is my .243 a decent Antelope Rifle?

Question

I am taking my 7mm mag and my .243 out west hunting muley and antelope in October. Will my .243 be a decent rifle for Antelope or should I just stick with my 7mm mag?

Answer 1

Both will do well for both game animals. But the 243 will do it cheaper and be easier on your shoulder.

Answer 2

The .243 has been known to lack the energy on longer shots needed to cleanly take down game, though, antelope are small. I would stick to the 7mm Mag because it packs a better punch and shoots flatter. I use a 7mm Rem. Mag in western, PA, every year I go deer hunting, and it has never let me down. Consider trading your .243 in, if you know you will be hunting antelope out west every year, for something along the lines of a .25-06 Rem. or a .270 Win. It has a slightly bigger bullet with a better punch and just as flat trajectory. But at the same time, it doesn't destroy the antelope.

Answer 3

you could shoot a mule deer with a .243 with one shot as long as you are within about 250 yards if your out further than that you might miss or you'll be chasing a deer through the woods for a while. now for antelope the .243 would be ideal out to between a max of 250 to 300 yards. for the 7mm well my friend shot a deer at 50 or so and went through the chest and right out the rear end. ruined all the meat. if using a 7mm on a deer i recommend being a min. of 100 yards or more. as for the 7mm on antelope it probably would be a memorable shot because of a good distance.

Answer 4

yes the 243 is a decent antelope calibre . I use heavily constructed bullets such as Barnes triple shock, nosler partition and laupa mega on red deer and fallow deer. My pet load is the 100grn nosler partition in front of 40 grns AR2209 (Australian made powder) for a muzzle velocity of approx 2973fps it is a great load from my Winchester mod 70 and does the job on big tough Aussie boars to so i think you should have most antelope covered. if you dont reload, the 100grn Remington core locked are my pick i had some good instant knockdowns with them because the seem to expand a little quicker but dont penetrate as far, so for angling and tougher shots i recomend the handloads.But in all honesty i would just take the big 7

Answer 5

yep. It's plenty. I took down a ram, which is about the same size as an antelope, with 1 shot from my .243. The key is shot placement.

Answer 6

Your .243 will be fine for lopes. But to be honest with you, the 7MM mag is hard to beat as well. As long as you are accurate with both of those guns, the lopes are going to be in trouble.

Good Luck!!

Answer 7

if you use your .243 for whitetail, then you can use it for antelope because they are the same size. but i would use a .270. u could sell both your .243 and your 7mm and get a .270. it will easily take down an antelope and has enough horse power to take down mule deer.

live in western PA, and damn proud of it <((((><

Answer 8

I'm nervous with a 243 for whitetails but would feel perfectly comfortable with it for antelope.
243 fans will probably moan about this, but I've probably killed over a hundred whitetails with a 6mm Rem, and you have to be picky with your shots, or you invite failures compared to more suitable deer calibers.

Answer 9

I WOULD NOT USE THE .243 on Muleys. But I would be interested in knowing how it worked on antelopes!

Answer 10

anything that is good for a deer is good for an antalope also, same thing with mule deer