Thread: 243 on deer

Originally Posted by Mooseman

Yes the good old 243, it’s a great calibre , accurate, light recoil, cheaper to load for compared to magnums. When I was in the F.S and meat hunting after that the 243 was my main rifle, it did everything it needed to do. We mostly used 80 gr Winchester and Remington factory ammo, it always killed better than the 100 gr Norma and REM.
It does have some limitations such as limited range , I feel about 400 yds is a good range to work up to as it simply starts to run out of horsepower past that. Obviously many animals have died at longer ranges but for me 400 yds is about it, if I want further the 300 WIn Mag is a better options.
I most likely will always have one in the safe.

That's why I built a 6mm CM to replace a 6mm ARC, a fast twist and the boolits it enables are definitely an advantage over 400M or so . . . The 1:8 243 will be cool when there's some choice in factory ammo to suit it.

Originally Posted by Tentman

That's why I built a 6mm CM to replace a 6mm ARC, a fast twist and the boolits it enables are definitely an advantage over 400M or so . . . The 1:8 243 will be cool when there's some choice in factory ammo to suit it.

The 100gr Norma was always too hard. No expansion.

Originally Posted by TeRei

The 100gr Norma was always too hard. No expansion.

Probably why Tony Orman ,and others ,suggests hitting shoulder bones is best practise with the hundy grain loads

Originally Posted by TeRei

The 100gr Norma was always too hard. No expansion.

I would almost bet if put through a fast twist barrel it won't be too hard anymore... And those lovely 80-87grn loads that used to perform well ,suddenly become grenades