What kind of results of 243, 6mmRem, 250 Savage, 257Roberts on big game have you had?

Glamdring · January 9, 2001, 12:23 PM

Does anyone actually use the 243/6mm's on big game much? I live in MN and it doesn't seem a common round for deer hunting here. Was working in sporting goods dept during deer season and most of the rifle ammo I sold was 30-30 & 30-06.

BadMedicine · January 9, 2001, 01:01 PM

Yep. We have a rem 788 in .243 that I use, and a rem 600 in 6mm that my brothers use. They work good on deer.

My brothers first deer(muley doe), with the 6mm. It was trotting up a hill at 150. One shot to the neck dropped it, but it jumped back up and was making a dash for a valley that dropped off like hells canyon. Two more shots broke a front leg, and took out the lungs. Using 100gr federals. The post mortem showed that the shot throuch the neck hit nothing but meat!!! It just grazed under the fur and knicked some muscle, just enough to knock him down. (est. 180 lbs)

My first (black tail buck) was with the .243 From about 130 above him (45 degree hill) I hit him running through both hips and cut both arterys in the legs. (I was running, not him....long story) HE went down behind this giant log, and we had to go down and find him. One shot in the neck killed him. He was lieing right where I hit him in what looked like 20 gallons of blood. Inside he was dry, he would have bled to death in less than 5 minutes.(est 170 lbs)

My second deer(blacktail doe) .243, She ran out and stood on the logging road about 20 yards from us. One through the lungs (and far shoulder, cuz she was standing at an angle) and she dropped like a rock. (est 120 lbs)

I love our little 6mm and .243, they double as our long range varmint guns. The heavier bullets fly further without getting knocked around by the wind, and loosing their punch.
I shot 2 fox last year with the 6mm, 100 gr. One at about 30yrds had a 7 inch exit (it sewed up nicely) and one at about 100yrds had a fifty cent piece size exit, but it stretched to about 4" while skinning, but sewed up good too.

I heard somebody on these forum talk about only using the .243 "inside of 50 yards" on deer. That's BS. I'd use both these guns out to 300, or further if I thought I could make the shot. They're flat shooting, and fast, and don't kick much, that makes for excellent kids/ladies guns, and they're great for varmints too.

Ron Ankeny · January 10, 2001, 04:09 PM

I have killed antelope and deer with all of the cartridges you listed except the .250 Savage. I did have a .250 Savage Improved for a time and it worked as well as the Roberts. The 6mm and .25's are very popular here (Wyoming) for pronghorn, white tail, and mule deer. They work just fine on deer sized critter as long as you use a bullet of appropriate weight and construction..

Hot Core · January 10, 2001, 05:27 PM

Hey Glamdring, I've had a 243Win of one type or another for a little over 30 years. Wouldn't keep one around if they didn't work so well.

I do agree with the other folks that selecting a good bullet and then putting it in the right place is even more critical with these smaller calibers. Placed properly, the good old 90gr Speer Hot-Cor with a SAFE MAX Load will put all the Deer you will ever see into the freezer.

But, these small caliber rounds just make small Exits. If part of the entrails happens to slip across that small hole, you end up with no blood trail. Where you hunt, that might not be a problem at all. Where I hunt, it can lead to long hours of tracking to go 75yds. Just difficult for someone who has not been in a Southern Woods/Swamp to imagine how dense the understory is.

But, yes I do like the 243Win and normally take a few Deer with it every year (didn't this year though).

Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

deanf · January 10, 2001, 10:29 PM

Well my dad shoots a .250-3000 (AKA .250 Savage.) It's deadly (for him) on whitetail and big mulies. He's taken it elk hunting. (I think he's crazy, but he is a damn good shot.) It's sort of a sentimental thing. The rile's been handed down through the generations, and the only lower-48 big game it hasn't taken is black bear and elk. He'd like to make it complete if he can.

My dad went to Montana for elk last year, and he says that Montana elk hunters were offering him cash for the rifle because they wanted it to hunt elk with. I guess they're all quite confident in their shot placement ability.

Me, I'll be taking my .300 Win. Mag. when I (hopefully) go this year.

