What to expect from a 243 win...

Hunting with a 243 this year for the first time and am concerned with all the negative comments about the ability of this round to kill anything. I have always used a 270 and placed shots behind the shoulder and never thought twice about it, never lost a deer. My shots are 175 yrds and closer and using 95 gr Hornady Superformance SST's. If I use the same behind the shoulder hold, what can I expect? Or do I try to take the wheels out? Like to have an exit wound but I hear that can be tough with a 243. Thanks!

A lot of Internet experts don't like the .243. I've killed dozens of deer with one and enough hogs to sink a ship. Everytime I've shot an animal it has performed perfectly. I shoot 100 gr Federal blue box, and my primary rifle is an A-Bolt.

Bang flop, or some stumbling around and then falling over.

Personally i used the cheapo 100gr winchester powerpoint ammo and it worked just fine (out of an 18.5" barrel no less). If you put it in the shoulder they arent going ANYWHERE.

I LOVE the .243. As long as you do your part it is devastating.

Out of 4 factory loads, the SF hornady shot best followed by the cheap federal so may just run those when the hornady's are gone. Worst was core-lokts which is usual for my guns. Thanks guys, makes me feel better.

It's great as long as care is taken when selecting ammunition since there is a good bit out there that is loaded with varmint bullets.

You will be more than fine. The SST is a great bullet, and I personally use it.

Had good luck with SST's in other calibers also. Ready to find out about this 243 tho.

I don't know what the load was, but I bangflopped a Dall sheep at about 250+ yards with a .243. Very flat shooting. I'm a believer.

It's a great all around cartridge. Light recoil, anyone in the family can shoot it, wide ammo selection, and very effective.

good enough for elk too

Yup, killed many a deer and pig with the .243

Several years ago, buddy shot a nice buck, lasered it at 312 yards, and deer went less than 30 yards. We both handload, and have fun working up loads.

Golfman,

This is the best 243 ammo I've found. I use it on everything from jack rabbits to Elk. The main thing to remember about the 243 is range and bullet performance. The farther the distance, the more imperative it is not to take a neck shot because many bullets won't expand properly on the neck at ranges over 225 yards and it will drill right through. This XP3 will break a shoulder of an elk and still tear his heart to pieces. I have plenty of larger than golf ball exit wounds on whitetails and axis with behind the shoulder pacement. If you are using it at moderate ranges like under 225 yards may I suggest the Hornady 100gr BTSP instead of the SST.
Goodluck.

Anybody that says a .243 is not enough gun is needing to compensate for poor shooting. I have always shot Remington Express 80 grain soft points and haven't lost one yet. They dont always exit but they cant seem to run off when their heart and lungs have exploded.

This XP3 bullet has almost cured me of my big- bore and magnum addiction.

243 is a great round but like every other round out there it has limitations. Don't try and shoot a moose with it at 500 yards and you'll be fine. Whitetail at 200 yards? Perfect.

I hunt deer with a 5.56x45Nato. . . . .

Yes, I think the .243 winchester is a great round. Just make sure and use ammo made for deer on deer.

Learn to shoot and you won't have to be a good tracker.

Not a noob Chris42, just never hunted with a 243. Daughter hunts with a 556 and has good luck, just hear so much negative about the 243. Confident I can place my shot where I want it, just wasn't sure of what the SST would do when it gets there. Wanted to run one thru a pig but they have gone awol...for now. Thanks everyone for the vote of confidence with the 243.

I have to say that I am one of those people who think .243 is a little weak for deer; I believe it to be an experts round more so than for kids just starting out.

I have seen it used to great effect on deer in the 200lbs range, and I will agree that bullet choice is very important.

The Nosler Partition would be my first choice, followed by the tipped TSX.I have also seen the Winchester PowerMax bonded hollow points perform well but they will most likely not leave an exit if you hit the shoulder.

I would use either a partition or a TTSX and aim for the shoulder, limiting mobility while making the deer work extra hard to move if it doesnt do the "bang flop" people speak of.

I've been thinking about the partition, just can't find them local. Also considering the fusions. Used the TSX in my AR and had good luck on an Aoudad and pigs but got little to no expansion on deer. Trying the fusions in the AR now, hope to see what they do youth weekend. Also, don't want this to turn into a "243 is too light for ______" thread. Just curious about the SST from a 243 on deer. Thanks guys!

85gr TSX or TTSX

I've used all the bullets mentioned in many different calibers. The powermax will knock the crap out of a deer in 243 and I have never seen an exit. I think that round shines in the 30-30.

The Barnes, SST, and Nosler are great bullets but XP3 performance on larger game, they ain't

The Hornady GMX is decent bullet too but I don't like how it acts at 225 and beyond.

