243 Win / 100gr PT's/ RL19 results

Scotty, I have killed a few deer with the .243 (maybe 5-6 total), up to and including a medium 4 point (western) mule deer that weighed about 200 pounds at about 200 yards. Certainly the .243 is not my first choice but the deer all DRT'ed with the .243 and 95 PT's, plus (2) with 85 PT's. For a boy the size of your son and on whitetail, especially in Virginia, it should work great.
Charlie
 
I have seen more deer killed DRT with a 243 than any other caliber in thirty years of hunting. Deer I have shot with the 270 have gone farther than deer shot with a 243. I have made a bad shot or two on deer with the 300RUM and had to track them.
 
The first seven deer I ever took were with my moms .243. All but one were one shot kills, and the one that took two was because I flinched. I would not worry about taking a .243 loaded with good bullets into the deer woods at all. Lots of practice and your boy will do fine I'm sure.
 
Lol the old man did the same thing with a 30-06 a number of years ago. Had this nice mule buck down, or that it was since it looked like it was on it's last legs, went to cut it's neck and the dame thing jumped up and ran off, next day both of us followed blood trail for two miles before I declared him wolf food if he was that lucky. So as to say that a 243 win is to blame is very very mistaken.
 
I also like IMR 4350 with the Partitions. As far as killing deer, The 243 does the trick. 40 years ago when I was in High School my Biology Teacher hunted with my brother and I at our place in VA. He was a deer killing neck shooting machine. I have shot a .308 for years. I bought a .243 for my son when he was 14. Now that he's grown, he prefers the .308 (bigger is better mentality). That leaves me shooting the .243 or one of my 300 whispers, (.223 rem case cut off and necked out to .308 caliber). I never feel comprimised using either and can't remember losing a deer. Granted I hunt in the woods and a long shot for me is 125 yards and 90% of my kills are inside or 40 yds.

When I first started loading for the .243, a fellow reloader and .243 fanatic recommended the 100 gr partitions as his favorite for deer hunting for its toughness, penetration, weight retention, and fail proof expanding under a wide range of velocities. All those good qualities come with a cost. Partitions are the second most expensive bullets I reload with and I.M.H.O worth every penny. Its the only bullet I reload for in the .243. All I want to do is kill deer with that rifle and I would have no hestitation about shooting a black bear on the farm should I get a chance. Before anybody yells about that, where I hunt in Uruguay has lots and lots of European Boar that some Englishman released two hundred years ago and now they are everywhere. (Axis Deer also). The .243 round is very popular with the guys that hunt the pigs with dogs.
 
I will most definitely give it a shot for the next set of loads. Be good to see for comparison sake as well. Seems like RL19 and 4350 are pretty similar. Either way, a 100gr PT in his 243 should be an excellent combo, especially if he has a black bear walk across his line of sight! Scotty
 
beretzs":32s8i8sa said:
I will most definitely give it a shot for the next set of loads. Be good to see for comparison sake as well. Seems like RL19 and 4350 are pretty similar. Either way, a 100gr PT in his 243 should be an excellent combo, especially if he has a black bear walk across his line of sight! Scotty
Click to expand...

Let us know how IMR 4350 shoots. You might also give the 100 gr PT the water jug test. It will demonstrate just how well this bullet penetrates.

JD338
 
I will give it a whirl. Got a stack of rifles ready for some jug testing! Scotty
 
The 243 works just fine on antelope and deer. As stated before bullet and placement selection are pertinent and paramount.

I always use about 45 gr or so of IMR 7828 for about 3000 fps or so.
 
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