.243 not suitable at close quarters ?

shbangsteve

Well-Known Member
Reading Gun mart (May edition p52) whilst sat upon my throne ,as you do, a guy writes that a .243 (or presumably any other CF rifle) is not suitable to be discharged into a deer at close quarters and that the MOD state that a safe distance of not less than 50 metres into a hard backstop for risk or backsplash,splatter or ricochet.He goes on to say that an insurance company could argue recklessness or negligence should an accident occur whilst shooting at close quarters thus void any claim .
This is a new one on me . Is he talking b*****ks or what ? I have dispatched the odd "un-dead" deer with my .243. I tried doing one with a knife in the back of the head ,as read in a book . Not to be recommended lots of noise and head thrasing ,very unpleasant and not very humane .
Anyone else got any thoughts on this ?
If you can't use your rifle WTF are you supposed to do , let the beast suffer ?
 
Best practice recommends a shot at close quarters, less then 10 meters to dispatch a injured deer, IMO the guy is talking total ********.:D A lot of guys use 22rf for close range humane dispatch and we all know how they can “bounce” without problems.

ATB

Tahr
 
You must weigh up (non-pc speak for risk assesment) each shot according to circumstance. shooting vertically will almost certainly provide splash back from the surface the deer is lying on, where as shooting at a low angles towards a safe direction is going to reduce the chance of a face full of spatter.
In some circumstances the gun may not be appropriate but a knife to the chest or maybe even a wheel wrench to the back of the skull may stop the suffering.
I cull a number of sheep on the farms that I work on. Usually in the great outdoors the rifle is fine but in stone/concrete floored buildings I often opt for other means.
I was told by my F.L.O I had good cause to own a H.D pistol but was not prepared to upgrade my house security to a £400 a year monitored alarm system. As a result I must continue to weigh up each situation as it arises. A moments reflection of the risks does not significantly add to suffering but may increase the longevity of the man who does the necessary.
 
Question:
Can you cope with being hit by said .243?
Ok..
Maybe minimise the risk, advice MIGHT be to reduce your personal profile (shoot from behind a tree, cover, kneel, shallow angle etc..) from any deflections/ricochets/bone matter/stones/frag etc.
Very sure the seasoned stalkers will have some tales on this one....standby!
 
I assume the MOD are talking about non expanding ammo, LD why did he say you needed a alarm for a HD pistol, never Heard of that before, I know plenty of folks with LB pistols with no alarms.
 
Sounds like rubbish to me, but does depend on surroundings....i.e. as mentioned before, hard ground etc etc.
I've had to despatch a deer in the field occasionally with a shot.
With a knife to the back of the head....it needs to be into the atlas joint. Accuracy required & not the thing to do with a downed beast that's still 'Lively'!
Knife to the chest is the more usual way, antlers & movement of beast allowing.
 
Sounds like rubbish to me, but does depend on surroundings....i.e. as mentioned before, hard ground etc etc.
I've had to despatch a deer in the field occasionally with a shot.
With a knife to the back of the head....it needs to be into the atlas joint. Accuracy required & not the thing to do with a downed beast that's still 'Lively'!
Knife to the chest is the more usual way, antlers & movement of beast allowing.

Sounds more like an excuse to "FIX, BAYONETS!";)
 
Reading Gun mart (May edition p52) whilst sat upon my throne ,as you do, a guy writes that a .243 (or presumably any other CF rifle) is not suitable to be discharged into a deer at close quarters and that the MOD state that a safe distance of not less than 50 metres into a hard backstop for risk or backsplash,splatter or ricochet.He goes on to say that an insurance company could argue recklessness or negligence should an accident occur whilst shooting at close quarters thus void any claim .
?

If this is fact I will shoot less deer or I will hav to stalk backwards so the deer are at a safe distance before I pull the trigger:lol:
plus the fact the MOD are possibly refering to solids than expanding, as that will make a difference ricochet wise I'm sure
 
So, just to be clear:

We can't shoot deer at long range
We can't shoot deer close up
We can't shoot deer in the head
We can't shoot deer in the neck
We can't heart lung shoot deer in case they run away and are lost
We can't shoot big deer with smaller calibers
Fast bullets will blow up on the shoulder of big deer
Slow bullets may not put the deer down leading to it running and being lost
We can't shoot small deer with big calibers
Fast bullets will cause excessive meat damage on small deer
Big caliber bullets will cause excessive meat damage on small deer
Slow bullets might pass right through a small deer without expanding
We can't shoot deer without a dog or we'll never find it


Can someone outline the circumstances and equipment necessary to allow a successful shot at a deer? Must all the planets line up?
 
if it's not safe to shoot again use a knife the best way for me is to plunge the knife just below the ear and cut vigorously through the throat to cut the major blood vessels in the neck quickest and easiest way.
 
What a load of tosh :lol: I assume he has written a risk assesment before he gets up in the morning and puts his pants on and walks out of the door :D

God forbid he should use a 243 to shoot a deer :lol::lol: wont stop me using one.
 
I assume the MOD are talking about non expanding ammo, LD why did he say you needed a alarm for a HD pistol, never Heard of that before, I know plenty of folks with LB pistols with no alarms.

By LB do you mean long barrel revolver/pistol?
If so then thats different to humane dispatch. I think HD is usually a section 5 pistol in pretty much any guise but usually has a restricted magazine capacity, but I may be wrong. Either way a HD pistol is not the same as LB/LBR/
 
slightly off topic but the question was asked.
I have killed x2 RTA roe last week alone with my knife one move into the axis joint and into the brain, no thrashing and very humane as quick as any bullet.(I will do about 10 a year).
I use a long, strong thin blade.
And I practice on every dead deer that comes into the larder, this makes me very familar with the process.

I am of course talking about roe deer.
Like you practice with the rifle, practice with your knife.(but you do need the correct blade).
 
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slightly off topic but the question was asked.
I have killed x2 RTA roe last week alone with my knife one move into the axis joint and into the brain, no thrashing and very humane as quick as any bullet.(I will do about 10 a year).
I use a long, strong thin blade.
And I practice on every dead deer that comes into the larder, this makes me very familar with the process.

I am of course talking about roe deer.
Like you practice with the rifle, practice with your knife.(but you do need the correct blade).



Here is a good video about a four minutes from the end there is a demo on how to dispatch a deer with a knife through the atlas joint.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cf1YvUU-E8
 
What a load of tosh :lol: I assume he has written a risk assesment before he gets up in the morning and puts his pants on and walks out of the door :D

Actually about 141 people in the UK are killed each year in accidents putting on their trousers! Honestly.

Stand by for a joint BBC/Guardian campaign to have trousers banned.
 
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