varmint/deer hunting

[MF_farmer]

looking for some advice on what is my best caliber for varmint and some deer hunting, 243, 308, or 30-6 and why?
thanks

 

[coyoteklr]

well, lets see what kind of varmits are you wanting to hunt and what distance are you shooting and do you care if the pelts get destroyed.....
.243 is probably going to be the most versital..... if you have an 8 twist it will shoot (more than likely) 55 grain to 107..... the only problem with the fast twist is the high revolution will be hard on fur..... it will take antelope, deer and elk.....
a 10 twist will be more fur friendly and will still shoot the 95's easily....243 ackley
will shoot the 105's with speed....and the 70 out of the ackley will do very close to 3900 which makes running shots much more attainable.....

 

[MF_farmer]

Looking to kill coyote and groundhogs, don't care about the pelts. As far as distance looking at 200 yards to 350.

 

[HillbillySniper]

For the area I live in western PA a 243 is the ideal round big enough for deer and more than enough for groundhogs and coyotes. I bought my girlfriend one last year and shoots the 95 grain nosler lights out!

Hillbilly

 

[2506]

I would get a 25-06. With light bullets it shoots like a laser beam waaaaay out there and with 100 to 120 gr bullets it still shoots mighty flat and just hammers deer and it does not have much more recoil than a 243 but has much more smack than a 243.

 

[coyoteklr]

i thought the original question was between 243, 308 and 06
not what your fav. calibur is : :
i don't think it's about smack ..... it's about shot placement......
if you want smack then go to the 338-375

70 grain out of your 243 will toast coyotes and ground hogs and flat shooting at 200 to 350
it will take deer any day of the week.... it's all about shot placement no matter what the cal. is.......

 

[necchi]

Ya, don't ya love it when guy's feel the need to change the topic to a "their favorite" issue? :

I'd opt for the 243, I guess just because they can shoot a smaller bullet faster (that equals flat). It's my opinion the 243 is a bit small for the whitetail here in MN but alot of folks use them. It IS, I guess, all about the bullet choice and learning/knowing your gun.
I see your new here so welcome, I also hope your a loader because that's the way most folks think about when choosing a cal on a forum like this. Buying factory ammo for any of the listed cals can change the game plan.

 

[HillbillySniper]

Ya, don't ya love it when guy's feel the need to change the topic to a "their favorite" issue? :

I'd opt for the 243, I guess just because they can shoot a smaller bullet faster (that equals flat). It's my opinion the 243 is a bit small for the whitetail here in MN but alot of folks use them. It IS, I guess, all about the bullet choice and learning/knowing your gun.
I see your new here so welcome, I also hope your a loader because that's the way most folks think about when choosing a cal on a forum like this. Buying factory ammo for any of the listed cals can change the game plan.

Id have to disagree with the small term for a 243 for whitetail in your area id have to say good shot placement is a more deciding factor, and then factor in the slug. But just my two cents

Hillbilly

 

[FryeGuy]

I mis-read the original question. of those 3 calibers, the .308 hands down. 110hp or 110 vmax would flat layout a coyote or a pig. then you can go to the heavier bullets for anything else. ammo is everywhere for the .308. I have one and love it. it is my go to deer hunting gun.

 

[mattri]

My .243 with a 1:8 Shilen is murder on varmints with the lighter bullets. Have also taken mulies and antelope using 100gr Sierras, perfect for what you've described.

 

[necchi]

Ya, your absolutly right Hillybilly. Like I said alot of guy's do use them, but it wouldn't be an "allaround" deer hunter for me. I move all over the state, could be down south in the open fields an be just fine, or find myself in the heavy forest on the top side an want something a little heavier.
Our MN deer can be some brutts, a little more seasoned than say Virginia or FL or them TX canned hunt critters.
I'm the kinda guy that has a few different tools to use for the job..

Now the 308's a good choice too, but a 243 cal shoot's smaller better. It's again a personal opinion an I ain't tryin too sell it, but the 30-06 is a might big for cumfortable varmint hunting,, it'll do the job but that's alot of boom for groundhogs.

