How good is the .243?

[SansSouci]

I have no dog in this hunt. I don't own a .243 Win because I ain't yet acquired wisdom required to own what might just be one of America's most useful big game cartridges. The .243 Win is one of our better big game cartridges. Put a bullet from one in any North American big game species and it will die, provided that that bullet destroys necessary equipment for topside oxygenated blood flow. Nothing living remains in that condition without oxygenated blood to its brain.

I have nothing against any cartridge. If a hunter wants to hunt with a .338 Rem Ultra Mag, I'll wish him well. Where he'll cause synapses misfire is when he tries to tell me that it's the top of the line killing machine. The top of the line killing machine is the hunter pulling the trigger. An elk ain't gonna know whether a .243 Win or a .338 Rem Ultra Mag stopped its heart.

[kraigwy]

"...Slightly off mark with a shot...lighter bullets disintegrate eternally...simply pass thru...24 cal bullets have very little mass size..." Nonsense. Rifle bullets don't kill with mass or velocity. .243" deer bullets do not disintegrate or pass through. Unless you're using a totally inadequate varmint bullet.
"...if YOU put that bullet in the boiler room..." That applies to ANY cartridge. Even a .270 or .30 cal, misplaced, will not kill cleanly if not put into the vitals.
"...at distances of 100 to 125 yards, shooting at hogs..." BANG!!! Thud.
"...to 500 yards..." Too far, ballistically. Typical deer bullets drop like bricks past 300 and the remaining energy is low.

I'm going to assume, or hope, that is satire.

My wife uses a 243 win for deer and antelope. I built her Model 70 with a 1:10 twist barrel which limits her to =/< 100 gr. bullets. I loaded 87 gr Berger VLD Hunting bullets.

Bergers are designed to enter, penetrate a bit the come apart destroying the central nervous system and they do exactly that. They do leave an rather large exit hole, sometimes too much on antelope and smaller deer.

According to the Berger engineers, their bullets need to have a remaining velocity of 1800 fps to work as designed. The 87 gr. bullets I load for her 243 start out at 3000 fps and have a remaining velocity of 1800+ at 800 yards at 4500 ft elevation where we hunt.

She hasn't got one at that range, but she has stretched it out and the Bergers in her 243 WORK as advertised.

This guy was taken a bit over 400 yards



It had an exit hole.



She had the same results on her last years deer.

This year were going to try Hornady's 100 Gr. Interlocks to see if they might be a little less violent.

[globemaster3]

gmarr,

I learned to deer and hog hunt mostly at Bull Creek, but also a little at 3 Lakes. Although I hunted with .308 there, I had friends who hunted with .243. Years later, I purchased a .243 for my oldest to cut her teeth hunting on hogs and deer.

I cannot count the number of hogs and deer taken with the .243 that I have helped haul out or been present for the shot. Based on my experience, backed up by the numbers in terms of ft-lbs of energy, the .243 is more than capable to taking hogs and deer.

That being said, lets quantify it with the size of the deer and hogs... I have only witnessed deer up to ~ 130 pounds live weight and hogs up to 250 pounds taken with the .243. In Florida, most of your deer are ~ 90 pounds on the hoof as I recall...

The .243 is loaded with a diverse selection of bullets. Its worth mentioning that you need to match the bullet with the game. I would not recommend using varmint bullets on anything other than that.... varmints. However, there are useful selections of 90+ gr soft-pointed bullets designed for medium game. For hogs/deer, I'd stick to those. In Florida, I saw the Winchester Powerpoints and Remington Corelokts do just fine. In my daughter's rifle, the Winchester Ballistic Silvertip (in either 95 or 100 gr, can't recall which) grouped best in her Vanguard youth and performed well with 1-shot kills on her first deer and a 250 pound sow before we retired it for an AR in 6.8 that she liked better. Now I like to carry it! Light, mild recoiling, and more than capable rifle.

243 is overrated and over exaggerated.

