Is .243 big enough???

[Offroad Gary]

Ask any professional (successful) trophy roebuck hunter what their calibre of choice is.. I’d bet its not the .243. there’s nothing like seeing that gold medal roebuck disappearing off into the woods with a hole in it to get your heart going. 25-06 is popular for this in the south/south west, much more emphatic.

 

[Glendine]

fallow are the same size as sika and run just as freely on chest shots. The calibre is fine is you are working with plenty of run and drop space, but that's not always the case

In Ireland Sika are quite a bit smaller than Fallow and surprisingly a far amount tougher also.

Interesting that you say there is such a body size difference in SW Scotland.

Regards,
Glendine.

 

[Taff]

berg, I am not doubting the 243 as a deer rifle, I have killed hundreds, mainly fallow with one,have lost the odd one or two, my son when he was a keeper in Wicklow , shot plenty of sika with his, roe should be know problem with one.
OG I try not to speak to trophy hunters.

 

[Offroad Gary]

OG I try not to speak to trophy hunters.

you should try, some of them are very knowledgeable, ive learnt a lot from the ones i know, i mean the managers/guides that generate the trophies, not the hunters that pay to shoot them. Always learning more!

 

[EMcC]

I saw no need for any other calibre than the .243 for over thirty years, if ever there was a problem it was not the rifle, it was me.
Before I settled in England I used a 7x57 and a .222 but on settling here I decided to trade the 7x57 for a .243 and never looked back.
It was only when I was knocked back from an Estate in Dorset because I 'only had a .243' that I got a .308 but still kept the .243
It is probably only the last twenty years that all these different calibres have appeared and more people have got into stalking and there has been more choice available.

 

[tusker]

Ask any professional (successful) trophy roebuck hunter what their calibre of choice is.. I’d bet its not the .243. there’s nothing like seeing that gold medal roebuck disappearing off into the woods with a hole in it to get your heart going. 25-06 is popular for this in the south/south west, much more emphatic.

In that case you should use the 22.250 now that really puts em on the floor.
Tusker

 

[Heym SR20]

There is nothing wrong with the 243. Choose a good bullet for what you are doing and put it in the right place. Most of the problems with the 243 are probably to poor bullet choice. Use a good stoutly constructed 100 gn soft point or the Geco 105 and they will shoot clean through causing big trauma. Use a smaller 75gn ballistic tip on a large deer and hit it on the shoulder at 50 yds - the bullet will blow up and not penetrate to the vitals.

There is also a secret to using 243 on bigger and that's called stalking.

Sure the bigger calibres may knock deer off their feet when hit, whereas 243 they tend to run 20 yards and then pile up dead. I've found with 7mm that deer are knocked over and then kick for several seconds till they bleed out. With 243 and the close in behind shoulder shot, they take off and pile up dead and cover 20 to 30 yards in a few seconds.

 

[Offroad Gary]

In that case you should use the 22.250 now that really puts em on the floor.
Tusker

I use a 6.5x47 lapua, a 22-250 is illegal for roe deer in England.

i used to headshoot a few deer with my .243, but never really shot many with it in their body, i moved to .308, then 25-06's (had 3 of them), and now the 47. Having a second one built at the moment.

 

[scotlanddeerstalking]

+1 heym sr20 yip in behind the front leg with the 243, you will get the big leap forward kick oot the back legs and run 10 to 20 yds. 100 grain ppu does the job nice. you can go for a larger round and get the same affect, I think that a lot of shooters don't give a bullet time to work, I have noticed this several times when out with clients, text book shots and just because the deer does not drop on the spot they want to shoot it again,.

 

[berg]

+1 heym sr20 yip in behind the front leg with the 243, you will get the big leap forward kick oot the back legs and run 10 to 20 yds. 100 grain ppu does the job nice. you can go for a larger round and get the same affect, I think that a lot of shooters don't give a bullet time to work, I have noticed this several times when out with clients, text book shots and just because the deer does not drop on the spot they want to shoot it again,.

just got back from a stalk and bagged a runty buck 1st one off the season,it did just that and the dog found it in the ditch dead as

 

[scotlanddeerstalking]

that's jist braw berg, well done, you cant beat having a good deer dog, don't go with out the vizsla my self

 

[berg]

that's jist braw berg, well done, you cant beat having a good deer dog, don't go with out the vizsla my self

she just needs ot stop barking at them could of had two ,but I suppose that just part of her learning curve.but she was straight on the strike and she found it straight off ,it had two broken legs and it had tried to jump a small stream 4ft wide max, and that was it for that buck she jump in the stream and pull it to the edge that would have taken me quite abit longer to find it with out the dog

 

[berg]

That's a nice target,
It doesn't indicate what the terminal velocity and impact characteristics of your 100gr bullet are when it clips the elbow of a 22 stone stag as it steps just as you pull the trigger though.

