Indiana opened up firearms deer season this year to allow select rifle cartridges. I am thinking about using a .243 but want to be sure it is safe. Indiana is pretty flat and I usually hunt field edges with woods nearby. How far is needed to feel comfortable taking a shot when there are houses in the distance if hunting from an elevated stand? Obviously not going to shoot directly towards a noise that is close but what about a house 600 yards away? .5 miles away? 1 mile away? When do you have to worry? Especially if there are woods in between ?
243 safe distance for hunting
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A bullet can travel several miles. This girl was killed by a stray shot from 1.5 miles away from a muzzle loading rifle. The guy unloaded his rifle in order to clean it by simply walking out his back door in a rural area and firing it into the air.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...-death-ruled-a-homcide-in-ohio/1#.V_EnQMmj9k0
I've never felt states that only allow muzzle loaders and shotguns citing safety reasons were being realistic. This proves it. Center fire rifles are no more dangerous in these areas.
If you are in a wooded area bullets won't travel too far. But the best approach is to fire from an elevated position so any missed shot will hit the ground. Even then ricochets are a possibility.
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...-death-ruled-a-homcide-in-ohio/1#.V_EnQMmj9k0
I've never felt states that only allow muzzle loaders and shotguns citing safety reasons were being realistic. This proves it. Center fire rifles are no more dangerous in these areas.
If you are in a wooded area bullets won't travel too far. But the best approach is to fire from an elevated position so any missed shot will hit the ground. Even then ricochets are a possibility.
joe sixgun
New member
Yes, shooting from an elevated position is much safer than shooting flat or uphill. A .243 bullet could travel well over a mile easily. NEVER shoot at an animal that is skylined on top of a hill. Just use the exact same principles of down range safety and awareness you would when target shooting.
Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
My hunting buddy his 20-ish old son was shot in the calf with a 6MM bullet. No one in the area owns a 6MM Remington but there are a few owners or the 243.
Standing quietly on the edge of a pasture observing his uncles posted land. The young man never heard a rifles discharge prior to his wounding. Near to being spent thank Goodness the S.P. Bullet penetrated about 2" of skin. Deep enough for his father bring his son to Hospital Emergency for treatment. Of course LE were called as was a Sheriff's Deputy summoned. No arrest. No ones fault. Just a hunting accident.
Standing quietly on the edge of a pasture observing his uncles posted land. The young man never heard a rifles discharge prior to his wounding. Near to being spent thank Goodness the S.P. Bullet penetrated about 2" of skin. Deep enough for his father bring his son to Hospital Emergency for treatment. Of course LE were called as was a Sheriff's Deputy summoned. No arrest. No ones fault. Just a hunting accident.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
If you're shooting offhand at a target on a flat prairie, the bullet will hit the ground about 600 yards away. Deformation will reduce the travel distance of a ricochet.
As in the Four Rules with handguns--all guns, actually--you must be sure of what's behind your intended target in the event of a miss.
So: If you use some common sense about where a missed shot would go, you won't create a hazard. As said above, don't shoot a skylined target. Shooting downward from any elevated position is a Good Thing.
As in the Four Rules with handguns--all guns, actually--you must be sure of what's behind your intended target in the event of a miss.
So: If you use some common sense about where a missed shot would go, you won't create a hazard. As said above, don't shoot a skylined target. Shooting downward from any elevated position is a Good Thing.
Fall zones behind CF ranges at CFB Borden(North of Toronto) run out to 10 kilometers for the 1,000 yard range. 6 klicks behind the shorter ranges. That's 6.2 and about 3.7 miles respectively.
Anyway, any centre fire is dangerous out to 3 to 4 miles. Bullet weight matters too. Heavier will go farther. Approximates 45 degrees of up angle will send it the farthest.
However, chances are that from a tree stand you'll be aiming down and not at hundreds of yards distance anyway, but that house 600 yards away is way into the fall zone just the same.
The bush in between will help(shot at a ground hog, long ago, with a 75 grain HP. Bullet hit an inch thick thistle plant stalk and blew up. I can still hear the chuck's laughter.), but you still need to be aware of what's behind the stuff you shoot at and act accordingly.
"...ricochets are a possibility..." Yep. And they can come right straight back at you.
Anyway, any centre fire is dangerous out to 3 to 4 miles. Bullet weight matters too. Heavier will go farther. Approximates 45 degrees of up angle will send it the farthest.
However, chances are that from a tree stand you'll be aiming down and not at hundreds of yards distance anyway, but that house 600 yards away is way into the fall zone just the same.
The bush in between will help(shot at a ground hog, long ago, with a 75 grain HP. Bullet hit an inch thick thistle plant stalk and blew up. I can still hear the chuck's laughter.), but you still need to be aware of what's behind the stuff you shoot at and act accordingly.
"...ricochets are a possibility..." Yep. And they can come right straight back at you.
