.243 on deer

we have shot 4 deer so far this year all using a .243, we haven't seen blood from any of the deer, luckily they haven't traveled far. My question is do you guys think a .243 has enough power for a deer at a 140 yards? Why would we have not gotten blood from any of the deer?

Absolutely it is. It's all about shot placement first off. A .243 is plenty big enough.

Thousands of deer have been killed with the .243. What bullet are you using?

What Particular ammo,type of bullet,manufacture have you used?
Years back after some minor frustration with basic SP ammo, I found that 100 gr Nosler Partions always worked in the Wifes Remington 700 .243. There 2 deer shot using them, 1 deer blood trail looked like a 3" paint brush went about 40yds(lungs thru and thru)....the other one dropped in it tracks at 80yds (shoulder shot...pole axed it!!!).

Indeed. What bullet were you using. The bullet is more important that what is on the headstamp.

Depends high lung shots won't bleed quickly. But more then likely you are using a cup and core bullet not designed to retain lots of weight.

i think the 80gr TTSX by Barnes in the vortex ammo line is best thing that ever happened to the 243.

I've taken deer well past 200yards with a 243

We are using fusion 95 grain. I know shot placement. The last one I shot was about 45 yards away and it wasn't a thru and thru. Maybe we just aren't hitting right.

Used a .243 for years on Mills County WT, and my dad still does. Mainly used 100gr Corelokts but lately are using Hornady 95gr SST. We've probably taken over 200 deer with .243s.

Top of lower 1/3, tight behind the shoulder and let gravity do its thing.

Ok we will stick with and just try to calm the nerves a little..lol

Thanks everyone...any opinions on the fusion ammo

I know that the Winchester silver ballistic tip in 95 grain is a dirty little projectile. I have never had a exiting hole as all the energy is spent inside the animal. If shot high shoulder or neck they never move, behind the shoulder they might run about 20-30 yards, no blood trail but DEAD DEER each time! I have looked into and will probably try the Barnes TSX on some hogs this spring to see how they do at longer ranges.

I'm using 115gr in 6.8 SPC and getting pass thrus(and dead deer), and also 120gr in 7mm-08. Three deer have been DRT with the 708 (although two were high-shoulder), another ran 40-50 yards but the blood trail was massive. Until your report I'd been very impressed with the Fusion loads both in accuracy and results.

85gr Barnes Vortex never a problem.

Aside from the one you shot at 45 yards, have you been getting pass-thrus? How big were the exit holes?

I don't think the fusion expands well, especially at short range

No, no exit holes other than the close one. That's why I was wondering if maybe We need to step up to a bigger caliber

With proper shot placement and the right bullet it is a great round! I took a buck at 312 yards last year and he never took a step. My kiddo shot her first buck this year at about 125 is and it dropped in its tracks from a shoulder shot and not a high shoulder shot. I use the ballistic silvertip when not using my berger handloads.


TGT

the answer, when whitetail are concerned is, rarely yes. put a bullet where its supposed to be, and you will get your deer. thats from .222 all the way up to .458 socom. a .243 is plenty of gun. if you found every deer you shot, then it is doing its job...

We have, I am just used to seeing a good blood trail and thought it was weird that we haven't had a blood trail from any of the deer yet. Just blood under them at their final resting place.

I am not a fan of the Fusion bullet but admittedly my evidence is all anecdotal.

There's been plenty of deer killed with a .243, but I prefer at least .30 cal.

Exit wounds are a GREAT thing.

This is exactly what I've experienced with the Winchester Silver Tips. I've taken two deer (both good-sized bucks) with them, shoulder shots on both. No blood trail, both ran about 30-40 yards and they were both down for the count.

You said above that the close one "wasn't a thru and thru". If that is true and none of your bullets are exiting then the bullet is coming apart or expanding too much.

There's nothing wrong with the .243 at all -- you don't need anything larger. It sounds as if what you need is ammo with more stoutly constructed bullets. I'd go to a 100 grain bullet and some other brand.

On the other hand, if I'm misunderstanding you and you are getting pass-thrus but no blood, then it's just the opposite -- your bullets aren't expanding ENOUGH.

It's really important for us to understand whether you are getting pass-thrus or not.

Like everyone had said ammo and shot placement. I use a 22-250 and swear by the 60gr nosler partition. I can post pics of exit wounds the size of fifty cent pieces from a 120 yards.

I've actually seen two elk killed with a Browning lever action .243. Shot placement shot placement shot placement.

