Thread: First gun

Originally Posted by deer243

I see now, you a aussie lol no offence but the shooting over there isnt quite the same as here. Clearly its horses for courses and in aus they tend to have to go for the .50cal etc lol.. makes theaussie man feel good or something, well, just a rumour haha

When i see a 50 cal ill let you know ha
the cowboys up north go for the big stuff we Victorians do what we need to. Having said that I did meet a sambar hunter with a 338 once but that's the biggest.

Originally Posted by deer243

Dont make me laugh lol, you say there was a thread on here who used a 243 and hit a stag spot on and lost it Lmao. Firstly, if he hit it spot on it would be dead, end of story. Clearly he didnt hit it spot on or it wouldnt got away would it, and it certainly wouldnt matter fuck all what calber he used, if it ran and got away it prob wasnt hit right as a 243 will knock anything over if hit spot on! Secondly, all depends on the hunting you are doing, horses for courses. if you hunting open country, tops etc and taking 400m plus shots sometimes clearly maybe theres a better choice than a 243. If you bush stalking, or like the challage of getting close or shooting fallow etc a 243 is ideal. If you dont like recoil a 300mag is clearly not ideal etc. I sometimes wonder about some people who run down 243 or similar calbers and say you need bigger the better. It all depends on personal choice, type of hunting involved, what animals you likely to be shooting etc. Personally i think the more skilled shooters are the ones that use a 243 etc and the more unskilled have to use a cannon lol but clearly that only goes to some of you lol. Nothing wrong with a big banger in the right hands, and clearly for longer range they are the better option , but dont under esermare the 243

I disagree with you that a light fast bullet is ideal for close bush hunting, however with the right projectile there is no reason it wouldn't work.
With regards to the .243 shot deer that escaped we never got to the bottom of the pill that was used, it is possible that a fragile pill was used (A-max, Matchking etc.) that disintegrated without reaching the vitals after encountering heavy bone or muscle eg. shoulder, one of the side effects of a fast light pill. Have seen this happen on lighter game than a big red with much tougher bullets.
Nothing against the .243, but as you say, use it for what it was intended.

I'd shoot a deer with a .338 or a .50 if I ever got the chance. This guys gonna be confused sifting through here looking for a rifle to get.

Nah, i think he knows more than a lot of people are giving him credit for.

I recon he already bought that 7mm08

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

I recon he already bought that 7mm08

And nothing wrong with that, it will serve him well!

My wallet is telling me a Tikka t3 7mm08, Or a .308

with a leupold

Sounds like you've taken in some of the better advice given here Dylan.
A T3 in either of those calibers with a Leupy on top will serve you very well!

Thanks everyone for your opinion. Much appreciated.

30-06 over 308. mate, dunno bout there but a 308 is a bogan calibre here haha no offence to anyone

Originally Posted by Bavarian_Hunter

30-06 over 308. mate, dunno bout there but a 308 is a bogan calibre here haha no offence to anyone

30-06 could be a big kick for a young guy who hasn't got that much experience with centre fire don't you reckon?

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Originally Posted by Dylan Pearson

My wallet is telling me a Tikka t3 7mm08, Or a .308

Go for it bro

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Originally Posted by Spudattack

I disagree with you that a light fast bullet is ideal for close bush hunting, however with the right projectile there is no reason it wouldn't work.
With regards to the .243 shot deer that escaped we never got to the bottom of the pill that was used, it is possible that a fragile pill was used (A-max, Matchking etc.) that disintegrated without reaching the vitals after encountering heavy bone or muscle eg. shoulder, one of the side effects of a fast light pill. Have seen this happen on lighter game than a big red with much tougher bullets.
Nothing against the .243, but as you say, use it for what it was intended.

Fair enough, but regards to bush stalking my mates father whose shot hundreds of deer over the years(job was a culler) bush stalking used a 222 then a 243 for years and years. Hardly even lost any deer and i and a couple of my mates use 243 bush stalking and have never had a prob with lost animals yet. I hear plenty of stories from other mates and there circle of hunter friends on how they shot a deer with there 308, 270 etc and how it got away. The fact is even bush stalking you shouldnt shoot unless you have a clean shot, as any caliber trying to shoot thou crap is asking for trouble. And just as a note its been well known on tests that have been done in rod and rifle and field and stream that a 100gr 243 round will out perform much heavier slower rounds keeping a straight line shooting thou rubbish. Last dozen or so deer i have shot all around the shoulder area or just behind none of them have run more than 20 yards, a 243 with a good round drops them fine. I use 100 gr fed powershok rounds, knockdown power is awesum, still think its the best factory round you can use in a 243 after trying a few different brands. I dont like recoil much, so a 243 suits me fine, of cause a 7mm-08 or 270, 3006 does the job even better but you wont be losing deer because you using a 243 , esp if you shooting within 200m like i try to do. In saying that i have shot a deer at 350m and it dropped it on the spot shot in the chest.

Originally Posted by deer243

Fair enough, but regards to bush stalking my mates father whose shot hundreds of deer over the years(job was a culler) bush stalking used a 222 then a 243 for years and years. Hardly even lost any deer and i and a couple of my mates use 243 bush stalking and have never had a prob with lost animals yet. I hear plenty of stories from other mates and there circle of hunter friends on how they shot a deer with there 308, 270 etc and how it got away. The fact is even bush stalking you shouldnt shoot unless you have a clean shot, as any caliber trying to shoot thou crap is asking for trouble. And just as a note its been well known on tests that have been done in rod and rifle and field and stream that a 100gr 243 round will out perform much heavier slower rounds keeping a straight line shooting thou rubbish. Last dozen or so deer i have shot all around the shoulder area or just behind none of them have run more than 20 yards, a 243 with a good round drops them fine. I use 100 gr fed powershok rounds, knockdown power is awesum, still think its the best factory round you can use in a 243 after trying a few different brands. I dont like recoil much, so a 243 suits me fine, of cause a 7mm-08 or 270, 3006 does the job even better but you wont be losing deer because you using a 243 , esp if you shooting within 200m like i try to do. In saying that i have shot a deer at 350m and it dropped it on the spot shot in the chest.

Completely agree, there is no such thing as a "brush buster" even tests performed with a 375 H&H have given deviation of bullet path from small twigs etc.
My reasoning for a slow heavy bullet is more to do with lower impact velocities meaning less chance of bullet disintegration and/or massive meat damage.
I do not doubt the killing capacity of a .243 in close cover provided a suitable bullet, as you have mentioned, is used.

An 85gr barnes TSX pushed fast out of a .243 is a lethal combination!

Bullet placement still remains key and I don't think anyone meant that using a larger calibre was an excuse to shoot recklessly, however people are human and mistakes do happen and I believe the argument is that using a larger calibre could mean the difference between and anchored animal and one that you will never see again.