Effective Range of .243 on Antelope

[TheCougar]

What is the effective range (ethical, not maximum) of a .243 round? I'd be shooting between 85 and 95 grain bullet and this is assuming proper shot placement. It sounds like the average shot is around 400 yards in Wyoming. I want to put the animal down quickly. My other option is a 7mm RM shooting 165gr bullets, which will definitely work, but is a bit of overkill.

 

[BruinPoint]

Which 85/95 grain bullet you choose would affect my opinion. I pretty much avoid cup and core style projectiles for any hunting application now but bonded an mono-metal bullets have limits as well.

 

[cowboy300]

400 yds is a good number if your not an experienced LR shooter. Most goat country you can close the distance if you really want to. I can tell you from experience my 243 is effective to 875 on antelope so far and in 2 years has had 10 one shot kills on antelope.

 

[JWP58]

I think the 243 might be tailor made to kill antelope. I suspect it will kill as far as you can hit one. I shot a buck last year at 253yds will the El cheapo winchester 100gr power points. Poor fella made it about 10 steps.

 

[6mm Remington]

A good 90 gr. Accubond, 95 gr. or 100 gr. Partition and you have an excellent antelope killer there. My son uses the 90 gr. E-tip in his 6mm Remington and it works very well also.

 

[maninthemaze]

I think your 243 should be good to around 400 yards with a good bullet. The last 2 years I used my 7wsm on goats. My main reason for choosing the 7 over my 243 is wind deflection. Nothing beats a 7mm when comes to bucking the wind, except maybe the 338. And the winner in Wyoming is the major concern. Distance can always be calculated, but the wind is an ever changing variable that takes experience to get right. Good luck this year!!

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[JWP58]

And I would say 400 isnt the average. I would guess the average is half that or less.

 

[wapitibob]

^^ yep

 

[maninthemaze]

And I would say 400 isnt the average. I would guess the average is half that or less.

I'd say your probably right. I've shot one at 200 yards and one at 482. That was as close as I could get to both of them. Seems like they are jumpier after opening morning, which led to the 482 yard shot on day 3 of the hunt.

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[mallacootasmoothie]

400 yds is a good number if your not an experienced LR shooter. Most goat country you can close the distance if you really want to. I can tell you from experience my 243 is effective to 875 on antelope so far and in 2 years has had 10 one shot kills on antelope.

At 875 are you aiming for shoulder or aiming just behind the shoulder.

Sorry if that's a stupid question, I'm new to rifles, have only ever bowhunted.

 

[maninthemaze]

At 875 are you aiming for shoulder or aiming just behind the shoulder.

Sorry if that's a stupid question, I'm new to rifles, have only ever bowhunted.

I'd say at 875 yards he's dialing the scope to compensate. At 875 yards my 7wsm has a bullet drop of 178 inches. There's just not an accurate way to "hold over" for that distance. Even using the reticle in the scope would be tough when you need 19.48 minutes of angle for correction.

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[cowboy300]

Yes I dial for the long shots. I aim for the high shoulder shot at long range to break the animal down quick and hopefully drop them in their tracks. Shooting for the shoulder can help with reliable bullet expansion when you are starting to get around 1800 to 2000 fps impact velocity. That doe dropped in her tracks and never moved. I was using the 105 Berger Hybrid.

 

[Speeddmn]

Effective range will play part in both velocity and bullet construction. Find the bullet you want to use, get a load dialed in then look at the manufacture for expansion. If max expansion is around 1500 fps, then find that velocity on your load. If it happens to be 763 yards, then there ya go, the quick easy way to show you how far is lethal and effective, now ethical is up to you. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Carlin59]

I'd say your probably right. I've shot one at 200 yards and one at 482. That was as close as I could get to both of them. Seems like they are jumpier after opening morning, which led to the 482 yard shot on day 3 of the hunt.

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I've shot a dozen antelope, all in WY, all on either left-over-low-public-access-high-pressure units, or 1 point units on public land. The average for me has been 225 yards, only two over 300 yds, so i would agree that 400 is longer than average for most goat hunts/hunting situations.

