Hunting deer size game with 243 boolits?

[shtur]

Waksupi, can you disclose that elk location? If you do, I promise I'll not use anything smaller than 30 cal.

[grampa243]

I use J-words for deer in my 243. but i just started casting for that so who knows.
it's has killed a few deer for me non lost; and i used it to finish off a deer that someone else's 12 gauge didn't do a good enough job on this last season.
my dad hunts deer with a 22-250 i don't know of any that he lost.

in 12 years i've only lost two deer one was shot right i the shoulder with a 20 light-field sabot-ed slug at 30 yards.[should have been dead to rights]
the other was hit with a 50 cal muzzle loader with a 300 gr mini at 100 yards. [only found 2 drops of blood and hours of looking]

so i ask is bigger and faster better? or should you shoot what you shoot best. take only a good shot and know your limits.

[reloader28]

I know MANY guys that kill deer every year with 243 including all my family. I think its the most perfect caliber on the planet for deer with j bullets. It works on elk if you know what your doing which alotta hunters dont.

I say when you find the right load, go for it. I'm actually a hair breath away from doing it myself, maybe this fall. I've shot enough smaller critters and done enough testing with it to think it will work fine.
BUT, I'm going to use a solid with 50/50 WW/lead alloy so that it mushrooms some with my RCBS 95gr SP. I'm going for around 2000fps

We've shot enough deer to know that a 30/30 boolit is actually over kill in my opinion. It dont matter how slow a 30/30 boolit is going, it seems to work good and always get complete pass through on deer.

We're using my 30/30 boolits on moose this fall and most guys on my thread agreed it would work fine. I see no reason a 243 wont work on deer.

Thats just my opinion for what its worth, I know it aint much compared to the veterans here that know more than me and I respect.

[leftiye]

Hmmm.... I have a question. Just where are you small caliber guys shooting those deer? I've seen lots of deer at check stations (out of state ones at that) with lots of people using small caliber rifles. Most all of these deer were shot where the bullet or boolit did the most good. Can you guess where that was?.................

I'm really sure we don't have a clue. After all, there are everything from gum wrappers to encyclopedias with that information in them for anyone to read BEFORE they give it a try, and lots of experience (since almost all animals are also built that way) to fine tune our knowledge with.

[jhalcott]

I culled a bunch of deer off a Mil reservation years ago. We started with 6mm's and 100 grain bullets. After a few "dead" deer ran off after the shot we switched to the Sierra 85 HPBT. None of the deer hit with that bullet went over 30 yards, MOST dropped at the shot! I HAVE taken deer with the 6.5's and 7mm's using cast bullets. Bullet placement is critical with these( it should be no matter what caliber is used!) Back then I had a Lab that loved deer heart and would find any animal that did run off. He didn't get much work after we switched to the Sierra

[jhalcott]

As far as using cast, a 245498(?) at around 95 grains, CAN be pushed to near 2600fps .Cast of Lyman #2 alloy it should be good for under 100 yard shots.There is a LOVERIN style that weighs about the same but has a few exposed grease grooves to consider. The Loverin can be pushed a bit faster. I do not think you NEED all that velocity to succeed though. You may have to have a custom mold made for the bullet you need.
I tried to make a 2 part bullet with out much success. A soft nose with a linotype base weighing about 90 grains. I don't remember the mold number. I gave up after a few hours with only a dozen bullets. Not all were perfect and/or pretty.

[quilbilly]

I always enjoy these discussions. Since starting muzzleloading for deer so many years ago, I have had to chase a lot more deer after shooting them with a huge conical than I ever did with the 6mm 100 gr jacketed spire point which is why I prefer using patched round ball for deer. I have a mold for the Loverin style 6mm boolit and it is truly a fine shooter on varmints.

[TXGunNut]

Before I ventured into cast boolits I felt the .243 was quite possibly the ultimate Texas whitetail cartridge. Can't prove it, tho. I know hunters that think (and regularly prove) that nothing bigger is needed. As noted above, bullet choice and placement is critical. Many factory .243 cartridges are loaded with varmint bullets, some are loaded with more suitable bullets. When using J-words I generally hunted with a .30-06, with CB's I prefer even bigger boolits. One reason I like big, deep holes is that I can't pass up a shot at a big hog and I don't always get the ear shot I'd like to get.

[MT Gianni]

I was really sold on the 243 after a lot of game killed with it since 1981. Two years ago I hit an antelope with the 100 gr hornady @ 2900 fps muzzle when he was 125 yards away. The bullet entered on the left side A few inches behind the shoulder and exited 4" up from the bottom of the rib cage [sternum on a Human] also on the left side. From there he ran and it did not get any prettier. Something turned that bullet. i have had great performance with it on 7-8 lopers, 15 Mule deer and at least as many Whitetails. Thing happen with any bullet but, IMO, they happen more often with lighter bullets.

[Wadestep]

IMHO - 243 j-words carry enough energy for using on deer-sized game (at at least 85 gr and above - I use 100gr). 243 cast boolits are better suited for 'yotes and smaller. I fully admit I've never shot a deer with a 243 cast to try this out.

