Best 243 round for deer
- Thread starter newguy07
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Fla_dogman
New member
Before i started reloading, i used Winchester 100gr soft points. Very accurate and had good penetration. I would definitely recommend 100gr for deer with a bonded bullet.
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CarJunkieLS1
New member
My wife killed her first deer with a .243 and 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. Damage was extensive and deer was down quickly.
For a factory load go with 90-100 grain bullets. Rem Core-Lokts, Win Power Points, or Hornady Interlock will be adequte. For me I'd grab a box of Hornaday American Whitetail first. If they are accurate in your rifle put them in the lungs and you'll be dragging deer.
For a factory load go with 90-100 grain bullets. Rem Core-Lokts, Win Power Points, or Hornady Interlock will be adequte. For me I'd grab a box of Hornaday American Whitetail first. If they are accurate in your rifle put them in the lungs and you'll be dragging deer.
rodwhaincamo
New member
No real need for a special bullet in your case. Any of the standard run of the mill medium game bullets will work just fine under 150 yds as you had mentioned in the other thread.
Quite frankly I'd likely stick to your .44, but then a new rifle is always nice. Unless of course you either have small game or much longer shooting in mind.
Quite frankly I'd likely stick to your .44, but then a new rifle is always nice. Unless of course you either have small game or much longer shooting in mind.
Roadkill2228
New member
Conventional 85-100 grain soft points/ballistic tips should work and have worked well, especially if the traditional broadside double lung shot is selected. One of the monometal bullets will provide greater penetration if the shot angle is less than ideal or the front shoulder breaking through the chest shot is taken (this shot has more anchoring power), but these stout bullets almost certainly will give slower kills on the same conventional double lung. The .243 is a great cartridge but requires some consideration in this regard. Examples of the first kind of load are Winchester 100 grain power point or power max bonded (yes it's bonded but it expands to such a massive frontal diameter the penetration is the same as softs), federal blue box soft points (very accurate), Remington Corlokts (don't like these, the factory loads chrono about 200 fps slower than Winchester and federal), federal premiums 95 gr ballistic tip, hornady superformance 95 sst. There are no doubt numerous other such choices. Examples of the second type of ammo would be Barnes vortx 80 grain ttsx ammo, hornady superformance 80 grain gmx, and federals 85 grain trophy copper, the letter being my recommendation, it is the most accurate factory ammo I've ever fed through my old savage 99 243. Don't be fooled by the lighter weights of these solid copper bullets. They go through darn near everything.
bamaranger
New member
premium bullet
There was a time when the .243 was considered by some (including me) to be marginal as a deer cartridge. There are still some who hold that stance, but my opinion has changed after some use of the round with positive results.
As noted, the .243 had been a dual role cartridge since its onset, and for that reason there are varmint bullets and big game bullets for the cartridge. I suspect that was not fully understood by all when the cartridge was first afield, and may have contributed to the .243's controversial history early on. Whatever you choose, be sure the slug is intended for whitetails.
These days, more widely accepted and understood, the .243 is a pretty common cartridge for whitetails. That said, it is still a moderate/intermediate cartridge launching relatively light slugs (albeit usually at considerable velocity) when compared to other "deer" cartridges. For that reason, I use 100 gr Nosler Partitions, which is the granddaddy of premium bullets and available as a factory round from Federal and maybe others. The promise of additional penetration from the dual cored Partition is a comforting asset when angles are not ideal or a shot strays forward onto the shoulder or other larger bone.
I may well have seen more bang/flops with the .243/100 Partition than other cartridges, likely due to coaching bamaboy when he was younger and him shooting his granddads .243. Our sample pool is not all that high, maybe 10 animals between us, but we have not recovered a 100 Partition, despite punching shoulder blades, clipping the spine, centering the throat patch and severing the spine on a facing shot, and the boy connecting on one way out there at a lasered 260 yds through the lungs. All pass throughs.
The only .243 slug we ever recovered was a factoryW-W 100 PowerPoint, which caught the opposite shoulder blade, shattering same, and was recovered under the hide. DRT, but I feel a Partition would have exited.
You do not need a premium slug with bigger calibers, but I feel the .243 is a good candidate for the breed due to the comparatively lighter slugs it throws and its typical higher velocity. The Partition is likely the most affordable of the premium slugs and in .243 has worked for us.
There was a time when the .243 was considered by some (including me) to be marginal as a deer cartridge. There are still some who hold that stance, but my opinion has changed after some use of the round with positive results.
As noted, the .243 had been a dual role cartridge since its onset, and for that reason there are varmint bullets and big game bullets for the cartridge. I suspect that was not fully understood by all when the cartridge was first afield, and may have contributed to the .243's controversial history early on. Whatever you choose, be sure the slug is intended for whitetails.
These days, more widely accepted and understood, the .243 is a pretty common cartridge for whitetails. That said, it is still a moderate/intermediate cartridge launching relatively light slugs (albeit usually at considerable velocity) when compared to other "deer" cartridges. For that reason, I use 100 gr Nosler Partitions, which is the granddaddy of premium bullets and available as a factory round from Federal and maybe others. The promise of additional penetration from the dual cored Partition is a comforting asset when angles are not ideal or a shot strays forward onto the shoulder or other larger bone.
