.243... Do I need more???

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Don'tDrinkTinks

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So I've got an Encore with a .243 barrel.

I mainly bow hunt and am just getting back into gun hunting. Last year I shot a deer perfectly with my son's .243 at 25 yards and put the bullet right in the ten ring. I mean perfect shot. Deer ran 80 yards and just stopped. Looked like he wasn't even hit. Put another in him and he fell to the ground and after some kicking he was done.

I tried to back blood trail him and he didn't drop a single drop of blood from the initial hit. When I say the first shot was perfect I mean it was perfect. I was using a wnchester cartridge.

I'm now shooting Barnes vortex's.

Is it possible the bullet didn't expand because the shot was so close? I mainly hunt in the woods so I'll never shoot more than 150 yards.

Do I really need more is a .243 honestly worthy of deer hunting with?
 
some will say yes some will say no. I have killed a deer with a .243 and several on here have killed many with it. I think it is fine, if you don't have the money for something new, or just don;t ant to spend anymore money. If you feel confident with it, go for it.
 
It's all about terminal ballistics and bullet construction. Bullets are made to behave a certain way at a certain impact velocity. there is no whitetail deer in the world that will survive a properly placed bullet (heart, lungs) from a .243 inside 400 yards much less 25.

But wether or not your bullet will exit and leave a blood trail and you can find the deer is a different question, and it's more about terminal ballistics than chambering or caliber. The Barnes ttsx will certainly hold up better (read: stay together and exit the animal) at shorter ranges better than a soft point type bullet or a ballistic tip that may disintegrate at higher impact velocities. A nosler partition would also be a good choice, and you can probably find federal premium with a partition if your rifle doesn't shoot the Barnes well.

I'd be willing to bet you had a soupy mess of heart and lungs when you opened that deer up. The bullet hit at a higher than recommended impact velocity and disintegrated on impact. There have been gajillions of deer killed with a .243.
 
I wished that I had some pics to back up my claim but the 100gr Sierra Game king is one awesome bullet in the .243
I do believe the barnes just didn't expand well enough to leave much blood trail but using the sierra game king your deer won't make it out of sight.
Killed a doe at 200 yrds, she fell within 40yrds from the shot, same afternoon within 15min I shot the 8 pt and he ran in a circle and fell in the same tracks he was standing in when I shot him.
Try some Game kings and I think you'll be very happy Sir.

Sorry I misread your post.... what bullet was you using?
 
No. Don't go any lower. .243 is my smallest choice, but an effective one. If you are shooting 200 yards or over I would step up to a .270 or .308. A great deal depends on the gun itself. I like a 30-30 but not over 100 yards.
 
I will second the 100gr Sierra Game king loaded by federal,1000ftlbs at 400y is plenty for deer,I have heart shot bucks with my 300wm that have ran 100y before tipping over.all deer are different and there is no certain bullet with any caliber that will drop them on the spot.That is a bullet placement issue and I shoot heart/lungs with any weapon
 
100 gr. Sierra Game King. Been killing deer with that bullet since 1978. It's optimum in a .243.
It's all about the bullet. A .243 has plenty of energy you just need the correct bullet to get correct results.
That applies to any caliber.
 
Let me try to easy your mind. The 243 has been getting it done long before most of us have been on this earth, Bullet designs for all calibers have come along way. The 243 works and works just fine. Just the amount of numbers of 243 rifles that are taken into the woods each year is justification enough to prove that this round works and works extremely well. I have seen many deer taken with a 243 and have no hesitation of hunting with one. It is a fine caliber and does its job very well.
 
I've killed many with it and have a youth rifle
in 243 that's allowed many kids to kill their
first deer.

But they will run off , to say they drop at the
shot isn't a lie, as long as you high shoulder
shoot them. High shoulder shots are favorite
of many of the TV stars, deer just drops
 
I switched things up last year-carried my .243 instead of .270. Only shot one doe during rifle season. Aprox 45 yards. She ran 20 yards, spraying the whole way.
Federal Fusion
 
7mminatree":2xpx0x6f said:
100 gr. Sierra Game King. Been killing deer with that bullet since 1978. It's optimum in a .243.
It's all about the bullet. A .243 has plenty of energy you just need the correct bullet to get correct results.
That applies to any caliber.
Click to expand...

