Timberland

I have a weatherby vanguard in 243 winchester. I really like it. It's not as expensive as the Mark V, but it is still a great gun.

Steven Ashe

IMO, you are limiting yourself with .243Win for white tail deer and pronghorn. Will the .243Win kill? Yeah, but a number of things have to be in place. Get a good, accurate rifle in .270Win and you won't be buying a new rifle for a long time, unless you go after dangerous bears. .270Win is a much more positive anchoring tool for white tails, pronghorn and mule deer. One shot kills if you do your job. Takes deer cleanly at a much greater range then will .243Win. In the late 1960s, when I did not know better, I shot a fair number of white tail deer with .243Win. What I was finding was heart shot deer going 100+ yds before dropping. One buck, heart shot, jumped a stock fence and ran deep into an overgrown field, right at dusk. By luck, I found him, where he'd crawled up under some brush. That convinced me, when I found that his heart was split by my bullet, but he kept going, even jumping that fence. I kept the .243Win for groundhogs and took the .270Win for deer sized animals. Have never had a deer run off when hit with those 130gr bullets. Longest shot that I've had to take was 325yds. Not world class shooting, but the pronghorn dropped in his tracks. Try that with .243Win.

Fireblade545

I will have to agree with all the .270 win posts. I have killed many deer with a .243 but i much rather use my .270.

USMC PMI

I had a Weatherby Vangard rifle in .300 WBY.mag. The Vangard is made by Howa for Weatherby. The trigger was not bad but after going through more mounts, rings and scopes than I care to mention (I kept running out of elivation on the scope). I had a gunsmith take a look and he found that the barrel was not trued to the action/receiver. The barrel was slanting upward from the action, a factory mistake. I contacted Weatherby who did have the rifle repaired, which I sold insuring to let the buy know the issue. It sold for next to nothing because I was honest. Based on that I will never purchase a Howa or Vangard rifle. I would give an authentic Weatherby a try, I thought their service was reasonable considering. Goes to show you get what you pay for most of the time.

JagMagMan

The .243/6MM is a very good minimum caliber for whitetail sized game, when you use good 100 gr. bullets! At all but super long ranges (300+ yards, which for most whitetail hunting, is farther than you will be shooting anyway!) the .243/6MM will kill 'em just as dead as any larger caliber, and without the recoil!
As I said, it is a really good MINIMUM caliber! The .260, or 7MM-08 are a lots closer to being perfect deer calibers than the .243! But with the .243 as a minimum, you don't have to resort to head shots, just to make a good kill! A good 100 gr. bullet in .243/6MM can take out anything (bones) that get in its path, and make clean kills on any whitetail!
I have went from the 6MM Rem. to the .308, .270, 30-06, and the 7MM RM and I have not noticed any difference in how dead my deer are!

merllin

You know, I have never really understood the .243/6mm controversy - when it comes to killing the so called 'average whitetail deer'. I've never shot a deer with one of the .24 caliber cartridges but the 6mm seems to be a well-liked cartridge and if I were to use one on deer I would certainly opt for one of the better 100/105gr. bullets. It is hard for me to believe that this combination is 'minimum' and would barely do the job. What in the world is 'minimum' in the world of dead vs. dead! I've had to shoot deer more than once even with the 30-06 with a reasonably placed shot - but that doesn't equate to being 'minimum'. A heart split by a .270 winchester - a heart split by a .243 - some run and some do not - right?! Some people hunt dear with a .45-70.

USMC PMI

I have to agree with you, bullet impact can not make up for poor shot placement. I have seen many deer killed with a .223 and my great grandfather only hunted whitetail with the old .222, never had a problem. You can shoot a deer in the guts with a 50 BMG and they will run. I think the larger calibers retain more energy down range which may limit the smaller calibers in distance but certainly not it's effectiveness within range. Especially with the advanced design of the new bullets on the market today. I may have fallen into the "it's too small group" but I have just seen too many fine examples of whitetail taken with the smaller calibers including .222 .223 .243 22-250 25-06 they all work gents if the shooter does his part and places the shot in a vital area.

Doe Dumper

LOL I cant imagine a deer doing anything but somersaults after being hit with a .50 BMG...

WisHunt

I shoot a .243 for deer, never, ever, not once, ever, lost one that I've hit.

Max distance after the shot = approx 100 yards, most 0 - 45yards.

If you hit them in the boiler room with a 95gr Balistic Tip, no worries.

Also I've been shooting it since I was 13 that's 20 years of shooting it at Whitetails. I have to say that when I was younger I was never scared of the kick. I know guys that shoot .270s & 30-06s and they miss pleanty of deer, I can say that I've missed only 3 deer with my .243 and they were all running full tilt, and I was 17 when I missed the last one. Most of the guys with the bigger guns were scared just to pull the trigger. You got a 120lb kid shooting a gun that kicks like a mule. I've seen kids shake'n like a poodle poop'n peach pits at the range, no wonder they can't hit when the time comes.

Go with the savage- I just read an article on varmint comparisons and the savage was rated top of the heap. I really like the acutrigger also.

I'm sorry to say that I can no longer hunt with my .243, only shotgun/muzleoaders allowed on the land that I hunt.

"Piss off a Peta Person- take a kid hunting"

DM

"IF" the deer were running "full tilt" as you said, and you shot at it and it ran off, then you don't know if you hit it or not!!! You could have hit it, and it ran off and died!!! Just because you didn't find blood or ??? doesn't mean they weren't hit.

Most 6mm bullets won't exit a bigger deer, especially if it's gut shot. A gut shot deer many times will live a long time, and you won't ever get it.

Many years ago i used a 243 a lot! "If" everything is right, they work VERY well, if not, then they are a bit short on killing power, especially on bigger deer ect.. AND, yes i shot numerous deer and one bigger bear with my 243 to come to this conclusion.

When i switched to 100 grain Nosler partitions in my 243 it really made a improvement in how it killed big game.

I'm not picking on anyone here, but you just can't say you never lost a deer hit by a 243, and then tell about shooting at others that ran off after you shot at them and didn't recover them.

YES, i completely understand that more power in a firearm won't make up for poor shooting, but from "my experence", the 6mm's are the min.. for any big game, (includeing the 240 wby. that i also have) and just a little bigger is a lot better.

Drilling Man