.243 a little different......

[Blucollar]

A little different request.

I'd like to hear the positives on this caliber.
I already have several cons of my own, I've had two of these and never really been satisfied with them.

Just want to hear from you guys that have some praise for em.
I hope I'm missing something, for me its just not measuring up to what I expected.
Blu

 

[WTM]

excellent coyote gun, in windy conditions.

 

[Efhutton]

I bought my daughter one about 8 years ago. She has taken one deer with it..neck shot..fell in its tracks. I've never killed a deer with a 243 so I decided to take it on a doe killing venture to Hardeman Co. last season where I knew some of the guys there would be using the 300win mags and 7mm weatherbys and such. Picked three does off in about 30 seconds one morning, shot one in the lungs, she ran about 20yds and fell dead, other two were neck shots and they fell where they were standing. I think they are for the person that likes precision shooting and not the pie plate or milk jug shooters.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

I have taken over dozen deer with a Remington 788 in .243 every one went down within 25 yards if they didn't drop in their tracks. I shot my very first deer with same gun in 1989.

 

[Kimberman]

I cant think of any round that is a better varmint/deer combo round. I havent killed a deer with mine yet, but I have seen first hand results of a 243 on deer, and it works just fine. Its not a mystery, if you put a bullet where it needs to be placed, stuff falls over.

 

[Locksley]

excellent coyote gun, in windy conditions.

I have two 243 rifles now one is a Winchester model 70 heavy barrell and the other one is a Ruger model 77 heavy barrell , both rifles shoot real accurate groups . I have killed lots of groundhogs with the Winchester 243 rifle one was over 300 yards away even , that rifle liked the 100 grain Sierra bullets and the 70 grain Sierra spitzer boattail bullets . Those groups were clover leafe groups with the bullet holes touching at the 100 yard mark on the Owl Hollow rifle range. I never got the chance to try my rifles on deer but my son has a chance to try them next year .

 

[Mausermeister]

The .243 Win is almost my favorite deer cartridge, second only to the 6.5x55.
With 100gr bullets a good shooter can drop deer with boring regularity out to and maybe past 400 yards.
As shoota280 stated above, it is not for the pie plate or milk jug shooter.
I personally think it is a poor choice for a child's beginning rifle as is is the .223 simply because very few children nor most adults can shoot precisely under the pressure and excitement of a deer hunt. It doesn't matter how small a group you can shoot at the bench if you get buck fever and the .243 is not a forgiving round with a poorly placed shot especially past 200 yards.

 

[stik]

I personally think it is a poor choice for a child's beginning rifle as is is the .223 simply because very few children nor most adults can shoot precisely under the pressure and excitement of a deer hunt.

i have been saying that for years and i couldn't agree more.

 

[Blucollar]

I originally bought the .243 for a varmint/deer back-up, thought it would be just as good as the 22-250 on varmint and also a respectful deer round.

I'm not a great shot by any means, but I could consistently out shoot the .243 with my .308 & 45/70.

I reload for all three, I guess I need to put a little more time into the .243, also I think I got a little caught up in the lightest (bullet), fastest load when I started out. It shot ok, just not what I had expected, wind seemed to be a killer.

 

[statelineRUT]

I have two rifles chambered in 243 and have taken every deer over the past 8 years with them. Haven't lost a deer in 8 years with this caliber. Never had one run over 25 yards either. I use the Federal Fusion 95gr in both of my 243 rifles.

As far as a coyote round it is deadly as well. Bad on fur, but deadly.

 

[Model70Man]

I love my 243. The recoil is very minimal and on game performance is great. I have killed coyotes and deer with this caliber and I have no complaints.

 

[Hogbear]

It's been my main deer rifle since the late 80's and I've never lost a deer that I've hit with it. The great majority of them just drop dead in their tracks. I use mostly 70-85 grain Barnes X or TSX bullets, but when I used to use Hornady 100 grain spire points, they worked fine too. I shoot a heavy barrel Ruger M77 and it has basically no recoil and not very much noise compared to most deer rifles either. It's some work to tote that heavy gun around in the hills but I love shooting it.

 

[buckdead]

ive killed over 20 deer with the 243 and im perty sure i could count how many that didnt drop in their tracks on one hand. nasty deer medicine

 

[44fanatic]

Its a good confidence rifle. lighter kick for most beggining/smaller shooters means they are able to shoot better due to less flynching, trigger jerking, and closing their eyes (all possible actions due to a heavy recoil).

 

[XMAN]

i like it, think it's a great round but know of too many lost deer with them and of course eveyone says shot placement but with a deer walking in some thick cover as we hunt in here, i don't like them.And yes i've owned 3.

 

[mike243]

i have never lost a deer with a 243,in fact the only 1 with a rifle was a 30/30 high spine shot,i have had more deer run with my 300wm than i have with my 243,im going to take my 243 for the next 3 days & see what i can kill with it,i will post results back to here if i have any luck ,mike243

 

[LY]

I've killed several dozen with mine that I got in 1980. I still carry it a few times a year too. Never lost a deer and have complete confidence with it. If I have a shot, I know that I'll have a dead deer.

My dad and uncle both bought them each one back in the mid-90's and they've both killed many with them too without a problem. My then 9 yr old daughter killed one two years ago and my niece has killed 5, all with .243's.

We reload 100 gr partitions.

 

[Tiny]

I personally think it is a poor choice for a child's beginning rifle as is is the .223 simply because very few children nor most adults can shoot precisely under the pressure and excitement of a deer hunt. It doesn't matter how small a group you can shoot at the bench if you get buck fever and the .243 is not a forgiving round with a poorly placed shot especially past 200 yards.

Same thoughts here.

 

[Gravey]

I love my .243. My first one was a T/C Encore and killed a handful of deer that never ran over 50 yards and most straight to the ground. Sold it and bought a Remington 700SPS in .243 this year and haven't been able to hunt much at all. Only thing I've managed to pull the trigger on was a coyote and she went straight down. Like any round, if you do your job it will do its.

 

[B&C chaser]

I started hunting with a .243 when i was 11 and used the same gun for around 10 years and killed about 25-30 deer with it. Most of the deer fell in their tracks and the ones that didn't went down within 50 yards. I always shot 100 grain federal or winchester soft points. I wouldn't be one bit afraid to shoot the biggest deer that walks with a .243 and I've killed deer with several different calibers up to a .300 weatherby mag.