243 winchester cartridge for all your hunting

[pastorp]

Who here uses a 243 for all your hunting?  I have always been inclined to use larger bores but as old age creeps up on me handling the recoil from the larger bores has become harder, so I've been scaling down. A friend gave me a new Browning low wall, in 243, a couple years ago. It's a shooter and I know he has killed deer & at least 1 moose with it. I'm thinking about just using it as my go to hunting rifle...
 
What ya think? Good choice or bad move? I know it sure is comfortable to shoot. 
 
Regards,

[Dave in WV]

I could easily use it for all my hunting. Deer is the only large animal I hunt here in WV. I load 100gr Rem Corelokts.

[martineta]

Nosler 100 gn. Partions.  I hate recoil also.  I hunt is VA.  Black Bear and deer had better watch out.

[Ranch13]

For a good many years the 243 was the cartridge my family used, we brought home everything from antelope to elk and the occasional moose when someone could draw a permit.
 Put a 100 gr bullet in the heart/lungs and get ready to go to work packing meat out to camp.

[oberhaz]

I'm relatively new to the 243, but I am impressed on it's capableness on whitetail deer. I've just experimented with 100 grain loads. It will get the job done without the recoil.


For my hunting needs it's very effective.

[flintlock]

Not for all my hunting as I still bow hunt and also deer and small game hunt with a .54 and .40 caliber flintlock...But...
 
Since 1980 the only centerfire rifle I've owned is a Ruger M-77 in .243...It's worn a couple of different scopes, been piller bedded and has a little trigger work done...I wore out the first barrel so she now wears a Shilen...
 
I've killed over 300 deer with her, 5 black bears and a barn full of crows, groundhogs, wild dogs, coyotes and other varmints that were on one of our farms...The neat thing about a .243 is you almost always see the hit and the reaction...You don't lose sight of what you are shooting at...
 
She'll do all you want for most of what we find her in NC anyway...

[hillbill]

i used to use 243 for all my hunting. deer was the largest game i took with it.i loved it and would have no problem going back to it at all.it was murder on deer and coyotes.i just moved on to the 06 and 6.5x55, it wasnt that the 243 wasnt working i just wanted new reloading challenges.where i live the 243 is prob the ultimate all around deer and varmint gun.common ammo, fairly wide choice of pills to feed it,low recoil and powder usage, whats not to like?

[243dave]

Good choice !!  I load 3 bullets, the 70gr ballistic tip for varmints, 70gr sierra hpbt(match) for paper targets and turkey, and 100gr speer grand slams for big game. I've had better luck finding accurate loads with 70gr bullets than the lighter 55gr ones.  Load the light bullets with Varget and the 100gr bullet with H-4831, these bullets and powders are easy to find a accurate load in most guns.  Good luck.
Dave 

[huntswithdogs]

Though I have other guns, my ole 243 will get pulled out more often than not. About 95 percent of the deer I've taken have been with it. It does a bang up job on groundhogs too. I've had it for almost 30 yrs and know it and its capabilties like the back of my hand. My only complaint is how much it weighs. One of these days maybe I'll buy one of those lite compact jobs.


HWD

[nomosendero]

There are better choices for me, but if it works for you, go for it.

[flintlock]

There are better choices for me, but if it works for you, go for it.

Well, after over 3 decades of doing so successfully, I appreciate your permission..........     
 
 

[nomosendero]

There are better choices for me, but if it works for you, go for it.

Well, after over 3 decades of doing so successfully, I appreciate your permission..........   

Permission has nothing to do with it!!    I have killed a bunch of Deer with less than a 243, killed several with 223, bow, etc. And a careful hunter could do that for 3 decades or 6 decades
if his health holds up. Especially if most hunting is local where if you don't get the right shot in distance or angle one day, you might the next. Actually, a person that has alot of time to hunt in a State like the one I could live in could tag out using a 223, keeping your shots under 200 yards & waiting on a broadside or decent angle & using the right bullets. Or with a little more time in the woods I could use an iron sighted 44mag handgun or my bow & tag out. Not a big deal.
 