Gunplummer
New member
It is best to never underestimate a bullet. I remember that episode with the Amish kid. We have had quite a few incidents here in PA since the housing development boom. A local accident caused a new law to be passed to protect the property owner from law suits if a guest is involved in an accident that occurs while on his property, even if the victim is not on the property. Anything can happen while hunting, just like any other sport. I hear comments such as, "How can you mistake a man for a deer?". Most of the PA accidents I remember involved long distance shots after the bullet passed the deer. The closest I had one was about 2 feet in front of me. It was still moving pretty good because I heard it snap going past and it cut some twigs off a hemlock tree. The unbelievable thing was I was headed home and the bullet was headed into a small town there.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
COSteve, your rifle shoots flatter than mine. 
I zero my '06 at 200 yards. At my 500 yard range, the holdover is four feet. At 600 yards, the holdover would likely be some six-ish feet if not more.
An offhand shot begins at some five feet above ground level. Gotta think trajectory.
I zero my '06 at 200 yards. At my 500 yard range, the holdover is four feet. At 600 yards, the holdover would likely be some six-ish feet if not more.
An offhand shot begins at some five feet above ground level. Gotta think trajectory.
don't understand that statement at all.
Would you like to hear a suggestion? You can get satellite maps online that show every thing in the area. decide where you plan on shooting, print out a map, run lines to the homes within 500 yards, index that to a true compass line. Go to your hunting spot, use a compass, tag the places that you should avoid firing at.
There is a problem with saying that there are woods in the foreground. What do you mean by that? dense forest, or a patch of trees? a really dense stand of timber won't allow a bullet through. A serious piece of forest with 50 year old trees and little second growth junk, however could easily let a bullet fly straight for hundreds of yards.
Something to think about is that unless the bullet digs in where it hits, of course it's going to go flying, a ricochet can go anywhere. tiny variations of point of impact will throw it almost anywhere.
One of the four laws of gun safety...Always be sure of your target and beyond.
Many have already said it, but if you know what your bullet will safely impact on a passthrough or miss, then you are shooting at a safe distance.
While a high velocity bullet can skip off the ground if fired at a flat enough angle, it will shed some velocity and upset the bullet which will greatly reduce the range it can travel. They won't go "almost anywhere" though from a ground skip. When I walk downrange (cold) and look for bullets at various ranges, the bullets are all within a pretty defined angle. While a shard of a jacket might go off at a severe angle and some bullets that impact soft steel might go in any direction, those bullets have lost almost all of their energy.
I have found pristine bullets at 2-3 miles past the firing line. That tells me they went over the berm and landed downrange without enough energy to disrupt the jacket. Most .243 hunting loads have energy about equivalent to a 9mm at the muzzle when they are at 1000 yards, but retain enough energy to penetrate flesh out to about 6000 yards (3.4 miles).
Many have already said it, but if you know what your bullet will safely impact on a passthrough or miss, then you are shooting at a safe distance.
While a high velocity bullet can skip off the ground if fired at a flat enough angle, it will shed some velocity and upset the bullet which will greatly reduce the range it can travel. They won't go "almost anywhere" though from a ground skip. When I walk downrange (cold) and look for bullets at various ranges, the bullets are all within a pretty defined angle. While a shard of a jacket might go off at a severe angle and some bullets that impact soft steel might go in any direction, those bullets have lost almost all of their energy.
I have found pristine bullets at 2-3 miles past the firing line. That tells me they went over the berm and landed downrange without enough energy to disrupt the jacket. Most .243 hunting loads have energy about equivalent to a 9mm at the muzzle when they are at 1000 yards, but retain enough energy to penetrate flesh out to about 6000 yards (3.4 miles).
Safe range is about the shooter, not the cartridge.
Read MarkCo's post above and let it sink in.
He's spot on.
A 50 BMG is 100% safe if used by a safe shooter. A 22 short is extremely dangerous in the hands of an incompetent person.
We have a tendency in most things within the shooting world to look at "things" instead of looking at use of things. The anti-gun crown knows this trait about people and uses it to full advantage to regulate and when possible, illegalize everything they can. That's how rifles got to be illegal in your state for hunting in the first place all those years ago.
Liberty and responsibility are subjective to people. Regulation however can target things, but that in reality is nothing more than regulating people's liberty away. The politicians know this. Informed and competent people are what keeps it from happening. So to answer the question I would say to make the 4 gun safety rules your lifestyle and NEVER break them. If you do that a 243 is fine. So is a 387 Weatherby mag.
Yesterday I was hunting deer with an 8MM Mauser with farm homes and buildings all around. I turned down every shot (5 of them) because of that fact and I got no deer. I am totally happy to go try another day.
And the farmers are 100% ok with me being on their land because they know me and they know I handle my rifles safely.
