Effective Range and questions, .243?

[Jeramie]

I'm shooting a .243 this November on Whitetail for the first time ever. My primary gun has mainly been a .30-06.

Ive taken countless shoulder shots with the 06 and anchored the deer where they stood. Is the .243, shooting 100grn Hornady, enough to still safely take a shoulder shot? I know deer have a thin shoulder but ive lost one doe to a 30/30 and I'm insanely paranoid about losing another. Years later I still let that one doe bother me.

Also, what can I look for range wise on the .243 and still remain totally effective? The longest shot would probably be 250 but I do have the possibility to take a 300yd shot. I have every confidence I can make the shot, ive been feeding lead well over 200yds with great accuracy. I was just curious about energy of the 100grn at that distance.

[popgun]

I don't know what brand of shell you are shooting but if it was Remington 100 grain:
You are starting with 2960 Muzzle Velocity,
At that range you will have a bullet moving at 2829 Fps. and 1777 Ft. Lb. Energy.
....popgun

[snapper]

I would safely say a .243 will take a deer out to 200 yards... and prob. beyond!
BTW, you didn't lose a doe from the .30-30...its shooting the same size bullet your -06 is.

[terry264]

Hi Popgun, better check your chart on the 100gr. .243 load. I think you quoted the 50yd. results for that bullet,,,not the 200 yd. lol Terry.

[Jeramie]

[ QUOTE ]
I would safely say a .243 will take a deer out to 200 yards... and prob. beyond!
BTW, you didn't lose a doe from the .30-30...its shooting the same size bullet your -06 is.

[/ QUOTE ]

With just a tad less energy....

I hit her with a hollowpoint at 100yds. The shot was good, I saw the blood exiting. She bled like no other, blood everywhere. Finally she quit after about 150yds through timber. We looked for roughly 3-5 hours with no deer to be found. It was like someone turned off the faucet.



I switched to a 30-06 and have never had one take more then a couple of steps. Even at 150+ yard shots.

[popgun]

terry264 is absolutely right.
Sorry Jeramie, I rechecked my program.
100 yds 2702 Fps and 1621 Ft lbs energy.
200 yds 2558 Fps and 1341 Ft lbs energy.
300 yds 2227 Fps and 1101 Ft lbs energy.

Thanks terry, I just hate giving out false information, and I'm glad you caught that.
....popgun

[rifleman25]

I shoot 95 gr ballistic tips and have taken nothing but shoulder shots. my average shot is 200-300 yards. You will be just fine.

[too_pointer]

Do what you want, but I wouldn't take a shoulder shot with a .243. I would prefer a behind the shoulder shot that would take out the lungs.
My hunting buddy shoots a .243 and has had great success with it, but they were lung shots.
Why take the chance
too_

[johnf]

When I was practicing at 300 yards I pulled a shot pretty bad and it hit about 8" from where I was aiming. It hit a 3" round 1" thick magnet and vaporized it, then went through 2 layers of 1/8" thick angle iron. The target pulled about 8" out of the ground and was thrown back about 6 feet.

I don't know how that translates into ft/lbs, but I'm thinking it would do some serious damage to a deer.

Two years ago I hit a doe at about 100 yard on an extream quartering shot. After the shot she went about 30 yards and dropped. The bullet entered at her last rib, traveled up the rib cage and lodged into the same side shoulder. (She was standing at an odd angle) When I opened her up the liver was literally turned to mush and the lung on that side was nearly gone. As near as I could tell the bullet travel about 27" through bone and flesh.

[Jeramie]

[ QUOTE ]
Do what you want, but I wouldn't take a shoulder shot with a .243. I would prefer a behind the shoulder shot that would take out the lungs.
My hunting buddy shoots a .243 and has had great success with it, but they were lung shots.
Why take the chance
too_

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree the double lung is a fail safe shot. I take that shot very often.

I will say this, when you take the shoulder out you push bone through the heart, arteries, and sometimes the lungs. Its a very safe shot IMHO. Every deer ive ever shoulder shot folded like a card table. That was pushing a 180grn Corelokt. It decimate the deer. You want to keep the shot toward the back of the shoulder.

That was the only shot I had on a doe a few years back. She was behind a tree(s). Her shoulder was exposed. I had taken that shot before so I knew how devastating. I took it again and she hit the ground like a ton of concrete. The bone tore out her throat, main arteries, and slivered into her heart. You could literally see down her windpipe.

Its a shot I would never take with anything other than a Rifle but if you're carrying enough energy and weight it hammers the deer.

[snapper]

[ QUOTE ]
I hit her with a hollowpoint at 100yds. The shot was good, I saw the blood exiting.

[/ QUOTE ]

The .30-30 and just about any cal. gun has enough energy to take a deer at 100 yards. Sorry, but if she went 150 yards bleeding...it wasn't a good hit. JMO!

I've killed several deer with a .30-30 125 gr. hollow points at 100+ yards...more than enough energy to take a deer down.

[wtnhunt]

The wife has killed a couple with her .243 with 100 grain corelokts, but not with any long range shots. The deer she has shot with that rifle have not gone more than 10 yards. Her shots have been tight behind the shoulder.

[AJ]

If I had a .243 Win and the bbuck of my dreams was quartering towards me at 300 yards and that's as good as it was going to get, I would take the shot with confidence that he would be on the ground in a second. A Nosler 95 gr Partition will crush the shoulder and penetrate just fine. Let them have it.

[Jeramie]

Good to hear! Thanks gang.

There is really only one scenario where a 250yd+ shot will be possible. I have a hillside that overlooks three pastures and four different ponds. Its very conceivable that I will have a shot that distance if i can stay on the hillside. That will also greatly increase my options....

[ronin]

Personally, I prefer the Barnes Triple Shock bullet in 85 Gr. for deer and hogs. It may seem a little small on the surface but this TSX bullet is pretty devestating...it really sizzles in a handload at 3300 FPS. If you like factory loads, Federal Vital Shok offers the 85 Barnes TSX. Everything I have shot with this bullet so far hasn't taken a step afterwards.