i am considering purchasing an Encore w/15"tube. what is your opinion on this setup for whitetail hunting?

Right bullet and right shot placement is dead every time.

i have a 15"er n my son has a rem 700 bolt rifle in .243. i usually end up packin something else in contender configuration....just because. it WILL do the job n with light recoil as well. i have 100% confidence in that. do not listen to those that call it too light for the job....lol.

I forgot to mention that I use a 6mm-284 XP-100. To date the longest deer kill is 350 yards-1 shot kill by my daughter two seasons ago. Although my MV is 150-200 fps faster than a 243, I would still use my 6-284 on deer sized game out to about 500-550 yards.

thanks for the info. i am torn between the 243 and the 7-08. my brother swears by the 7-08 but i was considering the recoil and this being my first handgun hunting set-up. what do you think about the recoil diffrence ?

The Encore will be an awesome deer rig. The 243 will work good on deer. The recoil of the 7-08 will not be much more than the 243. If you are shooting 100gr bullets in the 243 and 130's in the 7-08 that's only 30grs difference. The powder charge is about the same. Now if we were comparing the 243 to a 375 JDJ or similar catridge the recoil would be greatly different.

My question is, what else are you going to use the Encore for?? Varmints as well as deer, then the 243 would get the nod. If deer sized game (deer, antelope, mule deer, black bear) then the 7-08 gets the nod.

Does you brother have a handgun in 7-08, I'm guessing it's a rifle, but if he does, buy a box or 2 of ammo and try it out.

okay members, i took the plunge and bought the .243. Since I am just getting into handgun hunting, i am not handloading as of yet. Please give me your opinions on the best factory load available for deer.

i'm not really sure of everything that is available among factory loads, but i do know one that i would try first to see how it shot in the gun. federal loads a sierra 85gr bthp in one of their factory offerings n that is exactly where i would start first if it were me. my second trial could possibly be a standard 100gr winchester super-x if the first did not shoot to my satisfaction.

Hornady has an offering in their "Light Magnum" line in .243 with a 95 grain SST bullet @ 3100 fps claimed from a rifle. This should net a good 2750-2800 from your 15" pistol barrel. Good stuff!

Congrats on the new Handgun. I happen to be a huge fan of the .243 Winchester in not only Rifles but Handguns also. Just this past January 1st I took two Whitetail Does with a 15" T/C Encore Handgun at approximately 200 yards. I was using a Handload consisting of the 80gr. Speer Hot Core Spitzer loaded to a muzzle velocity of 2920 FPS. This bullet produced complete penetration on both Whitetails.

Now I know you said Factory Ammo. Well Federal loads the 80gr. Speer Hot Core Spitzer in their Hi Shok line of ammo. While I have not shot this ammo (with this bullet) in a 15" .243 Encore I really don't see why it wouldn't work like the Speer Bullet did in my Handloads, provided it was accurate in your barrel.

Good luck with the .243.

Larry

Like a alot of other guys, I don't have one in a handgun but, do have two in rifles. I love the caliber and it's easy to reload and shoot. You can't go wrong with the 243 for deer.

I shoot a 15" .243 Encore and when I first got it I was using Federal Power-Shok 100grn SP ammo. I took two whitetail with it. One at 80 yds and another a 170yds. Both dropped right there with high shoulder hits that broke the spine. Also, this same load in my gun took a antelope when I loaned the pistol to a buddy for a hunt. Now I handload and shoot the 100grn Sierra Pro Hunter from it. The factory load ran 2420fps across my old chorno. My pistol also has a break on it. The 100grn Federal load shot just under an inch at 100yds and I could put three in a snuff can lid at 200yds. My pistol also shoots the 87grn Sierra BTHP handloads very good but haven't shot anything but Prairie Dogs with them.
Good luck with your pistol.
Mike