[jhalcott]

It's easy to take a few bales of wet pack out to the range you intend to shoot a deer. Take a shot or two with a jacketed bullet and compare the results with a like number of cast bullets at the same range. Shoot different bales with each type of bullet. I got permission to use road kill deer one year. Spent lots of time riding the roads looking for "targets" and dragging them to the field. After shooting them I had to correctly dispose of the carcasses by burying them. The "Bullet Test Tube" is another option that you can try. If you can get 14" of penetration with great accuracy with your 243 cast bullets in these mediums, you SHOULD have no problems with broadside deer.

[jasent]

Though I have never shot cast in my 243 I have killed 8 deer with it,most where dead right there,2 have been runners but didn't make it 30 yards. All have been large white tail. With everything shot placement is key! I should add that all these deer where shot at less than 100yards but 1 it was 220yards and was the smallest one. It tipped over on the spot,never even twitched.

[mstarling]

Some years ago I came into possession of a very high grade custom 6mm Rem rifle based on a 1908 Peruvian Mauser. Has all the bells and whistles anyone could want done by some of the finest smiths in the country (Ottmar, Dubell, Stratton, Blackburn, Goudy, Worthing, and Wisner with engraving by Kehr ... literally a American Custom Gunmaker's Guild rifle). Had to take it hunting at least once ... so it went to the stand in a hard case.

That day was lucky and I took a nice heavy 8 point WV deer with 100 gr Nosler Partitions at 3100 fps. Hit the deer at 65 yards. First shot was in the right place but at a bit of a quartering angle. Knock him down. He was struggling to get up when I hit him again. First projectile had gone in and hit the shoulder blade on the way out ... all of the kinetic energy was spent within the target. And he was still struggling.

While a single event is not the best way to judge the effectiveness of a hunting tool combination, I think I would go to a larger chambering for use with a cast bullet.

[Mizzouboy]

My main reason to cast for the 243 is Predator hunting. I have had very good luck with the 243 on deer size game. Havent had one yet go 30 yards from where it was shot. I am casting 95 grain boolits and hope to push them around 1800fps. If I stick to 100 yards or under with well placed shots i think it will do the trick.

I've taken a few deer with a .243 using Federal factory bullets, so I know it's an effective caliber, BUT I have always been told that my M1 carbines are too light for deer at 110gr and around 1800 fps; that would make a cast bullet of 95 grains and 1800 fps seem too light as well; granted, you might get better expansion with a soft cast bullet, but I don't know how fast you can push a really soft pill.

[Mk42gunner]

.243 and cast for deer. In my opinion, if you treat it like a poacher with a .22, i.e. hit it between the eyes at less than 100 yards, it will work. anything other than that and I am reminded of Carpetman's grandson; not a good experience.

Have I used a .243 and j-words for deer? Yes, and the deer died very quickly; but I wasn't real satisfied with the bullet performance. ~100 yards hit in the spine, spine destroyed, but no farther penetration. That was also the last time I went hunting without a real on paper zero at a known distance.

I am no expert when it comes to hunting with cast, but I plan on using the RCBS 35-200-FN in either a .35 Remington or .35 Whelen if I go deer hunting this year.

With j-words and factory loads, I believe most people are vastly overgunned and over bulleted for whitetail deer in this country. A 200 pound or less whitetail does not need a bullet that will penetrate lengthwise on a fully grown bull elk. It is very hard to beat a .30-30 for real get out in the timber and hunt deer hunting. Watching over a cut beanfield with ranges of 200 yards on up is a different story.

Robert

[Kull]

I'm looking forward to eventually casting for 243. Every deer I've shot, all black tailed, with jacketed bullets have dropped like a ton of bricks. The big reason I like 243 is because it shoots flat and doesn't kick at all. That gives me confidence, and confidence gets me placing shots right where I want.

[MT Gianni]

The 243 can be very accurate with cast. I would verify bullet performance however you can. At minimum that would sshow good expansion and penetration of 4-6 gallon jugs in line.

[jmort]

Elk DRT at 688 yards. The .243 is a beautiful thing

[reloader28]

I was waiting for someone to put up that link. A good friend of mine works for those boys.
My brother is working on a 1000yd .243 now. He is having NO problem smacking the center of a 12"x12" plate at 1000yd.

MK42, spine or high shoulder?? I rarely use anything other than a neck shot.

[Mk42gunner]

It was a definite spine hit. The doe was standing in some weeds on CRP ground, so I couldn't see her belly line, causing me to aim higher than I really wanted to. The crosshairs were at slighty below mid deer right behind the shoulder, going for a high double lung hit.

The only deer I have seen drop faster, without a CNS hit, was the doe I ended the season with a few years before that. A 200 gr PSP from a .35 Whelen through the chest, angling front to back, (I saw her falling while the rifle was recoilling).

Back to the .243 deer, the spine was destroyed for a few inches on top of the shoulder, along with the loins. I would say about two vertebra were powdered, but there wasn't much secondary damage, not much bone blown into the ribcage. Like I said, the deer died very quickly; I just would have prefered the bullet to exit, which it would have if I would have hit where I was aiming.

It was a combination of not enough bullet for the spot I hit, and my fault for not ensuring the rifle was sighted in like I wanted.

Regardless, that rifle (Model 100 Winchester) went down the road at the next gunshow. It went click on the second deer that day, and a few days or weeks later it went click on the second coyote. It chambered the next round, it just didn't cock the hammer. It had the firing pin mod, and I could find nothing wrong when I fieldstripped the rifle, (which isn't for the faint of heart).

Robert