I trained one of the farmer's wives to shoot and their daughter and they know me. That farmer told his neighbors about me, and 2 of them told me to come get a few deer off their land too. They invited me. I never even had to ask.
My point is this:
These people are informed and they know that rifles on their land is not a threat, but some people are. We need to be dedicated to our safe handling of arms and we need to be doubly dedicated to teaching others and uring them to do the same. that is how we as free people wills tay free. It's NOT about things!
It's about people.
Read MarkCo's post above and let it sink in.
He's spot on.
A 50 BMG is 100% safe if used by a safe shooter. A 22 short is extremely dangerous in the hands of an incompetent person.
We have a tendency in most things within the shooting world to look at "things" instead of looking at use of things. The anti-gun crown knows this trait about people and uses it to full advantage to regulate and when possible, illegalize everything they can. That's how rifles got to be illegal in your state for hunting in the first place all those years ago.
Liberty and responsibility are subjective to people. Regulation however can target things, but that in reality is nothing more than regulating people's liberty away. The politicians know this. Informed and competent people are what keeps it from happening. So to answer the question I would say to make the 4 gun safety rules your lifestyle and NEVER break them. If you do that a 243 is fine. So is a 387 Weatherby mag.
Yesterday I was hunting deer with an 8MM Mauser with farm homes and buildings all around. I turned down every shot (5 of them) because of that fact and I got no deer. I am totally happy to go try another day.
And the farmers are 100% ok with me being on their land because they know me and they know I handle my rifles safely.
I trained one of the farmer's wives to shoot and their daughter and they know me. That farmer told his neighbors about me, and 2 of them told me to come get a few deer off their land too. They invited me. I never even had to ask.
My point is this:
These people are informed and they know that rifles on their land is not a threat, but some people are. We need to be dedicated to our safe handling of arms and we need to be doubly dedicated to teaching others and uring them to do the same. that is how we as free people wills tay free. It's NOT about things!
It's about people.
laxpatrick
New member
Southern Wisconsin transitioned to allowing rifles a number of years ago. Starting to see more folks using them, but the slug guns are typically still the gun of choice if you're pushing through brush, etc.
Even a slug gun has a great deal of range and power. My longest poke was 186 yards with a rifled barrel. This was from an elevated position and I'd done quite a bit of practice (expensive shells) out to 200.
As seen above, sit high, shoot down and never shoot anywhere near the horizon line. Any rifle in the deer category will carry well beyond your visible range.
Even a slug gun has a great deal of range and power. My longest poke was 186 yards with a rifled barrel. This was from an elevated position and I'd done quite a bit of practice (expensive shells) out to 200.
As seen above, sit high, shoot down and never shoot anywhere near the horizon line. Any rifle in the deer category will carry well beyond your visible range.
Gunplummer
New member
PA recently had an independent study done to see if it would be best to extend the shotgun areas farther north. The answer was no. I do not remember the whole deal, but I believe that the shotgun was causing more incidents than the rifles were.
According to MG J. Hatcher (Hatcher's Notebook), the Army determined that it took 60 ft lbs of energy to produce a disabling wound.
In my 243 loadings (100 gr, Hornady HPBT) with a MV of 3000, it has that remaining energy at 2,600 yards.
Of course that would vary a bit depending on altitude, temperature and humidity.
In my 243 loadings (100 gr, Hornady HPBT) with a MV of 3000, it has that remaining energy at 2,600 yards.
Of course that would vary a bit depending on altitude, temperature and humidity.
reynolds357
New member
This is a problem we face regularly hunting in this area. It is not such a problem when deep woods hunting, but it is a major problem when bean field hunting. There are houses in close proximity to the bean fields. Of course we are using rifles much more potent than the .243 Winchester. Stand positioning is your best friend. You have to position your stand to give you the safest shooting lanes. Many times you can not put your stand in the ideal position for game movement due to the fact that it creates a dangerous shooting lane. I have one field that is almost impossible to rifle hunt due to lack of safe lines of fire.
I've been shooting on my neighbors runway at 300-800 yards (prone) with a 6.5 CM and a .257 Bee and I have yet to have a bullet go further than a 1,000 yards, based on the dirt puff. When I dial in at 800 yards the trajectory is measured in feet over that distance. I would not be surprised if the bullet angle coming into the target is 25 degrees or even greater. Yes, if you shoot up into the sky the bullet will travel a considerable distance. But a 243, no way. A 95 grain Winchester BT with a mv of 3,000 fps and sighted in at 100 yards will drop nearly 4 feet at 500 yards. In other words, shooting flat footed at a deer at that distance you may, if your lucky, hit him in the foot. But chances are you will dig up dirt and the deer will walk away.
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Gunplummer
New member
I live in the mountains. A few years back a neighboring town had someone hit during deer season. They were sitting in pizza shop at the time. You shoot over the top of a mountain here and it is along way down on the other side.
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