I am new into reloading and was wondering if anyone had tried to load 115 gr. barnes original bullets in a .243.
I love the gun, and am not afraid to use it on anything. The problem is that my girlfriends uses it for deer hunting, and she doesn't think it has enough oomph.

The .243 has plenty of oomph for deer. Folks kill deer with 30-30's all the time, and the .243 is well more than that...

I would have some considerations as to whether the 115 will stabilize in the conventional 1:10 twist of most .243's. I would have to yield the floor to someone who has used such a bullet...

The 85 grain Sierra BTHP does a good job on our whitetails in this part of Virginia.

Dan

That would be a fun combination to experiment with but Dan is right, itll get the job done without um. Dont let that little cartridge fool you, its looks are decieving.

The thing I would wonder is if you could get those prehistoric pills to shoot. have fun and welcome to the forum!

Tell her to "...get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans..."

Not enough oomph? I have been hunting white tail, mule deer and antelope all over the lower 48 for the past 40 years with .243 Winchester and 6mm Remington, using an 85 grain bullet. Stops 'em dead where they stand, if I do my part...

If you want numbers, the rule of thumb is at the least 1000 ft.lbs of bullet striking energy for deer sized game or larger. The 243 is at the bottom of that list of cartridges. The vast majority of hunters do not think about or know the retained energy the bullet has at a given range. The .308 diameter bullet is generally considered the best game getting bullet at all practical hunting ranges. There are to many opinons to list on the best cartridge to use. Most hunting cartridges are used because that is what their dad, uncle, hunting friend, sporting goods store clerk told them was best. Numbers in bullet striking energy were an issue. Those numbers came from articles in hunting magzines by outdoor writers who used those rifles in the field and then wrote about them.
The 243 with the proper bullet and shot placement at no more than 150 yards will harvest deer sized game animals. Yes deer sized game animals are shot at longer distances with the 243. That does not mean the hunter should take those border line shots on the bullet energy scale.
My personal choice for hunting game animals is the 300 Winchester Magnum cartridge with the 165 grain bullet. That cartridge has all the bullet energy needed to harvest any game animal at all practical hunting ranges.
Deer are harvested with the 22 long rifle rim fire mostly at night in the dark with a light. I don't condone those actions but do not have any controll over those action by unethical hunters.

Load her up some 100 gr. Nosler Partitions and be done with it. They'll work for anything she cares to shoot and they will stabilize in a 1-10" barrel. If you need loads, let me know, everything I use is within manual maximums so I will post them.
Yardbird

Silly question: If one were in possesion of some of these 1939 Barnes bullets, wouldn't they be collectable? And therefore imprudent to shoot them?

Dan

Reloader66 said:
"If you want numbers, the rule of thumb is at the least 1000 ft.lbs of bullet striking energy for deer sized game or larger. The 243 is at the bottom of that list of cartridges."

The 100 grain sierra with a mv of 3000 fps still has 1077 ftlbs of energy at 400 yards.

When I was doing a lot of ammo manufacturing around here for from 1982 to 1996, the 105 grain speer in 243 was one of my best sellers. Killed deer dead.

Thanks for all the input. I was wondering if the bullet would be stable, because it is so much heavier than what you normally see. As far as being antiquated, you can easily order or buy the 115 grain bullet on the internet, or at a barnes dealer.
If anyone has actually tried the load, I would be interested in your findings.