it just depends on the caliber and i just threw the "destorying" the barrel in because it can happen


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## pocone (Sep 29, 2009)

Another yes from this hunter. My brother uses one and took down a deer last year. My uncle also hunts deer with his .243. I was with him last year on his hunt and it was plenty of gun for the job. I usually use my 30.06, but this year will be carrying my .257 Roberts.


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## yfzduner450 (Dec 28, 2009)

I hope it will work, cause come opening morning when my wife has that buck in her crosshairs we will find out. I've done a little research and everything tells me that it will work just fine. Shot placement is key and being comfortable with your range is second. She plans on using it on coyotes, speed goats, and mulies.


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