question on Win 243 ammo

[Nevada/shooter]

I have a guy that lives down the street and him and his son are going Deer hunting. The kid is 14 and this will be his first hunt. They Know I do a lot of hunting so they asked me the question.

To the question:
His son has a bolt action 243 with a 22" barrel. (older gun) He bought Winchester (243 Win.) 100 Gr. power-point bullets. He asked me if they are 1" high at 100 yards where would they be at 200 yards, 300 yards and 400 yards. I have (heard only) that they shoot pretty flat out to 300 yards

So I figured I would ask the pros if they had an educated guess.Anybody have any idea?

Thanks
Steve

 

[RT2506]

First thing you should tell the fellow that NO NOVICE like a first time hunter 14 year old should try to take a shot much over 100 yards.
The only way to really know for sure is to shoot at those different ranges. A ball park drop with a 100 gr factory load that should be running in the ball park between 2900 and 3000 fps with a 1" high at 100 yards zero would be about 1/2" low at 200 and 8 to 9" low at 300 and around 2 feet low at 400. I have done some deer shooting with the 243 and I personally would limit it to around 300 yards because your energy drops off below 1000 foot pounds much past 300 yards. If he wants to shoot deer when the kid is capable of making a long shot he should sight in 3" high at 100 yards and that will keep him in a drop that will not be over 4" high or low all the way out to 300 yards. Just hold in the center of front shoulder and squeeze it off and you will have meat.

 

[Nevada/shooter]

Thats basically what I told him. It took me a long time to get comfortable with my 300 win mag and load shooting at targets from 200, 300, 400, 500 & 600 yards.
I told him he shouldn't shoot more then 200 yards and thats only with a good rest.

Thanks for your input....