I hunt south as well, and have dropped them in their tracks with a 22-250 heart shot that massacred the inside of the body (buck). Shot them with a 270 and they have run 50 yards or so (not all of them). 284 have dropped them in their tracks and even missed a monster 8 point cull (i'm blaming that one on severely cold north winds, and miss judging the range). Nothing has run from the 300 rum. I have not lost an animal that i have hit. Again doe and spike i try to ear hole, whatever gun i have in my hand. All bucks i do a heart shot. It all depends on shot placement, and whatever gun you are the most comfortable with. The 270 i use is the one that i have the most confidence in. My ar15 in .223 is the next most confidence. If i put it in the ear, i know i'm gonna hit it in the ear with that one. It all depends on how good of shot you are, and really depends on how confident you are in the rifle you have in your hands

Back to the original question and the OPs further comments. Take her shooting then take her hunting, I bet she would love the Sika mount. Good luck on getting him and post some pics when she does. Biggest Sika I have seen killed was with a 243 at about 60 yards with a double lung shot tight behind the shoulder.

I forgot to mention that I also killed a axis buck with mine last year aswell. Good luck to yall hope to some pics up soon!

I dropped my 252 lbs whitetail buck this year with a 100 grain .243. Also took a Red Stag with one several years ago. That little bullet does a lot of damage if you hit them right.

Agreed.

Years ago I happened across a good book at the public library that was written by an experienced hunter way back in the 1960's. Back in those days, men hunted in the true sense of the word. I remember the author's testiment of the little .243 as being sufficient to take even the largest elk, given correct shot placement in the heart and lungs.

I've really come to enjoy taking my daughter's Browning .243 Medallion, when she lets me of course. It's a sweet little "carry" rifle that handles small, and yet yields a very wicked punch.

I am just as likely to carry my 243 as I am my 300 or 270. I have shot nothing but Nosler Partitions and never more than 300 yards, but it is lethal and fun to shoot. My rifle has taken a 5X6 bull elk with one shot behind the shoulder at 175 yards. It was not intended to be used, but friends son forgot his 7mm-08 ammo and there was none to be found in South Central CO.

A) both those calibers any one can shot accurately... You don't have to worry about some doorknob overly manly want to be hunter thinking he needs a 300 mag to kill a whitetial ect..then pull the shot, becuase he flinched or closed his eyes

b) both those guns when loaded with well built hundred grain builts well flat hammer any thing you hit them with ... they carry way more then enough energey out to 400 yards to cleanly and effectly kill any thing they want... Not to mention at a 100 yards they are both still push 2000 lbs of energy.

c) they both take the guess work out of 350yard shots or lower.. 1.5 high at a hundred and your holding dead on out to 350

d) I spent to much time with guys that have 300 mag, 270 wsm, 7mm..ect... they start cussing thier scope or gun because they are 3-5 plus inch circle at 100 yards...hand them my 25-06 and they are shooting MOA...and loving it, had more people try to buy my rifle becuase it shots so well, the truth is a good shooter but its nothing special... Its the lack of recoil plain and simple. The recoil makes them a more user friendly gun at 300 yards... You pull a 300mag 3 inches at a hundred you still hit the deer in vitals,,, but at 300 yards your in the guts or miss. Again your less likely to pull the quarterbores just off recoil.

as far as 257 wby ammo you can buy 100 grain 257 wby spitzer for 30 bucks.

And as far as the 117 grain Gameking, not a fan but it will kill effectively, I think the technology has come a long way since cup and core bullets.

I have no need for any other WBY other then the 257. As far as what people buy and why... Other mfg's has spent the last 30 years trying to match the ballistics of the wby rounds for OTC ammo... is it needed..no, but the ballistics are impressive never the less of OTC ammo.

