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Paul B. · June 29, 2013, 01:38 PM

I'm thinking it would help a lot to know if the OP was a reloader or not. I would think that if the .270 is an option, a left handed model witht he stock cut to fit the lady having a Pachmeyr Decelerator recoil pad wodl be the way to go. If the OP does reload, he could very easily make up "managed recoil" type load and gradually work up to full power hunting loads. A 130 gr. Nosler Accubond or Partition would work just fine for deer and even elk although if hunting elk I'd prefer either bullet in 150 or 160 gr. weight.
I've seen how the .243 works on big Nevada Mule Deer and frankly, I was not impressed. I used to guide kids on their first deer hunts when I lived in Northern Nevada and some not havnig a deer rifle would use my .243 with a fairly stiff load using the 100 gr. Hornady sp bullet. I don't remember if they were Interlocks or not as this was in the late mid 70's. Only one deer was a drt bang flop out of 6 deer shot. All the others ran off after being hit, one almost 250 yards and may have kept on running except a fence got in the way. He backed up and hit that fence twice before expiring. Most of the deer ran from 35 to close to 100 yards before dropping. I coached each of the kids on their shot and all were good chest hits either into the heart or lungs. Most shots were at roughly 100 to 150 yards and these kids shot well.
Now I'm certain all the lovers of the .243 will be all over my back saying, "It ain't so." but it is exactly as stated. These deer were all taken on a private ranch with almost no hunting pressure. It was also fairly open so we could see where the deer fimally dropped. Good thing because there was so little blood trail that if cover had been thick, some of those deer would have been lost. Anyway, out of 6 deer shot with that rifle, only one dropped at the shot.
Now if the OP is not a handloader, I believe I would look at a 7-08. REcoil would be in the same level as the 7x57 and would be just fine for deer with 140 gr. Factory ammo. I don't shoot the 7-08 but do shoot a 7x57 and I load my ammo to 7-08 specs. A 7-08 with a premium 150 or 160 gr. load would be more than adequate for elk. A factory 175 gr. load would probably be just fine out to 200 yards on elk as long as it's not Federal's load. All I will say is I've had problems with that one. I've been hunting for 64 years and have lost exactly two deer in all that time. One was with the federal load just mentioned.

Paul B.

June 29, 2013, 01:38 PM	#49
Paul B. Senior Member Join Date: March 28, 1999 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 3,802	I'm thinking it would help a lot to know if the OP was a reloader or not. I would think that if the .270 is an option, a left handed model witht he stock cut to fit the lady having a Pachmeyr Decelerator recoil pad wodl be the way to go. If the OP does reload, he could very easily make up "managed recoil" type load and gradually work up to full power hunting loads. A 130 gr. Nosler Accubond or Partition would work just fine for deer and even elk although if hunting elk I'd prefer either bullet in 150 or 160 gr. weight. I've seen how the .243 works on big Nevada Mule Deer and frankly, I was not impressed. I used to guide kids on their first deer hunts when I lived in Northern Nevada and some not havnig a deer rifle would use my .243 with a fairly stiff load using the 100 gr. Hornady sp bullet. I don't remember if they were Interlocks or not as this was in the late mid 70's. Only one deer was a drt bang flop out of 6 deer shot. All the others ran off after being hit, one almost 250 yards and may have kept on running except a fence got in the way. He backed up and hit that fence twice before expiring. Most of the deer ran from 35 to close to 100 yards before dropping. I coached each of the kids on their shot and all were good chest hits either into the heart or lungs. Most shots were at roughly 100 to 150 yards and these kids shot well. Now I'm certain all the lovers of the .243 will be all over my back saying, "It ain't so." but it is exactly as stated. These deer were all taken on a private ranch with almost no hunting pressure. It was also fairly open so we could see where the deer fimally dropped. Good thing because there was so little blood trail that if cover had been thick, some of those deer would have been lost. Anyway, out of 6 deer shot with that rifle, only one dropped at the shot. Now if the OP is not a handloader, I believe I would look at a 7-08. REcoil would be in the same level as the 7x57 and would be just fine for deer with 140 gr. Factory ammo. I don't shoot the 7-08 but do shoot a 7x57 and I load my ammo to 7-08 specs. A 7-08 with a premium 150 or 160 gr. load would be more than adequate for elk. A factory 175 gr. load would probably be just fine out to 200 yards on elk as long as it's not Federal's load. All I will say is I've had problems with that one. I've been hunting for 64 years and have lost exactly two deer in all that time. One was with the federal load just mentioned. Paul B. __________________ COMPROMISE IS NOT AN OPTION!