.243 Win Revisited

[BumbleBug]

I’ve been hunting, shooting & reloading for a long time. I remember back as a teenager reading in Outdoor Life Magazine about African hunters taking the .243 Win to Africa as their “light” rifle & having great success. The cartridge along with its competitor the .244 (aka 6mm Rem) were just starting to get traction as good deer cartridges. Their claim to fame was light recoil & “surgical precision” via fine accuracy in placing the bullet. Back then, being a gun magazine reading, amateur teenage gun guru (LOL), I convinced my dad to get a 6mm Remington as his back-up deer rifle. Indeed this was an accurate rifle & other family members bought the more popular .243’s as deer rifles for themselves, sons & daughters. But things eventually went sour for all of us. Indeed these 6mm cartridges were more than adequate for deer but lack of blood trail eventually made us swear off the 6mm & .243 as poor choices. I could list a number of incidents, but although they usually put venison on the table, occasionally it was very difficult finding an animal if any tracking was involved.

Now fast forward to today. I’m convinced from everything I’ve read & heard the .243 Win may actually rival the .30-30 for the most “deer killed” cartridge! I’ve inherited my dad’s 6mm Rem & a BIL just inherited a family .243 Win. We both still have that that same stigma we felt & experienced more than once 35+ years back – OK deer rifles, but poor if you happen to need a blood trail. Sometimes, "surgical precision" will only get you so far & may not always happen...

Are we alone or do others feel the same way about the .243 calibers rifles? Have some of the new so called premium bullets improved this aspect, making the .243 Win a better than average deer cartridge that makes a small entry/exit hole, if even both? Please, I mean no offense to .243 shooters, as I mentioned, this cartridge is responsible for a mountain of WT deer & to infer otherwise would make me the fool! What am I missing?

Thanks in advance for your opinions & bullet suggestions, if any.

 

[reynolds357]

I had absolutely no use for the .243 Win. as a medium game rifle 30 years ago. The advent of bullets that WILL stay together and penetrate changed my mind. The .243 spitting a modern premium bullet is more than equivalent to a .270 Win. shooting traditional cup and core non bonded.

 

[Roadkill2228]

I shoot a .243, a .270, and a .300 win mag. They all work. For deer I simply adore the .270, for me there is no further discussion required, the .270 is THE deer hunting round by which I judge all others. That being said, my parents are neighbors to a lady who just this year took a BIG moose with her .243, one shot, one kill, and not even with fancy ammo. And not at all her first one...over the years she has taken elk, moose, and deer consistently, one shot one kill. She is a patient and ethical hunter who gets close and doesn't take questionable shots. I personally love my .300 but I can't argue with her results. I think it makes good sense that in many places 6mms are legal but .22s are not. To me there is truly a huge difference in killing power from that jump, more so than any other similar step up (ie 7mm up to .30, a difference but not as much)

 

[Art Eatman]

I bought a little Sako L579 Forester carbine, .243, back in 1971. I started out with 70-grain Hornadys for coyotes and such, and chose the Sierra 85-grain HPBT for the rather small deer on the home place.

After success in a three-year deer cull, I got lazy and stayed with the 85 for everything. But, since it's a blow-up bullet, I only took neck shots and cross-body heart/lung shots. Of the two dozen tagged bucks, probably all but three were neck shots. All were DRT, right where they were when the bullet hit.

Most shots were in the 100- to 150-yard range; only a couple were shorter.

 

[979Texas]

I've killed more hogs, coyotes, and all of my deer with a .243. It was my main rifle growing up. I've never once lost a deer to it, and I only have had one deer run off from being shot, all the others dropped in their tracks.
I've also taken big 280 lbs. boar with it also and with one shot to the shoulder they were DRT.
Excellent caliber choice with the right bullets. My. 243 has fired nothing but 100 gr. Bullets ever.

 

[Gunplummer]

I still have one. Can't remember the last time I had it out hunting. I used good old factory Remington Corlokt ammo with no problems. I simply do not care for the .243. I had a 6MM and would probably take that over a .243. No reason, just like it better.

 

[jmr40]

With todays bullets a 243 is probably the ideal deer cartridge option. Not versatile enough to be ideal for anything larger than deer, but is borderline for game up to elk.

