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resqdan
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| Joined: | 14 November 2007 |
| Location: | North Dakota USA |
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Posted: 14 January 2008 01:56 AM |
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I shot the .243 for many years and have taken 30+ whitetails with it and never had one get away. Anyone who says the cripple and not kill does not know how to shoot. I have an aunt who shoots very well and for many years used a .223 because she was scared of recoil. she then moved up to the .243 and has taked two 150+ whitetails with only one shot.
I shoot the the 100gr. core loct from remington and they have always done very well. Now you will never find a group of hunters who can agree on a rifle round, my advise is buy the gun that is going to fit your hunting style. if you are looking for a good all around gun for taking varmits and deer the .243 will do the job, just get out and shoot and know what the gun will do. But if your budget can handle more guns than maybe get a bigger round and smaller , one for deer or elk and the other for varmits.
I dont know who said it but the saying goes, " never fear the man with many guns, fear the man with one gun and knows how to use it.."
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klallen
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| Joined: | 10 February 2005 |
| Location: | Great Falls, Montana USA |
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Posted: 14 January 2008 02:58 AM |
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Never have used something as small as the .223 on deer but ya hear of folks doing so quite often. Seems like the most of them are down in TX on their smaller bodied Whitetail.
resqdan wrote:
I dont know who said it but the saying goes, " never fear the man with many guns, fear the man with one gun and knows how to use it.."
I think some old-timer who only owning one big game rifle said something along these lines way back when, as he was trying to justify his choice to only own one rifle. I've heard it said a lot but it's never totally made sense to me as the man with many guns could in fact know how to use all of his firearms as well, or better, then the man with one. 
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door county
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Posted: 14 January 2008 06:31 PM |
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"beware of the man with one gun, he may know it intamately!"
Sweaty uncle teddy
Ted Nugent
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pocono joe
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| Joined: | 31 October 2007 |
| Location: | Blakeslee, Pa |
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Posted: 23 January 2008 09:56 PM |
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| How far should a deer run with a perfect shot to be considered effective? I have asked this question many times to many hunters. If a deer can run at 50 mph and it lives for three to five seconds after the shot fifty to one hundred yards is reasonable to expect from any caliber ( unless you are EXTREMELY overgunned) So a story of tracking for fifty yards can be told on virtually any caliber that is used. I have seen well placed 300 win mag shot deer run 75 yards. There was no failure but the deer push every once of life out of it. Craig Bodington wrote "anything under 100 yards is acceptable" and he has killed more deer than any of us. Long story short head and neck shot will either results in an instant drop or miss, more times than not, regardless of caliber with a properly placed bullet, other than that expect some tracking. A 243 is plenty, but pick your spot, which ever one you decide to go with - head, neck or body.
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NUshooter
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| Joined: | 26 October 2007 |
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Posted: 7 February 2008 12:21 AM |
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I have a savage 243 that I use for hunting deer. It is the one gun in my safe that gets neglected on a regular basis. Not in its care but in its use. I have a load developed for it already so no need to punch paper. It never gets abused so the scope holds zero. One weekend a year it gets brought out. In the last four years it has been shot five times. There are five dead white tail that would attest to that. Truthfully in NE Nebraska the vast majority of your shots are 150yrds or less. I trust my 243 to make that shot every time.
I bought a 270 WSM thinking I might use it for deer, when I let the worry of not having enough rifle in the 243 slip into my head. That 270 WSM has punched a lot of paper but deer season comes around I pull out my 243 and go get me a deer.
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Dirtkicker
addicted handloader
| Joined: | 3 September 2007 |
| Location: | High Plains |
| Posts: | 337 |
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Posted: 7 February 2008 08:56 PM |
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This is a very interesting thread.
I have two rifles that weigh 7 pounds (exactly!), with scopes aboard: a Remington Model 7 in 7mm-08 and a Kimber 84M in .243. I got the Kimber to be the walking-around 'cartrdige companion' of a heavy-barrel (26") Savage in .243-- which seems to believe that all bullets should go thru the same hole. Both of the 243s were purchased for varmints here on the high plains.
