Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

[sdakotaguy]

OK! Good! I have 250 70 grain Varmageddon bullets to load for 22 inch 10 twist M70. Suggestions?

IMHO you have a great varmint bullet there. If you should insist on using those 70 grain varmint bullets for taking deer you will need to pick your shots much more carefully. Stay away from the front shoulder first of all.

If it were me & I needed to use the 70 grainers for deer Id be looking to thread the bullet in on a quartering away shot. Threading that bullet just behind the rib cage & hopefully lining up the off shoulder as an exit point. Only two things first that 70 grain varmint bullet is very unlikley to exit.

Quartering away shot entering just behind the rib cage gets you the liver & lungs.

Bottom line is I would be looking for a more durable bullet for deer hunting if at all possible for hunting purposes. Varmint bullets would be more for trigger time to get used to shooting the rifle. Then a alternate zero will likely be needed for the heavier hunting bullet vs the lighter varmint bullet.

 

[asd9055]

IMHO you have a great varmint bullet there. If you should insist on using those 70 grain varmint bullets for taking deer you will need to pick your shots much more carefully. Stay away from the front shoulder first of all.

If it were me & I needed to use the 70 grainers for deer Id be looking to thread the bullet in on a quartering away shot. Threading that bullet just behind the rib cage & hopefully lining up the off shoulder as an exit point. Only two things first that 70 grain varmint bullet is very unlikley to exit.

Quartering away shot entering just behind the rib cage gets you the liver & lungs.

Bottom line is I would be looking for a more durable bullet for deer hunting if at all possible for hunting purposes. Varmint bullets would be more for trigger time to get used to shooting the rifle. Then a alternate zero will likely be needed for the heavier hunting bullet vs the lighter varmint bullet.

Thanks! No, I use my 30.06 for deer, or
270. I did take a couple of deer with the 243 using Winchester factory 95 grain bullets. I could only find 70 grain locally so I just want to load them and see what I can do!

 

[sdakotaguy]

Do you have any H4895 or IMR 4895? Expect you may find a good load with that bullet powder combo.

 

[asd9055]

I have one of each and 3lbs varget. I was thinking around 40gr varget should be good

 

[Ol' Red]

I have one of each and 3lbs varget. I was thinking around 40gr varget should be good

My .243 loves IMR4831 and 90 gr bullets. I hear that Varget works well, but have not tried it.

 

[unclebob]

.243 seems to do a great job on white tails as long as the bullet is put in the right place. It certainly nice to be able to carry a light rifle if you have to walk very far!

 

[SkipB]

Easy....NO its not. Not even top 25....might make a top 10 if you list a bunch of silly caveats.

Just to start...every other larger than 6mm diameter 308 based case and every 30-06 based case cartridge is better.

Every larger than 6mm diameter Mauser based case is better.

All the standard and stupid short magnums 6mm and larger are better.

303 British and 348 Winchester are better.

Under 225 yards I'll take a 30-30....35 Rem....375 Winchester....45-70....450 Marlin and some others.

So if you caveat over 225 yards and you don't want to increase a maximum point blank range by an increased over/under, it's maybe better than a handful of cartridges.

No I take that back. I'd just hunt closer and use any of the others.

a 30-30 at 225 yds what are you doing holding over 2 or 3 ft

 

[sdakotaguy]

a 30-30 at 225 yds what are you doing holding over 2 or 3 f

I like practicing a lot & reloading a lot. I do not miss the recoil of the bigger guns! Even if we were not experiencing a component shortage & price hikes, still like the idea of burning 2/3ds the propellant or less with a high bc high SD bullet to get the job done in reliable fashion.

Suppose if we can afford to practice more & we like practicing more because the firearm is not kicking the s### out of us we probably practice more, flinch less & hit our targets more reliably. Perhaps a bit more than my 2 cents worth on this subject.

Say what you like. My choices include 7mm mag, 30-06, 308 win, 6.5 Creedmoor 7.62 x39, 6.5 Grendel. 6mm Rem & 6mm ARC, 300 BLK.

For my hunting style any of these could & would get the job done. Eh, Must admit I question the 7.62 x 39 & the 300 BLK for anything over 150 yards.

So I have done bigger to smaller & when bullets are chosen well I really do not feel handicapped with even the smallest 6mm caliber listed. Then I do not live in grizzly bear country either. YMMV

So I have more gun if needed I just rarely perhaps never need it.

 

[348 fan]

a 30-30 at 225 yds what are you doing holding over 2 or 3 ft

I'm assuming you've never seen a Savage model 340 chambered in 30-30.

 

[SkipB]

I'm assuming you've never seen a Savage model 340 chambered in 30-30.

I dont care what rifle it is in a 30-30 round is a 30-30 round and its only good for about 200 yds max maybe 250 if you push it. At 300 yds its dropping over 18 inches thats a foot and a half. If I were hunting 50 to 75 yds in the bushes then a 30-30 would be fine but if I`m sitting over a peanut field and a nice buck walks out at 300 yds a 30-30 will be digging furrows in the ground when my 25-06 or 7mm-08 will get the job done. A 30-30 is a good round for what it does but it cant compare with todays better rounds that shoot flatter and hit harder.

 

[348 fan]

I dont care what rifle it is in a 30-30 round is a 30-30 round and its only good for about 200 yds max maybe 250 if you push it. At 300 yds its dropping over 18 inches thats a foot and a half. If I were hunting 50 to 75 yds in the bushes then a 30-30 would be fine but if I`m sitting over a peanut field and a nice buck walks out at 300 yds a 30-30 will be digging furrows in the ground when my 25-06 or 7mm-08 will get the job done. A 30-30 is a good round for what it does but it cant compare with todays better rounds that shoot flatter and hit harder.

I do not disagree. Please read the title of the thread and my written words.

 

[CoSniper66]

Deer and Antelope are not very tough. 243 or 6.5 creed or 6 creed are more than enough. Plus, you can shoot them enough to get very accurate. May need something with more power on Elk at long ranges.

 

[Chas1]

You should never doubt the wisdom of the older folks!

True. 243 has taken a lot of deer and a great cartridge for youths.

 

[Charlie Brown Jr.]

Back when we had lots of blacktails to shoot, I had a 22 cheetah Mk 2, shooting Nosler 55gr. Zipedo's near 4000 FPS, out to about 300 yds, this thing was devastating on deer, it seemed to kill by electrocution, an animal shot most anywhere would freeze in its tracks and tip over. I did an autopsy on most of the deer shot, looking for internal damage, some deer hit in the wrong spot seemed to drop instantly for no reason. Fun to shoot, 0 recoil, Lazer like trajectory. The base of the little Zipedo's would penetrate to the far side of a deer shot broad side, seemed to kill much better than it should have. Lots of better bullets available today.