Why I shoot a 270 and not a 243

[huntsman]

We've gone through several posts debating the merits of the lighter deer calibers (particularly the 243) ad-nauseum. I don't want to open that up again. But I do want to make a point of fact to any of you beginning hunters out there considering a light caliber deer rifle.

On 12/7 I shot the buck of a lifetime (174 gross B&C unofficial) with my 270. I am an accurate shooter, but for whatever reason, the shot did not end up striking the deer where I intended. It struck too far rearward, slicing laterally across the diaphragm. The extra shock generated by the 270 as opposed to a lighter caliber was instrumental in bringing this deer down within 100 yards. Fortunately for me, the rear lung area took enough residual damage to create massive bleeding.

A lighter caliber would surely have killed this deer, but I have seen some hit like this with a 243 that ran for several hundred yards. That difference for me would have meant obtaining permission to track (assuming there was a good blood trail to follow) on a neighbor's ranch. There is a very real chance the deer might never have been found. I would have been sick about it for the rest of my life. I'll keep shooting my 270 because I might someday have another similar shot scenario.

There is a difference between a caliber that is adequate for a particular game animal and a caliber that has a comfortable margin of error. The 243 is very capable of killing a deer, even dropping it in its tracks on a good hit. But there will be times in most hunters' experiences that a hit will not be good, possibly through pure chance, and at that moment I want to be shooting something with that comfortable margin of error. I know I am immensely glad I was last Sunday.

[Dave in WV]

Just wondering, how much experience do you have using a .243 and if you have what bullet weight did you use?

[huntsman]

I myself have only shot a 243 at the range, not on game. I have two cousins and a father who used 243 for many years upon which I base my experience with this caliber's performance on game. They used 100 grain factory loads, both Win and Rem., for whitetail deer hunting.

Using 100-grain bullets in his 243, my father made a shot very similar to mine on a 12-point buck in 1977. He and two companions tracked the buck for several hundred yards until it got dark and my dad called off the chase because it was the last night of their hunt and his companions had to leave (they were in one vehicle). The buck was later found by a neighboring rancher about 200 yards from where they left the chase. No score was reported, but the buck had decent mass and some long tines, and his inside spread was 20". My father never got the buck, which is another story. The point here is that the buck was fatally wounded but still managed to travel over a quarter of a mile.

[Dave in WV]

What bullet weight and type did you use in your .270? In my experience I've used a 30-06 for several deer. I loaded a 165gr Core-lokt for years. It never failed me but I've seen deer hit well and not die rapidly. I've also used 180gr Core-lokts and once a 180gr Bronze Point. I bought my son a .243 in 1990 for Christmas. In 1991 he got his first buck. He scored again in 1992 after missing his first shot and got the buck on the run. That buck ran about 25' and piled up. In 1993 I bought a .243 and haven't had a failure yet. We both load 100gr Core-lokts. I load 165gr SST bullets in my 30-06 now and get similar performance of my .243. I'm glad you got your buck. Bad hits happen. There is usually a lot of brush where I hunt. I know how bad hits can happen. All it takes is not seeing a twig or small branch in you scope. I had a .357 mag bullet hit a rib going in and turn to the rear end. It went through one lung and exited well behind the diaphram. It was a mess for sure. I got the deer after a lot of looking and lucked out in seeing it down.

[huntsman]

Remington 130 gr Core-lokt soft point. I will say that the Core-lokt bullet is the best thing yet to happen to us factory load shooters. Usually I get good expansion AND an exit hole for a good blood trail. I believe if my dad and cousins had hunted with core-lokts (they weren't around back then) they probably would have had less problems with their 243s. I still like the extra energy I get with the 270 even over my old 308. Bullet type can make a big difference in performance, particularly in getting an exit hole for trailing wounded animals.

