100gr Hornady Interlock and 42gr 4350. Nothing but bang floppery

My step Dad was 5'3" and shot a short barreled 243 bolt gun all his life.
Until he got to the point that his vision failed at abut 85 years old, the 243 never failed to drop his whitetails, pigs or anything else he shot.
He and my brother worked up some handloads just for that rifle and it was accurate and deadly.

One of his grand daughters who is an avid hunter inherited it after he passed away two years ago and has continued the tradition with a nice 9 pointer last season.

I've shot a .243 since I was 13, I'm 31 now. 100 gr Corelokts have always done the job for me. I'd like to go to the range and test out a bunch of the other manufacturers ammo, just to see. But I've never lost a deer shot with a Corelokt.

243 in math
good bullet(b)+good shot(s)= Dead animal
b+s=DA

I hunt with a .243 and have nothing but good things to say about it

Nomatter the fact we are talking about the 243 or listening to Dee, The 243 delivers sufficient kinetic energy to the target especially when used within it's proper range with an appropriate projectile.

I agree, with ^. I am now hunting with a new to me remington 742 woodmaster in .243. I love this gun and it is super light in the recoil department. It also loves the winchester silver tips and the X3's like JL says. I have a .308 that I have been hunting with all my life but this .243 may have me converted. I haven't killed a deer yet but did manage to cut a turkeys head off at a little under 150 yds with the hornady 58gr v-max. Its a fun caliber for sure.

A 243... Are you kidding me? We used to use'em for squirrel..... but not deer..... that was a no-no.

I guess shot placement is everything anyway

243 works great on whitetail.Heck 223 works good on whitetail,so in that respect the 243 would be like a magnum round.

.243 is one heck of a long range round!

Deadly on all animals from grasshoppers to elephants providing you understand bullet placement and stalking your prey.

100 grain nosler partitons, I would shoot nothing else.

No shoulder all ribs... I've had good results with the federal 85 gr tsx(all passtrus)but the higher speeds of the 80gr ttsx that the vortx ammo loads it to really makes it shine

Those higher speeds with the newer projectiles indeed make it shine.

I shoot a ruger first model varmint heavy barrel in 243. The gun is like a laser. Same hole at 100 yards. I always shoot my deer in the neck and they fall like rocks but. Last year I shot a large axis buck at 175 in the neck and he wasn't there when I went to pick him up. No blood no indication of a hit. Found him two hours later about 75 yards and 180 degrees from where I last saw him. Bullet missed the spine by 1/2 inch low. Left no blood trail and no indication of wound. Would a larger bullet have left more damage or blood trail? Hard to track when there is nothing left to track. I like the 243 but am more cautious when shooting it.

The worst place to shoot a deer with a 243 at your distance and beyond is in the neck unless you are positive of that particular projectiles behavior. I've tried this theory many times and the bullets at that range seem not to open well on the neck where they behave great on body shots.