quote:
Call it whatever you want. It's a widely supported opinion. The .243 really stands out when it comes to shitty tracking missions.

In my opinion, sending your kid/wife/inexperienced buddy into the woods with a .243 is selling them short.

Really? This sectional density chart tends to disagree with you. Looks like the .243 is more effective thn the .308 150gr.

Here are some typical hunting bullets and their sectional densities that are recognized as effective for medium size big game animals (CXP2), such as deer, antelope, sheep and goats:

.243" (6mm) 95 grain, SD .230
.243" (6mm) 100 grain, SD .242
.257" (.25) 100 grain, SD .216
.257" (.25) 115 grain, SD .249
.264" (6.5mm) 120 grain, SD .247
.277" (.270) 130 grain, SD .242
.284" (7mm) 140 grain, SD .248
.308" (7.62mm) 150 grain, SD .226
.312" (.303) 150 grain, SD .220
.323" (8mm) 170 grain, SD .233
.338" (.338) 180 grain, SD .225
.358" (.35) 200 grain, SD .223

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Posted by DownshiftAndFloorIt

Here

Member since Jan 2011

66763 posts

Posted on 7/22/13 at 2:57 pm to DanTiger

That chart says, in a nutshell, nothing about effectively killing deer.

According to that logic the .243 Winchester is a better choice for elk than a .338 win mag.

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Posted by TigerOnThe Hill

Springhill, LA

Member since Sep 2008

6837 posts

Posted on 7/22/13 at 4:03 pm to DanTiger

quote:
This sectional density chart tends to disagree with you. Looks like the .243 is more effective thn the .308 150gr.

Nope, that sectional density chart just shows that the 100 grain 243 caliber bullet has a better sectional density than does a 150 grain 308 caliber bullet (by 0.016).... Does anyone here really believe that means a 100 grain 243 bullet travelling at 2900 fps is better at killing deer than is a 150 grain 308 caliber bullet at same velocity? There are a lot of bullet traits that factor into it's lethality, of which sectional density is only one (albeit small). A bullet w/ a high sectional desity is not going to be as effective as it should if the jacket/core separate, the bullet is lightly constructed so that it doesn't penetrate bone well (at either the entrance of the exit wound) or the bullet fails to exit or leaves a small exit hole. After years of deer hunting, I don't use anything smaller than 30 caliber on PM hunts. Like everyone else, I like deer to go down immediately, but I also cherish a nice blood trail.

It took longer than usual for this thread to end up w/ the expected 223/243 vs others outcome, but once it did, it really took off.

W/ shots limited to inside 200 yards, I'm still curious why anyone would rec a 223/243 for a beginner vs a reduced load 7-08, 270 or 308?

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