To the OP, do you shoot your current 7mag well and are you comfortable with it? If so, I would consider sticking with it instead of switching to a .243 over overkill concerns. The added wind-bucking advantage will be a real factor in goat country. If you zip it low and tight behind the shoulder, you shouldn't have any significant meat loss with either caliber. If the shot is less than ideal, you may waste a little more meat with the 7mag, but you will also be carrying a lot more energy that could potentially turn a bad shot into a killing shot (or a quicker death). Just factors to consider. I use a .300WM for all my goats without regret.

 

[mallacootasmoothie]

I'd say at 875 yards he's dialing the scope to compensate. At 875 yards my 7wsm has a bullet drop of 178 inches. There's just not an accurate way to "hold over" for that distance. Even using the reticle in the scope would be tough when you need 19.48 minutes of angle for correction.

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Sorry I wasn't referring to hold over, but whether or not to avoid bone at that distance with a .243

Obviously bullet dependent too.

 

[xl mammal]

Effective range will play part in both velocity and bullet construction. Find the bullet you want to use, get a load dialed in then look at the manufacture for expansion. If max expansion is around 1500 fps, then find that velocity on your load. If it happens to be 763 yards, then there ya go, the quick easy way to show you how far is lethal and effective, now ethical is up to you. Hope that makes sense.

^^ This is how it's done. Energy transfer to the animal is the key. I'd keep the terminal energy above 800 ft-lbs to be safe...but the bullet must be designed to reliably expand at the associated terminal velocity.

 

[mcseal2]

The two I've shot in Wyoming were at 300yds and 175yds. The first was with a 7 mag and 175gr bullets I had loaded for the elk hunt I was going on later that fall. It didn't do to much damage just poked a hole through, killed the goat, and went on into the hill behind it. The second I shot with a 264WM and 140gr Berger VLD. We took 3 with my rifle that trip, my wife used it and a friend borrowed it after I got mine. It was set up with at turret to dial range and an MOA marked crosshair for wind holds. The longest shot was my wife's at 351yds. My buddy wanted to use it in case he got a long shot but his ended up being about 275yds. He has shot that rifle a lot, maybe more than his own, and was comfortable with it.

I'd use whichever you are most comfortable with. If you use the 243 I'd try to use one of the higher BC bullets to help with wind drift. The 100gr Sierra Gameking or one of the Bergers would be my first choices. The 90gr Accubond would be right there too, just a little lower BC. I'm shooting 85gr Speer SPBT bullets from my 243 but haven't taken anything but a coyote with them yet to know how they hold up.

 

[BrushyHillGuide]

The real answer to your question is: however far you can accurately hit your target I the optimum kill zone. Of course, this will change for each person with variable weather conditions. If someone online says the ethical distance is XXXyds, it's not a license to lob bullets out at that distance if YOU are not familiar and competent at that distance.

I've guided loads of hunters over the past 3 decades that claimed to be "good" to XXXyds and were, actually, only good to 1/2 that distance on their best day. Lately, the LR craze and availability of off the shelf rifles capable of LR shots has only magnified this issue. For the past 8 years I've been involved in blood tracking wounded deer here in S. Texas and we're seeing more and more guys with these fancy rifles, capable of 800+ yard shots, gut shooting (or worse) deer at 200. It's ridiculous.

There are guys that can "ethically" shoot elk at 1500yds but they practice regularly at that range and further. "Ethical" implies near certain confidence in the shot. If you have to wonder about making the shot, DONT pull the trigger.



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[willidru]

Not specific to antelope, but I found this article and chart for effective kill ranges to be interesting.

Popular Hunting Cartridge Ballistics Shootout | The Hunting Gear Guy

 

[Anschutz]

I would say that you will be more limited by your shooting capabilities than the ability for a well constructed bullet to kill a speed goat. The .243 is one of the most under-rated calibers out there.