A friend of mine shoots a 243 and I shoot a 30-06 with 200gr bullets. We got in a bit of an argument as he claimed the 243 as being a better deer cartridge. He said my 30-06 with 200gr has too much penetration. He said there is a lot of wasted energy passed out the other side of the deer and that I would have a small exit wound due to the bullet not expanding. I like this round because I can take a shoulder shot knowing the deer will drop where it stands. I dont think I could do that with a 243 nosler partition tip. Could I?

He said sometimes his bullets dont even go clear through the deer and that no energy is wasted. It is all expended on the deer. I have seen his deer, the insides look like they are blown up and mangled. He also routinely drops them where they stand.

How come a smaller round can drop a deer where they are at just as good as my 200gr 30-06? Does this have to do with hydrostatic shock? Would I be better off with a lower grain bullet? Is expansion an issue for me?

Okay now clear all of this up for me... please. I'm eager to learn and really want to know the answer to this!