.243 Win vs. .308 Win

[ESquared]

I think this link should work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-yDHL_aYI

That's crazy. Forgive my ignorance of your gun models, but what caliber was he firing?

[JEBar]

I think this link should work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-yDHL_aYI

That's crazy. Forgive my ignorance of your gun models, but what caliber was he firing?

a .500 Nitro Express .... it is a .510 caliber (13 mm) big bore hunting cartridge designed for use in single shot and double rifles.... it was designed for use against large dangerous game species in Africa and India.

[220]

JEBar nailed it, 500 Nitro Express designed to stop charging elephants with one shot, over kill for anything weighing less than a couple of tonnes.

We were actually shooting at a running boar target and despite the accidental discharge of the second barrel the first one was on target.
No one else had the same issue with both barrels, thinking given his small stature somehow he was brushing the second trigger under recoil of the first shot.

[ESquared]

That's some serious firepower. Makes the 308 seem like a no-brainer. No more Recoil Energy than the 16 ga I grew up with and shot over and over again.

[Mags]

I think this link should work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-yDHL_aYI

That is a huge kick!

[Mistered]

Some more serious recoil - The T-Tex rifle!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrImp-ek3bI

[ESquared]

Some more serious recoil - The T-Tex rifle!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wrImp-ek3bI

That's truly nuts. What's so striking is the number of times the rifle actually just jumps out of their hands and ends up on the ground. It isn't like they didn't have an idea of what was coming, yet it stuns them anyway, to the point they simply let go.

[Shakey Jake]

I used a .308 for years deer hunting. A very good caliber. I got to Texas and the deer here are not as big as in other places. Yeah, racks are usually good but the body of the deer is not as much as those in northern states or where I came from in Missouri. A good sized buck on the lease I hunted would only dress out to about 112-120 pounds if lucky. A doe would dress out anywhere from 90 to 100 pounds. The .308 was tearing them up too much so I went with a .270 then down to a .25-06. I found the .25 -06 just right for deer around here.

[ESquared]

I used a .308 for years deer hunting. A very good caliber. I got to Texas and the deer here are not as big as in other places. Yeah, racks are usually good but the body of the deer is not as much as those in northern states or where I came from in Missouri. A good sized buck on the lease I hunted would only dress out to about 112-120 pounds if lucky. A doe would dress out anywhere from 90 to 100 pounds. The .308 was tearing them up too much so I went with a .270 then down to a .25-06. I found the .25 -06 just right for deer around here.

That's really the central point of this debate I'm having with myself over this caliber choice. What's the most appropriate for what I'm hunting, where I'm hunting, at what distances I'll be hunting, etc.

Seems to me that, for MO deer, at a variety of distances that the 308 is kind of the Goldilocks in this situation. Just about right.

[Shakey Jake]

I used a .308 for years deer hunting. A very good caliber. I got to Texas and the deer here are not as big as in other places. Yeah, racks are usually good but the body of the deer is not as much as those in northern states or where I came from in Missouri. A good sized buck on the lease I hunted would only dress out to about 112-120 pounds if lucky. A doe would dress out anywhere from 90 to 100 pounds. The .308 was tearing them up too much so I went with a .270 then down to a .25-06. I found the .25 -06 just right for deer around here.

That's really the central point of this debate I'm having with myself over this caliber choice. What's the most appropriate for what I'm hunting, where I'm hunting, at what distances I'll be hunting, etc.

Seems to me that, for MO deer, at a variety of distances that the 308 is kind of the Goldilocks in this situation. Just about right.

Yep, that's what I used in SW Missouri. Winchester Model 100 .308. It was a fairly accurate rifle for a auto. They had a firing pin recall on them back in the mid 80's. I had to send it to a gunsmith shop in St. Louis for the recall work as I remember. I wish I had a .308 bolt action though as it would have been more accurate. It was a "hand-me-down" rifle so I didn't complain.

[JEBar]

Seems to me that, for MO deer, at a variety of distances that the 308 is kind of the Goldilocks in this situation. Just about right.

for whatever little it may be worth, I agree ....

[ESquared]

Seems to me that, for MO deer, at a variety of distances that the 308 is kind of the Goldilocks in this situation. Just about right.

for whatever little it may be worth, I agree ....

Hey, it's worth a lot, thanks for chiming in! I also asked my smithy up at the range today, who's been hunting in MO all his life, and he didn't hesitate for a moment when I posed the ".308 or .243?" question.

He's seen enough different scenarios to know that you don't want to be facing the "buck of a lifetime" (as he put it) with a .243. Interesting perspective and spot-on.

[Ozarkridgerunner]

Hello ESquared. Just chiming in once again. I think one could argue the pros and cons between calibers till the cows come home. Like we talked about earlier in folks individual preferences in trucks they drive. I believe the .308 is an excellent cartridge for deer. One only has to look at its many years of service as a military round ( 7.62x51) to establish a proven track record of service. The bullet weight options and configurations are many and can serve very well in a range of big game as a hunting round. We have taken many deer over the years with various.30 caliber rounds. But I would respectfully have to disagree with the gentleman who said you wouldn't want to be facing the buck of a lifetime with a .243. As I mentioned before , the larger calibers and heavier bullets for big game are well proven many thousand times over. We know also for their size, a mature Whitetail buck is a tough animal. Not big boned or thick skinned but tough all the same. Shot placement is still paramount as we've all been saying and a larger caliber might be a little more forgiving if the shot lands a bit less than where it should. Then we get into bullet type and performance on whatever game we are hunting. Lot of variables. I have seen drop like a rock from .22 calibers and run away wounded never to be recovered after being shot with a .300 Mag. I've rambled on to say this in a nutshell. We have taken many deer (50+) with the .243. I have never felt or experienced being under gunned using this caliber on any deer I've shot and while we don't have the huge corn fed brutes of the Midwest, We have taken several big mature bucks weighing 200 lbs. For the accuracy , range , speed and hydrostatic shock value of that caliber in a quality 100 gr hunting round I still believe it to be an excellent deer cartridge that is not only adequate but excels in performance if the one behind the trigger does their part. I wouldn't take that gun into brush country treating it like a.444 or .45-70 thinking I could shoot through a small sapling and still kill a deer on the other side.In the right application though I would put the .243 against any other caliber when it comes to taking whitetail deer no matter their size and have done so out to 400 yards. You may not need the versatility of the .243 in a lighter load if your not varmint hunting with it also. You won't go wrong choosing the .308 for a deer hunting round. No question about that. Some people might sell the .243 a little short for being an effective deer hunting cartridge. I will never be one of them. Just my 2 cents ( may only be worth 1 1/2 !! ). Here's hoping you find a great shooting quality rifle in a caliber that you shoot well and performs well. I hope you get a shot at the buck of a lifetime.

[Shakey Jake]

I purchased a Remington 700 for my son in .243 to hunt deer here in Texas. It worked for him just fine.