Well said, a .243 is a great lil round for deer when using the right Bullet. I shoot a 100 gr Core Lokt bullet and we have had stellar performance from it at all ranges.
Its like many calibers, if you choose poorly when picking a bullet/load you get poor results. This goes hand in hand with accuracy and shot placement as well.
A .243 wont do much to cover up poor marksmanship or poor choices in loads but otherwise its a great lil deer gun, very accurate as well.
 
Deer Assassin":3q4w7398 said:
i hate the 243 cartridge

however it will kill deer fine and even buffalo well a big female one

95 nbt over re 15 @ 2850 fps
Click to expand...

I've heard you say this before but don't recall ever hearing why you don't like the 243. I see you defend it as an acceptable cartridge for deer so I'm curious why you don't like it. As for me, I admit that I have my own cartridge prejudices. For me, it's the 7mm Remington Magnum and to a lesser degree the 357 Magnum. What turned me against them both is not anything about either cartridge but the people who commonly use them. It seems like every time I would run into a gun "know-it-all", (who typically have what little they do know all messed up), they shoot a 7mm Remington Magnum. When they tell you what they shoot they do so while squinting their eyes and leaning their head back with lots of excessive confidence. The whole experience has soured me on what is honestly a great cartridge, even if it's overpowered for most eastern deer hunting. I see the same attitude frequently with the 357 Magnum as many who own one think it is the most powerful weapon ever devised. I remember one time talking to some of my friends at work telling them about some penetration tests I'd been doing over the weekend with the 500 grain .458 steel jacketed solids from Hornady in the 460 Weatherby. One of these 357 geniuses came strutting up saying that if my 460 couldn't do the job, he had a 357 Magnum that would shoot through anything. He was dead serious and about as cocky as a Mohamed Ali right before a fight. I just stared at the guy in disbelief as he supposedly had an Engineering degree?!?! :shock:

OK, that's why I have cartridge prejudices.......... :)
 
I have never owned or shot a 243 but I do know thru the years a lot of whitetails have been killed by a 243. I suspect that if it were not a good round for whitetails than it would not be as popular as it is.
 
Two years ago I was in my local Wal-Mart looking at 243 ammo....The male sales clerk asked me if I was varmint hunting. I told him it was for deer. He said, "that's not suitable for deer". I told him I already had 3 in the freezer that would argue that point to him. I've never lost a deer with any 243 shot....yet...

I now alternate between my 243, one of two 308's and my antique savage 300...depending on my mood and the weather....
 
Dropped one in his tracks with a 243 ballistic tip at 40 yards.
Had one run over 100 yards with a 300 win mag core lock at 40 yards.
Both were good shots but I believe it's more about the bullet than the caliber at short range.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have killed probably 40 deer with a 243 and still hunt with one today. I shoot them in the shoulder and never take a step. I use 100gr federal soft point and work like a charm.
 
My cousin had a similar experience with his .243. He was using a Remington 7400 loaded with 100gr core lokt's. He shot a doe broadside in the lungs at about 20 yds and it just stood there. he fired again two more times and at the third shot it fell. He was up in a blind over a field and I came out of the woods and made a joke about how many shots he took. He pointed out into the field and the deer was beginning to get up. I fired a single shot into its neck from my 30-06 and the deer dropped dead. When we field dressed it we found three clean holes in a 2 inch group through the deer. It appeared that the bullets did not expand. He felt the same as You, was the 243 enough? He switched to Winchester 100gr power points and 15 years later has killed many deer without a similar incident. long story short the .243 will get it done.
 
I've never shot a 243 either but I've helped my late father in law track his 243 shot deer. I know it will kill any deer that walks. My only concern is on marginal shots. I want something a bit larger. I shoot either a 270 or a 7mm mag.
 
I switched from a 270 to 243 several yrs ago.
Every single shot from the 243 has resulted in a dead deer.
It works. Remington 100 gr core-lokts

I have zero complaints
 
My son has killed a couple with a 243. It has proven to be bad medicine for the two he's shot with it. They were just as dead as the ones I've shot with a 300 mag and he didn't take the same punishment to do it as I did!
 

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