I think its find for WT size game. The only times I can think of where I would complain about it was with a scimitar oryx. One was a youth hunt and the other was a guys wife. Both 100 grain bullet. Both times the shot went in the right place but one bullet with the youth hunter hit square on the leg and didn't penetrate through to the vitals. Kind of odd I thought. The other was slightly behind the shoulder and at 110 yards. When it hit, other than the animals running I couldn't tell much to confirm the game was hit until we found the animal dead at the very back of the ranch. That bullet went through the vitals well but didn't make it through the opposite shoulder. No blood trail on either. These are tougher than WT and was my first time to ever use that low of a caliber on that type of animal.

Great round for deer and hogs. Would even take it mile deer hunting no problem. Lots of punch and have buckled plenty of WT and 250lb+ size hogs with one. Love the 85gr Barnes in that rifle

Same everything here. Great round for lots of stuff.

Savage Model 99 in 243, with practice it can spit out bullets like a machine gun.

Speaking of smaller, faster bullets in the 243 like the 55 or 58 grain ballistic tips.......this is the kind of damage they can do to a WT deer. Mature doe taken the other day by a friend of mine, broadside at 150 yrds, deer stepped as the trigger was squeezed so hit a little far back instead of high shoulder. She didn't go far. Shot with a 55 gr Winchester Ballistic Tip. Don't expect an exit wound if you hit shoulder. Dead deer, yes. Blood trail, no. No problem with a blood trail on a rib shot like this Lungs & liver, jello. Entry wound was right behind the shoulder on the other side.

I love it and that's what I started using with 100 grain cor-loks. Only had 1 shot that made me question it's power and that was my first kill. 80 yards double lung. Entered between 2 ribs and through the center of a rib on the way out but did not pass through the skin... I think it was a fluke cuz I killed 9 more deer after with the same gun and always had total pass thru. But do to that 1 time I chose to go 270 when I bought a new gun

If you like track jobs then a 243 is great

bet your truck has a massive lift, huh?

I bet you missed the thread on 223 for deer hunting.

Go ahead and make fun it's easy behind a computer all I'm saying is yes they work and yes there are way better guns out there that do not kick

Use a Barnes 80/85 or a 95 Ballistic tip/WW Ballistic Silvertip
Place thru vitals
Dead deer/hogs.

Got 2 more deer this year with the trusty savage 243. Shot placement is key. Neither deer went more than 20 yards after being hit. I use 100 grain federal blue box.

Have never lost a deer with mine. Have had this rifle since 1968 has killed 200lb Arkansas deer in their tracks and some mighty big South Texas bucks.

This was shot with a .243 today!

Another "is it big enough/will it kill em?" thread...

Yes they will all kill em from .22LR to a 460 Weatherby. The majority of the deer I have taken over decades from coast to coast "and a few of my elk by the way" have dropped pretty much in their tracks from a 100gr out of a .243 Is it the perfect big game cartridge? No... But is it effective? Absolutely...

I have killed a lot of deer with 6mms. I use a 6 BR Norma fairly often, have used a 243 a good bit and had a 6mm rem for a time. I will say shot placement is very important, but when is it not. I like the Barnes X style bullets and the heavy bergers, my go to load is a 95 grain Berger in my BR. It does the job...if I do mine.

Ed

Many people love the .243, but I have talked to numerous hunters who have horror stories of well-shot deer who have covered a few hundred yards before expiring. A .260 or 7-08 doesn't recoil a whole lot more than a .243 so, unless one is especially recoil sensitive, I've never seen the advantage of a .243.

.280 Remington.

But I've had the same thing happen with deer shot with 12 ga slugs, even finding piece of rib cage in the blood trail. Sometimes well-shot deer just frickin' run, regardless of caliber. But they're still dead.

The point is, run what you brung, but put the bullet where it's supposed to be. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION.

i just got an old savage .243 lever action from my great grandma. anyway ive only taken 2 deer with it but both have dropped right where they stood. one was 200 yards away and the other was 80 yards away. it all depends on shot placement. if youre comfortable with the gun and can make a good clean shot the .243 is just as good as the next gun.

A 410 will kill ducks just as dead as a 12 gauge so why don't we all put down the hard kicking 12 gauges? The answer for me is why limit myself? Same could be said for a 243 and let's say a 270.

It will get it done.

I have had less trouble with a 223 than a 243.