re: .243 for deer?

It's all about shot placement. LSUman is correct. And I've helped him clean 2 of the deer he is talking about.

Two older guys at the camp hunt with a 243. They do well.

One said he dropped a cow elk over 500 yds one shot with his 243

My son drop a 200 lb plus buck at almost 200 yards with a 243, and a fusion bullet, The damage to the deer was unreal. it looked like it was hot with buck shot that bullet split so much. Only bullet I use now for deer.

7mm08


EOT

Although I'm not a fan of the 243 for deer hunting, this is a different situation. I agree w/ those who rec a good recoil pad and a muzzle break. As far as a specific load, I'd recommend something loaded w/ a 100 gr Nosler Partition to best assure yourself of adequate and, hopefully, an exit wound, as well.

Another thought would be to consider using a handgun such as the Thompson Center Contender or T/C Encore. W/ the latter, you could hunt w/ a 7-08 or 308 and not have to worry about your neck at all. Handgun hunting is a discipline that takes a lot of practice, but you've got time to get started if you wish.

Sorry to hear of your health problems but glad to hear you're recovering well.

243 will do the trick

pre 57 model 7 has killed every deer it has been pointed at. It was my old man's,

I had a friend in HS that had a lease at Togo Island. He killed MANY a deer with his .243. One year alone, during the Thanksgiving holidays, he killed 3.

I use .950 JDJ. Deer can't run with only half of it.

Cajun, I understand your misgivings about using a larger caliber, but you might also consider combining a larger caliber w/ reduced/managed recoil loads. When my son first started hunting reduced recoil loads were not available so I loaded some myself for his 308 Win. I used a 125 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet at 2450 fps. At first we held his shots to inside 100 yards. He killed 8 or 9 deer w/ that load until I moved him up to full power loads. In fact, the last season he used the reduced recoil load he killed 2 deer even though he'd fractured a clavicle on his shooting side only 3-4 weeks earlier. Looking at the formula for recoil, a reduced recoil 308 Win can have LESS recoil than a full power 243. Keep your shots inside 200 yds and you should be fine.

Second, I'd take extra precautions for your neck while sighting in or practicing. Use a "Lead Slead" type device or extra sand bags (one between your shoulder and the gun butt and maybe one over the barrel of the gun). If you use a sand bag over the barrel, after it's sighted in I'd shoot it once or twice w/o the the sand bag to be sure the point of impact doesn't change.