Thread: 243 vs .308

If you get a .243 you might shoot your life and never come across any limitations - after years worth of it killing red deer, and others doing the same with a .223, I am still amazed at people who say hunting with a .243 is "experimenting".

Deer are not difficult animals to kill. And you dont need special heavy 243 bullets or special slow twists, and you do not need to shoot out to 500 metres. A standard .243 Winchester will do just fine.

The .308 is a great gun too. They both kill about the same on deer to be honest, any difference of killing power between them is largely due to different bullet designs.

The .243 has very little recoil, and is a most user friendly gun to shoot. Dont underestimate the value of this. It is true that under pressure you will not notice recoil much anyway, but a .243 is easier to shoot with in general and that will give you confidence, and a rifle you shoot well will become a friend in a life of hunting adventures.

From experience over a long time, I have the impression that the .243 gave faster kills than the .308 or the .303 and I have used them about the same. I don't really know why, other than the higher velocity gives a bigger wound channel. What I mean is that a high velocity .243 bullet, like an 85 grain Sierra at 3200 fps, will drop deer with any reasonable shot faster than a .308 bullet in the same place. Velocity will be the special herb or spice. MOst of my shooting is offhand shots from six metres to 200 metres. I have shot deer out further, and they all died too. But it is unusual. Even when hunting big clearings its unusual. Deer dont stand around in the middle of big clearings. They hang around the edges, because of serious men with .243's.

I have both, and use my .308 as well, mainly because it is in a light handy rifle rather than any reasons of caliber. I would have said that in the roar I take the .30/06, but this year I took the .243 and shot the biggest stag I have ever seen in person, and he dropped in his tracks. Just like in the saying. I still have not come across the limitations of the .243.

It has a good pedigree. It has one of the cartridges of choice for professional hunters in New Zealand but also in Australia. Plus it has better numbers. Two Four Three. Just sounds cooler. Looks cooler written down.

If you shoot in the open tussock country exclusively then nothing really changes. But get a .270. A .270 is a wise owl. Or an eagle. And eagles live in the big spaces. Like 7mm Remington Magnums.

With reasonable shooting ability and some basic anatomy knowledge, then killing deer with a rifle is not hard to do. Pick a cartridge you like and don't worry about it anymore, and then learn about the animals and what they eat, about climbing the hills and how to cross a river, how to take care of yourself in the bush and what to do with a knife.