I disagree... For the purposes of the discussion the OP is looking at for deer/hog, especially in FL, unless you are going after hogzilla, it is more than adequate.

Slightly off mark with a shot

And this differs from any other round how? I had a guy at Bull Creek shoot 2 deer with .338 WM around 1991 and both went unrecovered... Bullets designed for heavy/large game shot at a 90 pound deer did not expand and basically acted like FMJ is the general thought... And if you don't hit them where it matters, no amount of magnum is going to make up for it.

[dahermit]

I've shot a lot of deer and coyotes with the .243 BUT then I found there are far better cartridges for either of those uses.

Let's see...you were successful with the .243, but decided you needed something else?

[Art Eatman]

"25/06 is FAR better deer round w/o adding much recoil."

Thanks, Mobuck. Now we know: Deadness is a variable.

[jmr40]

25/06 is FAR better deer round w/o adding much recoil.

The 243 shoots much better 100-105 gr bullets at roughly the same speed as 115-117 gr bullets from a 25-06. At under 200 yards the 25-06 has an ever so slight edge in energy with identical trajectory. Beyond 200 yards a 243 shoots flatter and hits harder than 25-06 because of the much better bullets available. A difference of .014" of bullet diameter is insignificant.

[Mobuck]

"Beyond 200 yards a 243 shoots flatter and hits harder than 25-06 because of the much better bullets available. A difference of .014" of bullet diameter is insignificant."

This is only applicable on paper. Actual field use favors the 25/06. I don't know where you get your numbers but the idea is contrary to physics. Shoot some of your choice .243 ammo over a chronograph and those numbers may roll over on you.


Quote:
I've shot a lot of deer and coyotes with the .243 BUT then I found there are far better cartridges for either of those uses.
Let's see...you were successful with the .243, but decided you needed something else?
I didn't comment on "success". I said I SHOT a lot of deer with a .243 which is different from KILLING deer and being able to recover them. I shot enough deer( or was present when the deer were shot) to see the need for better on game performance.

"Thanks, Mobuck. Now we know: Deadness is a variable."

No Sir, dead is dead but that does no good if the animal is not recovered due to inadequate penetration, inadequate bullet expansion, or any number of other quirks that have plagued .243 game bullets for decades.
Under perfect conditions, with perfect bullet placement the .243 is "adequate" and NO MORE--there's often very little room for variances.

[Art Eatman]

My problem with bum-rapping the .243 is that I've never had a problem from any of the alleged faults. As I said, I've tagged some two-dozen one-shot kills. I also used it in three years of a minor culling program I did back around 1970, but those were way too easy to bother counting.

I've been hearing stories about the travails with wounded deer since I was a kid. Danged near every cartridge that was ever used by anybody. People go to blaming or bum-rapping cartridges. Hmpf. Maybe they didn't put the bullet where it should have gone?

According to some gunshop Nimrods, the .270 is no good, the '06 is no good, and the .30-30 sucks buttermilk. I think I quit paying attention to all that nonsense back in the mid-1960s. Waste of time.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

I hear both good and bad about the .243 on deer and hogs. Some people give it high marks while some claim it's marginal at best. So, at distances of 100 to 125 yards, shooting at hogs, how effective is it really? I know bullet selection is important and I'll be using factory loads. Any personal experience will be appreciated. Thanks.

Because you asked ^:
1. gmarr relies on store bought cartridges. So to compare what someone handloads to store bought. Y'll are comparing apples to oranges when it comes to the 243s performance do to the varied section of aftermarket projectiles alone.

2. Manufacture store bought ammo: Who's ammo has Berger Bullets seated? (yup! I'd like to buy some if they ain't to too spendy.)

