I have hunted on a ranch north of my home here in Montana for the past 27 years...The first 10 years I hunted there the owner of the ranch used a .243 exclusively, shooting factory 100gr bullets on elk . I personally saw several elk drop to the shot from that .243...It developed some mechanical issues at which time he purchased a .270.

For about a 3 year period, the .243 was all I used for coyotes,pronghorn and some deer.. my handloads consisted of Varget powder and Nosler ballistic tip bullets..running them around 3550 fps...that load never failed me...

I also used the .243 when I lived in N Dakota for deer sized game and smaller. Its a great caliber, IMHO. Think your choice of a .243 is an excellent one.

FYI, my wife has been using a 22.250 with 50gr. ballistic tips for the past 5 years on pronghorn..I have seen her hammer bucks anywhere from 224 yards to just over 500..all one shot kills.

I am not advocating the .243 is a great choice for elk. BUT , if it can drop elk, it certainly will drop deer. As with all, bullet placement is key. When hunting bigger game, the smaller you go in caliber the more critical it becomes.

Ripp