He's concerned about lack of a blood trail. This could be because his bullets are punching through without expanding enough OR because they are expanding too much and not exiting. It isn't clear to me from his statements which is the case.

Last 2 or 3 years I've used the 100 gr Nosler BT in my 260, and about at the same MV as in your 243. Prior to that I shot the 120 gr version of that bullet. I can say that the 120 gr version worked a bit better (deer deader faster), but the 100 grainer still worked Ok, but often with no exit. But, when I finally found that spike I've been hunting, the 100 gr BT just flat blew through the deer at 100ish yards. Major exit wound. Targeted spot was about 1/3 of the way down, right behind the shoulder.

I've been using Nosler BT's since they were introduced. Great bullet. Never had exit wound issues with the 270 or when using the 120 in the 260. As for the 100 grainer, it works every time but I rarely get an exit on large hogs and on some deer. If you want a consistent exit wound, I think a bullet change is in order. The Accubond, if they have a good bullet weight in your caliber, would be an obvious choice - or the Partition.

As is often the case,the first reply is one of the best. FWIW a .243 is the biggest thing I use on deer.They work great!

Flat Shooting Round

Lots of deer killed with 243. Most any of the factory offerings with hunting bullets will do the job. Blood trail is going to be more dependent on what bullet your shooting and shot placement.

I would go for some form of bonded core, partitioned, or mono metal bullet if looking for a blood trail.

Dad shot a bull elk with a .243 in Colorado. It's big enough.

I like to use my Remington 760 243 with Remington core-lokts 100 grain. I shot a buck across the front shoulders this year at about 80 yards. It was a complete pass through and plenty of blood. He might have ran 50 yards. I used to use a Remington 700 carbine in 6mm when I was younger. I killed countless deer and pigs with that gun.

One more thing, I read an article in Wyoming wildlife from the sixties where a father and son killed a mule deer,pronghorn, elk, and a moose with a 243. It was the only gun they had and nobody told them they were under gunned.

My son - 2 deer this season with .243
Me - 0 deer this season with 30-06

Our family has used the .243 since it came out in 1955 for mule deer in New Mexico. We have taken literally over 100 deer combined with the .243 and its all about bullet selection. Too light and it busts "no penetration". The best bullet by far we found was the 100 grain Sierra pro hunter. Good heavy bullet with great penetration and retention. I have taken muley's out to 300+ yards and get exit wounds. Now you won't get the blood trail you would get with and 30 cal of some variety, but you won't lose as much meat. As far a fusion ammo is concerned my opinion it is to lightly constructed thus NO penetration. Just my $.02

I've shot a lot of deer with a 7 mag and I rarely get an exit wound. Never been much of an issue because they don't go far. I now mostly use Remington Managed Recoil ammo because a full power 7 mag is just not necessary.
A .243 is a sweet round for Texas sized whitetail. If they are dropping close to where you shot them, then I say stick with it.

BTW my load for .243 is 43 grains of IMR4350 with 100 grain Sierra pro hunter. Gives you a muzzle of about 2850 and is deadly on deer. I took a big 9 point 2 last year on a ranch near Talpa, and literally dropped it in its tracks, which made tracking easy.

I enjoy the lightweight feel of my daughter's Browning Micro Medallion .243 and have taken both deer and hogs with it. It packs a powerful punch for a gun that carries so easily.

I've always shot 100 grain Remington Core Lokt ammo.

Except for recent accuracy issues I always had great success with Core-Lokts. Got a pass through almost every time. The only couple I remember not going through were a buck I must have hit in the boniest lower part of the shoulder and a doe that was heavily quartering to me. The buck went down in a pile and never even twitched. When my dad helped me load him we couldn't even find the entrance wound, but his shoulder and heart/lungs behind it were destroyed. On the doe, I found the bullet under the skin on the far side ham-it was a perfect mushroom and had devastated her chest cavity on the way through after I hit her in the chest just inside the near shoulder.

If your gun likes them they are both affordable and deadly, IMO. However, testing with them in the last 5 years has shown that neither my 700 or 788 like them very much, only around 2-2.5" groups at 100 yds. With Ballistic Silvertips or Hornady SSTs both guns are MOA or better. I actually liked the Winchester better but they got hard to find two years ago and I made the switch to Hornady. I have too much of the Hornady or I would switch back to the Winchester BTs tomorrow, they seem to hold together better. But my dad has shot four-five so far this year with the Hornady and the blood trail on one was impressive (only went 30 yards) and no recovery issues on any of them.

