Oh man. I didn't get a chance to reply fast enough...
The .243 is a horrible round. Don't use it for anything, especially not deer. Put that thing up for sale as soon as possible and sell it to the highest bidder. Now that I think about it, that caliber won't even get any bids so you should just give it away. PM me and I can help by taking it off your hands.
[all in sarcasm]
Dan
(Big fan of the .243 -it's not your grandson's, girlfriend's, guest gun anymore)
Proud owner and deer hunter with a Savage Axis .243 (Leupold VX1 scope) that can hunt everything from predators (coyotes) to pigs (if there were any) to deer (got one in 2015 on one shot).