.243 Win Revisited

[samsmix]

Although I would point out that many of us will use that "$50 a box trick bullet" in any caliber/cartridge anyway.

I respect everyone else's opinion, but I will try to justify mine as well:

I have nothing against good bullets, and can certainly afford them if I can afford to feed my .257 Bob. It sometimes runs that much a box. It really isn't about the price so much, as not knowing what the other guy will do. He/she may go buy a 105gr partition or TTSX and shoot a big mulie buck that is quartering quite a bit...and drop him. Or they may buy an 80gr cup and core, but wait for a better angle...and drop him

...or they might take a steep quartering shot with the wrong bullet, and suddenly I'm the jerk in their story of the one that got away. Maybe they were never a good enough shot to begin with and they get into the hind quarter a bit where a better shooter might not have. Given a factory cartridge from .25/120gr to .300Anymag/180, the deer should be DRT or close to it, as it will probably penetrate far enough.

So I steer clear of overtly bullet sensitive choices like the fast .22's, and the .243/6mm. I like my deer rifles to start at .25/120gr, and prefer partitions in that caliber.

I WOULD USE a .243...even a .22-250 or .223 and would recommend it for a few other hunters I know (with the right bullets). For these people, under the right circumstances even a .22 Hornet or .32-20 would do (think tree stand, close range). That is because I know what I will do and I think I know what my close friends will do, which is place bullets well, and pass on bad shots.
With strangers I start to get a lot more conservative and conventional with my advice because I just don't know what I don't know, and should they take my advice, I want them to be happy and successful with it.

Anybody else's Milage May Vary, but those are the reasons I make the recommendations I do.

 

[Gunplummer]

I have had a couple .257 Roberts, still have a .243, and used to have a 6MM. Killed deer with all of them. What is the major difference 17 grains (.257 117 grain RN) of bullet will have on a deer? Nothing. The argument always starts because of the difference in hunting styles. I consider powerline and out west hunting "pie plate" shots. You take a lot of shots at 4-5 hundred yards and you are going to get marginal hits. People in the woods tend to take closer, less open shots. I have shot a lot of deer in the neck and head because it was the only area clear on the deer. It is not so much the cartridge you use, but where you use it.

 

[kcub]

I have yet to see better than mediocre accuracy out of a Barnes bullet.

What premium bullet is most available? Hornady interlock? The problem is what you can find at the bait shop or Wal-Mart.

 

[Fla_dogman]

You take a lot of shots at 4-5 hundred yards and you are going to get marginal hits.
It is not so much the cartridge you use, but where you use it.[/QUOTE]

I agree, that's why I still have my 3006 in the cabinet. Guns are tools just like a screwdriver, they come in all sizes for specific purposes. You have to pick the right tool for the job at hand.

 

[samsmix]

You take a lot of shots at 4-5 hundred yards and you are going to get marginal hits.

I don't think we take a LOT of those shots, especially at 500. Once in a while, but not often. I still practice for it though. I HAVE shot that far, but I don't just blaze away hoping to hit it "somewhere". I am pretty confident and competent at 400 if the wind isn't howling, but I'm in the minority of people I have talked to.

Out here we shoot most of our deer at 0-200 yards like everyone else. Close enough for a 30-30 really. 300 yards is fairly common, but it is a "hair, not air" hold, and you could fill your tags passing them up if you're not comfortable.

We obsess more on the long range because we can shoot 75 yards with a 7mm Rem Mag, easier than we can shoot 300yards with a 30-30.

 

[Gunplummer]

Kcub, I hear you. Somebody that had a relative working at barnes gave me a couple boxes to try years ago. What a waste of powder. I don't care if they got there act together now or not. I won't use them. When all the "Premium bullet" rage started, I dabbled in them too. Most of the time these bullets were hard to get to shoot well and usually ended up less accurate than the good old bullets I was using. True, I have had problems with some of the older bullets too with expansion and accuracy, but stopped using them also. Most of it is just sales hype.

 

[Jack O'Conner]

Any of the modern bonded bullets increase penetration dramatically. In my opinion, a .243 loaded with a Premium bullet is the equal of the 25-06. I speak from experience, many antelope and mule deer have been felled quickly with my .243 rifle.

Jack