I dunno if I’d quibble on that or not? Before I shoot off my face - let us establish our credentials. This guy has shot more animals than me and any three of the most prolific hunters I know.
I am a stubfart who’s maybe got 700 ~ 800 rounds of 243 down the pipe - through my beloved Ruger No.1 single shot. The 243 has a LOT going for it. At very close range with the right boolit I’d trust it on moose and elk too.
Prior to the 243 my No.1 was chambered in a varmint profile barrel chambered in .25-06. I killed maybe 8 or 10 animals with it. And I sent well over 10 thousand rounds down the pipe on targets. I dunno how many pounds of IMR4350 I burned through. I started out buying powder in one pound cans and then started buying 8 lb. kegs. 18 or 20 years later the barrel and throat looked like 8 miles of oil lease road, and my velocities and accuracy fell off a cliff. I almost wept when it washed out. For most of that time it grouped easily into 1/2 ~ 3/4 MOA with my pet load. It hit like a ton of bricks on game too. But it was what it was, and I had it rebarrelled for 243 in a 26” pipe spun 1:9.
Shots on yodellers produced golf-ball sized exit wounds. I really can’t see a 243 being much better in that regard? On deer and moose I never got any exit wounds with the .25 - but the boolit went off like a hand grenade in the boiler room! All my shots were taken at close range… but every animal I pulled the trigger on died on the first shot, and didn’t require any follow up shots. It was ‘lights out’ with one caress of the trigger.
I love the 243… but I think the big 25’s are the better way to go based on my extremely limited experience….
Your mileage may vary…
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