It seems no matter what the rifle and off-the-shelf cartridge is, there are only two basic questions. Question #1 Can it cleanly kill a deer? Question #2 How much does it kick?

Once those questions are answered in the affirmative (Yes) to the first question and “very little” to he second question, then it is logical to want to know what the rifle is, right?

Is the cartridge a;

A. 308 Winchester

B. 30-30 Winchester

C, 243 Winchester

D. .270 Winchester

It has been my experience that children will receive the 30-30 Winchester in a Marlin rifle to deer hunt and it works. The .308 and .270 recoil much more.  But if you have a .243 Winchester like I do in my Ruger American Rifle, then you can have a great deer caliber for less than $400 dollars and it kicks so little that even a young hunter won’t complain a bit. Photo below.

In a previous article I wrote about the 90 grain .243 E-Tip below that mushroomed to twice its size.

With a scope, this rifle can kill deer out to 300 yards with a 90 to 100 grain bullet. On varmints with 55 grain bullets, it is hard to beat. It will be used on my southern deer hunt this fall.

If you look at categories I have listed for articles under rifle and bullet tests you will see lots of my writing on the .243 Winchester and the Ruger American. I just love the cartridge and the rifle. You will too….

If you reload, chances are that  you may never own a .243 because hand loading lighter loads in any cartridge exists. But if you stay on off-the-shelf cartridges then the .243 is it!

Be safe! Good Hunting!

© 2015