So yes I'm a huge fan of the 25 bores just due to the fact they are shooter friendly for any one wither it be a kid, female, adult or gramps... And I push it so hard becuase i hate sitting on here listening to people say you need 270+ cailber to kill deer or elk. When in fact in most cases those are the guys that talk kids or newbies into the big calibers and it gets them in trouble becuase theer not polished enough yet to handle those big recoiling guns

I haven't read all the posts yet (so someone may have already said this), but I hunted in Colorado about 12 yrs ago and at that time you were not allowed to hunt with anything smaller than a .270

So the .243 or the 25.06 would be illegal.

Colorado the minimum caliber for all big game is the .243/6mm. There is a grain restriction for bullets on elk which is either 85 or 90 grains???? All rifles must have a minimum of 1000 ft-lbs of energy at 100 yards to be legal. Most States with elk have a similar caliber restrictions

I shot a 1200lb brahma bull with a 243 several years ago. It had gone nuts and was hurting our heifers, charging the truck. It was wild and I shot it at about 75yds. Dropped like a rock. It was a head shot.
It was also fun hunting the wild sucker. Kinda like a west texas cape buffalo hunt!

Use a good heavy bullet and It will go through and cause damage that no one can fix. .243 is a good round and will do the job. Just remember speed is fine but accuracy is final !!! Put the round in its heart and lungs and its "Back Strap" baby...

Now lets go shoot something !!

+1 I am a huge fan of Weatherby and I can shoot any rifle well. I second the comment that EVERY company or ammo manufacturer has tried to duplicate weatherby ballistics. Hence all of the WSM loads, Rem. Ultra mags, Hornaday has several pumped up loads for slow guns trying to match weatherby. No one can on an everyday bases. The .257 is the best all around caliber made today. Low recoil fast and flat shooting and more pounds of energy than a 30-06.

My Daughter got this one with a .243 Savage and 100 grain bullet. It was her second hog and she was thrilled. We have a 243 and a 270-shot placement is key along with some other important items but we have never lost an animal with the .243 and 100 grain bullet-we hunt north texas so take that into consideration also.

R U serious, the .243 is a cannon, shoot whatever you want with it.
My .22 hornet will take anything in this continent with a head shot.

DCS, I think your original posting here went a different direction than you were wanting, but overall I agree with those that say shoot the Sika! My daughter uses a .243 as well. I have hunted for nearly 30 years, served as Pro Staff for a Outdoor television program and seen the .243 used by kids to take down numerous whitetails...the Sika doesn't stand a chance. However, my daughter is at the range more than she's in the field. She needs only one shot for whatever comes out in front of the blind/ stand. I recommend time on the range as key to success in this situation. Good luck and I look forward to the pictures being posted.

If a bow can kill it a .243 can kill it.

Not sure why anyone would think a .243 is not enough for deer. Deer are not tough animals to kill. Unless I am hunting for buffalo I would use a .243 to kill any game animal in the state of Texas.

Reggie

I've shot a 243 more than any rifle and am very happy with it! I've downed deer, hogs, etc... Shot placement is key as is every caliber! I tend to make a shot behind the front shoulder, into the shoulder and top of the shoulder/base of the neck and never had one go more than 40yds!!! Use Hornady BTSP 100 grain and it'll be all good! I've used just about every other bullet and the Hornady has the most accuracy even after several shots! Tried shooting several shots with many other bullets and the Remy Core-Lock always shoot the first 2 accurate then the next 3 will be 2-3 inches off! Hornady stays dead on with a minimal 1/2" of movement on the target!!! I can deal with that!!!

BOBO, where are you buying your ammo?

I just checked a mail order catalog, from a place I consider to be very inexpensive, and the cheapest 257 Weatherby ammo they offer is $49.21 a box. The Nosler Partitions are $70.49 a box.

Weatherby brand empty 257 brass is $32.25 per 20.

I got a couple of Custom mades that make that MARK V look like a daisy BB GUN. Also in 22-250 and 25-06 and 300 Short Mag. The 243 is a good round nothing wrong with it I have seen it drop an axis no problem. I also hunt in South Texas and the Hill Country and shot placement is key if you hit them right they will be DRT period..