Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

[Idaho Lefty]

I predict within the next 2 pages we'll be in a ford /dodge/Chevy ****in contest

NOPE,. Nissan Frontiers, ARE, the BEST, OFF road, Deer & Elk Huntin', Rigs !
Mine can climb, a Greased up, Telephone Pole,. LOL !
The 6.5 Creed, IS better than, a .243 Win at, Killin' Deer ,.. a FACT of, Phsyics !
That said, the EVER Popular, .243 JUST,.. Kicks,.. LESS !
OH, Yeah,. we got a LONG Ways to go, on THIS,. "subject" ! LOL !
The .243 Win., HAS,.. IT's,. "Place" !
PS; my 12 year old grandson, just Popped ( DRT ), a NICE 3 X 4 Muley Buck Last week with a .243 Win ( 87 Berger HVLD ) @ 265 Yards.
BECAUSE that's, the MOST Gun, that he can, TOLERATE,.. the recoil !

 

[Muddyboots]

Let's see " best of all time"?
30-30 Winchester DOB 1894
30-06 Springfield DOB 1906
.270 Winchester DOB 1925

Johnny come lately 243 Win DOB 1955?

.243 Winchester had a long way to go to even remotely be considered best of all time. I think it is great for varmits, predators and whitetails for certain applications. But "across the board"? Nope.

 

[Chas1]

Saying a 243 is the best cartridge ever made for killing deer is like saying this is the best truck ever made for towing 2000 pounds.

Sure it'll do it, well…. But a f250 diesel WILL do it better every time. View attachment 314228

+1 on 243 & F-250.

 

[TX Badger]

I agree with "Nope", but do not think we are talking about all time. At least I'm not. I be been commenting on today's best with modern powders, bullets, twist rates, range finders...

 

[Muddyboots]

+1 on 243 & F-250.

My Ram 2500 took out 2 does last year on way home from local hunt. Both bounced around under truck before getting ejected out under rear tires. Heck of bounce from that. Zero damage! To truck that is!

 

[Todd Carpenter]

You know you always meet the idiot on the road pulling a 30ft camper on the bumper of a single cab toyota 4 cylinder and hes got a line of traffic behind him and the lil 4 beater is screaming (I think I can I think I can!) and that thing is wobbling back an forth from line to line and those in back r scared to pass and those meeting him just hoping he dont crossover an hit them head on! True truck will pull it but needs to be just moving it around the yard where u can cut the grass under it! A man trying to buy one rifle for all game should probally stick to a 30.06 because it can handle elk moose grizzly bears caribou, mule deer whitetails and anything else u can think of. I dont own one but own several others probally 25 calibers and everyone better than a 243! There is a number of Grizzly bears that are really hungry that wanna be hunted with a 243! If anybody in the deer woods ever accidentally shoots me please dont use a 243 use something bigger that will put me outta my misery really fast!!!!!!! Thanks

 

[bengineer]

Both of my older boys have taken their first big game with a short stocked 20" 243. My youngers will also probably take big game with that gun. Both have moved up in bore diameter. One shoots a 308 with partitions, the other is experimenting with a 35 Whelen. Neither likes the small diameter bullets after they impact flesh; small wounds can confound. Both prefer larger bullets because they create larger wounds, in general.
My 12 y.o. and I took successive wt does with his 243. He took a mid-lung shot and I took a forward shoulder shot. His lung wound was about 2" dia and exit was 3/4". My whole wound channel was about 2", through both shoulders, just under the spine and out the other ribs and shoulder. Lung wound was 4" across. More resistance equalled wider wound. Both deer dead ran about 90 yards. In my experiences, thats par for the 243 unless a super soft bullet is used. A 308, 7-08, 25, 26, 27… doesnt seem to have that limitation unless too hard of a bullet is used. Were we using too hard of a bullet, then? Possibly. But any softer wont exit on a broadside shot, and may not enter on side ribs.
Is 243 the best? No way. Is it enough? I believe Ruark would say no, and I know my boys and I say no. Less tracking is better for me. But a wide bullet also doesnt mean an animal is ruined. The 45/70 with a 400 or heavier, or a lighter bullet not going max speed, creates a sufficient wound but isnt destructive. Especially when compared to a 257 Roy using an 80 grain varmint bullet.

