.243 vs 6.5 Creedmoor for Whitetail and General Hunting

I've noticed that most centerfire rounds bigger than a hornet can and will swat almost any critter down if it is hit right.
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We found different results, the hard way ...

Let a kid or anyone else carry what feels right and is appropriate for the hunt.
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With regard to a 10 year old, or even any true "noob" hunter this is only half true..... on the one hand, they know nothing at the outset ..... the mentor might know some parameters-he might be an idiot, or an expert, .... the mentor's job is to make it happen, and if you are REALLY good, become unnecessary .... Old Armish: "Mission ....Leader, Lead, and Situation" .... you have to take into account what they are familiar with, what they have confidence in ...... but lead them away from things, actions, behaviors that you know, due to your own or shared experiences, DO NOT WORK to make it happen ........ and toward things you think will contribute to making it happen ....
 
Isn't it odd that most of this discussion has been about getting different cartridges, rather than adding a recoil pad and a set of sound cancelling ear plugs? After a few days of thinking about this thread I feel kind of stupid for not suggesting it in the beginning. It's a whole lot cheaper than a new rifle.
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It's been more complicated than the typical "My favorite cartridge vs. your favorite cartridge" ..... you want to irk people? Get their dander up? Make them THINK .....

I still think the best answer to a the "recoil sensitive shooter" is good training .... followed by a heavy gun, maybe a SEMI-AUTO...... and a CAN ...... that's next up ....
 
If your not shooting long distance check into a 7.62x39.ruger makes a "compact" one and its what i got my wife. My wife did not like anything about the savage 243 she had.recoil was making her flinch also.7.62 recoil is very lowand the rifle is very small so it will fit better no leaning back trying to hold the barrel up.ballistics are similar to a 30-30
 
I shoot either 117 gr SST's or BTSP's over 50 grains of IMR 4831 in a Browning A-Bolt.I watch the animals hit reaction through the scope.So either you know squat about the 25-06 or ........well there is no or,you know squat about the recoil of a 25-06.
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Not to beat a dead horse, but in my experience the 25-06, with factory loads, is typically one of the punchiest recoil offerings in the smaller bore family. And I have never had a discussion with anyone who felt differently. In this neck of the woods, many people own the 25-06 as a dual purpose whitetail and varmint/predator rifle. In point of fact, I have a friend who started his wife on deer hunting with his Win Mod. 70 in 25-06. She practiced with it, even turned out to be a good shot, but she didn't like the recoil. She was going to use if for that one season, then replace it with something more to her liking. Well, she killed a deer with it... but she has a scar in her eyebrow as a souvenir.

That browning sounds like a great shooter, but it certainly is an exception to the norm.
 
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Im 3/3 w/ 243 and 80 gr Corelokts at my sons place--2 deer and a coyote. One deer ran about 50 yds--right towards us, other two DRT.
 
Don't ask me, I deer hunt with a 7 RUM.:D. On light duty days, a 7WSM. Many years ago, I got tired of tracking well hit animals. The RUM puts deer down like a sci fi cosmic death ray.
But to the O.P. question, I would prefer the 243 Win spitting a gilded metal bullet. High velocity vs the med velocity of the Creed.
I recovered 3 deer this year shot with the 6.5 Creed. 2 were lung shot and ran over 100 yds in heavy brush. A large buck was shot on the shoulder blade at about 5 pm. We shot him the next morning laying beside a creek 400 yards from where he was shot. Never found any blood. Tracking dog ran the trail. We killed him with pistol when he jumped up. It was a 120 Berger hunting bullet. I have seen 30 plus deer devesdated by that bullet fired from a 264 Win Mag. Not the Creedmoor, it did very little damage.
 
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The 6.5 just has that edge over the 243, I have a 6.5x284 norma that just drops them in there tracks !!!
 
Heavier can be better, particularly as the distance increases. No flies on a 6.5.

But I've tagged two dozen bucks with my .243. All dropped in their tracks. Most were neck shots at around a hundred yards, give or take a few. A few cross-body heart/lung shots.

I use a little Sako Forester 19" carbine, seven pounds all dressed up to hunt. I've never really noticed the recoil, even on the bench.

Note that the 85-grain HPBT Sierra bullet is a blow-up bullet, so angling shots IMO are pretty-much a no-no.

I used that load for around twenty years and then Federal came out with it. I tried a box and the boys had done a good job: Same sub-MOA groups as my handloads.
 
I don't see any particular difference between the 6mm Remington and the .243. The 6mm worked well for Charles Whitman...
 
And factory ammo choices and availability. For that reason I'd opt for the .243 over the 6 mm. Of course handloading makes that obsolete if you do so.
 
This thread reminds me of a guy I know signature line on another forum.

What I have learned on here, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. The laws of physics do not apply to firearms in that there is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges and some cartridges are so powerful their kinetic energy can knock big game off its feet but not knock the shooter who fired it off their feet.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified so it can carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and a detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that almost every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine including those chambered in 50 BMG.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (regardless that most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of the ding in the gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether the ding occurred in the safe or in the field because safe dings are ok but field dings are worse.
10. One in a row is a trend, two in a row is statistically significant, and three similar occurrences in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. The Posting Quotient: the total number of posts divided by the number of days as a member: if greater than 2.5, recommend therapy.
12. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa.
13. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, 9,3x62 and all Weatherby cartridges abound in back country stores.
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