what is to far of a shot for the good ole 243 i have a nice little setup in 243 and would like to use it since its a synthetic stock but never really new what kinda distance i had for deer hunting as i am about kill shots and hate wounding deer and tracking possibly never finding thanks in advance for your knowledge

depends on conditions. I have never tried anything over 300 yards with it, but I have never shot a deer or hog through the vitals with the caliber.

What type of ammo are you shooting?

There are a lot of variables in this question, the biggest one being how far YOU can shoot yourself.

People use .308's for 1000 yard shooting matches, but just because you own one doesn't mean you could shoot 1000 yards.

Me personally, I wouldn't take a shot at a deer that was over 250 yards out.

This page should give you an idea of what the bullet can do, using that type of ammo.

If you were totally confident on your shooting, 400-500 yds with near perfect placement would probably be the max imho. after that a 243 falls off pretty good. I would have no prob takin a shot at 300 yds, as that is the longest range i have had a chance to practice at.

Well, by my ballistics software the .243 shooting a 100gr bullet @3000fps has about 1035 ft lbs of energy at 400yds. But that bullet drops almost 20" on a 200yd zero at that range too. So I'm thinking anything beyond 300yds, and you'd have to start worrying about actually hitting the deer. On a 4" target the point blank range is about 250yds. So you could fudge out to 300 or so by holding high on the deer. But 325 and higher you're gonna have to aim at air. Unless you have time, and a scope with target turrets. But IMO that should only be done once you know the ACTUAL trajectory of the round you shoot thru YOUR rifle.

I'd keep shots 250-300 yds max. And try everything I could to get them under 200yds. JMHO.

Jay

I have taken deer past 350 yards with it. I would put it up there as one of the best rounds for long distance. In high school I had a place and the closest shot was 250 yards. It was the best blind on the 3000 acre property and was called the Cadillac Blind. Lots of great memories there. Well still have just don't hunt it as much as I used to. The blind is long gone though, a big storm took it out.

Try Paco Kellys rule of thumb. 200 yds=200 practice shots.
300 yds=300 shots and so on. Seems like overkill but a good practice anyway

ive placed 3 and 400 yard shots with other guns i was basically just wondering if i could hunt modt of my blinds which are 75-200 yards so it sounds like ill be good and wont have to scratch the tikka up thanks i just never really new what kind of range the 243 had

Here's what the pros say about the 243win " Chuch Hawks"

Winchester's Supreme 95 grain Ballistic Silvertip big game bullet is factory loaded to a MV of 3,100 fps with 2,021 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy (ME). If that load is zeroed to strike 2.5 inches high at 100 yards the bullet will then strike 3 inches high at 150 yards, 2.3 inches high at 200 yards, and 3 inches low at 300 yards. At 200 yards that bullet hits with 1,455 ft. lbs. of energy, and at 300 yards it still retains 1,225 ft. lbs. of energy. With this load so zeroed the .243 Winchester is about a 300 yard deer and antelope cartridge

Id shoot it 400 all day long

My wife shot her 1st deer with a 100 gr Federal @ 225 yrds. DRT heart shot. She shot her 2nd deer (4min. later) @ 265 yards, heart shot. Luckily for the deer, that was all that was in the food plot, she had more bullets.

sounds good to me ive had the gun forever and always believed in my 30-06 but id like to switch it up and just to throw it in and im sure someones gonna hassle me but ill be using rem cor 100 gr all my rifles shoot rem cor lockt just cant find a reason to shoot anything else every rifle i own groups with in an 1.5" with them and there cheap

I would feel comfortable out to 300-350. Anything further and I might have to pass on the shot. 243 is a great gun, within its limitations. Joshua has been dropping everything in sight with his, but the shots are in a peanut field and he has a great rest and Daddy backing him up if something goes wrong.

400 yd shots are definitely within the limits of the cartridge. It's all about being honest about your level of proficiency. Practice the longest range you want to shoot. A 400 yd shot is practical if you have the practice shots to back it up. Years ago when I shot long range a lot more than I do now, I would love the opportunity to make a 400 yard shot. Now, I would pass it up because I have not kept up with the practice it takes. Used to shoot 5.56 at man-size plastic targets at 400 meters with open sights. Can't do that anymore. Be realistic about your skill level.

300 should be easy with a a little pratice to see where your bullets hit. A .243 with 80 grain SP at 400 with a 10 mph cross wind you will hit around A foot off where you aim unless you know how to dope wind. Drop is the easy part it's the doping the wind that makes it challenging past 300!!