I've seen threads like this for alot of years, and I finally decided it's just plain much simpler to have more than one gun ;D

 

[HillbillySniper]

I've seen threads like this for alot of years, and I finally decided it's just plain much simpler to have more than one gun ;D

+1 to that its way easier to have more than one gun! Way too many good calibers to choose from!! ;D

Hillbilly

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

If I had to pick just one caliber of those three, it would be the .243 Win. I would pick that one for all the above stated reasons and that there is a plethra of good 6mm bullets at your disposal. Not to say there isn't a plethra of good .30 cal bullets either but, a little easier on the shoulder ! I have to agree with necchi and Hillbilly, alot easier to have more than one gun. I shoot a .243 Win, .22-250 Rem, and a 30-06. If all goes well hope to have a 6mm A.I. in the stable soon also ! Good luck on your endeavor!

Mike

 

[P1ZombieKiller]

I just like the idea that the word "plethra" was not only used, but used twice.

 

[CanusLatransSnpr]

I suppose I could have used a different word the second time but, I like the sound of that word too !

Mike

 

[people]

I personally think all of them are good choices. I have shoot all three of those calibers. Of the three the 243 seems to handle the lighter bullets best. At least in the rifles I had. None of my 308’s like anything less than 145gr and my 30-06’s seem to like the 150 to 168 range bullets the best. Now the few 243’s I have owned or reloaded for, all of them seemed to like anything from the 55gr to the 100gr bullets.

If you do not care about the pelts I would just pick a rifle that fits you best and then in the caliber you want. At that point I would just find a bullet that will work good on deer and shoot it for everything. The Berger hunting bullets are a good choice as are the Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. The reason I say that is with just one load you do not have to keep re-sighting in your scope depending on what you want to shoot. Granted if you like going to the range this is not a problem but there is a chance at some point you will have the wrong ammo or wrong scope setting for the game you want to shoot.

I like to keep things simple. A 175gr bullet from my 308 will take out a Coyote just as good as a 60gr bullet from a 243.

 

[coyoteklr]

i'm having a 243 ackley built for my grandson because he likes mine so well ... he just passed hunter safety and i'm going to take him to bow hunter safety next...his dad is a way better than average bow hunter... has an elk that scored 389... owns his own business and works his butt off .....
the 243 ackley 10 twist will push an 85 grain tsx hard enough to make it an all round varmit and big game gun if the guy behind it does his job.....
that's why you get the young guys and GIRLS out with 22's when they are 9 and 10 and teach them whats safe and how to shoot ....
my 9 year old grand daughter about a week ago was out here with her ll year old brother and wasn't about to shoot the 22 her brother was plinking with......
she absolutely didn't want to do anything but watch.....she thought the pro-ear
ear muffs i let her use were cool, but that as far as it would go......
i finally got her to try one shot... my grandson blurted out...... now look what you started grampa..... i had to go get him a different 22... ;D ;D and she was out shooting him with in 10 min. it might have had something to do with the guns... anyway thats what i told my grandson ;D ;D

 

[CJ6]

The 243 will be cheaper to load for and less recoil. The 308 will give you a better advantage on the deer (dead is dead tho). If you look at what percentage you'll be Chuckin vs Deer I'd pick on that. The 30-06 if you plan on useing 165gr.+ bullets (not needed) for your purposes.

 

[mattri]

Think he may have meant plethora.

 

[GTOHunter]

I have been using a Browning A-bolt Hunter in a .243 Caliber,using Hornady 100 grain Custom bullets.I started out using it solely for Deer Hunting in the past 4-5 years..taking out several nice Doe's and 2 nice 8-Point Bucks its a great accurate Rifle and with good shot placement You can't go wrong.After getting several more larger caliber Deer Rifles I have been using the .243 for Coyote/Predator Hunting and I have put down about 6 Coyotes so far within the last 8 months,the first 4 were during the summer months and the Coyotes weren't worth messing with after I shot them,the last 2 I shot were good and healthy with some nice winter coats...I gave the first one to my Neighbor that traps and the fur was still in good shape with a fairly small exit hole,the 2nd Coyote that I shot was really nice and was shot at an angle facing towards me.My Neighbor didn't want it because it was a very light color of white and tan and he said it would be hard to color match it with another pelt...He offered to skin it out and have it tanned for me to keep and I took him up on the offer,it should be here any day and I will proudly display it on my Log wall with my Deer Mounts!


I was considering using the .243 for Predators/Coyotes only and dropping down to a lighter bullet in around 45-55 grain range if possible and solely use it for smaller game only but its so good and accurate for Deer also with less recoil that I may get a CZ-USA American .204 Rifle instead?The .204 would be lighter to carry and with a lighter/faster bullet it would be easier on the fur/pelts.