.243 Damage on first deer

mickthebrick

Well-Known Member
I shot my first Roe over the weekend with a mates .243. About 70yds and almost a broadside shot. It didn't run on and dropped within about 15secs of me hitting it. When we gralloched it the bullet had entered about 2" over and to the right of the heart as I was making sure I'd miss it's left leg. The bullet missed the heart, smashed the lungs to pieces, then "ricocheted" along the ribs on the other side, popping out the other side after it'd run out of ribs and gone through the diaphragm taking a kidney and bursting the liver on it's merry way.......I'm shocked as I thought it'd punch straight through in almost a straight line, but pleased that I dropped my first deer even though I couldn't breathe and felt like I was having a heart attack :D
 
.243" first deer damage

Well done Mick I hope its the first of many you cull.

As to the damage done to the deer carcase well it was going nowhere - far better than running off wounded into thick undergrowth. I suppose if you were selling the beast to a game dealer it might result in a reduction in price due to damaged meat but it sounds as if the bullet ricocheted down through the body.

Maybe the bullet type/weight you were using had an influence on the path the bullet took in the carcass - I am sure some of the ballistic experts will be able to explain. I use 100 grain Sako twinhead nosler bullets in my 0.243" and have had no problems to date.

Willie
 
Cheers mate. I'm not sure about the weight of the bullet, I know it's a soft point lighter than a 100grainer. It was either use the .243 or my .223 with 55grn Sako softpoints. I'm looking forward to comparing the damage the 2 calibers cause next time I get invited up.
 
Well done. It's a buzz.

I have shot a deer and had a 243 round go through a rib, straight on, and out through another rib.

I'd have a good check of the rest of the carcass, what you describe can also be caused by a bullet fragmenting and bits flying off in all directions.

It wasn't a chunck of bone from the rib on the entry rattling around in there was it?

Who knows what goes on with projectiles travelling quicker than humans can percive or comprehend!
 
i love my 243 i use it on sika and fallow the lighter bullets 70-80 grs can deflect badly on bone the 90-100 gr are a better bullet for chesting deer .
the more you see the more you will know ,any thing can happen in the field .well done on your first deer i remember mine but have no pics any ways bring a camera.
 
Congrats Mick the brick
First of many I hope , I use 100gr federal till I have used up all factory loads , I found a lighter load of 80 gr more damaging Than 100 gr , Perhaps on this occasion it was just the angle of shot, don't be put off , I had a Roe with a large exit, similar to yours , down is down!! . we all learn .
Regards Trapper
 
I imagine all you need is to get through that first set of skin and ribs and you've killed it. Pleased it didn't run on though. A fella told me that he and his 2 mates each shot a roe on the same day with .243's and they all ran on over 50yds. I cant wait to get out again and see what happens with the next one...time to put my variation in I think :rolleyes:
 
Congrats! Not familiar with /roe, but 100 grainers seem to work well for whitetail if you're looking for through-and-through. Down is down though - good on ya!
 
I'm pretty certain someone over on AR posted a similar report to this concerning a muntjac that was shot broadside on. I think they had pictures of the bullet track within the beast and it travelled the whole length of the animal.

Either way it is one heck of a trick shot to pull off on your first roe, you will be working for the rest of your life to manage it again. Congratulations on getting your first one.
 
It is not only 243 bullets that do strange things, I have seen a red stag shot broad side on with a 150gn bullet, it took a deflection of a rib and exited out of its back leg. :eek:

Don’t worry too much, sometimes despite all our best efforts sh1t happens. A 243 with proper deer bullets is more than adequate for roe.

Best rgds

Tahr
 
Hi Mick, just before Xmas I shot a Muntjac buck using 100gr .243 factory ammo. It was at about 75 yards, the bullet entered just behind the shoulder and almost completely removed one of the haunches. It was stood perfectly broadside. Almost every internal organ was smashed to pieces and most of its stomach contents was hanging out of a fist sized hole in the other haunch.
Only the shoulders were fit for consumption, the rest went through the mincer and has now been fed to my springer.
In the past I have seen oddly placed exit wounds after hitting a rib but nothing like this before
 
With reference to my post above, last month I shot a fallow with a round from the same box. The Fallow was only about 130 yards but the bullet failed to exit and was found just under the skin. The bullet struck a rib on entry, through both lungs but did not hit a rib on the way out.

I think I may take the rest of the box down the range to see whats going on.

MH
 
The "problem" with the 243 is that it is really not designed to be a deer rifle at all. It is a vermin cartridge that some use for deer and it tries to make up for what it lacks in bullet weight with excessive velocity as bullet weight is limited effectively to 100 to 105 grains maximum.

That isn't to say it is not an adequate cartridge. Just that it could do with being a little less fast in the velocity department and a little heavier in the bullet weight department.

The only way to avoid this is maybe to load it down to velocities below 2,900 fps? I know that I used a Hornady Light Magnum (100 grains at about 3,100) on a muntjac last year again with much damage.

The only answer, on muntjac, may be to take the shot through the shoulder area as it seems if you are "back" only the slightest with these bullets at this velocity the liver even if just touched gets blown apart.

It may be that the Sako bullets hold together better than the American non-premium offerings?

Do users of the 6mm Remington have similar problems?
 
I use 70gr Noslers in the 243 driven at a shade over 3400 deer just drop on the spot and the bonus is no exit wound and very little meat damage, a friend was using 62gr barnes on fallow yesterday with the same results :D
 
It's good how no two peoples experiences are the same. Once you pull that trigger, even if you hit the spot, it seems as though you've got to be ready for anything! The same bloke who took me out shot a Sika stag that ran like the wind last year just as it was going dark, my dad was with him and thought "&*kin£$£ell, we'll never find it and me with my legs I'm getting too old for this etc etc" They walked back to the van to get the dog and the deer was lying dead on the road in front of it :lol:
 
Rubeus said:
I use 70gr Noslers in the 243 driven at a shade over 3400 deer just drop on the spot and the bonus is no exit wound and very little meat damage, a friend was using 62gr barnes on fallow yesterday with the same results :D

Those are light bullets, not much heavier than my .223. Federal 64grn in .223 do 3050 at the muzzle. I cant wait to try my .223 to see what happens now...
 
sako

I was using the sakos in my .243. The very first deer was a deflection. I shot another 30, including 2 fallow and never had another deflection and all but 1 dropped on the spot. Damage always entirely acceptable unless you whack them through both shoulders. Now using the Sakos through my 30-06 and no complaints so far.
 
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