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Guest JohnGalway

I'm seeing second hand 8x56 Schmidt and Benders going, what I think is, relatively cheaply on the BBS, £300 would buy one easy :yes:

 

Don't know what price ye pay for rifles, but I'd like to get the best glass first then think about the rifle.

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I have little experience and I have been stalking and hunting enough to know that 90% of the people reading this forum shouldn't be allowed to take a red with a .243

 

- I would recommend a small caliber to someone who shoots very regularly, goes target shooting and have little experience of stalking

- heavier caliber or very close shots should be recommended to those who have little experience or few opportunities to shoot. For your information .270 and 270WSM are making very happy stalkers everywhere else in Europe and they are considered as small calibers!!!

 

I probably killed more animals with a knife than most users on this forum with a riffle. Saying that I can tell you that an animal shot with a heavy bullet is statistically easier to find than an animal wounded with a small caliber. You don't want to damage venison? That's fine just place your bullet right! I stalk roes with a 9,3X62 and use bullets of 15g (must be around 200gr) and never damaged the venison.

 

You are right .243 is an excellent caliber (that I am actually buying for myself) but if you miss your shot just a little you might lose the stag of your life which is going to die few hundreds yards away with a lung shot... Just bear in mind that it is not the caliber that makes the stalker!!!!

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Very constructive comments paddy, Now just one thing on the stalking front if you are shooting with a .243, Once you pull the trigger, If in the heart and lung area, And the animal doesn't drop right away, STAY DOWN and conceled, if the animal does not see a threat the it won't run, IF you think the shot was poor, get ready to take another,

The ammount of people who i see pull the trigger and hope up to see the animal is crazy, and needless to say don't get stalking again.

Build up your skills at close ranges and then take the shot from a little futher away when you build confidence common sesnse really.

No-one likes to see an injured animal, and such a fine animal at that....... ;)

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I properly tied myself up in knots deciding what my first rifle should be as there are so many different opinions. As you are probably aware the age old 'best deer caliber' rifle is a matter of opinion and personal preferance that people feel obliged to impress on others. Not knocking anyone on here, its just the way it goes.

 

.243 is a good caliber. I wouldn't say it'd be my first choice if i knew i was hill stalking trophy reds but, realistically, its more than capeable out to most stalking ranges... and beyond that in the right hands. How many 200+ yrd deer do people actually shoot? As John say's, good glass is important. A clean second had rifle with a good bore and decent glass should see you with change out of £800.

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243 has enough power for the deer without issue. I've ended up with 308 because I fancied one, and also because my 243, when fixed, likes the light bullets so it's likely to end up as a long-range fox gun.

 

But it works very nicely on deer.

 

As has been pointed out, 22 Hornet was originally a deer calibre (which is why most factory loads are so bloody awful on varmints!) and it did very nicely indeed. Put the bullet in the right place, animal falls over. It's not rocket science really, but you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise sometimes!

 

It's fair to want a bit more power as nobody makes the perfect shot every time, but 243 does that nicely.

 

In terms of rifle, I like CZs these days, or Howa is still relatively cheap. Tikka's good but overpriced unless you find one at a reasonable rate, in which case that'll do too.

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I am not the most experienced stalker, nor am I the best rifle shot, so I have taken the what I think is the sensible route of having two calibres. I have a .243 and a .308, I know some of you will think what is the point as they are capable of doing it all with their .243, I know it is all about bullet placement and a .243 will kill just as well as a .308 when the bullet is place in the right place but I have more confidence physiologically using the bigger calibre on bigger deer species, and at the end of the day all I want to do is be confident that when I pull the trigger the deer will die a quick and humane death. Happy stalking.

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Jumping on the bandwago here, but I agree with a lot of you on this regarding bullet placement versus calibre.

 

I used to work at a National Trust park, and the gamekeeper relayed a story regarding some Germans that were invited over to shoot Fallow deer.

One of the hapless guys managed to wound a buck with a very badly place shot from a .270- Which the gamekeeper then had to track (over a few days).

 

It eventually wandered into the visitors car park where he despatched it, but the animal had already endured unnecessary suffering.

 

Calibre size is not the critical factor here, but the person's confidence in placing a kill shot using the correct equipment for the job.

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Jumping on the bandwago here, but I agree with a lot of you on this regarding bullet placement versus calibre.

 

I used to work at a National Trust park, and the gamekeeper relayed a story regarding some Germans that were invited over to shoot Fallow deer.

One of the hapless guys managed to wound a buck with a very badly place shot from a .270- Which the gamekeeper then had to track (over a few days).

 

It eventually wandered into the visitors car park where he despatched it, but the animal had already endured unnecessary suffering.

 

Calibre size is not the critical factor here, but the person's confidence in placing a kill shot using the correct equipment for the job.

 

 

Excellent reply!!

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Very Good post PaddyW :thumbs:

 

Thanks. I have a question for regular .243 users. At what distance maxi would you reasonnably try a shot on a stag by a clear and non windy day?

 

I take it we are refering to larger species, ie excluding bucks. In which case i personally would limit my shooting to 150 to 200 yds(I only stalk Roe though). The limiting bit being me..On Roe i may consider taking slightly longer range shots, but not alot, for the same reasons. I have no doubt the rifle has the punch to do more.

Just the squidgy bit behind the trigger thats the problem.

Matt

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very intresting post this, i've read on some american site, of hunters taking whitetail deer at ranges in excess of 400 yards with a .243, and we all have our own limiting factors, That being how we rate our own shooting skills......

after all its our decision to make sure we pull the trigger or not..... i was not happy with a neck shot at the distance the calf was at on the weekend stalk hence a heart lung shot......but i knew my bullet drop at was happy to take the shot,

the calf a fallow of good weight droped like a stone, nothing pays dividends like time on the range and building up our skills.... :clapper:

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