The regular Hornady BTSP Interlock is about as good a performance as anyone ever needs for deer.

If you think of the 95gr XP3 as 100gr, you'll notice it has a significant velocity increase and it carries it down range really well with a .411 BC and the bullet performance is second to none of these listed.

Yes, the SST in either regular or super works fine.

I'm always marveling at bullet performance evolution and will probably marvel again one day. For now, I doubt in my lifetime there will be a bullet for the 243 that outperforms the XP3.

Wife shoots the interlock in her 257 Roberts and it is a killer. Guess will try it next.
If nothing else, i'll run a 150 gr power-shok thru 'em with the turdy ought six.

You will like it. I wish i still had mine...dropped some of the biggest pigs iv shot in there tracks with an 85gr ttx bullet outa tha .243 and with low recoil

Good review JL

DOH!

Never seen one exit? I personally would not use them anymore if they produced no exit, I like the blood trail to follow if they run off.

Dee, I don't use them in 243. But just because a bullet doesn't make an exit hole doesn't mean it doesn't make a mess. Its probably the best medium range 30-30 round out there. It really dumps the energy well.

Its really a matter of personal preference, I've seen animals hit with magnums that didn't leave a trail. The funny part of my selection of 243 caliber with the XP3 is they don't run off.

100grain psp out of my A-Bolt is he'll on whitetails.

if the brush isn't thick, then its fine.

I would aim for the shoulder and squeeze one off.

Its not the perfect all around deer caliber, but its adaquate, especially for smaller hill country deer

No exit means all energy was released inside the animal which usually turns their insides to mush. I can understand wanting an exit or a bullet that punch through both shoulders too. Just depends on how you shoot them

As for the 243, plenty big, when I had my 243ai I would have taken it elk hunting any day as long as I stayed under 250 yds. Deer I would have taken it out to 4 or 450

Just because they haven't run off yet doesn't mean that will always be the result, good luck when that happens if you hunt in heavy brush. I'll agree magnums don't always leave a trail and when don't in my experience it is directly related to a lack of bullet exit.

Energy dump is a nice theory but nothing more.

Dee,

Let me say first that RCBD ammo is outlawed for soldiers and it doesn't usually create an exit hole.

I think there are tons of calibers out there that do the job with off the shelf federal blue box and thats usually the calibers I recommend to non-gun people. There are other calibers that can use any help they can get and two that come to my mind immediately are the 243 and the 30-30.

Now I certainlly don't believe for a second that a non exit hole with the energy being released into the body creates mush. This really only happens with higher velocity. I'm not sure science would agree thatenergy dump is a theory.

As to the game running off, sure it can happen. I've had more game run farther with larger calibers, you just never know. I've seen fat clog exit wounds on several occassions too.

I hunt in the thicket brush in many parts of this country. After having a friend get his head blown off during turkey season I can unequivically tell you I don't shoot through brush and I especially use a scope in unfamiliar territory.

Science does agree since there is no proven facts that energy alone kills, trauma kills. If energy was a sole factor then a deer shot in the hindquarters with a bullet that dumps all the energy the animal should die on the spot.

Energy dump is stated that the energy transferred will cause a spike in pressure which causes cardiac arrest.

Funny how no body ever posts pics of kids crying next to a non-existant blood trail?

Highly agree. The 80grn corelokt is my go to round for white tails and hornady 58grn for varmits.

the 80gr Remingtion bullet is a Pointed Soft Point, not a Core Lokt.

243 80gr ttsx..little over 100yards... Any questions


Exit

Did you borrow Goldy's range finder?

ok

I have 2 of them and love 'em. They both shoot really well with 85gr Sierra HPBT amd 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tips. Deadly deer combinations within reasonable range.

Where to start? The link you posted does nothing to validate your statement. It talks of frangible ammo similar in tissue damage as a varmint bullet it relies on the trauma from the round rapidly coming apart.

Overpressure is not the same thing as energy.

Was that just thru the ribs, no shoulder on entry??? Haven't seen results like that firsthand with the TTSX. Very impressive.

Yup, several deer with the same results from TSX.

I've shot one since 1985, using Federal/Winchester 100gr loads. Last 10 years I used Winchester Supreme 95gr. I've lost one deer with a 243, most shots are around 100 yards, but shot a red faox years ago out around 300 yards

Kewldeals, that pic may have me swayed to try the TTSX. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Bet that leaves a pretty good blood trail if its even needed.

Dropped many a deer with mine

I've never had a deer run more than 100 yards.

Whatever it is it's still the deadliest mushroom in the Woods!

No doubt it works well on smallish deer shot thru the slats, just as any cup and core bullet would.

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.