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Tennessee Gun Owners Forums
Rifles
The 7-08 is THE finest deer cartridge...
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<blockquote data-quote="HatchieLuvr" data-source="post: 4930239" data-attributes="member: 19306"><p>I wanted to believe that and honestly hoped it would be true. But a couple years of experience on my place proved otherwise. For does and young/small bucks, the 243 is absolutely fine! I truly love the 243, it's one helluva great lil package and a FINE "truck gun" cartridge. Yotes, pests, "tresspassing critters", "meatpole deer" etc... yep it'll turn their lights out and do it at about any range you most likely need to do such tasks. I grew up hunting deer in several states and as a teen in the 80s I was caught up on the "magnum wagon" for many years! But when I bought my place a decade ago and my sons and my best friends son began hunting as kids, we bought them 243s. They piled up the does and young bucks like madmen. I experimented with many rounds in their 243s as well but usually kept going back to the 80-90grain Barnes offerings as they always yielded the most penetration. I much prefer an exit wound, if you can't "drop them in their tracks" then you want two holes for max bloodtrailing. Any high velocity round put in the lungs/heart is going to destroy that tissue. But these big bodied swampmonsters have proven themselves to be extraordinarily TOUGH crittes and can still make quite a bit of commotion and distance even with their pumphouse essentially destroyed. </p><p></p><p>My place is along the Hatchie River as well as has 2 lakes and several sloughs and creeks that have water in them 12mths a year. The mature bucks are also typically very large bodied, we've taken quite a few 240-250# live weights with my largest so far being a 275# bulldozer I took opening weekend of muzzleloader back a few years ago! It's when the boys started shooting the bigger bodied deer that I began to see the 243 stop fully penetrating those animals. And I mean "easy shots" like broadside, walking or standing animals at less than 50yd shots. Yes the animals would die but they would cover quite a bit of ground and leave no blood trail before expiring. You will loose bucks on my place to the blackwater and the river itself if you don't break them down quickly and "twin vents" is a must have for assuring a good, steady bloodtrail. I've used everything from big mags, to stoutly loaded 45-70s and everything in between. The 7-08 offers plenty of penetration (120 Barnes or the majority of 140 standard offerings in "cup & core" bullets) and power but does so in a light, quick, easy to shoot package. Again I REALLY wanted and hoped that the 243 was going to allow for that but it didn't after a couple of seasons testing on the largest of bodied bucks on my place. </p><p></p><p>Now yes if you are just meat hunting and like to "ear hole" or put the bullet right behind the skull, then the lil 243 will turn out a Brahma bulls lights with such shot placement. Heck I've removed several does from my place (and even a cullbuck once) with my 22-250 stoked with 55grn Bonded Trophy Bear Claw's. Simply a "point and click" affair with that shot placement. But that's just not prudent when chasing the big boys down in the black swamp timber!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="HatchieLuvr, post: 4930239, member: 19306"] I wanted to believe that and honestly hoped it would be true. But a couple years of experience on my place proved otherwise. For does and young/small bucks, the 243 is absolutely fine! I truly love the 243, it's one helluva great lil package and a FINE "truck gun" cartridge. Yotes, pests, "tresspassing critters", "meatpole deer" etc... yep it'll turn their lights out and do it at about any range you most likely need to do such tasks. I grew up hunting deer in several states and as a teen in the 80s I was caught up on the "magnum wagon" for many years! But when I bought my place a decade ago and my sons and my best friends son began hunting as kids, we bought them 243s. They piled up the does and young bucks like madmen. I experimented with many rounds in their 243s as well but usually kept going back to the 80-90grain Barnes offerings as they always yielded the most penetration. I much prefer an exit wound, if you can't "drop them in their tracks" then you want two holes for max bloodtrailing. Any high velocity round put in the lungs/heart is going to destroy that tissue. But these big bodied swampmonsters have proven themselves to be extraordinarily TOUGH crittes and can still make quite a bit of commotion and distance even with their pumphouse essentially destroyed. My place is along the Hatchie River as well as has 2 lakes and several sloughs and creeks that have water in them 12mths a year. The mature bucks are also typically very large bodied, we've taken quite a few 240-250# live weights with my largest so far being a 275# bulldozer I took opening weekend of muzzleloader back a few years ago! It's when the boys started shooting the bigger bodied deer that I began to see the 243 stop fully penetrating those animals. And I mean "easy shots" like broadside, walking or standing animals at less than 50yd shots. Yes the animals would die but they would cover quite a bit of ground and leave no blood trail before expiring. You will loose bucks on my place to the blackwater and the river itself if you don't break them down quickly and "twin vents" is a must have for assuring a good, steady bloodtrail. I've used everything from big mags, to stoutly loaded 45-70s and everything in between. The 7-08 offers plenty of penetration (120 Barnes or the majority of 140 standard offerings in "cup & core" bullets) and power but does so in a light, quick, easy to shoot package. Again I REALLY wanted and hoped that the 243 was going to allow for that but it didn't after a couple of seasons testing on the largest of bodied bucks on my place. Now yes if you are just meat hunting and like to "ear hole" or put the bullet right behind the skull, then the lil 243 will turn out a Brahma bulls lights with such shot placement. Heck I've removed several does from my place (and even a cullbuck once) with my 22-250 stoked with 55grn Bonded Trophy Bear Claw's. Simply a "point and click" affair with that shot placement. But that's just not prudent when chasing the big boys down in the black swamp timber! [/QUOTE]
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The 7-08 is THE finest deer cartridge...
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