Art Eatman · January 11, 2001, 12:19 AM

I've killed around 20 central Texas whitetail with my .243. They rarely field-dressed over 110 pounds. Most were neck shots. All were with the 85-grain Sierra HPBT. No running shots.

One other hunter on our lease used a .243 for about eight years or so. He used mostly 100-grain bullets, make unknown. His biggest buck dressed 130. Most of his shots were chest-cavity hits.

This was more open country to hunt in than the thick stuff in the southeastern U.S. Lot of large trees, patches of brush, but little impenetrable stuff.

FWIW, Art

birdog4 · January 11, 2001, 08:12 AM

I've shot the .250 Savage for 35 years. Having taken 60-70 deer with 87 and 100 gr. PSP bullets, I see no reason to change. Bullet placement is still everything. Shoulder shots do ruin some meat , though.
The only drawback I have seen is that they aren't very forgiving in the brush.
It's still a fine cartridge.

griz · January 12, 2001, 08:08 AM

Im can't match Birdog but the 250 Savage is my favorite. More because of the rifle (Ruger 77UL) than the cartridge. I have also used the 243 and both work fine on the smaller deer here on the east coast.

JohnDog · January 13, 2001, 12:38 PM

Well, through a major league screw-up (space-out, brain-lock, call it what you want - I'm not going to go into details) I ended up at elk-camp 4 years ago with my 25.06. Luckily I noticed I didn't have my elk rifle late Friday afternoon, instead of early opening day Saturday. A 60 mile roundtrip to Gunnison rectified the no ammunition problem, and 2 days later I got a nice little 5X4 brush bull. It was about a 200 yard shot into the bread basket, and he got up and started to trot off, but another shot put him down for good. Usally I use this rifle for pronghorns, and a couple of deer hunts (one whitetail, one muley), but its good to know that if I do a good job on shot placement it will take bigger game.

JohnDog

January 10, 2001, 05:27 PM	#4
Hot Core Senior Member Join Date: November 22, 2000 Posts: 118	They do make "small" Exit holes though. Hey Glamdring, I've had a 243Win of one type or another for a little over 30 years. Wouldn't keep one around if they didn't work so well. I do agree with the other folks that selecting a good bullet and then putting it in the right place is even more critical with these smaller calibers. Placed properly, the good old 90gr Speer Hot-Cor with a SAFE MAX Load will put all the Deer you will ever see into the freezer. But, these small caliber rounds just make small Exits. If part of the entrails happens to slip across that small hole, you end up with no blood trail. Where you hunt, that might not be a problem at all. Where I hunt, it can lead to long hours of tracking to go 75yds. Just difficult for someone who has not been in a Southern Woods/Swamp to imagine how dense the understory is. But, yes I do like the 243Win and normally take a few Deer with it every year (didn't this year though). Good hunting and clean 1-shot kills, Hot Core

January 11, 2001, 08:12 AM	#7
birdog4 Member Join Date: December 6, 2000 Posts: 27	I've shot the .250 Savage for 35 years. Having taken 60-70 deer with 87 and 100 gr. PSP bullets, I see no reason to change. Bullet placement is still everything. Shoulder shots do ruin some meat , though. The only drawback I have seen is that they aren't very forgiving in the brush. It's still a fine cartridge. __________________ grouse hunting is not a matter of life or death. It's much more important than that.

January 9, 2001, 12:23 PM	#1
Glamdring Senior Member Join Date: April 23, 2000 Location: MN Posts: 1,388	Does anyone actually use the 243/6mm's on big game much? I live in MN and it doesn't seem a common round for deer hunting here. Was working in sporting goods dept during deer season and most of the rifle ammo I sold was 30-30 & 30-06.

