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243 and 80 grain Remington PSP vs deer

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rickt300:
For some reason I haven't been able to access this board for more than a week.  I went out to the lease yesterday to fill my last doe tag and because I have a new 243 and a box of Remington 80 grain PSP's I thought they would make a good combination on my last deer of the season.  The deer on this lease, especially the does are not hard to get almost perfect shot presentations on. The shot I took was a bit tougher than usual but no problems.  The doe was angling downhill to my right, she was maybe 40 feet higher than where I was standing. I had a solid rest against an old metal building and she was maybe 90 yards away. I also had to contend with brush that covered the bottom half of her chest. When she stopped her neck was behind a mesquite tree but I had an open shot at the top half of her chest.  I aimed just behind and below the bottom edge of her shoulder blade. At the shot she dropped and was still before I covered the 90 yards. The bullet had made a 2 inch hole in her rib cage on her right side and angled upward and reaeward to smash into the spine. It angled to her left rear thru 5-6 inches of spine to end up under the hide as pieces.  When it went thru the rib cage it threw rib fragments/ bullet fragments into the rear of the lungs and back thru the liver to the diaphram. She bled a lot thu the entrance hole where she lay.  Darn good performance for a "varmint bullet".

Redhawk1:
Congrats on the deer.  :D

Cobra7:
The .243 kicks butt!! I shoot 100gr. Rem. Core-Lokts.   Sean

Savage .250:
The 80 gr would not be my first choice but you got the results needed so
   that`s all that counts.  Nice shot.

NimrodRx:
Okay, I'll say it.  That's not all that counts.  One kill with a particular bullet tells us little, if anything.  Any cartridge will kill under optimal conditions.  You did make a good shot - congrats.  Had you hit that shoulder on a raking shot like you took, it is likely the bullet would have splashed and never even entered the thorax.  

I don't mean to take anything away from your trophy.  I'm sure you are a great shot and an experienced hunter.  The kind of person for which the .243 is suited.  

What concerns me is the fact that a lot of youngsters (at least in my area) are starting out with the .243 due to the light recoil.  This cal leaves little margin for error in shot placement.  Combine that with frangible bullet construction and you've got a recipe for disaster.  I would hate for someone to read your report and come to the conclusion that it is acceptable to select a varmint bullet for deer sized game.

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