Which caliber for first deer rifle?

I have a .243 that my family fights over during deer season. It has killed more deer than a plauge. Many deer took thier last steps in its cross hairs.

That said. All of the calibers you listed will do great if you do your part. Get the one that you can shoot the best, and buy the most ammo to practice with. As well as the one you will like shooting.

As well as that pay for an insturctor when you get your rifle. Learning the proper fundamentals without letting realy bad habbits set in from the get go will make a huge differance.
 
How big do deer have to be before they can't be killed by a 243?
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Most people will agree that shot placement is the most important factor, but at some point, one gun will be more reasonable than another. If shot placement was all that mattered, we could all hunt elk with .223s, but there are better options available in some situations.

Depending on the OP's situation, a .243 may or may not be his best option.
 
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7 mm-08, it duplicates the old 7x57 Mauser, one of the neatest cartridges ever. The 140 grain 7mm projectile at 7mm-08 velocities, will kill everything thin skinned, everything, but I wouldn't recommend it for bears and lions. :)
 
You are going down the right road....what kind of hunting? Driving brush piles, driving woods, walking coulee's out west, plains hunting, tree stand, stand hunting fields....basically I need more info.

First deer rifle brings to mind a Win 94 30-30, 308 or 243 bolt rifle, 45 colt lever gun, 870 12 gauge 20" rifled, 30'06 bolt rifle....
 
7mm-08 for the option of using heavier bullets and a little more umph ... it has just a tad more kick than the 243 .... second the 243 and practice practice practice... with good shots either will do just fine.
 
As you can see, starting a "best caliber for deer thread" is about like asking if Ford or Chevy makes a better pickup truck. You're going to get all kinds of different suggestions and opinions and probably end up more confused than when you started. Look at some ballistics charts.

Hornady has a good one on their site. Compare the velocity, energy, and trajectory of the three calibers.

Remember that using the right bullet for the job is even more important than choosing a caliber. That will also open a whole other can of opinionated worms.

To be honest, a case has probably been made by someone for every caliber between a .223 and a .375 h&h being the "best deer caliber ever." There is no such thing as a best caliber because everyone hunts different terrain for different size deer. Everyone is not the same size and therefore the same rifle will not be best for everyone. Everyone has a different level of tolerance to recoil. With all these variables it's a good thing we have all these wonderful commercial calibers to choose from.

Maybe one day one of these best caliber threads will end in total agreement by everyone and we can all hunt with the same caliber. Wouldn't that be nice?

Just kidding
 
I bought a 7mm-08 for my daughter to deer hunt with. It's about as good of a compromise round as you will ever find.
 
In response to Nathan, I'll be hunting mostly tree stands in woods or overlooking fields.
Thanks for all of your replies.
 
Of the choices you provide, I would select the 7-08, but the 7mm bullets are my favorite choice;

two-7x57 mausers,

one-280 Rem, and

one-284 Winchester,

they are all great killers
 
Put a 243 in the engine room of a white tail and its not going anyplace.
My six year old son got his first buck with a Savage 243 bolt action at 350 yrds with a 70 grain bullet. Ive take countless with it one at 600 yards. None went more than 10 yards before dropping and most fell in their tracks.

I did find heavier grain deer loads dont do as well as the lighter grain.
For a first deer rifle for a kid or for an old deer hunter you cant go wrong with it.

Gut shoot a buck with a 243 or a cannon and youll likely track it for a good good while. :)
 
One of the reasons the 243 is not on my list of ideal medium game rifles is the range of factory ammo thats found on the shelfs in most big box stores.

You can grab yourself a box of 50 grain accutips and head out to the deer woods. But you should know better, right?

Is the 243 a great deer rifle? It can be about perfect with the right choice of ammo and the ability to make good shots.
 
DRT and through and through at 688 yards. I wonder how some people arrive at their opinion of the .243. Sometimes I think it is to make up for certain inadequacies.
 
Like I said, I have been using the .243 for at least 10 years as my main deer rifle using 100gr Remington Core Lokt. Every deer I shot at with it went in the freezer. My brother in law killed two this past season with his .223 shot in the vitals with Hornady 55gr Vmax and I know a few people who are known to use a .22 WMR for head shots which is very effective but the question was which cartridge would you recommend as a first deer rifle. I still say the 7mm-08 is likely the best all round "deer cartridge".
 
Recoil, price of ammo, versatility for white tails and similar sized animals--these are the factors I'm considering.
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All the cartridges you listed kill deer, and do a good job of it when the bullet is put in the right spot but using your critera I'd go with the 270 Winchester. You can find some great deals on ammo if you watch sales and recoil is not bad.
 
I think the 7-08 is the best (or equal any number of other) all-around big game cartridge for North American hunting but for deer it's got nothing on the 243. The 243 is more than enough and any more just ends up in the tree on the other side.
The 7-08 has more recoil and, for deer, its just more recoil. It's no more effective.
If someone had a 7-08 I wouldn't tell them to buy a 243 instead and if they wanted to hunt moose too, I wouldn't recommend a 243 but, for deer, its unbeatable.
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.
 
I could be wrong on this and I agree that for someone who is a decent shot and knows how to control their breathing and contain the "buck fever" .243 is all the gun needed. Where I believe the 7mm round (.284) would shine is with the new hunter who gets excited and doesn't make the perfect shot. The larger round would seemingly to my way of thinking not only have more retained energy and be more likely to put the deer down if the shot wasn't properly placed but, would also create a larger wound channel creating a better blood trail if you did have to trail it up after the shot. I have killed many deer and more with the .243 than any other cartridge but, I have also noticed that the exit wound wasn't much larger than the entrance wound and would have been rough to trail had they not dropped right there or within 15 to 20 feet of where they were shot.
 
I have a 7-08 in a model 7, at 6lbs it has more felt recoil than my 10lb winchester 300 win mag when shot from a bench rest position. 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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