I've owned them in the past. No longer do simply because deer and bear seasons run together here and I'm just as likely to see a bear as deer in many places where I hunt.

 

[603Country]

I don't have a 243, but for the last few years I've used 100 gr bullets in my 260. Prior to that I shot 120 gr bullets in the rifle, and I am now going back to the 120's. I got blood trails with the bigger bullet, but usually didn't with the smaller bullet. I didn't lose any deer while using the 100 gr bullet, but tracking was way more difficult on a few deer and big pigs. The bigger bullet was a better deer/pig killer. My point is that if a 100 gr bullet was the biggest one I could shoot, I'd go to a bigger caliber (250, 257, 25-06, 260, 6.5, etc).

 

[BumbleBug]

Thanks for all the good responses.

In the past, for deer hunting, we always used 100gr bullets - either Speer SP or Sierra GK. I haven't really found anything heavier except, IIRC, Speer made a 105gr RN. Looking into premium bullets, I went straight to Barnes' website. They offer an 80gr & 85gr. Seems pretty light for deer.

Any specific bullets recommendations that will go all the way through a deer on an angled body shot; not turn to dust if they touch a bone; & leave more than a thimble full of blood on exit?

TIA...

 

[603Country]

If I had a 243, I'd use the heaviest Nosler Accubond that's offered, and I'm sure I'd be happy.

 

[Panfisher]

Barnes X, Hornady GMX, Nosler Partitions etc. My wife has fantastic luck with plain Ole Hornady Interlock 100 grainers. Lightly loaded it shoots through both shoulders with no problems. I have 2 of them one for my wife and one as a loaner rifle.

 

[samsmix]

I have been a vocal detractor of the fast .22s on deer sized game. As such, I have tended to view the .243 as more of a minimum cartridge or experts only cartridge for the purpose. Deer in MT run big, and often overlaps in both terrain and season with elk.

I believe that the .257 and 6.5mms up through the .30 magnums are our best deer cartridges, with the .270 being just about as ideal an all purpose (woods & prairie, Whitetail & Mulie) deer cartridge. All the others will have their boosters and supporters, but I can't think of any that vastly outshine it out to the 500 yard line, without being a meat wrecker in the woods.

If a recommendation for a given caliber includes "If you load it with this $50 a box trick bullet", then it is not IMHO an appropriate cartridge for the game at hand. YMMV

 

[bamaranger]

used to be

Printed many times before that I used to be a basher of the .243, but am now a fan, at least for the average 150 lb whitetail. Good bullets certainly have improved its ability, and I am a fan of the Nosler Partitions.

I have a Cons. Officer acquaintance who did indeed recently take his .243 to Africa (along with a .270) for plains game. HIs PH frowned heavily on the .243, and true to Murphy's law, he had to shoot some type of medium sized antelope more than once. Bad luck, I suppose, but he switched to the .270 for the rest of the safari, if for no other reason than to please the PH.

Part of the issue with the "debatable" light calibers (for deer anyhow) is choosing the right bullet, certainly. Almost every instance where I hear from someone who last a deer with a "light" rifle, they have no real idea what type of bullet they were using, except that it was a "hunting bullet/soft point, etc".

The other part of the deal, aside from marksmanship, in my belief, is circumstances. Much of my early opinion on the .243 was formed as a youngster, and listening to accounts from elders of deer lost. Those early days of my deer hunting experience, where much of it was stalk/still hunting, or shooting at pushed/driven deer by organized drive. In those situations, seldom does one get to pick their shot. You take the first "decent" shot you get, and cannot pay a great deal of attention to angles and big bones. It's not difficult to grasp why the bigger .30 cals, the .270/150, and so forth, were so revered. Penetration in gobs, power in excess. You don't really need a .30/180 RN to kill Bambi, but it is indeed the kiss of death from almost any angle.

