Author Topic: .243 and 7mm-08 for deer (Read 1165 times)

Crudders32 · « **on:** October 07, 2005, 04:24:47 AM »

I have both of these rifles along with a 30-06 that are available for using this season for deer. I have taken deer with the '06 and 7mm-08 before with good results, but was thinking about using the .243 this year to see how well it works. I am not a big fan of recoil and I really love shooting the .243. My current load for the .243 is a 85gr sierra bthp and IMR 4064. I was wondering if anyone had experience with the .243 and a similar setup and how it will perform on deer. My shooting will probably be limited to 100 yds. Thanks.

Graybeard · « **Reply #1 on:** October 07, 2005, 05:02:54 AM »

I have nothing good to say about the .243 as a deer rifle but the 7-08 is in my opinion as good as it gets. Many love the .243 and just as many hate it. Don't think I've ever heard a bad comment regarding the 7-08 as a deer round.

No more than you shoot it on game why in the world is recoil even a factor?

poncaguy · « **Reply #2 on:** October 07, 2005, 05:12:31 AM »

243 in boiler room will do just fine, 7mm-08 better. Will use my Handi 243 for does.

Savage .250 · « **Reply #3 on:** October 07, 2005, 05:27:34 AM »

Savage 110 .243 Bought in the 60`s. All i can say is that it kills-um dead.
Keep one thing in mind.........shot placement is critical. I`ve had to pass on shots over the years (thick brush, etc) but to me that`s just hunting.
I don`t handload so Federal 100 gr is my choice of ammo.

" The best part of the hunt is not the harvest but in the experience."

flintlock · « **Reply #4 on:** October 07, 2005, 05:32:21 AM »

The Federal Premium 85gr HPBT is what I have been using for the last few years....Between me and a couple of buddies we have killed about 30 deer with from 35 to 265 yards...Before switching I had used CoreLokts, PowerPoints, Hornady Interlock, Federal Premium in the GameKing and Partition...etc,etc....The all worked...got more exits with the 85gr than the PowerPoints and GameKings...and they were 100grs...They all work....Guess I've killed at least 130 deer with mine...

(Of course we all know that we want to make quick humane kills....Want to be VERY precise as to where we put that bullet....and prefer HUGE exit wounds for the long, tough tracking jobs that come with using such a puny caliber on these big, tough critters..... :-D )

Disclaimer....Only expert riflemen will be happy with the .243...the 2 deer my cousin (15) killed with my rifle last year were only because the Gods smiled upon him....(Pure Luck)....
:wink: :wink:

Redhawk1 · « **Reply #5 on:** October 07, 2005, 08:29:47 AM »

I have used the 243 for deer with no problem. My son took a Axis deer at 130 yards with a 243. I have not used a 7mm-08 but I think it would be a better choice over the 243. I think my next rifle is going to be a 7mm-08.

kenscot · « **Reply #6 on:** October 07, 2005, 10:34:16 AM »

I've killed a couple of deer with a 243 using nosler's 95 gr ballistic tip.
No complaints here.
Going totry 7mm08 in a lighter smaller package this year

victorcharlie · « **Reply #7 on:** October 07, 2005, 12:45:13 PM »

The 85 grain sierra BTHP is a fine choice.......I've have had great results with near max loads of IMR4831.......shoots almost the same hole at 100 yards.........probably over 50 deer take with the sierra and only 2 that ever took another step.........you do your part, and they'll drop in their tracks......

Lawdog · « **Reply #8 on:** October 07, 2005, 01:55:36 PM »

The .243 Win. is as small as I let the hunters I give permission to hunt on my property use. In my opinion that Sierra BTHP isnt suitable for deer hunting. Unreliable expansion. Go with a good 100 gr. in that .243 and youll be better off. Personally I would rather see you use the 7mm-08. My 13 year old Granddaughter uses one without problems. Lawdog

Dave in WV · « **Reply #9 on:** October 07, 2005, 04:23:47 PM »

I have rifles chambered for the same three as you. I got the 7mm-08 last. It works great. My .243 has never let me down. I can't say good or bad about the 85gr bullets. I use 100gr Core-Lokts and so does my son. We've never had a failure. Some say with a .243 "you have to hit them in the right spot". Well DUH !!! You're supposed to hit them in the kill zone and not in the ass, guts, or legs. Poor marksmanship and using the wrong type bullets have caused more wounded deer than the capability of the cartridge from the muzzle to 200 yards with proper bullets ever will.

