.243 Lethality

[treemanjohn]

All firearms are lethal if you know how to shoot. Elephants are killed with AK47s. If you don't know how to shoot have a tracking dog on speed dial

 

[Waddams]

My 243 put another down DRT style last week. I was aiming for the neck, face on. She lowered her head down just as the rifle fired and I hit her in the head just behind the eyes. 100 gr power tip. Her brains were out of her head before she hit the ground so she felt nothing, just lights out. I don't purposely go for headshots but it worked out in this case, if a bit messy.

 

[Spotlite]

My Son started out with a 243. Never had any issues.

 

[buckpasser]

My Son started out with a 243. Never had any issues.

I have to carry the .243 and the .300 blk in the truck for my son. When we park he decides and I uncase one of the other. I have no idea why he goes back and forth, but he loves them both!

 

[Spotlite]

I have to carry the .243 and the .300 blk in the truck for my son. When we park he decides and I uncase one of the other. I have no idea why he goes back and forth, but he loves them both!

The 243 is an excellent choice of gun!!! I love it. I don’t own one anymore but I’m thinking I’ll get another one soon.

 

[elfiii]

The .243 with 100 grain or heavier bullets looses energy after 200 yards to the point I question its ability on deer.
Lighter bullets, like the solid coppers, eliminate this problem past 300+ yards.
Otherwise, with the above limitation, it is probably one of the ideal Ga whitetail rounds.

They shoot sheep at 400 yards out west with the 243.

 

[sleepr71]

From my experience..I trust a 243 out to 400..but probably won’t get an exit wound at that range. Maybe with an all Copper(Barnes) bullet..? It’s a very versatile round..55-70 gr Varmint bullets at close to 4000fps,or 90-100gr projectiles for big game,at 3000fps. Low recoil & accurate. I’ll always have one…

 

[Lilly001]

They shoot sheep at 400 yards out west with the 243. .

And I’ll bet they use the less than 100 grain bullets.
It is amazing how the change in bullet weight can change an adequate round into a really good one.

 

[elfiii]

And I’ll bet they use the less than 100 grain bullets.
It is amazing how the change in bullet weight can change an adequate round into a really good one.

Not to my knowledge. The 100 grain is the standard go to for big game. The powder charge is jacked up to keep the efficiency of the bullet up there at long ranges so we're also talking about bull barrels etc. but it's a popular caliber for the boys out west.

 

[Kris87]

My 15yo son handloads his own .243 rounds. 37gr of IMR 4064 with a 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. He has shot 3 bucks with it in two years, two of them dropped and one went 40 yds. I sight it in 1" high at 100 and its good for him at most GA ranges. If anyone thinks its undergunned, then they just haven't seen it in action.

 

[Lilly001]

Not to my knowledge. The 100 grain is the standard go to for big game. The powder charge is jacked up to keep the efficiency of the bullet up there at long ranges so we're also talking about bull barrels etc. but it's a popular caliber for the boys out west.

If you consider 1000 ft pds of energy the low end of adequate for deer the 100 grain load runs low after 250-300 yards. And it only starts at 2000 +/- at the muzzle. By going to a lower weight bullet, say a copper 85 grain, you extend your minimum energy level to 400 yards or so.
The .243 is a good whitetail round, with the prober load. But most 100 grain loads run out of gas at 250-300 yards.
It’s in the charts. I didn’t make it up.
That is a big reason I went to the 6.5 CM when I already have two real nice .243s.

 

[WDK]

My old hunting buddy, who’s gone on to the Happy Hunting Grounds, shot a .243 for years. He shot every buck he had a chance at. Hundreds of deer. Old buddy got serious about trophy hunting. He had another friend who shot magnums and convinced old buddy to get one. He chose a 270 WBY mag. One day, old buddy killed a 180” buck in a cutover. Afterwords, other friend ask him “at any point in the hunt did you wish you had your .243?” He had to answer no. A .243 is just fine for shooting deer. But when you decide to hunt the largest deer in an area and spend many days looking for that buck, you’ll want something with a little more horsepower. You may not go with a magnum, but the 7-08 or the .308 are much better.

 

[fatback]

My daughter shoots a 243 and has killed 4 deer and 2 pigs with it. 2 of the deer were mature nice bucks. I’ve taught her to shoot behind the shoulder for the best chance at making a lethal shot. All of the animals have run 20-40 yards but I never had any doubts about recovering the animals. Ranges varies from 40-100 yards. She is confident in the rifle and I’m confident in her ability to use it correctly, so I guess we will keep on keeping on with the 243.

 

[Waddams]

And decided to top off my freezer for the season yesterday evening. 75 yds, he was just standing out in the open. 243 round to the neck. He dropped without a step. I only saw a little kicking.

Might only be a spike but I got enough off him that it took two coolers to ice it all down once he was quartered.

Best part was being able to drive the truck right to him to load him.

Shot placement is so much more important than caliber. My cheap Remington 783 with a $150 Nikon scope just shoots so well and holds zero no matter how I knock it around.

Wife is happy. Freezer will be full, no more room, so she's now expecting to end her hunting season widow status and resume normal married life!

 

[Bob2010]

If you shoot them in the head it's always lethal

Very few are capable. Yet every idiot thinks that they can. Ever seen a deer with no jaw. Talk about a slow horrible way to die. I have seen it. We had to kill her so she wouldn't suffer much longer. Property owners hunting a doe when they want to hunt bucks because a guest was confident in his ability to make a head shot. I won't advocate for the old head shot anymore. Not a good way to make friends at deer camp.

 

[Semi-Pro]

Very few are capable. Yet every idiot thinks that they can. Ever seen a deer with no jaw. Talk about a slow horrible way to die. I have seen it. We had to kill her so she wouldn't suffer much longer. Property owners hunting a doe when they want to hunt bucks because a guest was confident in his ability to make a head shot. I won't advocate for the old head shot anymore. Not a good way to make friends at deer camp.

Neck shot

 

[Semi-Pro]

Very few are capable. Yet every idiot thinks that they can. Ever seen a deer with no jaw. Talk about a slow horrible way to die. I have seen it. We had to kill her so she wouldn't suffer much longer. Property owners hunting a doe when they want to hunt bucks because a guest was confident in his ability to make a head shot. I won't advocate for the old head shot anymore. Not a good way to make friends at deer camp.

I'm just messing around kinda, I always get one or two folks riled up

 

[B. White]

What happened to Cal? He was one of the lone 243 defenders many years ago, but who cared how many hundreds he may have killed over the years. Somebody on the internet says 223 is ok, but not 243.

 

[B. White]

She`s been killing deer and hogs for close to 40 years with this little Remington 788 in 243 caliber with 100 grain pointed soft point boat tails. Several bucks breaking 200 pounds with the largest at 240 and 250 pounds. Shots from 5 yards to 300 yards. In this time she`s only winged one and I saw it the next spring while turkey hunting. When I tried to get her a "better" rifle she wouldn`t have anything to do with it.

"No need to change, this one kills just fine." Her words.

I had the 788 in 243 in the early 80s. Foolishly got rid of it in a trade to a gun store, somewhere in the Arabi area around I75, if I remember correctly.

 

[garveywallbanger]

Always best to not tinker with a scope! Let that joker rust in place and hope you never have to move it… shoot it 1x before the season and get out in the timber! I’m a .270 guy …not messing with your rifle is sage advice and how rifles get our confidence.