Now, change the equation & say I want to be able to harvest a trophy when I see it at a range that I & my rifle can handle, do the same for an Elk, do the same for African Plains game
that I would like to do in a few years & the requirements change for me. Even for some of the Mule Deer I have taken in WY, I felt the 25-06 I was using was doing very well, but I see no reason for me to go down in caliber & no need since the 25-06 is a pussycat anyway.
 
So, I don't have anything against a 243, but for some of my hunts, it would be silly to use one, since I have better choices in my safe. No way would I grab one for a 1 week Western
hunt (limited time) when I can take my 300WM, .264 or my 06 or 270.
 
To each his own
 

[cole k]

If it was me I would rebarrel it to a .257 Roberts.

[hillbill]

There are better choices for me, but if it works for you, go for it.

Well, after over 3 decades of doing so successfully, I appreciate your permission..........   

Permission has nothing to do with it!!    I have killed a bunch of Deer with less than a 243, killed several with 223, bow, etc. And a careful hunter could do that for 3 decades or 6 decades
if his health holds up. Especially if most hunting is local where if you don't get the right shot in distance or angle one day, you might the next. Actually, a person that has alot of time to hunt in a State like the one I could live in could tag out using a 223, keeping your shots under 200 yards & waiting on a broadside or decent angle & using the right bullets. Or with a little more time in the woods I could use an iron sighted 44mag handgun or my bow & tag out. Not a big deal.
 
Now, change the equation & say I want to be able to harvest a trophy when I see it at a range that I & my rifle can handle, do the same for an Elk, do the same for African Plains game
that I would like to do in a few years & the requirements change for me. Even for some of the Mule Deer I have taken in WY, I felt the 25-06 I was using was doing very well, but I see no reason for me to go down in caliber & no need since the 25-06 is a pussycat anyway.
 
So, I don't have anything against a 243, but for some of my hunts, it would be silly to use one, since I have better choices in my safe. No way would I grab one for a 1 week Western
hunt (limited time) when I can take my 300WM, .264 or my 06 or 270.
 
To each his own

point taken and well put.if i was goin on a expensive hunt id prob take something a bit bigger if. i expected the longer range shots.a bigger bullet would be nice on a bad angle shot at a trophy of a lifetime.for what i do here in MO, it works fine.

[243dave]

If it was me I would rebarrel it to a .257 Roberts.

If you spend the hundreds of dollars to rebarrel it why not pick a cartridge that you can tell a noticable difference in killing power.  The 257 Roberts is real close to the 243.  Start with the 7mm-08 and 308 and 140-165gr bullet range, these are a good step up from the 243. 
Dave

[flintlock]

The .243 made the Roberts and the .250 Savage obsolete...

[hillbill]

The .243 made the Roberts and the .250 Savage obsolete...

yea that is true if yu think about it.

[john keyes]

The .243 made the Roberts and the .250 Savage obsolete...

yea that is true if yu think about it.

you fellas forgot one 

[243dave]

6mm Remington ?? 

[john keyes]

6mm Remington ??

 
yep.
 
anybody ever shot the barrel out of a .243?  one guy here said he got the ol dry lake bed from a .243 AI.

[nomosendero]

There are better choices for me, but if it works for you, go for it.

Well, after over 3 decades of doing so successfully, I appreciate your permission..........   

Permission has nothing to do with it!!    I have killed a bunch of Deer with less than a 243, killed several with 223, bow, etc. And a careful hunter could do that for 3 decades or 6 decades
if his health holds up. Especially if most hunting is local where if you don't get the right shot in distance or angle one day, you might the next. Actually, a person that has alot of time to hunt in a State like the one I could live in could tag out using a 223, keeping your shots under 200 yards & waiting on a broadside or decent angle & using the right bullets. Or with a little more time in the woods I could use an iron sighted 44mag handgun or my bow & tag out. Not a big deal.
 