Of my two lightweights, the Model 7 would always get the nod for deer. I didn't intend to use the Kimber for that purpose, but this thread has picqued my interest and I think I may give it a try.
Thanks for lots of good info!
PS... Am I wrong, or do most of the stories of failure with the .243 fail to document the bullets/loads involved? That would be good to know.
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264shooter
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| Joined: | 11 June 2005 |
| Location: | California USA |
| Posts: | 75 |
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Posted: 7 February 2008 09:16 PM |
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| Personally I believe if you use a good bullet such as the Nosler 100 gr Solid base which are still available from Nosler you should do just fine.Any premuim bullet should do well.Even the Remingtom 100 gr Corlock should do the job.I never had much faith in the Hornady or Sierra bullets as they expand way too quickly.Devastating on a good broadside lung shot but way to destructive on shots hitting any kind of solid bone.Thats been my experience.
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scr83jp
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| Joined: | 23 April 2008 |
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Posted: 24 April 2008 04:40 PM |
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| I have a friend who used his 6mm Ruger #1 to drop a running 4x colorado bull elk with a neck shot . It's just how well trained the person behind the rifle is and whether he can accurately place his shots. Last edited on 24 April 2008 05:36 PM by scr83jp
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DPSTex
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| Joined: | 15 July 2008 |
| Location: | Leander, Texas USA |
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Posted: 18 July 2008 07:53 PM |
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I don't believe in body shots on deer at all. My whole family shoots 243s. The only deer I've ever killed that wasn't with my 243 was the first one, shot behind the shoulder at 30 yards with a 30-30, he ran 75 yards before he died. I shot one in the head and I'll never do that again, blew bloody corn all over the place, trailed for half a mile and never found it.. In my opinion, the only place to shoot an animal is in the neck, just below the head. You either get spine, jugular or skin. which means he drops right there, bleeds like a stuck pig so you can find him, or he lives. It works for me and the animal. With this arrangement, 222 does the job well.......
Darryl
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wheezengeezer
addicted handloader
| Joined: | 16 July 2007 |
| Location: | Jeddediah Jones Swamp, Kansas USA |
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Posted: 18 July 2008 08:13 PM |
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| but the neck is some of the best eating.if you ventilate both lungs they will not get away,especially if you take out the top of the heart. 75 yards is just about the limit for that type of hit in my experience.i just dont like the bullets that bloody up several inches of meat around the hole.
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Oddbod
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| Joined: | 20 January 2008 |
| Location: | United Kingdom |
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Posted: 19 July 2008 01:46 AM |
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The .243 is without a doubt the most popular deer cartridge in the UK for everything except Reds.
Proper shot placement is the key - as it is with ANY cartridge.
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Timberghozt
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| Joined: | 11 February 2005 |
| Location: | Plaza De Los Armas, Mexico |
| Posts: | 5337 |
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Posted: 19 July 2008 06:11 AM |
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My son uses a Ruger compact in 243..He has killed every deer he has shot with it and one wild hog with it.He prefers to keep his 243 even as I offer to let him use my heavy barreled 308 Win.
In my opinion a 243 is more than enough gun for any whitetail.I prefer heart shots and that is how my boy was taught to shoot deer or hogs.With the appropriate bullet ,it will hammer any whitetail ever created with a quickness.
I have a custom built 6mm Remington and I dont own a 243Win(simply cause my boy does and I prefer a quarter bore or bigger for most of my hunting needs) but would gladly shoot a 243 myself with no qualms...
The problem I have noticed with the 243`s bad reputation is where fellas go buy there kid a 243 and expect it to work miracles in the hands of young hunter,shaking from buck fever,not enough range time to be proficient,then the kid drops the hammer and dad expects a 243 to make up for a bad shot..I hear lots of these 243 failure stories,when in essence it is the shooters fault,ultimately dad`s fault for not giving the kid range time and time in the woods so he can steadily place a bullet where it needs to be on a live target.