I may well have seen more bang/flops with the .243/100 Partition than other cartridges, likely due to coaching bamaboy when he was younger and him shooting his granddads .243. Our sample pool is not all that high, maybe 10 animals between us, but we have not recovered a 100 Partition, despite punching shoulder blades, clipping the spine, centering the throat patch and severing the spine on a facing shot, and the boy connecting on one way out there at a lasered 260 yds through the lungs. All pass throughs.
The only .243 slug we ever recovered was a factoryW-W 100 PowerPoint, which caught the opposite shoulder blade, shattering same, and was recovered under the hide. DRT, but I feel a Partition would have exited.
You do not need a premium slug with bigger calibers, but I feel the .243 is a good candidate for the breed due to the comparatively lighter slugs it throws and its typical higher velocity. The Partition is likely the most affordable of the premium slugs and in .243 has worked for us.
mikejonestkd
New member
We have used 243 winchesters for quite some time with great success.
Its a great whitetail cartridge with 95 grain ballistic tips, 100 gr power points, and 100 grain core locts.
Its a great whitetail cartridge with 95 grain ballistic tips, 100 gr power points, and 100 grain core locts.
Something to keep in mind when shopping for a rifle is the barrel twist. Some manufacturers make 243's with a 1:10 twist barrel. Those tend to shoot bullets lighter than 90 gr best. For best results with the heavier 100-105 gr bullets I'd look for a rifle with a 1:9 or 1:9.25 twist.
There are still a lot of 85-90 gr 243 bullets that will take deer, but if you want to be able to shoot the heavier bullets with good accuracy you'll get better results with a faster twisted barrel. Many of the 243's intended for long range target work are twisted 1:7 now.
There are still a lot of 85-90 gr 243 bullets that will take deer, but if you want to be able to shoot the heavier bullets with good accuracy you'll get better results with a faster twisted barrel. Many of the 243's intended for long range target work are twisted 1:7 now.
I've shot a few deer and a couple of antelope with the 95 grain BT-seems to work well at extended ranges but a little messy and didn't penetrate as well as hoped at close range.
My old standby was the Hornady 87 grain spire point with the "coke bottle" jacket-it worked everytime regardless of range.
Daughter had best results with Speer GS 100 grain as she tended to have problems with bullet placement and we found the GS made bigger and longer holes than other choices. Next best behind the GS was the Nosler 100 grain solid base- makes big holes but not as deep as the GS.
My old standby was the Hornady 87 grain spire point with the "coke bottle" jacket-it worked everytime regardless of range.
Daughter had best results with Speer GS 100 grain as she tended to have problems with bullet placement and we found the GS made bigger and longer holes than other choices. Next best behind the GS was the Nosler 100 grain solid base- makes big holes but not as deep as the GS.
Buy the box with the picture of a deer on it.
Any of the standard deer rounds will do fine. The basic rule of thumb is to use what's most accurate out of your rifle.
Buy a box of Remington and a box of Federal use which ever shoots better. Next season buy a box of something else and compare it to the winner. Rinse and repeat.
Any of the standard deer rounds will do fine. The basic rule of thumb is to use what's most accurate out of your rifle.
Buy a box of Remington and a box of Federal use which ever shoots better. Next season buy a box of something else and compare it to the winner. Rinse and repeat.
"...looking for a factory round..." You'll have to try a box of as many 85 and up(most of 'em are suitable for deer sized game) grain bullets as possible to find the ammo your rifle shoots best.
Probably best to pick a bullet weight and try those as there are hordes of suitable bullet now. Hornady, for example, loads 4 different weights and types. Seven from Federal. It'd get expensive trying 'em all.
Partial to 105's myself. Haven't bought factory for eons though.
Probably best to pick a bullet weight and try those as there are hordes of suitable bullet now. Hornady, for example, loads 4 different weights and types. Seven from Federal. It'd get expensive trying 'em all.
Partial to 105's myself. Haven't bought factory for eons though.
As long as you get a bullet intended for medium game, you will be fine. I would not worry too much about shooting a bunch of different loads either.
I have loads (factory and handloads) from 65 to 115 grain and shot through 5 different .243s, they all do an inch or better at 100 yards. Pick a decent 95 or 100 grain loading from Hornady, Winchester, Federal intended for deer and call it good.
I have loads (factory and handloads) from 65 to 115 grain and shot through 5 different .243s, they all do an inch or better at 100 yards. Pick a decent 95 or 100 grain loading from Hornady, Winchester, Federal intended for deer and call it good.
Standard bullets in a .243 will work fine. I load 100 grain hornady for my wife's rifle, actually a very mild load, they will still punch through a deer easily leaving an easy trail usually about 50 yards to a very dead deer. Buy a box of win, rem or federal in the 100 grain range, if it shoots inside of 2 inches go kill deer at normal ranges.