Contrast that with alot of my deer rifle hunting (and I think alot of whitetail hunting in general) these days. I haven't still hunted in a long time, and haven't heard of an organized drive in ages. Dog hunting is on its way out too. I shoot from an elevated stand, either a climber or ladder, or box, almost always, with some type of rail or support for the rifle. If not, I am ususally planted firmly on the ground on a cushion with shooting sticks. Often, its over a plot, or right of way, the deer are relaxed, and if not presented with an ideal angle, I can wait and get one. For that, the .243, (even the .223 in the right hands and loaded right) will work.

 

[samsmix]

Good point bamaranger. It never dawned on me the difference between spot & stalk, still, and stand hunting. Tree stands are almost unheard of here as the only trees to climb are cottonwoods (not safe!). Also, Most of us here in Montana will shoot an antelope, a whitetail, and a mule deer with the same rifle, but under vastly different circumstances. Speed Goats might only weigh 130 on the hoof, but big deer might dress out over 200#...and elk might still be in the mix.

Were I down south I think I might have to give the .243 a second look.

 

[Fla_dogman]

I shoot a 243 here in Florida, I once held onto the thought 3006 or go home, but the 243 is such a pleasure to shoot and I found my accuracy went through the roof, I no longer run deer with dogs, so from a treestand or stalking the 243 does the trick. With my ranged well under 300yds it produces enough energy to do the job without destroying a lot of meat. To be honest on some of my hunting locations have shots under 100yds and I use my 223. I feel it's more about accuracy, energy and type of projectile.
The downside is little or no blood trail, but if you make a good shot he won't go far, most of mine went less than 50yds if they went anywhere.

 

[Dranrab]

I have used the 243, 6mm and 257 Roberts to kill quite a few deer. Down here in the deep south where we have some impenetrable thickets, deer that rarely show up in good light and sometimes hot weather during deer season, anchoring a deer is very important to me. A 50 yard death dash may mean you can't find the deer until sometime after sunrise the following day. In our hot weather, that deer won't be salvageable. When I need to anchor a deer, I like to take a mid-high shoulder shot (think tree stand here). Involving at least one of the shoulders has been 100% successful in dropping them in their tracks using these calibers. No need for a blood trail. I have heard stories of deer running long distances with shredded shoulders. That hasn't been my experience. One shoulder and some vitals=venison right there. I handload heavy for caliber Partitions and a moderate powder charge. I sometimes get an exit with shoulder shots. I always get an exit with non-shoulder shots.

 

[Fla_dogman]

Here's what my 243 did to half inch
I- beam at 200 yards with 100gr game kings

 

[samsmix]

fla-dogman,
I have family in Melbourne, and my BIL hit one of those deer. I was astounded by the size of it, or lack thereof. I guess the .243 would really equal the '06 for that purpose.

...or my pet .257 Roberts.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

If a recommendation for a given caliber includes "If you load it with this $50 a box trick bullet", then it is not IMHO an appropriate cartridge for the game at hand.

Although I would point out that many of us will use that "$50 a box trick bullet" in any caliber/cartridge anyway. I do, I load deer rounds in 5 different cartridges and every one of them gets topped with Barnes TTSX, from .243Win to .30-06.

I would also say that if the cost of bullets is what bothers a hunter, hunting may be the wrong sport. Compared to licenses, gas, tree stands or other gear, appropriate clothing, boots, rifles, optics, etc, etc.... even a $100 box of bullets hardly seems consequential. Heck, even if you spend 50 cents total on all the rest of your hunting and you (somehow) manage to shoot up a whole box of these $50 bullets during hunting season, what's $50 a year? That's maybe an extra 5 cents a day over the year compared to "ordinary" bullets.

 

[FrankenMauser]

Growing up, I was instilled with a pretty poor view of .243 Win.

...But one ended up in my hands (via a brother) about 7 years ago, and I've liked it ever since.

With good bullets and a hunter that isn't a dimwitted, unethical jerk, it's more than enough cartridge for the average hunter and his quarry.

Plus... I can load varmint bullets for popping sod poodles, or load match bullets for putting pretty little ragged holes in paper.


And, with my brother and I extolling the wondrous virtues of .243 Win for almost a decade, now EVERY shooter in my family (sans one) owns at least one .243 Win.
...Most of them with the intended use of just Mule Deer and Pronghorn. (We all have multiple alternatives for varmints.)