.243 question?

[Ugly Dogs]

My daughter called me today and told me that she wants her own rifle (A pink one) for deer season next week. So I'm going to buy her a .243. I have never owned one, so my question is what bullet (weight, type) is the preferred round for this caliber? Thanks for the knowledge.

 

[Kentucky Windage]

For deer: 100gr in whatever appropriate deer bullet that groups well.

Whoever is planning on making the 243’s bounce off deer joke, don’t, just don’t.

 

[Retired Educator]

A 243 doesn't have the knock down power of a 300 mag. I'm sure your daughter will shoot that 243 much better than getting knocked around with a 300 mag. Proper bullet placement is far more important than any other part of shooting. A person can shoot bullets that perform better than others. A good quality bullet going out the barrel can and does improve performance. There are several companies that make good bullets and a warning is that cheap shells usually do not have a quality bullet.
Good luck to your daughter and hope she has a great hunt and that you get to accompany her.

 

[bucksnbears]

Most any 100 grain soft point will do just fine.
And I freeking HATE seeing a pink gun in a picture!

 

[Iceman]

Most any 100 grain soft point will do just fine.
And I freeking HATE seeing a pink gun in a picture!

Well go fucking cry about it . It’s what the girl wants so buzz off

 

[Skeeter]

Well go fucking cry about it . It’s what the girl wants so buzz off

Well that escalated quickly!!!

 

[ShootnBlanks]

I got 5 more deer rifle tags in this house, and I'm now gonna do my best to make sure each is filled with my youngest daughters .243 after reading that pink comment. And will smile as I post each pic. That said, for the kids I have them shooting .80 grain. Little less kick. Never bounced a bullet yet

 

[AR-15]

Nothing wrong with a gun looking like that, Ugly Dogs, hope your daughter has a lot of fun

 

[Kentucky Windage]

A 243 doesn't have the knock down power of a 300 mag. I'm sure your daughter will shoot that 243 much better than getting knocked around with a 300 mag. Proper bullet placement is far more important than any other part of shooting. A person can shoot bullets that perform better than others. A good quality bullet going out the barrel can and does improve performance. There are several companies that make good bullets and a warning is that cheap shells usually do not have a quality bullet.
Good luck to your daughter and hope she has a great hunt and that you get to accompany her.

I also forgot to mention the guy who was going to make the “proper shot placement post” too. All that wind and no comment about bullet weight. Pat yourself on the back for bringing a 300 win mag into a 243 conversion.

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Anyone want to comment on the importance of practice, practice, practice?

ha ha

 

[Sum1]

We’re getting worse than women

 

[SDMF]

At this point you’re probably going to have to use whatever you can find. I’d be confident with pretty much any offering from 80-100gn.

 

[db-2]

Once, years ago when i was young, i hunted with a model 88 Winchester 243. Thought i needed speed so used, if i remember right, 87 grains factory.
Hit running whitetail at about 75 yards in front shoulder and that is where the bullet stay and no deeper. Shoulder bone was blown up, kept running and finally brother put down with 300.
Loved my 264 model 70 and with that rifle i did hit a running mule deer in shoulder at about 75 yards. 140 grain factory Winchester shell. Blew shoulder up and that was all. Deer kept running and son put down with 7mm.
Imho to much speed or to little grains (maybe get a different kind of bullet for the speed).

Shoot what one believes in but i will never used that 264 again (now have 11 full boxes of shells with a $12 ticket price) or if i had a 243 model 88 yet for deer, if i ever get a license again will use my 300 Weatherby made in 1959 (and i fully believe in that rifle).

However i continue to dream of shooting that large buck with my model 92 in 25-20. But it is a dream and that model 92 makes me feel real good when i carry but i realize it isn't going to ever happen, to little gun even if it did take down the Jordan buck.

As i said, just believe in what you carry and it will go well but it does not hurt to carry a little insurance to help with that feeling when the bullet does not go where it was meant to go. db

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And i do have more than enough shells for my Weatherby from the 1960's to last me a life time (if i ever get a license again). Price tag on box of $7.70. (i did practice with some new shells but did use those old shells on the last two mule deer, old but did work, one at 100 yards and one at 220 yards, both one shot, clean through, dad would be proud of that gun if he could watch from up above as he was with that rifle when he hunted with it) db

 

[Rizzo]

For off the shelf, I've had great luck with 95gr federal fusions. Second to that federal premium with 100gr Sierra game kings.

 

[NDSportsman]

Make sure you can find ammo first, there's a severe shortage. I prefer a solid copper bullet in 80-100 grain.

 

[Retired Educator]

I also forgot to mention the guy who was going to make the “proper shot placement post” too. All that wind and no comment about bullet weight. Pat yourself on the back for bringing a 300 win mag into a 243 conversion.

- - - Updated - - -

Anyone want to comment on the importance of practice, practice, practice?

ha ha

My comments were not to criticize the 243 for your daughter but more to suggest there is more to a bullet than weight. For 50k years I shot 130 grain bullets with my 270. Shot a lot of deer with 130gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. Also shot a lot of deer with cheap shells bought at Kmart or Walmart or Target's. Now really like 110gr Barnes TTSX's. The bullets I have found in a deer all weighted more than 108gr. and created a very nice wound to the far side of the animal. While Nosler Ballistic Tips worked very well, pretty sure none of them retained even 90gr. of weight.


So, what is best for the 243, depends on the type of bullet.

 

[Skeeter]

The best part about all of these rifle caliber posts is that grown ass men who have been around all types of firearms since they were old enough to wipe their own ass, still can’t differentiate between a cartridge and a shell and the proper weapon for each.

 

[Browneye]

My first rifle was a .243. It is still my deer hunting rifle as I have probably taken close to 50 deer with it over the years. Any of the off the shelf 100 gr will do fine. If you reload the Nosler or different partition type bullets would probably be even better yet. Many of us gun nuts often forget that not everyone can afford a different gun for every species they hunt. What I like about the 243 is the range of bullets you can buy from 115 down to 55 gr which turns it into a pretty speedy prairie dog round.

 

[db-2]

I am old enough to bite and learn. Look up cartridge in my old dictionary and said it was something that held power. Look up shell and it said "a cartridge holding an explosive chemical",

Yes i do not know the difference and what proper weapon one would use in each case.

But i just refer to them all as bullets and in my MarkV 300 the Weatherby new ammo box i have bought it uses the word cartridge as my boxes from the 1960s do also.
Have a box from the earlier 1900s of super x 25-20 and it uses the word bullet as i did learn while new box just recently bought uses cartridge.

So a time for a little understanding i would appreciate. thanks db

 

[Ugly Dogs]

Thanks for the feed back.

As for the pink gun I agree that they are ugly, but when your little girl says "Daddy i want the pink one." you buy the pink one. I knew the gun was going to be pink the moment she said daddy. She's 18 years old and has been using her mothers .270 the past few years. But she wanted her own gun this year and this little shit knows that she can manipulate me by playing the "daddy card". As for the caliber, her grandfather suggested that size to her and if grandpa says it's good that's all she needed to hear.

I have a blind set up 100 yards from a food plot. But the max distance that she should have to shoot is about 150 yards. She could get a shot as close as 30 yards. Her brother has his youth tag, so it's going to be an interesting rifle season this year.

Thanks again.

 

[jtillman]

No personal experience hunting, but I have put together some 85gr Barnes loads for a friend, and it must be near 20+kills with that setup. I've shot it off the bench and it's a great setup for a smaller framed shooter or one that doesn't like a lot of recoil.