30-30 or .243 for deer hunting

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Grizz-Lee

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I suppose they are not comparable in a sense because one shoots a high speed bullet and the other is a slow, larger, bullet. But do you feel that both are about equally adequate? (.243 w/ 100 gr and 30-30 w/ 170 gr)

I ask this because i have hunted with a 30-30 for a few years and took a buck about 75 yards with it about 2 years ago (only buck i've ever shot). So i know the performance of the 30-30.

Im looking either to get a single shot or bolt action for .243 but even though i realize that many many many hunters take deer every year with it, i cant shake the idea that it is just a tad bit under powered for that "trophy buck" that some guys have been seeing around my area.

The reason i want a .243 is that it is light recoiling and theoretically has better punch than the 30-30 out to 200, maybe 300 yards

So, in overall short hand, do you think the .243 has more punch at 100 yards than a 30-30 (.243 w/ 100 gr and 30-30 w/ 170 gr, using standard core-lokt remington ammo).

-thanks guys,

--Grizz-Lee
 
a deer can only get so dead in that respect both cartridges will preform equally well. The 243 as you mention will recoil less and make longer shots easier.
 
The 30-30 has an effective deer range of 150 yards.

Other than that, they're both great for deer.
 
i hunted for years in wisconsin with a .243 when i was in my teens. my dad had a 30-06 and i dropped as many deer as he did when we hunted there. i was a confident shot at 200 yards with it. even had some long range head shots on a few does( i was young a dumb). i would give it a thumbs up.
 
I owned a Savage Arms bolt action .243 for years and loved it. Very flat, very true, great range, etc.

I'm kicking myself to this day for getting rid of it......
 
both will drop a deer. 243 will have a longer range and the 30-30 will have more knock down power. I actually use a .223 with 50 grain vmax bullets and shot placement is key. I have taken two deer with this rifle. One at 75 yards and one at around 120. Again shot placement is key. It will all come down to what your plans are and the area you are hunting in. Most deer are killed in the 75 yard and under range. Yes some people take them at much longer ranges but it is the terrain you hunt.
 
All i can say is i killed the biggest buck of my life with a 6mm which is a 243 bullet.
Deer scored 151 BC and had 13 points.
Weight was nearly 200 pounds.
Shot was a distance of 120 yards using Winchester 100 grain power point ammo.
A through and through lung shot taken at an angle.
The 30-30 is a great rifle but once you start reaching out past 200 yards i will gladly put it down and take my 243 or 6mm any day.
And i use my 243 quite a bit on Texas deer and hogs.
And with todays premium bullets the 243 really has capabilities that it might not have had several years ago.
 
What's your honest average range for a shot? If it's 150 or under, stay with the 30-30. Past that the 243 will serve much better. Just watch your slug choices carefully.
 
Well, shots could prob. go over 200 yards easy, but would i step up to take that shot...no, not even with a mag. I wanted the .243 becuase of its versatility between deer and varmints. I would definately shoot furthur for groundhogs and the like, but not for deer. And open sights might be a possibility...but if it were a .243 the i might have a scope.

Whats your opinion for a NEF single w/ 22 inch barrel for either in either 30-30 or .243 for this task?
 
get one gun, then buy the other barrel. you can usually find one used for less than $100 on the H & R boards at Graybeard outdoors. they're fun guns.
 
i think getting the gun and a scope will break the bank for me (as the 30-30 i used for hunting earlier was not mine) and another barrel is out of the question.

*college student**
 
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If money is part of the deal, there's very, very rarely anything wrong with a clean-condition good used rifle. From what I read here, the Savage is likely as good a deal as you can find. I'm another who's killed a bunch of deer with a .243, as well as coyotes and prairie dogs. (I handload.)

Starting out, a fixed-power 4X scope is plenty for deer hunting, and if the notion strikes, you can always trade up to a variable for use on small varmints.
 
i think wal-mart is selling the Rem 770's for 319 w/ 3-9x scope, now i know that some of you guys have a lot to say against the 770, but if you take the price of a NEF single shot and add a good scope, you are probably pretty close to 300 unless you get lucky..or you know more than me..

as for the caliber, i think Art pretty much put the .243 in the safe for me, i think i will enjoy its ligh recoil and extended range over the 30-30, im not looking for a big wound channed, im just looking for something that i can count on to do the job time after time.
 
It looks like a .243 by a good margin. I guess I'm an old fashioned guy because My choice is the .30-30. I have gone to Hornady Leverevolution ammo for my M94 Winchester and it DOES extend the range out to and past 200 yrds.
 
My 11yr old killed his first buck this year using a 243 80 grain. The Buck weighrd 260lbs, piled it up within 50 yards of were he first shot him. Thats a big deer in Oklahoma.
 
260 pounds would definately exceed anything around me her in PA except for one instance. Up north and pap and uncle were hunting and my pap took a 275 pound 10 point with his .303 brit. He took a heart shot, split the heart in two and turned the vitals into much, he said that deer still ran 50 yards.

edit: much should be mush**
 
I wouldn't hesitate to take a deer with a 243, at 500 yds, if I knew my rifle that well, and was very comfortable and familiar with it, and I am. I would never take that shot with a thutty...
I recently did a piggy hunt with a dude who shot a nice male, about 150 lbs, with a 243. the bullet went into the back of the shoulder, through about 1.5 inches of solid hair/fat armor plate, destroyed the tops of the lungs and heart, and smashed through the off side of the hog, going again through the fat plate, and hair. All this with a factory 100 grain softpoint.
If you are a decent shot, and can place your bullets even fairly well, a 243 is the perfect deer round, just perfect. and if you can get it in a nice, light, youth model, Remington or savage or mossy superbantam, I would be all over that.
if not them, then a nice used remmy 788, or 600 , or mohawk, or 660, with an 18 inch bbl, would be too cool for school.
 
I have both 243 and 30-30. I like them both and they each serve a purpose.

My buddy has done all of his deer hunting with a 270. He always uses 150gr bullets. It kicks the same as my 30-06. One day I shot it with some 130gr bullets and couldn't believe how pleasant it was.

If I had shot a 270 with the 130gr bullets first I would never have bought a 243. A 7-08 would be a good choice also. I have two of those by the way.

Either caliber is good. The 243 if you think your shots will be over 200 yards and a 30-30 for closer in. If your on a budget keed your eyes open for a rifle with open sights. You said you are a student on a budget then look for a Remington ADL with a synthetic stock with open sights. You can buy a scope later.
 
Rangerruck reminded me of a story. I have a friend that hunts in south Tx. He hunts with a 30-30 for rattling deer and a Ruger 77 in 6mm for everything else.

He told me he shot at a large hog with his 6mm and the hog dropped. Then a second hog that was behind the first ran about 30' and fell over. Then he noticed some bushes shaking a bit and we he walked down he found a third hog that had been killed from the same bullet.

He killed three hogs with one Remington Green box express 100gr bullet. There is nothing wrong with a 243/6mm round.

He also killed a deer at 300 yards with his 30-30. He took a pot shot and nailed that deer. That was part stunt and part skill since he shoots that gun all the time.

Learning your rifle will mean more than the caliber its chambered for.
 
thats percisely what ill be using: remington. Ill admit i love to shoot, and i bet if i get that gun before spring semester is out, ill have maybe 100-200 rounds through that thing if i find the money for ammo.
 
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