Crudders32 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 08, 2005, 05:04:47 AM »

Thanks for all your input everybody. I just ordered some .243 hornady 100 gr btsp, and some 7mm sierra 120gr SPT prohunter bullets from cabelas. Surprisingly the last few times that I went to Gander Mountain they did not have a very good selection of .243 or 7mm bullets so I guess I will just have to suck it up and pay the shipping. I will make some hand loads with both of these and see how they shoot in my guns. After that I guess I will have to decide which one I will use. It seems like alot of people recommend a 100gr for the .243 for deer. The only reason I was hesitant to go to 100grs is because the 85gr bullets shoot very well from my gun and I already have about 50 rounds loaded. I have never tried either of these new bullet weights in either of the guns so I will have to see how they shoot in a few weeks after I get some loaded. Thanks again, and if you have any input on these new loads please let me know.

Graybeard · « **Reply #11 on:** October 08, 2005, 05:17:28 AM »

Quote

I just ordered some .243 hornady 100 gr btsp,

That's the same bullet I used to shoot the ONE AND ONLY deer I've ever shot with a .243. Deer was maybe 60 yards away and nothing was between me and it. The young buck was walking along slowly to the left of my stand. Rest was rock solid.

Just as I fired he took a step forward. The sight picture when the gun went off told me the bullet should have caught the rear of right lung or at worst the liver. Both have always been fairly quickly fatal with both gun and bow for me.

At the shot he ran with no real indication he had been hit. I got down and checked where he stood for blood. None. I fully expected the bullet to have blown thru and left a spray on the off side but it wasn't there. I followed the trail he took for as far as I could. Ground was leaf covered and offered few tracks and there was no blood at all in the first 200 yards or so. At that point I had lost sight of him from the stand and just really had no way of knowing which way he went. I searched and searched but to no avail. Never found blood and no tracks. Just no way to know where he went. No reason to believe I'd hit him even other than the sight picture as the shot went off.

He was found a few days later by folks hunting with me when they saw buzzards on him. Too late at that point to be sure where the bullet had hit. Maybe where it looked to have or maybe too far back. Just no way to know. The deer had gone nearly 1/2 mile and was laying in a grown up pasture in grass as thick as a jungle and 6'-8' tall in weeds and brush.

I've never taken a .243 to the woods since. Might have been a poor shot by me, I'll never be able to know. But I just do not trust the .243 since.

Had it been my 7-08 or .30-06 the bullet would have exited and left a good blood trail and the deer would have come home with me.

rockbilly · « **Reply #12 on:** October 08, 2005, 06:19:24 AM »

:wink: I have been using the .243 for deer for more years than I care to remember. I hunt West Texas, the deer are fairly small in body, and most shots are 200 yards or less. I load using Federal brass, CCI 200 primer, the bullet is a Sierra 100 gr SPT BT, or a Nosler, 100 gr Partition SPT, these are loaded over 33 gr of IMR 3031 that gives a velocity of about 2700. The gun is a Sako Finbear bull barrel.

In comparison, the load is light, but it is an exceptionally accurate load in my gun and has been responsible for many deer.

In my opinion, the bottom line in selecting a caliber should be based on where you hunt, size of the game, distance of shots and cover. The .243 may be alright over open fields, but it would not be suitable for heavy cover in the swamps of Mississippi.

beemanbeme · « **Reply #13 on:** October 09, 2005, 05:23:13 PM »

The really great thing about a .243 is it can be rebarrelled into a 7-08 without any magazine or feed modifications. And then you have a fine cartridge. Or even a .260. Either one of which is vastly superiour to the .243.

rockbilly · « **Reply #14 on:** October 09, 2005, 05:35:38 PM »

The .243 will work most of the time, if I want to move up to something larger I pull out the old .244.

:-D

:roll:

TCBrian · « **Reply #15 on:** October 14, 2005, 03:30:19 PM »

Though the .243 is probably fine for most deer, why not do the responsible thing and use the 7-08. If you have both, why not use the more sure bet of the two. Recoil in the 7-08 is not bad at all, so that shouldn't be an issue. They are the same case, one just gives the use of heavier bullets and more energy. Take the heavier bullets with more energy and have more confidence.

If for some reason your .243 is vastly more accurate than your 7-08, then use it. All other factors being the same, use the 7-08 with its heavier bullets.

My buddy shot a hog recencly and it dropped instantly with a .243, even though I am sure nobody will argue that is a great hog cartridge. It was all shot placement. Shooting the gun accurate is important, but I will take more bullet weight, when I can. Just makes me feel more confident.

Good hunting,
Brian

PEPAW · « **Reply #16 on:** October 17, 2005, 01:28:40 AM »

We use the .243 down here in TX a lot for kids, but for buck hunting I prefer and larger caliber. A larger exit wound is always better in my buck.
Have you tried the Factory recoil managed loads for your '06? They are great for practice and I have them for my .270 and 7 mag. Both shoot accurately, but I haven't tested them on game yet.

pepaw