 

[jessej]

When I was a kid, my truck costed less than MOST of my rifles do now.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

Here we go, couldnt help but reply to this and cant believe folks r really this stupid! Is looting and burning friendly protest? That just like saying the 243 is best deer caliber! The 243 is for a fact the most bought worse deer caliber ever created!!!! People really buy them for women and kids because of no recoil! The 243 can account for more game lost, wounded and crippled than any other so called deer caliber ever! What is it that make people want to use the least effective barely capeable to hunt with? I read down and find some idots take this round for shooting elk!! I dont mind stepping on toes when people act this stupid! I consider this type of person to be liberal or democrat! I would rather use over kill than under kill! This is common sense! wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow Todd are you really that ignorant when in comes to the .243? I personally have used the .243 for whiteail deer for about 17 years and shot a couple deer a year with it. Out of all those deer only one, I repeat, one wasn't DRT. And that was due to a faulty bullet that hit the shoulder and fragmented into numerous pieces and followed half the length of the body between the hide and ribs. The 2nd shot as the deer was running away broke both front shoulders and he did a face plant in the dirt flipping his butt over his head. So to say the .243 is not an good deer cartridge with the proper bullets is just idiotic. Is it the best? No, it has it limitations. But is it a good deer cartridge? Heck yes - within those limits. Some would argue that the 30-30 is the best. Or the 30-06, or 7mm Mag. Fact is there no way to describe the BEST deer cartridge. How do you define it. DRT, just dead, less meat/tissue damage? You put a slug through the heart, lung or liver area the animal is going to expire.

 

[HeadedWest]

Here we go, couldnt help but reply to this and cant believe folks r really this stupid! Is looting and burning friendly protest? That just like saying the 243 is best deer caliber! The 243 is for a fact the most bought worse deer caliber ever created!!!! People really buy them for women and kids because of no recoil! The 243 can account for more game lost, wounded and crippled than any other so called deer caliber ever! What is it that make people want to use the least effective barely capeable to hunt with? I read down and find some idots take this round for shooting elk!! I dont mind stepping on toes when people act this stupid! I consider this type of person to be liberal or democrat! I would rather use over kill than under kill! This is common sense! wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sounds like some Bama pride

 

[jessej]

I'm out.

 

[Doug in New Prospect SC]

Here we go, couldnt help but reply to this and cant believe folks r really this stupid! Is looting and burning friendly protest? That just like saying the 243 is best deer caliber! The 243 is for a fact the most bought worse deer caliber ever created!!!! People really buy them for women and kids because of no recoil! The 243 can account for more game lost, wounded and crippled than any other so called deer caliber ever! What is it that make people want to use the least effective barely capeable to hunt with? I read down and find some idots take this round for shooting elk!! I dont mind stepping on toes when people act this stupid! I consider this type of person to be liberal or democrat! I would rather use over kill than under kill! This is common sense! wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the end it's all about shot placement

 

[tooth doc]

A little background, my father in law debated me one time, 243 is the best deer cartridge. I said, naw, it's the 30-06. He said no way, the 243 kills them just as dead, sweetest shooting cartridge with no recoil, and very flat and fast.

Shortly after that, I 'd gotten on a lease and bought a 243 as a back up to my trusty 30-06 and for my father in law to use when I took him as my guest. Well guess what? I've come to believe he's right. I've shot deer with calibers up to 375H&H and pistol calibers 45 ACP and 41 magnum and nothing kills deer as quickly as that 243.

Since then I bought a small frame 243 Tikka T3 for my kids to use as their first deer rifle. That gun is a tack driver and kills deer dead right there. It's light, smooth action, relatively inexpensive, sized right for kids and comes with shims to grow with them. My buddy took his youngest of three sons out to hunt his first deer this weekend. Borrowed that 243. One shot, DRT! Loved the gun.

Just more proof in my mind that my father in law was right. The 243 is the best deer cartridge. I don't know what it is, speed? sweet-spot diameter of bullet? Just the right amount of energy? Love to hear others' thoughts and reactions, both pro and con!

a good one for sure, but not always. have not read all 14 pages, that speaks volumes.to a one gun hunter , who also shoots , elk, bear etc, not so much so. what if you see a 350 lb buck /bruiser of a lifetime, and all you have is a texas heartshot, well . ..

 

[GuntherRLII]

Hit one with the quick attach snow plow frame on a International tandem truck. Deer went 60 feet forward and about 15 feet in the air. Deer dead right there. Truck was fine. Hit one with an old Suburban with a welded on grille guard. Deer went about 25 feet. Drt, car was fine. Hit one with an ambulance, knocked it over then it got up and ran away. Deer and ambulance were fine. Was passenger in an ambulance when my driver hit a deer. Deer went 20 feet, kept trying to get up. We have no tire tools or other weapons. I am debating if I need to kill it with my shears or inject it with a bunch of controlled substances so it will take the "Angel Sleep." It died a few minutes later without any intervention from me. Ambulance had about $5000.00 damage. Hit two with a Buick LeSabre. 1st flew about 75 feet, DRT Buick takes about $2500.00 to fix. 2nd deer goes about 3 feet. DRT Buick has damage but it's also got 300,000 miles so it gets a used headlight bucket for $50.00. This proves, without a shadow of a doubt Plow trucks and '77 Suburbans are the best deer killers especially when taking cost per deer into account. Buick did ok, killed two with a cost per deer of $1275.00 Ambulances plain suck, 1st deer didn't even die, 2nd cost $5000.00 so Ambulances have at best a 50% kill rate. Hope this helps.