Ok I was all excited to try shooting my first deer with reloads that I did myself. Im loading 95 grain SST with 44 grains of I4350 and they shoot under 1 MOA so I figure Im good to go hunting. First deer I shot is a direct shoulder shot. Bullet exploded on the bone and didnt exit the other side, and this was on a small button buck. The shoulder I hit was pretty much destroyed and fragments made the deer DRT. It didnt take a step but I still dont like the performance of this load. On a large deer or with an imperfect shot one could easily get away. Since then I have shot 2 more deer with this same load, one was a double lung shot with an exit hole about the size of a tennis ball and the other was a shoulder entrance ( no bone hit ) and it exited near the diaphram on the opposite side. The exit wound on this one looked like a shotgun exit, the meat in an area about the size of a tennis ball was just shredded with a complete hole a little larger than a golf ball. I would guess these loads are moving around 3200 fps, should I load them down or try a different bullet?
Quote: First deer I shot is a direct shoulder shot. Bullet exploded on the bone and didnt exit the other side, and this was on a small button buck. The shoulder I hit was pretty much destroyed and fragments made the deer DRT. It didnt take a step but I still dont like the performance of this load. Since then I have shot 2 more deer with this same load, one was a double lung shot with an exit hole about the size of a tennis ball and the other was a shoulder entrance ( no bone hit ) and it exited near the diaphram on the opposite side. The exit wound on this one looked like a shotgun exit, the meat in an area about the size of a tennis ball was just shredded with a complete hole a little larger than a golf ball. I would guess these loads are moving around 3200 fps, should I load them down or try a different bullet?
Keep on shooting em....dead deer tell no tales.
Posts: 318 | Location: Pinhook River, Florida | Registered: 27 March 2004
If you insist on trying shoulder shots with a .243, maybe you should consider using a premium controlled expansion bullet like the Nosler Partition or Speer Grand Slam or even a Barnes X or Triple Shock. On the other hand, if you are willing to hold few inches behind the shoulder, a Nosler 95 gr Ballistic Tip, or 100 gr Solid Base should work fine. Perhaps even the SST would perform on a lung shot or neck shot. Or there is always the option of moving up to a larger caliber, as I am confident a .270 or 30-06 (or even a 6.5x55 with 140 gr bullets) would do just fine on the shoulder of whitetail or mulie.
Posts: 515 | Location: kennewick, wa | Registered: 18 May 2004
Your bullet performance seems similar to mine with a Hornady 95gr. SST in my 6mm Rem. It's about what I would expect. Have you given any thought to the Nosler Partition? You might find that more to your liking, but I suspect the results might be almost the same as the SST you're using. Best wishes.
Does anyone have any experience shooting deer in the shoulder with a .243 diameter premium bullets, I was wondering if these bullets were a little light for routine shoulder shots. Jeff
Posts: 101 | Location: WA | Registered: 25 April 2003
The Barnes 85gr TSX from the 243 does a great job if the two mule deer bucks I've shot are any indicator. One was a shoulder shot, the bullet exited the off side and anchored the deer at 130 paces. The other was a lung shot and exited on the offside shoulder @ 184 paces. Meat damage was minimal.
My 12 year old grandson used this load on a 6X6 bull elk this season @ 75 yards. Lung shot. The bull dropped about 30yds from where it was shot. The bullet exited the off side.
Posts: 64 | Location: AZ, Maricopa, Phoenix | Registered: 28 July 2004
A bullet like the 95 grain Nosler Partition might have done better, but the idea, with a small bullet like the .24 cals., is NOT to shoot big, heavy bones! On a rib cage shot, you will get complete pass-thrus, and a lot less meat damage.
The .24's are not particularly suited for taking difficult-angle shots.