I absolutely love my Remington 243 and have been using 100 grain cor lokt bullets for years. Rarely will I get a blood trail and rarely do I get an exit hole but deer and pigs never run too far. I have opened up some of the deer I have shot and can see where the bullet will hit the other shoulder or a rib and bounce around inside the cavity, it really exerts its energy inside of the animal. If you are wanting an exit wound then go to a larger heavier caliber but the 243 for me is perfect in my opinion.

Ballistic Silvertip is what I always shot in my .243 and my results were spot on with yours. No exit - no blood trail - all energy went into the animal. It made me stay in the scope and watch the animal.

Sorry postoak, I misspoke, I have not had a thru and thru yet. Lots of good inputs here everyone and definitely has me reassured in the 243. I grew up shooting slugs out of my shotgun, or a 7mm mag. This is my first year with the 243

My .243 (Pre-'64 Win.) with the above ammo, my youngest on the trigger:


She even pulled a little and it hit slighty further back than ideal, but he went right down.

I have been loading 100gr Interlocks in front of 40gr of IMR4350 this year for the kids to shoot. 2 dead deer so far and decent accuracy on paper. 1 doe shot behind the shoulder at about 90 yds, liquified heart and lung area, left a good blood trail and piled up about 25 yd away. Nice 10 point hit a little high in the shoulder at 100yds, spine shot. Bang flopped there like you'd expect. 2nd shot on the ground with the bottom of the chest facing us destroyed a whole bunch of stuff except meat, don't think it exited.

I have been happy with the results so far.

I have shot deer from 30-130yds with a 243 and have had pass through every time whether it was shoulder or lung shots. Some have dropped dead in their tracks, only one has ran very far but I had good blood trail.

I've used
Federal "Deer Thugs' 90gr
Federal Fusion 95gr
Federal 100gr Sierra Game King

The 243 is really my favorite all around cartridge. I use 223 have always got a exit wound except for one time with a very funky shot.

This is my 3rd year hunting with a .243. Only once did I have to track a deer, and that was all my fault. 186 yard shot downhill and I didn't compensate correctly. All the rest were DRT or within 10 yards. Very pleased with Hornady SST 95 grain.

I have hunted with a 243 for probably 10 years, never lost an animal or had one go further than 30 yards. I've seen blood and had complete pass through on deer shot up to 200 yards. I've killed deer out to 325 yards with it. I use the hornady sst 95 grain bullets. 243 is plenty for deer.

Started with a 243 over 40 years ago. After moving on to a 270 and 300 win mag, I am back where I started. Here in east texas I use 100 grain nosler partitions, and in the panhandle I use hornady 95 grain SST.

It sounds like you've had good success with the .243. However, if you want more blood (never a bad thing) you'll probably get it with a larger caliber. Larger holes leak more blood.

.243 all day long. From the Red to the Rio.
Winchester Power-Points. 100gr..
Ride with Quality-Glass.

I have had good luck, just wondering if the no blood thing was common with a 243

i hardly ever got blood out of my 12gage on a thought and through they never when far maybe 20-30 yrs at most they tend to bleed on the inside my son to two dear so far this year one just the other day with his 25-06 through and through the other shoulder deer when about 35yrs and landed own in the bruch and died big exit hold no blood any where it has to do more with were you hit the fanamle then the caliber or gage your shooting i would say 90% of the deer i killed were with my 20gage in New York I got a lot of tags for being Nucens for eating the crops so i took a lot of deer and with those federal barns expanders were nasty rounds the would much up the lungs and anything hit then exit hardly ever and a blood trail the last 2 killed with my 30-30 had not blood trails and there went through the shoulders so i wold not worry much I was using the 95grain hornity ballistic tip and love them granted i have not shot anything but i have killed plenary of dear with my 22-250 the issue the it it is a varmint gun and weights a ton i can hardly shoulder it with the weight pulling down puts strain on my lumbar and hurts i have taken a deer with my 220 but you better not be off by much or take it in the head my 222 one year it door a largest bodyed but i have ever seen up in New York i best that guy went 250 or better I is shot him in the head it must have glanced he folded ring on the spot i i got about 20 yards from me it sprung right to its feet and took off like a bat out of hell i shot gain hind his head but missed shot placement is more inportanted the bullet caliber i have seen deer killed with 22mags and 22longs both behind the hear and 2 were through both lungs it ran quit far befor laying down and dyeing i int to see what my 243 wild with a deer but unless i meet someone that will let me hunt on there property or i get one on ft hood this weekend i wold I bought the cables bullet grain matched scope and am going to switch to a 100grain federal powershock round they worked well in my30-06 and my 3030 of the years and alway mushroomed nicely i dont care bout the bullet exit i want all that energy in the body cavity and destroy lungs hears as long as it drops in 30-40 yrs it did its job and did not destroy as much meat i never understood my guys shoot through the shoulders just so the deer wont run put it right be hind there and take out the lungs or a rib it is just as dead going through the lungs but the 243 at 100 shoot well enough i have confidence in a head shot at 100yrd 150 yards

