.243 Deer Loads

[WoodieSC]

95 grain winchester ballistic silver tips. Never had a deer run with them.

I use the 140 gr in my 7mm-08 and I have no reason to bother trying anything else. I just haven't seen any .243's around here in stock so thought I'd see what those of you who use a .243 on deer shoot successfully.

quack, in my limited experience with the CoreLokt bullets in .270 and 30-06 I felt I lost a lot more meat in the far shoulder area than I needed to vs. ballistic tip bullets. Also, the BT shot deer also have been 'DRT' and the CoreLokt shot deer all ran and required a bit of tracking even though the shots were all in the boiler room. I can't explain it, but I've used the BT's pretty much ever since I got tired of tracking after dark. I accept that my limited actual experience with them on our smaller deer may be mistaken.

[jws]

I've killed quite a few with Winchester Power point 100 gr. and a few with core lokts. Both shoot really well out of my gun so I have yet to try anything else.

[SCtrkyhntr1]

I bought a .243 last year for my two nephews to shoot. It did not shoot very well with several 100 gr. factory loads, especially the Hornady Interlokts. It shot fairly well with the 100 gr Remington core lokts, about 1.5" groups at 100 yards, and they also performed well on deer. I picked up a box of the Barnes TSX BT in 80 grain this year and it shoots them phenomenal, nickel sized 3 shot groups at 100 yards, but have not tried them on deer yet.

[WoodieSC]

I bought a .243 last year for my two nephews to shoot. It did not shoot very well with several 100 gr. factory loads, especially the Hornady Interlokts. It shot fairly well with the 100 gr Remington core lokts, about 1.5" groups at 100 yards, and they also performed well on deer. I picked up a box of the Barnes TSX BT in 80 grain this year and it shoots them phenomenal, nickel sized 3 shot groups at 100 yards, but have not tried them on deer yet.

I had a similar experience shooting the 100 gr. Sierra Game Kings. I've been told that it's most likely because the 100 gr. boat tail bullets are a bit longer than the flat-base bullet and the twist rate in my Tikka's barrel is a bit too slow to stabilize the bullet. That's why I'm looking at either flat-base bullets or boat tails at about 95 gr. or less. Only time will tell.

[CWPINST]

I had a similar experience shooting the 100 gr. Sierra Game Kings. I've been told that it's most likely because the 100 gr. boat tail bullets are a bit longer than the flat-base bullet and the twist rate in my Tikka's barrel is a bit too slow to stabilize the bullet. That's why I'm looking at either flat-base bullets or boat tails at about 95 gr. or less. Only time will tell.

A 1 in 10 or faster twist will stabilize the .243 100gr Gameking just fine. The rifle probably just doesnt like them. Not all rifles like all bullets.....or loads.

[Saltydog235]

Call me a snob but if a modern bolt rifle is only delivering 1.5" groups at best then I'm selling that POS and getting another one, especially in a round like a .243. .243 is an inherently accurate cartridge with pinpoint shot placement being the norm.

[WoodieSC]

Call me a snob but if a modern bolt rifle is only delivering 1.5" groups at best then I'm selling that POS and getting another one, especially in a round like a .243. .243 is an inherently accurate cartridge with pinpoint shot placement being the norm.

Since the gun shoots at < .6MOA out to at least 200 yards, I'm betting I just haven't found what type of heavier bullet it likes. I haven't shot many rounds other than the Federal 70 gr. NBT's so I need to get some 90-95 gr. loads out and try them to see.

I had forgotten about my previous thread from last December where I had also found a high spot on the right front corner of the stock. I need to sand that down to remove that interference, which could easily have affected the groups if I didn't adequately cool the barrel between shots the last time I tried the 100 gr. loads. One never knows...

CWPINST, gotcha. Thanks.

[WoodieSC]

I had forgotten about my previous thread from last December where I had also found a high spot on the right front corner of the stock. I need to sand that down to remove that interference, which could easily have affected the groups if I didn't adequately cool the barrel between shots the last time I tried the 100 gr. loads. One never knows...

I'm willing to bet my forgetting this rub spot on the right front corner of the stock and the floated barrel (left corner in the picture) may well be the cause of the issue at hand...

[CWPINST]

Contact can definitely make a difference

[Phone Man]

my little tikka t3 shoots lights out with whatever I've fed it. My Remington 700 243 same way. I'm like salty, if it wont shoot under an inch, I sell it

[WoodieSC]

Contact can definitely make a difference

my little tikka t3 shoots lights out with whatever I've fed it. My Remington 700 243 same way. I'm like salty, if it wont shoot under an inch, I sell it

Hopefully I'll get some time to sand out that high spot tonight and get some test shots in this weekend. I'll be surprised and disappointed if the gun doesn't shoot the 100 gr. loads < 1 MOA after that, keeping in mind that it has put 70 gr. Federal Premium BT's in < .6 MOA at 200 yds.

Will let you know.

[CWPINST]

If it has shot like that several times then it is just a matter of finding the right load.

[tman]

Killed lots and lots and lots of deer with 95 grn Winchester silvertips. Although do yourself a favor and try not to hit a lot of hard bone cause you might not get a good exit wound. But usually a dropper, when you center punch their little heart.

[davisd9]

Barnes TTSX 80 grain