I know many people get their kids/some women .243s for a first rifle and they kill deer with a good shot but I’m still a little nervous about buying one for this purpose. I’ve always hunted deer with my .30-06 & 7mm-08. So maybe I’m just over thinking it. My reason for wanting a .243 is a.)plinking(range) and its somewhat cheap. b.) yotes! and of course deer. Any thoughts on this type of setup would be great! 
Well, we’ve got no shortage of people here that know more than I and can better explain the logistic pros and cons but I myself have no reservations about using 95-100gr bullets for deer in this caliber. This year, I bought a second .243 to use for deer but I haven’t completed the set up and got distracted by other things.
My take on the .243 is that it’s a pretty flat shooter and that the lighter bullet still delivers a higher energy punch out to range than a .30-30 using 150gr. bullets. A 100gr. .243 round has about the same energy at 200yds as a 150 gr. .30-30 round does at 100yds. And as a bonus, the recoil is still pretty soft.
When you look into what really kills a deer, a .243 is superior to many of the famed calibers of old. It’s not going to outperform a .270, .308, or .30-06 but it’s got plenty of what’s really needed to drop a deer where it stands.
Also, I know down south, a .243 is a VERY popular choice amongst deer hunters. It almost seems as though we’ve gotten into a mentality that even though “more might be better”, it’s as if it suggests “less was never enough”, which isn’t true at all. If the famed .30-30 is still trusted to put deer in their coffins, the comparison is a no brainer. Therefore, it’s my conclusion that a .243 is a GREAT choice for deer.
As for coyotes, again…… it’s a GREAT choice. The desired bullet weight isn’t as easy to find compared to a .223 or .22-250 but there’s a large selection to choose from and those 55-70gr. bullets are really flat!
You will need to resight between deer and coyote hunts if you’re using the same gun. The 100gr. bullets drop significantly faster than those that are 70gr. and lighter. I shoot 58gr. Hornadys out of my coyote set up. 100gr bullets out of the deer set up.
I didn’t have confidence in the way my .270wsm was shooting this year so I used my son’s Marlin youth .243. I shot a small buck at 120 yards. I shot the deer a little high and clipped one lung. It ran about 40 yards. I still have the carcass hanging in my garage so I could post a pic of the entrance/ exit if you want. I was shooting 100 grain core lokt’s. This was the second deer shot with this gun and the other went about the same distance. 
DT
And Welcome! 
DT
Most opinions of the suitability of the .243 for deer were formed back in the day when round nosed bullets and the .30-30 roamed the earth.
A lot has changed since then. Mainly, bullet construction and performance is lightyears ahead of where it was when most learned what they thought they knew about the .243.
My father was also a “use enough gun” man, but in the interests of science agreed to use my Tikka 243 to take a deer for the landowners where we hunt. He shot a 6 pointer at 70 yards and it fell over like a steel silhouette target. It didn’t take even a step. 95 grain Noslter BT (Purple tip) riding on top of Varget.
The advantage is exactly as you state, not only can you have a fine deer rifle, but you can shoot coyotes with it as well. Easy on the shoulder, and not difficult to find a tack driver out there as everyone makes a 243. Very difficult to go wrong.
Grouse
I had a post running a few weeks ago “243 win”, I thing out too 200 yrds it’s a great round, if you look at the targets I shot out too 300yrds it’ll give you an idea of what the gun can do with both a 85 gr and 100 gr bullet.
Stan
My sons first rifle was a ruger 243.He has dropped 4 out of 5 deer in their tracks with it. The other ran 50 yds with a double lung hit. One shot in particular I will always remember…a running doe at fifty yards head on. Cam made the shot a tad left of center of the brisket and piled the deer up. After witnessing the damage after skinning I will never second guess the 243s potential as an excellent round for whitetails. All these shots were under 100yds with 100 grain rounds so take out of it what you will 
Thanks guys I really appreciate the info! Everything said has just reaffirmed my initial thoughts, but with confidence this time As a side question, how’s the availability been on .243 lately? (all sizes) I’ve been getting pretty lucky with 9mm recently which has been hard to find so I assume that most calibers are coming back around as being more common on the shelves.
I’ve struggled to find the 100grains locally. The Sportsman’s guide had a good selection last time I was on their website.
DT
Even though I reload my own WalMart`s have had a good selection of .243 100 grains both Remington and Winchester. Price was good at $19.95 box of 20.
Since hunting season is basically over availability will get better.
I shot 3 with mine last yr. 40-100 Yds. One was a neck shot at 70 yds. While tbe deer was hanging we passed a golf ball thru the entire neck. I have no reservations on shooting deer with that caliber. 100 grain federal factory loads
In higher volume areas, the 243 ammo has really dried up but I suspect that more will be available before too long. The whitetail loads were readily available in most places prior to the gun deer season but are empty right now. The coyote loads……… I haven’t seen them in months. However, this is now strongly considered “predator season” so I suspect they’ll be showing up soon as well.
just to add to the conversation, I bought a .243 for the same exact reason. yotes and deer. I still use my 30.06 most of the time for deer hunting, but man can that thing ruin some meat. I shot a big doe quartering away at around 80 yards with a 150gr hornady custom sst and couldn’t believe the damage. Never touched either shoulder, but 1 was completely destroyed and I was able to salvage about half of the other one. I think when I intend on shooting a doe, I’ll grab the .243. Sorry for the graphic pic.
My daughter shot her first doe with a Hornady sst in a 270win. Last deer we ever shot with those bullets. We had the exact same results with so much flesh damage. Bullet section makes a difference. Not to say a solid bullet doesn’t ruin some meat, but nothing like that.
I have seen the same results with a similar bullet, Nosler Ballistic Tips.
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My daughter shot her first doe with a Hornady sst in a 270win. Last deer we ever shot with those bullets. We had the exact same results with so much flesh damage. Bullet section makes a difference. Not to say a solid bullet doesn’t ruin some meat, but nothing like that.
Totally agree with what others are saying. With modern bullet designs, you have to think carefully about how much gun is really required.
My father and I had the same experience with Nosler Partition bullets back in the 1980s. At first, we were very impressed with what we saw as much more knockdown power.
Well, as it turned out, that knockdown power came at a tremendous cost in terms of meat damage. It took us about 2 or 3 deer to realize this was NOT coincidence or poor shot placement, it basically happened almost every time unless you got very lucky.
Certainly, today’s .243 bullets are vastly outperforming the ones available when this cartridge first came out. I would go so far as to say that with preimum bullets available to day, the knockdown power and killing ability of a .243 now is much closer to what you would have gotten from a .25 or .27 class rifle 30 years ago.
Grouse
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