On the other hand, I have only trailed one wounded animal without an exit hole, and that was shot with a 223 (a poor caliber to use on whitetails, but I was 13 and didn't know the difference). If a bullet expends all of its energy within the animal and the caliber is sufficient for the job, the damage is usually enough to drop the animal fast. Then again, I don't think I can recall even one instance of no exit hole on a marginally hit deer. That might be a nightmare scenario.

[april]

My first deer rifle, aged 7, was a .243.  Granted, the next year, I was shooting a .270 mag, but I had no problems with dropping a deer.  I think it's a great starter gun, IMO, for a younger child.  But, if this was a teen starting out, yes, I'd vote for the .270 or a higher caliber rifle.

[Siskiyou]

I consider using a .243 or .270 a matter of choice and options.  I have a .243 and use it varmit hunting.  When my son started to come of age I purchased him a .270 Win. and reloaded mild loads for him.  This gave him the oppertunity to get a lot of practice with his rifle.  The same thing can be done with the other suitable deer rounds.  I could have saved some money by giving him the .243 but I want him hunting with an adequate mountain rifle.

The .243/6mm are good rounds but their limitations start showing real fast.  At 350 yards with 100 grain factory load they have already dropped below a thousand pounds of energy.  If they have a short barrel they start dropping off fast at 250 yards.  There are a lot of short barrel .243 out there that are not producing advertised velocities or engergies.  A factory 130 grain bullet from a .270 is still over thousand pounds of energy at 450 yards.   The 140 and pointed 150 bullet are doing better yet at long range.  There are a bunch of rounds out there that have low recoil that are a better option: 300 Sav., 308 Win., 260 Rem., 6.5 Swede., 7MM-08,  and others.  I am not advocating long range shoting, just putting adequate energy on the target.  

I have seen .243/6mm rounds used very successfully by a number of hunters.  But they are not my choice, your choice maybe different and that is okay.  Have a good hunt.

Siskiyou

[PA-Joe]

Why not get a 7mm08?

[huntsman]

PA,

The 7-08 is a very good caliber choice for whitetailed deer. I'm not advocating the 270 as a minimum, but as one caliber I feel does the job. Certainly there are others, including the 7-08, that give the margin of error I'm advocating. It just so happens I have a 270 already and like it.

[Siskiyou]

Huntsman:

I believe we are on the same page on the issue regarding adequate power/energy levels.  I also happen to like the core-lokt bullet.  It is loaded in affordable factory ammo.  Now days the hunter has a choice of many bullets that will do the job in loaded factory ammo.  I do believe that at times "marketing" to the velocity urge in the case of many plastic tip and bronze point bullets influence hunters not to use the best hunting bullet.  As a teenager I had to have Bronze Pt bullets in factory ammo and later in handloads because of the velocity factor.  The Non-bonded plastic tip bullets are a reinvention of the old Bronze Pt bullet.  An adequate bullet for deer offers good penetration and good expansion. These bullets are explosive and offer spectacular kills at times but fail to offer good penetration.  

The bonded, plastic-tip bullets maybe the answer for higher retained ballistics, and controlled expansion with deep penetration.  Unfortunately there are times a hunter must take a shot he would normally pass-up.  Years-ago I shot at a buck facing me at an angle.  The bullet went in front of the shoulder and went out behind it on the same side without hitting any vitial organs.  The buck jumped up and headed North.  I was able to place a 150 grainer in the Southend that penetrated three-quarters the length of the deer.  I could have lost the deer in the extremely heavy cover if that bullet had not done it's job.

Siskiyou

[Dogshooter]

I have a quite a few rifles in calibers from 17 to 338. I like shooting my 243 just because I like the way it handles. I have killed antelope, mule deer, white tail deer and even a couple of elk with it. I think it is more important to know the limitations of the caliber you use as well as your own limitations and to make a committment not to exceed those limitations. I only had to track one animal for over 100 yards in all the years I have been hunting and that was a white tail that I shot just behind the front shoulder at about 75 yards with a 270. I still have that rifle and use it sometimes, but I have never felt under-gunned when hunting deer sized game with a 243.