Equally it assumes that all shots fired at a 3D target will go exactly as planned and travel the entire, planned wound channel as predicted


Everyone knows the answer to this question and it is down to the person using it and no-one else.

if you have never
lost a deer, ...
had to put in a second shot,..
seen a big stag linger that little bit too long before expiring..
or spent the rest of an otherwise perfect day searching for something that should have "died on the spot" but made it to the tree line and beyond.......

....then you need to shoot a few more before you comment on whether a .243 is "the perfect" round for the bigger deer species.

Have you read the post what caliber for sika ,might keep you bizzy for a while.o and the picther was to show the oridinal poster how aacurate the 243 is .all the best

 

[Hyperion]

As a novice and having shot all of two deer, both with a .243 I would say go for something bigger.

My reasoning?

A bigger caliber must surely give you a much more obvious strike and out shot that is going to be easier to find, a bigger exit wound that is less likely to close up on larger deer species and create an easier to follow blood trail should you need to follow up on an animal that has run on??

 

[Paul at Fechan]

I have shot now a few deer with my .375 h&h using 250gr sierra gamkings. Reds, a sika and a fallow pricket

BOOOOOOM %&^* SMACK *"^% KA-THUD £%^$ BOSH!!!

Guess what, every chest shot deer ran off a bit heart shot or middle chest made little difference but the blood trail was very very easy to follow. The one that went the furthest was surprisingly the fallow even without a heart and a hole the size of a 50p on the exit. Did I need a dog... no... and why??? big bullets put bloody big holes in deer and leave a lot of red stuff on the ground that you can smell never mind see!!

The .243 is man enough to kill any deer here in the UK without question but more is just better and allows for an increased margin for error. Best to have it and not need it than wish you had it to start with. It only takes one lost deer shot well to teach you that lesson.

 

[berg]

I agree, one off my level two stalks i shot a young roe doe in the heart with a 170gr sp from my308,taking out both her front legs, as she ran in a big loop and back across the ride you could see the blood gushing out on gralloching her you couldnt even see her heart it was mince and the exit had bits of lung hanging out how anything can even move let alone run is beyond me .AND to conclude it dosnt matter what rifle you use 243 100 gr to a 375h&h with 250gr golf ball flattening anything its path THEY WILL STILL RUN so the best thing to do is make sure you have or have access to A GOOD DOG.

 

[Paul at Fechan]

don't need a dog with the 375 though... you can't fail to follow the blood trail, good dog for 'small' calibres though you're right. After all the .243 is only 0.5mm wider that a .22 centrefire only legal for munties and roe in Scotland which also only fires a tiny 20 grains more weight lol

I didn't saying anything with the .375 went far... 10m was 'far'

 

[berg]

don't need a dog with the 375 though... you can't fail to follow the blood trail, good dog for 'small' calibres though you're right. After all the .243 is only 0.5mm wider that a .22 centrefire only legal for munties and roe in Scotland which also only fires a tiny 20 grains more weight lol

I didn't saying anything with the .375 went far... 10m was 'far'

I don't think that comment is goinig to go down well with a lot of people who spend a lot off time training there dogs to tack deer that have been wounded or lost probably by paying guest with big guns and lots of money . and if your a trader do you sell 243 s ??? bet you do , thought you could shoot deer in Scotland with 243 ??do you munties up that far??

 

[Paul at Fechan]

comment has nothing to do with the training of deer dogs?

my trade member status has nothing to do with a shop?

what's your point about .243 in Scotland and munties?

 

[long_range_rob]

I've shot Roe in Scotland with a .223, I've shot Roe in England with a .243 and 70gn BT's and I've shot Red with a 7mm08. They all died.