Is the 243 the best whitetail deer cartridge?

First gun I ever took to the deer woods was a 243. Killed a lot of deer since. Can't go wrong with a 243, 30/30, 270, 30-06, etc.... There is a reason they have all been around for so long. I can't think of a better caliber to start a new shooter off with than the old grand 243.
 
I've killed 74 deer and 3 hogs in the last two months with a 6 creed. Kissing cousin to the 243. These have been 100 pound avg deer. Used 3 different bullets. It isn't even close to being in the same class with a 25, 6.5, 270 or the like. Even the 6.5 Grendle kills better. With 243/6mmyou get more runners, less blood, longer runners, more lost animals. Seen it not only this year but all my life. Tracked or used my tracking dog on many animals shot with 243. I was elated when they moved up to a bigger cartridge because the adventures in tracking went down. It's a fairly decent cartridge for what I do with it, depredation. Or coyotes. No way in h-ll I'd shoot trophy animals with one.
 
Turpentine21 said:
I've killed 74 deer and 3 hogs in the last two months with a 6 creed. Kissing cousin to the 243. These have been 100 pound avg deer. Used 3 different bullets. It isn't even close to being in the same class with a 25, 6.5, 270 or the like. Even the 6.5 Grendle kills better. With 243/6mmyou get more runners, less blood, longer runners, more lost animals. Seen it not only this year but all my life. Tracked or used my tracking dog on many animals shot with 243. I was elated when they moved up to a bigger cartridge because the adventures in tracking went down. It's a fairly decent cartridge for what I do with it, depredation. Or coyotes. No way in h-ll I'd shoot trophy animals with one.
Click to expand...
I'm amazed how far a "dead deer"
can run !
 
Turpentine21 said:
I've killed 74 deer and 3 hogs in the last two months with a 6 creed. Kissing cousin to the 243. These have been 100 pound avg deer. Used 3 different bullets. It isn't even close to being in the same class with a 25, 6.5, 270 or the like. Even the 6.5 Grendle kills better. With 243/6mmyou get more runners, less blood, longer runners, more lost animals. Seen it not only this year but all my life. Tracked or used my tracking dog on many animals shot with 243. I was elated when they moved up to a bigger cartridge because the adventures in tracking went down. It's a fairly decent cartridge for what I do with it, depredation. Or coyotes. No way in h-ll I'd shoot trophy animals with one.
Click to expand...
Totally agree brother
 
Turpentine21 said:
I've killed 74 deer and 3 hogs in the last two months with a 6 creed. Kissing cousin to the 243. These have been 100 pound avg deer. Used 3 different bullets. It isn't even close to being in the same class with a 25, 6.5, 270 or the like. Even the 6.5 Grendle kills better. With 243/6mmyou get more runners, less blood, longer runners, more lost animals. Seen it not only this year but all my life. Tracked or used my tracking dog on many animals shot with 243. I was elated when they moved up to a bigger cartridge because the adventures in tracking went down. It's a fairly decent cartridge for what I do with it, depredation. Or coyotes. No way in h-ll I'd shoot trophy animals with one.
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What bullet are you using? And where are you hitting the deer you lost?
 
108 eldm is what I use now. That choice came from testing results. Shoulder or behind the shoulder. Generally broadside or slight angle to or away. Head shots dropped. Most pinpoint shoulder shots dropped. Behind the shoulder was a crap shoot. Bullets that did not perform well were 107 TMK and 103 Eldx. Deer ran forever with those. Many required finishing. Very small wound channels and exits. I'm using thermal so I have video to study from each shot. I didn't say I lost any, but in a normal hunting situation with thick cover and water nearby that would have been the case in quite a few cases. Most of these were shot in large bean fields where I could actually watch the effect on target and see the run. That's where I'll usually do most of my testing. One of the better bullets in 243 that I've seen is the 95 SST.
 
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Rabid Fish said:
I'm amazed how far a "dead deer"
can run !
Click to expand...
Well they aren't completely dead right at impact, and with less trauma and shock , it takes them longer to actually bleed out and die which means traveling farther. That's what I've seen anyway and it happens more frequently with 243/6mm than with the others mentioned. The good thing about what I get to do is we get enough samples that trends start to become evident. 25-30 is a good number for trends to start to become evident. Sometimes it's a lot sooner. It's easy enough to kill 2 or 3 animals with a 22 WMR and call it a great deer cartridge based on what you've seen. But in reality, unless you get headshots inside 50-75 yards, it's not and that will play out given more samples.
 
Hey Rooster, post # 728...well said.

NOT my place nor anyone else's to unequivocally say the real # 1. IMHO, I agree with your comments (and many others) about using "enough" gun. A cartridge that offers a little "insurance" when it hits and especially with a marginal hit. When that happens, it makes a real, useable difference.

.25, 6.5, 277, 284 and 30 cal cartridges shine in this regard offering that insurance on a marginal hit which can happen to anyone. A "bit" of tracking to a dead animal with a .243? No problem. Lost / wounded animal? Problem. Yeah, that too can happen with any cartridge placed poorly. Likely a bit less often though with the cartridges I mentioned.

.243 does have advantages. When it's the right tool for the animal and distance offered. That applies to all the other cartridges as well.

Just say'in.

G'day.
 
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6 MM Remington! Hard to find but I have killed many blackmails and up to some very large mule deer. Use 100 grain partition bullets.
 
Huntslow said:
6 MM Remington! Hard to find but I have killed many blackmails and up to some very large mule deer. Use 100 grain partition bullets.
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My hunting buddy that passed last year used a 6mm REM for depredation. It did well for that.
A very good friend that works at a plantation I frequent uses a 243AI that Kenny Jarrett built for his dad with the original load Kenny worked up for it with the 85 grain Sierra HPBT. It's beyond accurate. My friend guides there for kids hunts, Wounded Warrior hunts, etc. and that rifle often gets used. Mostly doe's at 100 yards or thereabouts are taken. He swears that setup for his situation is a killer!
 
One 6mm advantage we can't speak about too many times is its very manageable recoil & why it works so well for so many people in the hunting situations expressed above. Provided it's in its sweet spot on cartridges AND animals, with the right bullet, it does what it does very well & merits our trust.

Sorry about belaboring that point.

IMO - a fair and balanced thread worth reading.

Cheers!
 
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