I shoot em in the lungs and they always die. That's the good news. The bad news is that sometimes a big tough old buck can rocket off a good ways before he drops. Years ago in failing light and a light fog, here came the huge old 9 point I had hoped to find. I had the 270 and made a good heart/lung shot at 268 yards (lasered). That old buck crashed through a briar patch and all the palmettos and across the slough and I heard him die hard in the palmettos across the slough. I lasered the bush next to where he was when I shot him, walked to the spot, found a good blood trail and tracked him. Used up all my TP as I followed the trail and finally found him. 275 pounds body weight. Great palmated rack, with a kicker.

Would never have found him without the laser RF and a good blood trail and flashlight, and let me thank the guy that taught me to use TP while blood trailing. The point here is that you need passthru and a good blood trail. You might not need the blood trail to find your deer, but then again you might. And that's why this is the last season I'll hunt with the 100 gr BT in my 260. I get a blood trail only sometimes. Haven't lost a deer yet, but I want penetration like I used to get with the 270, which gave me blood trails Stevie Wonder could have followed. I really like my 260, but it's not the hammer the 270 is with the 130 gr Nosler BT at 3000 fps.

If you are going to deer/hog hunt with a 243, use a real good bullet - Accubond, Partition, or something equal.

The ole .243 pulled it out yesterday at 140 yards...shot placement...had a huge blood trail for the 40 yards until she fell over

Lots of deer get shot with the .243. Shot placement is what its all about.

really though a .243 will break a deer down in the shoulders just fine... lots of punch in that bullet. iv dropped plenty of 200+size pigs with shoulder shots

I have long said a .243 has plenty of power HOWEVER it does not always have the power to punch through the other side, thus making tracking very difficult. I have lost deer before because i could not find blood. I remember one time i shot one and only found one tiny SPECK of blood, luckily i found him but there wasent even the smallest blood trail, and it was a perfect lung shot....why even mess around in my opinion? Just use a 30-06

Iv seen a 30-06 do the same exact thing on a lung shot... more than a few times. Iv also seen a 300win do the same thing with a lung shot... I had it happen a few times with my .270win and stopped shooting behind the shoulder.

A good bullet will make a difference also but put a 85gr tsx bullet on the shoulder of a WT and its punching through every time

In my experience a good 180gr 30-06 core lock will knock any deer flat on its [censored], elk too for that matter.

I like the fusion bullets in .243. My daughter shoots that round and hasn't lost a deer.

Iv had plenty do the same but still plenty runnoft to be tracked... lots of different things take place with shooting behind the shoulder.. not a bad one to take its a very lethal shot but when I do pick up a rifle these days ill put it mid or high shoulder... with that iv hardly had one make it another step.... I did have one plow the field with its shoulders for a few yards but bout it

The main reason I am using the .243 this year is because i only have one good scope. My girlfriend doesn't want to shoot anything bigger so we moved the scope to her gun. Next year I will get another good scope and I will move back to my 30-30.

The 243 85gr Barns Vortex is laying them down on my lease and we shoot a lot of mature animals and they don't go 20 yards if they take a step. Just put it behind the shoulder and smile.

My brothers in law both use 243. Killed plenty deer. I shot one this year with Federal Fusion 165 gr .308. DRT. Big hole out the backside. Would have been easy to track if it had run.

I have no problem with a 243 but I dont have one so I shoot something different.

The .243 has been bringing down game since I started hunting with one back in the 60's and back then most people hunted with 30-30's 06's and .243's. There were other calibers available back then but walk into any hardware store or gas station and that is what was available.
The old .243 never died and it's probably even more popular today, and with better bullets we have now and more choices in ammo it's never going to go away.
A bad shot is just that! You can have a bad shot with any caliber, and if you place a proper shot on bone, (shoulder) the deer is going down regardless if it's a pass through or not.