243 ammo...

C

czmatt

New member
Went whitetail hunting the other day, and shot a doe. (its ok, Breeders permit season in Tx starts 1st weekend in Oct.) I hit her in the "recomended" spot, right behind the shoulder blades. I was using ordinary 243 core lokt (spelling?) ammo. the deer ran about 20 yards before falling down. I also shot from 130 yds.

What kind of ammo could I use to drop a deer, from around this distance? I have used the neck shot before, and that drops them regularly, but at a long distance, I would rather go for the body. What do you suggest?? Thanks...
 
Um how long have you been hunting??
No offense but 20 yards??? Thats a pretty clean kill to me. I'm very fond of the corelokt brand of ammo, after trying tons of others it's all I will use now.
Anyway I think an animal going 20 yards after 130 yard shot is very acceptable.
You must keep in mind that a deer can run with out any vital organs at all...literaly. I had it happen to me.
A deer ran in on me (not knowing at the time what it was running from it was being chased by dogs) anyway I whistled (neat trick) he frooze for a split second and I placed a shot with my 06 just as you described. Enter said dogs...the deer bolted! We tracked the deer for over a mile, after losing the blood trail we went to get the blood dogs and tracked it another half mile. While gutting it we realized that the deer had bleed out is why we lost trail. It was also noted that my well placed shot had destroyed it's heart, one complete lung and it had a tennis ball sized chunk of it's other lung but it had the consistancy of jello (useless) so this deer had ran over 1 1/2 miles with NO vital organs, and half a mile with no blood :eek: ...running on pure addreniline.
I'm a firm believer in the "one shot one kill" method and have had drop on the spot to run as far as 150 yards or so depending on how their mentality was when they arrived on the scene (I've never lost one nad only had that one try to go to the next county...)
So to sum up that wasn't a bad experience in my book, hope all of them go that well....
 
Im 22, been hunting steadily since I was 11.

I guess im looking for something that probably doesnt exist, a bullet to drop a deer on the first shot, right where he stands. I really havnt done any testing with ammo in my 243, ive always used the same rounds every time.

Im looking into this because the doe i shot this weekend, ran streight into a cactus pile, and we had to drag it out. and that pretty much ticked me off.

I really dont mind if they run, im just wondering if the more expensive ammo is worth it or not.
 
You might try the "Over gun for the game" option, but ammunition is expensive and over penetration is a problem. Using a .338 Win Mag instead of a .243 is going to improve the terminal effect, but how much is always problematical.

Geoff
Who thinks the .243 is enough for deer in most places in the USofA. :)
 
im just wondering if the more expensive ammo is worth it or not.
Click to expand...
Not to me they're not. This thread could be 10 pages long with people aurguing over what cartridge is better, but I'm just giving you my experience, for my application.
I tried every "type" of bullet out there (ballistic tip, boat tails, etc) and from most "over the counter" companies. IMHO a Remington, round nosed, core-lokt just out performs the rest. Good penetration, good expansion, good "knock down".
You can try what Geoff said except instead of a larger caliber (cause I know not all of us can rush out and get a new rifle, especialy in the middle of season) try a larger ammunition...go up a few grains.
Thats just my .02

P.S. please don't take the "How long have you hunted" thing as a jab, I was just curious what kinda #s you had "put on the ground" to be frustrated by the 20 yard run. Knowing about the cactus I can understand the frustration sometimes they just go exactly where we don't want 'em too... :p
I generaly kill 3 to 6 a year and have only had that one run real far...I think it's more about shot placement (and the animals mentality such as the case I explained above), and from your first post, sounds like you've got that covered...
I say just chalk it up to bad luck and keep doing what your doing... :cool:
 
oh, no offence taken, I really appreciate all the help.

I think I will try the larger grain just for kicks, you never know. Ive been doing pretty good actually. Last year I killed 4, 3 does and a cull buck with my 243. I love that gun, and I definatley dont have the money to get a new gun now. Plus, I couldnt part with my 243. It has a muzzle brake (i think thats the right spelling) on it, soft recoil, very very nice.

Thanks for all the info guys. :D
 
more .243 advice

Hornady makes a brand of ammo called lite magnum. They advertise 100 gr Btsp at 3100 fps at muzzle. A little more speed and energy than most factory ammo. Warns not to use in semi-autos. If you are reloading, DNR officer at a state run range says he shoots the hornady 100 gr round nose, he says they anchor the deer pretty well. He says they group at around 3/4" MOA. I have heard good things about core-lokts. I am not sure if any of my suggestions will do any better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top