Which caliber for first deer rifle?

The 243 also has a distinct advantage if you add "and smaller" on the "deer" equation. A 7-08 will certainly kill "and smaller" but certainly with more recoil fatigue than a 243.
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Bingo. When I was putting together a combo gun, predators and deer, I went with the .243. If it was for deer on up than a 7mm-08 would of been my choice.

Where I believe the 7mm round (.284) would shine is with the new hunter who gets excited and doesn't make the perfect shot.
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Does a little bit bigger bullet going a little bit slower enough to correct for this? Nope. But then again, either does a .300 mag.
 
Given a 9 lb sporter rifle, then add a scope a sling and a winter coat none of the subject three are producing much felt recoil. IMHO
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Only problem is, were not talking about a 9lb sporter here. The Ruger American is 6.25 or 6.38 lbs depending on caliber and while I don't think the felt recoil would be that much different between a .243 and a 7mm-08 I used to own a Ruger M77RL in .270 that weighed 6lbs and that thing was uncomfortable to shoot very much. Of course I lived in Florida at the time so you were generally in a t-shirt or light jacket at best.
 
Bingo. When I was putting together a combo gun, predators and deer, I went with the .243. If it was for deer on up than a 7mm-08 would of been my choice.
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Agree fully but, once again, I didn't see anything in the OP about other predators. The man asked about a deer cartridge.


Does a little bit bigger bullet going a little bit slower enough to correct for this? Nope. But then again, either does a .300 mag.
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So you honestly believe that a .244 would make as large a wound channel as a .284 or .308 projectile which would leave a better blood trail? Sorry, not buying. If your going to quote what I said, quote the whole sentence and not just a little snippet to serve your point of view if you don't mind.
 
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See what happens when you ask this kind of question? Any of the cartridges listed are superb deer killers. I'd find the rifle I like in any of those chamberings and buy that. When you're talking about any of the 'deer hunting' rounds I think the choice of rifle is more important than the caliber.
 
While many "experienced" hunters will tell their tails of lots of deer droping at the mere mention of a 243, nobody will post of their experince of game animals being lost to a faulty shot.
Just like the bigger hole, heavier bullet, larger wound, and lots of blood.
 
Ok. I will attempt to make one more point then I am done. It seems that several on here are trying to make arguments as to why the caliber they hunt with is best. The OP didn't ask what caliber anyone thought was best. He asked which caliber you would recommend to someone as a "first deer rifle". While I personally like the .243 best for some of the same reasons mentioned, it is also the round considered by at least 80%, if not more, of all hunters to be the absolute minimum cartridge adequate for deer sized game. I don't necessarily agree with that either but, at the same time, I feel like it is nothing less than irresponsible to recommend to someone for a first deer rifle the very cartridge that most would consider to be the very minimum adequate to do the job. This is not a contest about whose favorite caliber is better. It should be an attempt to give someone the advise that he asked for without consideration to what you feel is good enough or what your favorite is. There, now I am done.
 
So you honestly believe that a .244 would make as large a wound channel as a .284 or .308 projectile which would leave a better blood trail?
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Did I say that? I must have missed it.

I'm not one to argue against using enough gun when hunting. I like to use plenty for while I'm not one to worry too much about the critter, I hate losing em and chasing them all over God's green earth trying to finish em off. But once you've got "enough" for the job, not much is gonna make up for a deer shot in the gut or a leg or any other non vital spot. Does equal penetration and 1mm difference to start mean that much? Not in my book.
 
Does a little bit bigger bullet going a little bit slower enough to correct for this? Nope. But then again, either does a .300 mag.
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And did I say that? Nope!

Besides, you need to pull out your loading manual and study a little. 7mm-08 in the 100gr range travels a good bit faster than a .243 in that same weight. 100gr .243 and 120gr 7mm-08 travel about the same speed.
 