Now, change the equation & say I want to be able to harvest a trophy when I see it at a range that I & my rifle can handle, do the same for an Elk, do the same for African Plains game
that I would like to do in a few years & the requirements change for me. Even for some of the Mule Deer I have taken in WY, I felt the 25-06 I was using was doing very well, but I see no reason for me to go down in caliber & no need since the 25-06 is a pussycat anyway.
 
So, I don't have anything against a 243, but for some of my hunts, it would be silly to use one, since I have better choices in my safe. No way would I grab one for a 1 week Western
hunt (limited time) when I can take my 300WM, .264 or my 06 or 270.
 
To each his own

point taken and well put.if i was goin on a expensive hunt id prob take something a bit bigger if. i expected the longer range shots.a bigger bullet would be nice on a bad angle shot at a trophy of a lifetime.for what i do here in MO, it works fine.

Yes hillbill, I agree!!

[Savage .250]

   The Win 243..........   will get the job done. 

[jrchurch254a]

I used a .243 for years back in the 80's and 90's when money was tight.  I shot a lot of big mule deer with the .243 and its "little" bullet but with the exception of one mulie buck that ran about 50 yards after being hit, every one of the deer I shot died right there where they stood.   I always used Nosler Partions on the mulies but have been using cheap Remington Core Lokts the past few years, they work great. I have a lot of other rifles and calibers, Marlinitus bit me about 10 years ago, but I will always have a .243 and if I ever get back to Idaho after retirement that will be the rifle I pack in the mountains.
 
Chief

[mdwest]

90%.. but not all hunting..
 
I've got a 7mm WSM (totally opposite end of the spectrum from the .243) for Elk and other very large and/or dangerous game..
 
but for most deer, pigs, varmit, coyotes, etc.. etc.. the .243 is my gun of choice.. cheap to shoot, accurate, flat shooting, low recoil, etc..etc..
 
 
 

[rickt300]

I used my 243's and 6MM Rem's for years on deer and varmints. Then came the feral hog. This canny and tough animal moved up my gun selection to the 7MM Mauser level and bigger. I just hit too many that made it deep into the brush before they expired. So for me it's not everything. I could get away with using one for deer and smaller though. I would not take one elk hunting.

[Walks with Fire]

I still have a 7mm-08 but I have not found a decent factory load for it yet. That said my .243 Browning Medallion A-Bolt II is going to get full duty this year.  Probably work for anything I want to hunt (Doe and varmints). I really only shoot deer for meat so doe is my normal target but; If a monster buck should show up I still think the .243 would finish the job.

[hillbill]

I still have a 7mm-08 but I have not found a decent factory load for it yet. That said my .243 Browning Medallion A-Bolt II is going to get full duty this year.  Probably work for anything I want to hunt (Doe and varmints). I really only shoot deer for meat so doe is my normal target but; If a monster buck should show up I still think the .243 would finish the job.

i think yur right.

[Savage .250]

I don`t think it was designed as a "all around cal" but it certainly does the job on most.
   

[nomosendero]

I don`t think it was designed as a "all around cal" but it certainly does the job on most.
   

BINGO
 
"all around cal." depends on where you live and what you hunt. If it works where you hunt, then it's "all around" FOR YOU.
 
It certainly is NOT all around for ME.
 
Use what works for YOU!!

[MZ5]

I happen to quarter bores, so I'd choose a 250 Savage, 25 WSSM, or perhaps a 257 Roberts (not familiar).  243 would be very similar, of course, and at this point has a considerably wider array of bullets if one enjoys having a different bullet for each shooting day of the year.   I'd still personally prefer a quarter bore, though.  Just a touch more power available for larger beasties, yet recoil is close enough to call it the same.