whitetailed deer. He said every year he uses his .243 to trim back the red deer that easily weigh three times more than a whitetail. He shot 20 of the big deer last year using factory-loaded 100-gr. bullets. "Broadside shots," he said, "nothing to it." Controlled-expansion bullets remove any doubt as to whether the .243 is suitable for big game. In fact, the trend is toward lighter weights with these bullets, such as the 80-gr. Barnes Tipped Triple Shock and Hornady GMX and Swift 90-gr. Scirocco II that shed little weight on impact with game. They provide a tad faster velocity for a slightly flatter trajectory than heavier bullets. Propellant Picks The .243's large case capacity compared to its bore diameter and long bullets for their weight dictate the use of relatively slow-burning propellants. My Cooper .243 produced rather ho-hum velocities shooting 70- to 85-gr. bullets with propellants such as Accurate 4064, Benchmark, Varget and VN140. Controlled-expansion bullets disprove any criticism that the .243 Win. is on the light side for big game (above). The bullets are: (from l. to r.) Barnes 80-gr. TTSX, Swift 90-gr. Scirocco II and Nosler 100-gr. Partition. These propellants of varying burning rates all work well in the .243 Win. (below). DECEMBER 2013 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN 53http://www.magnumresearch.com http://www.facebook.com/KahrArms