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wow!

if thread hijacking were a crime, many of you would be going to jail!lol id go with the 243 personally out of the rounds you listed. its flat, its fast, and its PLENTY of power to drop a deer with, especially at 250yds and in as you stated in your first post. My favorite deer cartridge at 250 and in is 223 remington. i have a 308 and a 6.5 creedmoor but i consider those overkill considering most shots taken are between 50yds and 175yds. ive killed maybe25 deer with my 223, all doe. ive personally never had one run, id say 18 to 20 of those deer dropped where they stood (mostly bread basket shots and a few head shots) and the rest dropped where they stood and required a follow up shot for a quick and humane kill. i have a bull barreled ar-15 with an a3 flat top reciever and a leupold vx-1 4-12x scope, and also a remington 700 sps tactical in 223 with a nikon m223 4-16x scope with the 600bdc reticle. 69gr sierra hpbt out of the ar and 55gr nosler ballistic tip out of the remington. i also load the 55gr blitz from sierra for my remington. the scope is calibrated for a 55gr at 3240fps so i like to stick primarily to the 55gr for that gun. i would choose the 223, but of the cartridges listed im a fan of the 243.
 
7mm-08 in the 100gr range travels a good bit faster than a .243 in that same weight. 100gr .243 and 120gr 7mm-08 travel about the same speed.
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For various reasons you are correct, a 100gr 7mm is about 100fps faster than a 100gr .243. But that's neither here nor there for you are throwing out about every other ballistic principle. There are lot's of good reasons no one makes light for caliber "big game" bullets and you can't compare them against standard/heavier for caliber bullets. BC, SD, bullet integrity are all thrown out the window if you do that. For the record, when you do that the 100gr .243 would pretty well smoke the 100gr 7mm in performance on big game despite the 100fps at the muzzle.

- 100gr .243 Nosler Partition, approx FPS (muzzle) = 3000, SD = .242
- 140 gr 7mm Nosler Partition, approx FPS = 2750, SD = .248

Similar bullet design, similar SD, 250 fps advantage to the .243. That's a comparison that means something. Given equal expansion that .243 should penetrate more than the 7mm, wound channel should be very compable.

(For the record approx SD for 100gr 7mm is .177 and approx for the 120's is .213. Worse potential penetration given equal expansion)
 
There was a time when a man would walk into the local hardware store and ask for a box of rifle shells and a box of 150 grain flat point 30-30’s would show up at the register. The merchant knew what the man was talking about. Today a guy walks into Wal-Mart and picks out some 243’s and pays for them without any understanding on either end of what these are used for. But what did he just purchase? My point is this: Any 7mm-08 or 270 cartridge in Wal-mart will do for deer but that’s not true for 243. The 243 would be a more experienced hunters choice is what I am trying to say here.
 
L_Kilkenny, you are preaching to the choir here. I am not arguing with against the merits of a .243. It is my go to deer and varmint round. I load everything from 55gr varmint loads to 100gr PSP. Go back and read post #46 and maybe you can understand my point. Their is no need for animosity here. We are here to help some less experienced hunters who have some questions. That's all I am trying to do without my personal favorites playing into it. Have a nice day.
 
No animosity here brother. I've just found it interesting over the years (not to be confused with "irritating" :p) that so many will argue adamantly against the .243 for deer yet turn around and spout the virtues of cartridges like the 7mm-08, the .25-06 and even the .270 on deer, elk and black bear. Maybe the discussions on the true differences will help someone, maybe it won't but a good debate (or agreement in the case of like minded folk) never hurt anyone.
 
I know what you mean. I personally have thought about and came close to buying a 25-06, .250 Savage, 257 Roberts to name a few but in every case I came to the conclusion that none of them would do anything I couldn't do just as well with the .243.
 
.270's my favorite deer cartridge. I have seen what .243's do to deer, and it's a very capable rifle caliber, I think that the 25-06 is a killer cartridge also, Any of these will work wonderfully for whitetail deer.;)
 
I think the best whitetail rifle ever is the .264 Win mag. I keep trying to find a new favorite and just cant do it. .257 Wby. is very close though.
 
I would go with the .243 there will not be that much of a deference at those ranges. and probably cheaper. Plus the .243 would be better if you ever decide to go predator or varmint hunting in my opinion.
 
I really like the 7mm-08.
I bought my son a rifle in a 7mm-08 fourteen years ago when he was 9 years old and it has been an excellent whitetail cartridge.
 
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