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I know, I know ....
(imagine southern or backwoods drawl)
".243's the best whitetail rifle ever made."
"You don't need a cannon, you need to know how to shoot."
"If you want the most meat, use the least gun.."
BUT....
Over the weekend a friend of mine who owns a gun shop and is a pretty avid shooter lost two deer that were solid hits with his .243. Both shots were videoed and they were solid killzone hits. We walked around in the rain Friday night looking for one for about two hours, which he had hit right where the heart should've been. It ran out of a field about 150 yards from where it was hit.
It was found on Saturday after the morning hunt, about 300 yards from where it had originally been shot. Sure enough, the heart had been knicked by the bullet. The meat had been ruined by sitting overnight and half the day in the hot sun of Saturday. The rack was also broken, which could've happened while the deer was running.
On Saturday, the same individual hit another, even bigger deer, in the kill zone, on video, but it was lost. The blood trail dissappeared after a couple hundred yards. There were several experienced guides who knew the property trying to find it. As far as I know, the deer hadn't been found yet. That deer would've won a contest, from the look of it on the video.. and, of course, more lost meat.
Both shots were under 200 yards, the first one, at about 75.
So, my question, if you own a gun shop.. why do you go into the woods with a .243, especially for an "important" hunt ??
(I must admit that I lost a doe Friday, which I had hit with the RT Glock at about 50 yards. The blood trail was lost in the storm which started about 15 minutes after I had shot, just before dark. As warm as it got Saturday, we never looked for it, figuring the meat was already tainted and the coyotes might as well eat in the woods, instead of having to come the the lodge's dump.
BUT, If I'd've been shooting at a trophy buck, the 10mm pistol never would've come out of the holster at that range....)
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