by John Haviland - Monday, November 18, 2013. Our smallest deer rifle is now a .260 Rem. There's a lot of debate as to what the best deer rifle is, but the .243 definitely has it going on.

Try them, you won't be sorry.
Not that you can’t hunt deer with a 90-grain bullet, but the hunting market is what it is, and the .244 fell far behind the .243, with … I used the 100g SBT in my .243 as well and was getting awesome groups at 500 yards with it as well. If you do not reload you can buy that same bullet but it does cost alot. Like all of Barnes's bullets, they're accurate, and kill way better than a little bullet should, plow right thru bone, and are seldom recovered.

Now a big buck on the other hand is a different story. I recently killed my first deer. An American Favorite: The .243 Winchester. Predictably they eventually lose a deer due to lack of penetration and return to the world to loudly proclaim that the 243 sucks as a deer caliber.

We could not get consistent pass-throughs, even with 100 grain bullets. Doc "Zero" Gunsmithing: 1: 01-07-2008 12:11 PM: Bullet Performance Parameters? I'd want a little more caliber and bullet. I use .270 in 150grains and the performance in deer is more than good enough. It has also become almost the standard long range deer and antelope cartridge for beginning hunters. As hunting season approaches every year, we look toward our gun cabinets and wonder if we're really using the best deer rifle.

More.

I have a box of the 90gr AB's on backorder. There is nothing wrong with a 243 for deer. "The .243 Win. The .243 Winchester is a better varmint cartridge than the .25's, while remaining adequate for hunting deer and antelope. I put 10 rounds of this in a group measuring 1.5" across the widest point, center to center. Nine deer where culled for crop damage, and all of them fell over and stayed down with one shot.The little bullet is very accurate, and it will diffinitely do the job on all deer, antelope, and even black bear. The same people who will shoot a deer at 300 yds with a .243 (average energy about 1,000 ft lbs) scoff at a .357 mag rifle being able to kill a deer at 100 yds despite it having the same energy level at 100 yds that the .243 has at 300.

Michael says: December 12, 2013 at 10:46 . I used Perfecta .243 win 100 grain soft points.
Typical 243 performance with most Bullets designed for Big Game in the 6 mm A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks. Took this deer in South Texas with my .243 Winchester at 111 yards. The .243 has become a favorite of hunters who want to shoot varmints, predators and deer size game with the same rifle.

The .243 is about min for deer but it will work just fine, and also will work for a varmint rifle. Good luck! The .243 Win., with its 1:10” twist, can stabilize the 100 and 105-grain bullets, which the hunting public wanted for deer and other big game. As of today I'd recommend the 100gr gameking for an all-around or deer bullet. I wish I could find more first hand reviews of Noslers 90 grain Accubond bullets. Zeroed about 2" high with the most accurate load I have tested (Winchester 80 grain softpoints), the Perfecta is dead on at 100.

I am working up a load now for her for that, but not quite there yet. The .243 launches an 80 grain varmint bullet at a muzzle velocity (MV) of about 3,350 fps. The .243 Win., with its 1:10” twist, can stabilize the 100 and 105-grain bullets, which the hunting public wanted for deer and other big game.

Reply.