Thank you for that info. I do some have bigger cartridges. I always joke about shooting a deer with my 26 Nosler out of my bow blind at 23 yards. Now that I have my biggest buck on camera, I might actually do it.

I wouldn’t want to shoot a deer at 26 yards with any centerfire rifle other than a 30-30.

But if your joking and have access to bigger calibers I would choose them over a .243

If you are planning on hunting out of your bow blind just use your bow.

If you are going to take body shots, then use a bullet that is designed for that. Barnes has some excellent ammo out there in 243 that is great for those who want to see a blood trail rifle hunting. Great penetration. The Barnes bullets will leave a blood trail in the 243. I don't like blood trails rifle hunting, I want bang flop. The buck you are after, I would put a 95 grain Silver Tip in his neck and watch him drop. Or high shoulder, end of story. Dead deer. IF your range stretches out, then that's another story. I have a lot of experience hunting with the 243, not a damn thing wrong with that round under 200 yrds.

100 g. Nosler Partition. On a similar size deer the high shoulder shot dropped him and the bullet passed through.

That's total hogwash. The 243 is a very effective killer of deer sized game when the proper bullet is put in the proper place. 95g ballistic tips are wicked killers.

If you can't kill a deer with a 243 you need to quit hunting. Shoot them in the neck and no tracking required.

Yes they are. I have killed a lot of animals with them.

One of my neighbors cursed his 243, after missing and wounding a few deer and pigs. I offered to help but hell no. He bought a 300 Win Mag with a Zeiss scope, used it for 2 years and missed and wounded MANY more animals than he ever did with his old 243. I was skinning a deer at camp and he stopped & asked me what I shot that deer with and how far. I said my 243 at about 100 yrds just like the last one. I let him finish his rant and didn't say anything. He said "Man, I need a rifle that I can shoot". My answer was, get a 22-250. If you can't kill a deer with a 22-250 then it's time for you to rewind and re-process everything you think you know.

I've never shot a deer in the neck. I do not enjoy tracking deer though. What part of the neck do y'all aim at?

Side profile, straight down from the ear notch, at jaw line, or above.

Facing you, aim just below the chin.

Back to you, head up, jaw line, up to the top of the head.

That's the brainstem, and it is the main breaker. Better be dead nuts zeroed, and have a very steady rifle, and have great trigger control. Killed lots of does and one cow elk with that very shot over the last few years. No tracking, no torn up meat, no blood during gutting.

I'm with the anti 243 crowd. I can't argue that it won't kill 'em, cause it will. I used to hunt with 243 all the time. Personally, I like a bigger caliber.
If you are going to use the 243, I would suggest heavier for caliber bullets, and pick a tough one. Accubonds would be a good choice.

When you get situated and ready to shoot just whistle at him. When the deer looks at you shoot him in the center of the neck. He won’t move while your shooting and will fall in his tracks.

.243 is not optimal, but it’s fine for the vast majority of deer hunting. My first deer rifle was a .243 and my youngest daughter now owns it. It’s a helluva lot better than the varmint calibers many are using and/or handicapping their kids with these days.

100 gr Partition if the rifle shoots them well.

80 gr Barnes TTSX works well too.

This.^

243 to small for a whitetail deer?

I never said the .243 won't kill a deer.



I stated the issue was with finding them after they had been hit.

A .243 is all my dad would use. He always went for a high shoulder shot with Remington Core Loct 100 grain. Most of the time, they dropped right there. You could always find the bullet under the hide on the far side. If they ran off though, it was usually very difficult to find them.

I hunted with a .303 British and always had a good exit wound and blood trail.

That was east Texas in the 70's. There weren't a lot of deer around there then. If a deer was lost, you might not get another chance that year.

I remember those days of east texas hunting.



Now its changed quite a bit but I was never so happy as when I moved back to SA and much better brush country hunting

I like a bullet that makes two holes. I shoot nosler partitions in nearly every hunting gun I have. Even a 223 will give easily trackable blood trail with 60 grain partitions and good shot placement. Cant tell you how many deer have been killed with ours. I love partitions penetration and expansion guaranteed.

I always shoot shoulders. They have always dropped. I like Nosler bullets for killing things. You will have no problems with your 243. The NBT has worked great in my 257R. If you want a little more peace of mind, use a Partition or Accubond.

I've seen 1 deer shot with a .243 and partitions. Typical of the bullet design, it went thru and thru, hitting the heart. Deer ran quite a ways ( 150 yards ) but there was a good blood trail.

Only thing ive ever seen loaded in that caliber was regular soft points and ballistic tips. This load was a handload.


I'm assuming you can get accubonds and partitions loaded in factory ammo in .243 now

If your rifle likes them, I’ve had outstanding results with Barnes Vortex ammo - 80gr TTSX.

No issues... ever

. One of the dirtiest nastiness rounds out there...exit is a mess!!! Ive been killing the hell out of hogs with this round....

Yessr I've got a couple boxes of them on the counter, and a new 243 I'm setting up for my daughter. I was very impressed with how they did on pigs.