January 9, 2001, 01:01 PM	#2
BadMedicine Junior member Join Date: July 7, 2000 Location: Anchorage Posts: 863	Yep. We have a rem 788 in .243 that I use, and a rem 600 in 6mm that my brothers use. They work good on deer. My brothers first deer(muley doe), with the 6mm. It was trotting up a hill at 150. One shot to the neck dropped it, but it jumped back up and was making a dash for a valley that dropped off like hells canyon. Two more shots broke a front leg, and took out the lungs. Using 100gr federals. The post mortem showed that the shot throuch the neck hit nothing but meat!!! It just grazed under the fur and knicked some muscle, just enough to knock him down. (est. 180 lbs) My first (black tail buck) was with the .243 From about 130 above him (45 degree hill) I hit him running through both hips and cut both arterys in the legs. (I was running, not him....long story) HE went down behind this giant log, and we had to go down and find him. One shot in the neck killed him. He was lieing right where I hit him in what looked like 20 gallons of blood. Inside he was dry, he would have bled to death in less than 5 minutes.(est 170 lbs) My second deer(blacktail doe) .243, She ran out and stood on the logging road about 20 yards from us. One through the lungs (and far shoulder, cuz she was standing at an angle) and she dropped like a rock. (est 120 lbs) I love our little 6mm and .243, they double as our long range varmint guns. The heavier bullets fly further without getting knocked around by the wind, and loosing their punch. I shot 2 fox last year with the 6mm, 100 gr. One at about 30yrds had a 7 inch exit (it sewed up nicely) and one at about 100yrds had a fifty cent piece size exit, but it stretched to about 4" while skinning, but sewed up good too. I heard somebody on these forum talk about only using the .243 "inside of 50 yards" on deer. That's BS. I'd use both these guns out to 300, or further if I thought I could make the shot. They're flat shooting, and fast, and don't kick much, that makes for excellent kids/ladies guns, and they're great for varmints too.

January 10, 2001, 04:09 PM	#3
Ron Ankeny Senior Member Join Date: April 3, 2000 Posts: 316	I have killed antelope and deer with all of the cartridges you listed except the .250 Savage. I did have a .250 Savage Improved for a time and it worked as well as the Roberts. The 6mm and .25's are very popular here (Wyoming) for pronghorn, white tail, and mule deer. They work just fine on deer sized critter as long as you use a bullet of appropriate weight and construction..

January 10, 2001, 10:29 PM	#5
deanf Senior Member Join Date: June 5, 1999 Location: N47º 12’ x W122º 10' Posts: 1,599	Well my dad shoots a .250-3000 (AKA .250 Savage.) It's deadly (for him) on whitetail and big mulies. He's taken it elk hunting. (I think he's crazy, but he is a damn good shot.) It's sort of a sentimental thing. The rile's been handed down through the generations, and the only lower-48 big game it hasn't taken is black bear and elk. He'd like to make it complete if he can. My dad went to Montana for elk last year, and he says that Montana elk hunters were offering him cash for the rifle because they wanted it to hunt elk with. I guess they're all quite confident in their shot placement ability. Me, I'll be taking my .300 Win. Mag. when I (hopefully) go this year.

January 11, 2001, 12:19 AM	#6
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	I've killed around 20 central Texas whitetail with my .243. They rarely field-dressed over 110 pounds. Most were neck shots. All were with the 85-grain Sierra HPBT. No running shots. One other hunter on our lease used a .243 for about eight years or so. He used mostly 100-grain bullets, make unknown. His biggest buck dressed 130. Most of his shots were chest-cavity hits. This was more open country to hunt in than the thick stuff in the southeastern U.S. Lot of large trees, patches of brush, but little impenetrable stuff. FWIW, Art

January 12, 2001, 08:08 AM	#8
griz Senior Member Join Date: July 31, 2000 Location: Middle Peninsula, VA Posts: 1,588	Im can't match Birdog but the 250 Savage is my favorite. More because of the rifle (Ruger 77UL) than the cartridge. I have also used the 243 and both work fine on the smaller deer here on the east coast.

January 13, 2001, 12:38 PM	#9
JohnDog Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2000 Location: Colorado Springs, Co Posts: 134	Well, through a major league screw-up (space-out, brain-lock, call it what you want - I'm not going to go into details) I ended up at elk-camp 4 years ago with my 25.06. Luckily I noticed I didn't have my elk rifle late Friday afternoon, instead of early opening day Saturday. A 60 mile roundtrip to Gunnison rectified the no ammunition problem, and 2 days later I got a nice little 5X4 brush bull. It was about a 200 yard shot into the bread basket, and he got up and started to trot off, but another shot put him down for good. Usally I use this rifle for pronghorns, and a couple of deer hunts (one whitetail, one muley), but its good to know that if I do a good job on shot placement it will take bigger game. JohnDog