That little 100 grain .243 almost STOPPED in the paunch and then I'd have lost the deer for sure. As it was he went well over 100 yards into heavy swamp with no blood trail. One lung showed damage that I would call minimal. And, over some years of using it, this was not the only time I found the .243 to be a little lacking in penetration and tissue damage.
That was a small deer. What would happen on the same shot with a big pig?
And you ask....
I'd have to ask...why take that shot in the first place? On a hunting trip years ago, here I was a guest, one of the hunters gut shot a deer inside 100 yds with a 220gr 30-06. We never found it...
First of all.....it's not a gut shot.....it's a quartering shot to the lungs. It's killed millions of deer and other game and will kill millions more, no doubt.
I'm not surprised that your gut shot failed. That shot will fail with any caliber and result in a lost deer.
Why did I take the shot? For the same reason anybody else does.
I took the shot to get the deer. The shot was aimed into the heart/lung area and did get there.....it's just that the .243 didn't have the power to do the major damage that should have been done.
The bullet reached the lung area but only damaged one lung slightly......thus the near loss of the deer.
Over the years I've done that same shot many times with the .270, the '06, the 7X57 Mauser and once with a .35 Remington.
All resulted in venison with no problems.
Yes, I quit the .243 for deer after a few instances where it didn't have QUITE ENOUGH oomph. It killed well with behind the shoulder shots from the side where penetration was not an issue. It's great for deer if you get the perfect shot.
I don't shoot pigs, but I understand that a big one will offer MORE resistance to the bullet due to heavier hide, muscle and bone.