Starting to work up some loads for whitetail deer. Grandchildren learning to shoot .243 & .257
Thinking 90 gr. Ballistic Tip, Remington CoreLok, Sierra Gameking HPBT, Hornady 117 gr. Interlocks.
Wanting to load for accuracy vs speed.
Any go to thoughts appreciated.
Ballistic Tip has stood out over the years as very accurate.
Hope everyone’s having a great season.

I suggest you keep to 100 grain in 243 and 115-120 grains in 257.

Try a few a see which shoots better in your rifle.

Forget aiming for maximum velocity, concentrate on accuracy.

And always bear in mind the weakest link in a hunting situation is the shooter.

quote:

I suggest you keep to 100 grain in 243

+1

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Saeed:


“Forget aiming for maximum velocity, concentrate on accuracy”.

Accuracy is exactly what I’m aiming for, not velocity.

I thought maybe some of you guys have had better luck with some more than others. Trying to speed up the process.
I’d like to start with the consensus, most accurate bullet choice if possible rather than work through multiples.

I do appreciate your input!

I shoot 100gr TSX/TTSX in my 257 Roberts. Very accurate and kill lights out. I prefer them to the cup and core 117's/120's, less recoil and they actually retain more weight.
I kill 20 whitetail and a dozen or so hogs every year. I play with lots of bullets but none beat the 100gr Barnes.

Perry

In the .243 good deer bullets are the 95 grain Ballistic Tip (at 3000 fps) and the 85 grain Sierra HPBT (3200 fps)

Both of these bullets at typical .243 velocities are vicious killers on red deer and fallow.

In the .25/06 I used the 117 grain Hornady Interlock on reds and fallow.

Both kill like lightning.


As for velocity or accuracy, in these cartridges velocity counts. Speed kills.

Any rifle that will shoot a 1.5 group is accurate enough for deer.

Another vote for the .257 100gr. TTSX. Crazy accurate and great performance in both the .257 Roberts and .257 Wby.

If you have IMR4320 34.5 grains with any good 100 grain bullet will be as accurate as you will ever need. I use the old flat base Noslers but I have plenty of them . Have used the Speer and Sierra's both and both work just fine. Unfortunately the only .25 that I own is a 25-20 Winchester so cant help with the .257 stuff.

40 gr of 4064 qnd a 100 gr. sierra game king is my go to load in the .243... everything ive got will shoot it under 1 moa if i do my part...

Ballistic tips are accurate and sometimes hold together pretty well for what they are, but what they are is basically a glorified hollow point. And that is why I went back to Speer 120 grainers in the 257. I just have more confidence in the SP and their accuracy is still plenty good. If the question were about a larger caliber then a BT might be more appropriate. But for minimalist deer calibers I prefer a little stouter bullet than a BT. As much as I like the BT, I just think sometimes a plain old SP might be a better option.

When Im looking for pinpoint accuracy in about any 24 or 25 caliber I start out with a 85 to 87 gr. Sierra Hollow point. BTW, they are darn good on deer also just don't try to stretch the distance..