Thread: Why the 243 is ideal for the elderly

I believe every gun cabinet needs a .243...

But you will never hear me tell anyone it is the versatile calibre people make it out to be.

I hunted a lot of sambar a few years back living in the Horowhenua, and I mean a lot. Private land, a couple of deer a week at times for three years in the name of management etc. The 6mms simply weren't enough gun on the bigger stags, some of the hind quarters were going 60kg a side to give you an idea of the size. The magnums calibres werent neccesary, I shot a lot with the 308/30-06 calibres, but the magnums really stopped them quicker. Nothing has the will to live more than a wounded sambar stag, you would be shocked how far they can run. you simply need to put a bigger lump of lead in them at high pace to anchor them to the dirt (or sand, as it happened to be). When hunting sambar in Victoria I found this echos the Aussie sambar hunters findings also.

The majority of my hunting these days here on the East Coast is bush hunting, some river flats work and shooting slips, rarely a shot over 200m. My .243 does the majority of this, and on a comparatively softer animal like a red, I havent had an issue. The beauty of such a flat shooter within the ranges I speak of is head and neck shots arent an issue, and recoil dictates spotting the shot through a low power scope even on a lightweight kimber isn't an issue. This makes makes a follow up shot on a second animal or a wounded one easy.

To summarise, and to state the obvious, the .243 is absolutely fine within is limitatons, dictated by the game animal and the distance they are taken. Pretty much, drum roll please, like any other calibre. Horses for courses.