3. Sorry Charlie: Per OP no mention of wanting to use a 243 exclusively in Florida only.

For your fellers who hunt down South in Dixie than Westward to the plains of Texas. Sure the 243 will accomplish a pig & deer taking. If its shooter is a seasoned and well experienced shooter. I kinda think promoting the 243 to every Tom Dick Harry & Jane rookie shooter is a mistake. In the heat of the moment not every individual is a Marksman. And that is exactly what type of individual the 243 needs so's to be a constant good harvester of game time after time year after year. Shot placement is extremely paramount with 243 use on game animals. Not only to bring the animal to its humane quick demise but also limit the bullets meat destruction due to its awesome speed & energy dump.~~~and~~~ so little mass.

Oh ya:
That said ^: For piggys and Row size deer out to 100 yards you fellers down South and East coasters see. I'll place my bet on a more forgiving caliber in the meat destruction department a all purpose good'in for the job. >30-30 Winchester or step up to a little better one for the same purpose. 32 Winchester Special and everything else>270 06 308 300 savage

[stolivar]

I have owned both the 243 and the 25-06, and I can tell you I like the 243 a whole lot better. All I did was track deer shot with the 25-06. Too much pass through's with very little blood trail and a whole lot of tracking.

Never had that problem with the 243, usually just bang flop DRT.

You can keep your 25-06.



steve

[Art Eatman]

I'd guess that bullet selection made the difference with the .25-'06. Lotsa folks quite happy with them for deer and antelope.

[reynolds357]

Art, I believe that many years ago the .243 Win. deserved the bum rap. Reason being was that there were no appropriate bullets being loaded for big game. Now with bonded and gilded bullets, I think the cartridge is awesome.

[old roper]

Maybe factory ammo was loaded with them but Nosler was making 6mm Partition and I loaded some later part of the 60's. All we had back then was gun writers and they sure hyped the 243.

[Mike / Tx]

Since 1970 I have had a 243 that was given to me by my pop. It isn't fancy, but it has put a ton of meat in the freezer. I hunted with it up until the mid 80's. I didn't stop hunting with it due to it being faulty nor due to loosing deer, or other game, I simply retired it due to it being somewhat of an heirloom and I wanted to be able to pass it on to my kid or grandkids.

I have been blessed with a decent job and also with being in an area where folks like to swap off this or that rifle for the latest greatest thing to come along. I have also purchased a few new rifles on my own. I have something chambered in each caliber from .22 up through .33 and of them all my main choice now is my Ruger Compact in .308. Not because it has any greatness for accuracy or lack of recoil, but due to it's handiness. I hunt a variety of locations and I use something here and something there. For the wide open pastures, it was hard to beat my 25-06 with the 115gr Partition loaded to 3150fps. It drops perfectly within the duplex reticle of the Leupold scope and allows for precise shots out to over 400yds. It has also put mor than it's share of critters on the ground, both table fare and not.

As for other calibers, well they all work well. As mentioned it is the person behind them that is the weak link. Practice is paramount, and if the rounds cost too much to practice with then there will be less of it. It does however involve more than the average 3-5 shots a week before hunting season.

At this time I have three or more .243's in my possession. Other than the original one, they are used by my grandsons. This past season my #2 age 7 at te time, took his first deer with a 75yd shot using one of the short Ruger's loaded with a reduced loaded 80gr Hornady bonded core bullet. It was a complete success and a bang flop. That said we WAITED for the proper shot, we practiced all summer long, and when the time came things went great.

There will always be those who feel anything less than 7mm is a varmint round, and those who feel that the game we hunt gets more and more armor plated after each successive season. There will also be those who feel they just HAVE to shoot regardless of the angle, because letting a deer go by them and NOT possibly using a tag is far worse, than tracking something all night and possibly loosing it due to not shooting in the first place.

Pick the caliber that you want, learn how it shoots at different ranges with different ammo. Use the proper ammo for what your hunting, choose your shots wisely, and you will be far happier.

[mikejonestkd]

I have been using the 243 win since the late 90s and its a great round for the whitetails that we have here in Western NY.
to paraphrase the above comments - " It kills bigger than it looks "

edit : we mostly stand hunt in farmer's fields and pick and choose our shots wisely. I don't believe we have ever lost a deer out of 20-30 that were shot with a 243 win.

