.243

[No_Regerts]

Its parent cartridge

The 7x57 Mauser circa 1892

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Do not listen to the naysayers that poo poo the 243 as a deer cartridge. It is great round for deer size game and under. It lends itself to accurate shot placement with its mild recoil and that is 90% of the battle right there.

The other 10% must be bullet choice...

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Well, this is Oregon, deer cartridges seem to start at 7mag and work their way up

Must be, my elk hunting partner says, "a 7mm rem mag is too small for elk"....

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I popped one with a 12 gauge slug once too. Damn thing jumped straight up in the air I swear like 8 feet. Then hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and never moved again. It kinda reminded me of a cartoon. POW!

I've shot many jackrabbits with 12 and 20 gauge slugs. We don't even want to paint a picture of what that looked like...

 

[Certaindeaf]

Must be, my elk hunting partner says, "a 7mm rem mag is too small for elk"....

The Indians used to just strangle them.




nr

 

[bsa1917hunter]

The Indians used to just strangle them.




nr

Indians are just mean sunguns....

 

[bbbass]

With a 1 in 9 twist, I could get into the 6mm Rem. But then again, the 257 Roberts exists.

I like those too. Very soft shooting deer cartridge IMO. My shooting buddy had a .257 Roberts AI that I loved to shoot.

 

[2DaMtns]

I'll agree with what has been said. I have a Marlin 1894 in 357 that I've taken white tail with and would use on a blacktail. As said about the 243, it's all about shot placement and ethical hunting. I limit the shots with the 357 to about 75 yards, and use a 180 hardcast lead bullet load. It's amazing how quickly you can humanely take a big animal with such a small piece of metal, when it's put in the right place. The counterpoint to that, is it's both amazing and horrifying to know how much damage to non-vital organs an animal can survive. I am much more impressed by a hunting story when someone tells me about how they passed on a shot because they knew it wasn't ethical than the ones where someone shot one on the next ridge but only wounded it and never found it or found it after the coyotes did. The 243 is an excellent all around cartridge for any deer or varmint.

 

[bbbass]

the ones where someone shot one on the next ridge but only wounded it and never found it or found it after the coyotes did.

I hate those stories. I'm personally very careful with my shots and limit myself to 200yds because I know my skills or lack of. Watched in awe and disgust as a buddy's daughter emptied her 7mm Mauser at a line of elk (cow tag) walking on a trail across the valley at a range of about 400yds, reloaded and did it again.

 

[thorborg]

No need to mention my fine little older Remington 700 .243 or the one shot mule deer kill at 175 yards since its obvious effectiveness has been well documented in this thread.
And fun to hand load for I might add.

 

[bbbass]

No need to mention my fine little older Remington 700 .243 or the one shot mule deer kill at 175 yards since its obvious effectiveness has been well documented in this thread.
And fun to hand load for I might add.

What kind of pills you pushing? (I had a Rem 700BDL that I loved and I used Sierra 100grSPBT. I can't remember the velocity, but I remember it was pretty fair compared to say 30-06. I used to have it sighted for 3" high at 100yds.)

 

[thorborg]

What kind of pills you pushing? (I had a Rem 700BDL that I loved and I used Sierra 100grSPBT. I can't remember the velocity, but I remember it was pretty fair compared to say 30-06. I used to have it sighted for 3" high at 100yds.)

I do 2" but my overall expectations of my ability in the field may not be as grand as you.
I'm partial to and never been failed by, Nosler ballistic tips for all my hunting needs (in all rifle calibers I load other than 45-70) since they came out, The last two years I've been loading for 6.5 X 55 so memory fading on the .243 but as I recall I ended up with 100 gr ballistic tip with IMR4350 about 38 gr. It was just before I got the Dopler so still using the RCBS unit but 15 feet from the barrel the dang thing was moving at 2925fps maybe +- 50fps (I remember not so good groups over 3K with the heavier100gr. so I just stopped short) good enough for 3/4 inch groups @ 100 yards. I usually don't push max speed much but the group seemed to say, OK. I generally only do three shot groups because that's about all I can keep still for. (and 100 yards cause its getting real tricky to find anything farther in the coast woods) The buck I got with it was hit just in front of the shoulder, nearly vaporized 1/2 of the heart and was a through and though unrecovered. He paused, looked at me, but never took a step.
Though I did not hunt with them I loaded something under 100gr Hornady interlock that produced good fair, and a large bunch of real old Sierra's in 55 and 70gr I got at a gun show for nearly nothing which grouped well in the 3500 +- range. I think the 55gr were flat base and the 70's boat tail albeit I'm not sure what has to do with the price of fish..

 

[No_Regerts]

What kind of pills you pushing? (I had a Rem 700BDL that I loved and I used Sierra 100grSPBT. I can't remember the velocity, but I remember it was pretty fair compared to say 30-06. I used to have it sighted for 3" high at 100yds.)

Bullets are important, but powder is crucial with the 243. The 243 can experience weird pressure spikes. Same with the 7mm Rem Mag. Slower powders than you'd think necessary for such a short cartridge, are where you wanna be. When using 90+ grain bullets, I use powders that are mostly linked to large cased magnums.

 

[whiskeybill]

My first .243 as a youngster in MT, I loved that rifle. Loaded it for just about anything, great varmint rifle, took Antelope and Mule Deer, even took my first Big Horn Sheep with it. Never hunted Elk with it, that was left to that underpowered '06.

 

[slimmer13]

 

[No_Regerts]

I dig it.

 

[orygun]

My wife has owned a Savage 99 in 243 since she was a teenager. She shot her first deer with it. This year I'm mentoring our grandson using this rifle. He's been shooting it and loves it. Recoil in this gun is nearly nonexistent and there's more than enough power to cleanly take a deer.

 

[bbbass]

Bullets are important, but powder is crucial with the 243. The 243 can experience weird pressure spikes. Same with the 7mm Rem Mag. Slower powders than you'd think necessary for such a short cartridge, are where you wanna be. When using 90+ grain bullets, I use powders that are mostly linked to large cased magnums.

I didn't know about the pressure spikes... guess I'm lucky I never saw any signs of it. I can't even remember what powder I used for the .243 with 100gr, but I do remember using 4350 for my 7mm Rem Mag Ruger 77 with 170gr Nosler Partition. That was my first, and only, magnum rifle. I really loved it but it was one of the ones that were gone to pay for the divorce. (Actually I briefly owned a used 300 Weatherby Mag but returned it after finding a hole blown in the bolt face by overpowered handloads after I couldn't get the bolt open. Not my handloads... but that's another story.) Later in life I borrowed a 300WinMag for elk season and used 220gr Silvertip. Not nearly as pleasant to shoot as .243!!!