I figure I need a 243 in my gun cabinet,a custom though and probably blown out to an AI just to be different
I dont think you`ll have any problems with whitetails and that 243
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ryalred
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| Joined: | 12 May 2008 |
| Location: | SE, Oklahoma USA |
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Posted: 19 July 2008 05:17 PM |
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I inherited my father-in-law's .243. He never lost a deer with it and neither have I. I love it. I personally like the behind the shoulder shot with it.
I will add that the .243 isn't the only gun I deer hunt with. I have several others in different calibers. They all have their place in various situations.
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miestro_jerry
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| Joined: | 28 June 2008 |
| Location: | Somerton (AKA BFE), Ohio USA |
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Posted: 19 July 2008 11:20 PM |
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Many years ago, I took a deer in West Virginia using my 700BDl in 243. I used a Sierra bullet 85 gr HPBT. It retained about 60% of the bullet in one piece. This was a clean kill at 160 yards.
Great rifle for deer hunting, wish I still had it.
Jerry
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reddnek
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Posted: 7 September 2008 05:27 PM |
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| I dont currently use a 243, I upgraded to a 257 Roberts but that said I know a lot of ppl who swear by the 243.Low recoil should make it easier to shoot ACCURATELY,which can be a consideration. Last edited on 7 September 2008 05:30 PM by reddnek
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Gutshot
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Posted: 3 October 2008 09:46 PM |
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| A friend and I used to hunt in NW Colorado. I with a 308 Norma mag and him with a Savage 99 in .243 Win. We hunted white tails and elk. We always got both. He would use 90 grain factory ammo.(don't know which one). Would shoot them in the lungs and that would bring them down. Never failed. Shots were between 100 and 200 yards. I have shot Axis deer with a .22 LR at about 75 yrds. and killed them. Like they say....it is all about shot placement.
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Timberghozt
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Posted: 4 October 2008 12:57 AM |
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Gutshot wrote: A friend and I used to hunt in NW Colorado. I with a 308 Norma mag and him with a Savage 99 in .243 Win. We hunted white tails and elk. We always got both. He would use 90 grain factory ammo.(don't know which one). Would shoot them in the lungs and that would bring them down. Never failed. Shots were between 100 and 200 yards. I have shot Axis deer with a .22 LR at about 75 yrds. and killed them. Like they say....it is all about shot placement. I used a 220 Swift for a long while,killed every thing I shot at with it, most of em,bang flop on the spot
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Ranch 13
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| Joined: | 1 April 2006 |
| Location: | Hells Gap, Wyoming USA |
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Posted: 5 October 2008 07:24 PM |
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I've used the 243 for over 40 years. The key to making clean kills is as with anything else , use a good bullet. The old Hornady (before the called em interlocs) 100 gr bullet accounted for somewhere in the vicinity of 40 deer ,mule and whitetail, and probably close to that many antelope, most were oneshot stops, at ranges from powder burn close to 400ish yds.
I also used that rifle to take a dozen elk, none got away , none were crippled. It's all about shot placement.
During my licensed paid professional hunter herder days, we have video of a nice mule deer 4x4 taking 5 hits from a 300 win mag, loaded with winchester 180 gr cct bullets and the range was less than 200 yds. He still needed head shot.
I don't buy the this cartridge or that is a crippler, its the twit yankin the trigger that does the cripplin most of the time, sometimes its that same twits choice in bullets.
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sako06
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| Joined: | 22 July 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: 6 October 2008 05:13 PM |
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| I loaded Remington brass with a CCI LR primer, 33.5gr of IMR 4895 with a Nosler 100gr spitzer bullet for my Remington 788 it printed cloverleafs at 100 yards .I just looked up the data in the Nosler 6th Edition Reloading Manual it's the midrange load still listed.
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miestro_jerry
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| Joined: | 28 June 2008 |
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Posted: 8 October 2008 12:31 AM |
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I find that shooting at paper is one thing, but when you have a live moving subject you have to be really good.
To test out some of my hunting loads, I am going to put up a "Tarzan Swing" on my 100 yard range and put something on it for a target, then practice up.
Jerry
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