[Quincunx]

...lighter bullets disintegrate eternally...

LOL

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Kind of you Quincunx for bringing that misspelled word to my attention. Its been corrected.

[Mobuck]

Laws of physics support the theory that a larger caliber bullet(of similar SD) loaded into a larger capacity case(at similar working pressure) will project higher energy levels at a longer range.
If someone can logically explain how this is incorrect, I'll shelf my 25/06(s) and dust off the 243(s).
As a point of fact, I've found common cup and core construction .257 bullets are as effective as premium construction .243 bullets. I won't attempt to explain this as I don't really care--I just know it works.
Over the past decade, my deer rifles have "freezerized" more deer than many hunters do in a lifetime of "one deer a year" hunting experience. I see what happens day after day, deer after deer.
The .243 is a good compromise round especially for recoil shy hunters. No question of that. There are other unquestionably better "dedicated deer cartridges" with only marginally more recoil.

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by Mobuck

Laws of physics support the theory that a larger caliber bullet(of similar SD) loaded into a larger capacity case(at similar working pressure) will project higher energy levels at a longer range.

I think you mean BC, as BC indicates how well a bullet retains velocity over distance. SD can be higher in a round nose bullet than a Sptizer, but the Spitzer will retain more energy down range than the RN bullet. However, energy does not directly correlate to killing power.

If energy was the main determining factor in what it took to kill deer then you'd see bans on handgun and muzzle loader hunting. I have extensive use with both the .243 and .25-06 and have had very dramatic kills with both. I've also had failures with both and neither was the cartridges fault.

Originally Posted by Mobuck

Over the past decade, my deer rifles have "freezerized" more deer than many hunters do in a lifetime of "one deer a year" hunting experience. I see what happens day after day, deer after deer.

I see this attitude a lot online, and it's total BS. Just because you kill a lot of deer doesn't invalidate others experience. I'm a one deer a year hunters for the most part. It doesn't mean the opportunity isn't there to kill multiple deer on a yearly basis. You might get to kill multiple deer, but I get the opportunity to kill multiple species of medium and big game a year and this year I'll be hunting bear, pronghorn, mule deer, white tail, and elk.

I've also hunted with a multitude of cartridges over the past decade from the puny .223 to the .375 Ruger. I have been blessed to hunt game from as far East to NY, North to AK, and South as TX not to mention my home state of CO. So tell us again how your experience if better than mine? I'm not going to say my experience is vastly superior to yours, just my experience is different than yours and still valid experience.

[old roper]

Mobuck, I own 243 and 243AI and don't own 25-06 but I do own 270 which I prefer to use here in Co fill my buck tag.

No question I could hunt on my place and draw deer tag and fill it with 243 but that like shooting ducks in rain barrel.

[Mr. Hill]

A .243 loaded with plain-Jane 100 grain Remington core-lokts will kill deer DRT. Bang-flop, Just like the .25-05, .270, or many other calibers. Only with the .243, the recoil doesn't cause you to lose sight of the deer through the scope.

[old roper]

Mr Hill, Do you remember this post.

Go with the .270 Winchester. Something different from what you've got, and the 130 grain bullet shoots flat and is a great deer round. Lots of commercial ammo available, and recoil isn't bad at all.

[mete]

That's a nice pronghorn ! Anyone out there ever actually clock the speed of those animals ??

[Art Eatman]

mete, from time to time I've seen reports from people on a highway and an antelope was pacing them at some 55 mph. That's halfway-regular over decades.

I recall my father's story of his first antelope hunt. Running antelope. He held his usual lead for a running deer. The bullet went behind the antelope.

[wizrd]

A friend used his Win. Model 88 in .243 to harvest two black bears several seasons ago, (two different seasons) -- both around 250 lbs. Neither one traveled more than 25 yards. -- Commercial ammo, no idea what load. -- I was there and helped drag them both out. -- I would rather NOT be with a guy who shoots a bear in the Adirondacks again.