Question: I just bought a Remington Mod 7 for a good price and I need a gun for my daughter's 1st hunt this fall. This gun will be used for Tx white tails and Mt mule deer. What are the best bullets in the 95 to 105 gr group. (what do you use and why?) Also how big of a animal can you reasonably go after and what reasonable range can one use this caliber?

I use 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tips with 37gr of IMR-4064 seated 2.715" OAL. Gives 100yd ragged dot accuracy. A good 243 is really hard to beat for Texas whitetail hunting.

I reload the 100 grain Hornady interlock flatbase in both the .243 and the 6mm Rem.

300 yards is not at all overextending the range of that bullet in the .243. If you're good the range can be pushed another 100 yards.....there's nothing anemic about the .243!

My Remington 788 shoots 95 gr. Hornady SST's very well. I pulled the gun out of mothballs about 4 years ago and I have been using it few times every year since. With the 95 gr. SST's and H-4350 the way it kills deer is uncanny. Every deer I've shot with it in the last 4 years has literally just fallen over. I'll shoot them with 300 mags and they run 100 yards into the brush. I think that the 95 gr. just happens to be a perfect match for the reasonable velocities out of my gun (2700 fps with a carbine barrel). Within reasonable ranges, it should be able to handle any deer in the state of Texas, and then some.

I wouldn't hesitate using this gun out to 200 yards... maybe a touch further if there wasn't much wind and I had a solid rest. After that, it just slows down too much due to the short barrel. A longer barrel would help.

Like any light caliber, if used right and if you limit your range whatever that might be, it will work fine..

I have used the 6x45 and the 75 gr. Barnes X or GS Customs bullets on Texas Whitetail and Idaho Mule Deer many times but I limit my shots to 200 yards and prefer 100 yards..I also use it in the more open country as the 6mm's sometimes fail to leave any blood trail and that can be a serious problem.

My wife shoots Canadian white tails with her 243 win using 85gr TSX bullets zipping along at 3200 fps. Havn't recovered any bullets yet.

Ray what are GS Customs? I can't find them listed in Midway.

In my ex-wifes rifle the Sierra 100 grain flat base and BT performed flawlessly on several deer and an Antelope. All one shot kills and all but one exited the animal. The one that did not exit was a front on chest shot from 125 yards and the bullet was found on the outside of the rear ham after travelling through the entire deer lengthwise, it weighed 80+ grains after its journey.
The load in this rifle was very accurate for a short barreled lightweight rifle (shoots under an inch sometimes under .5") WW cases, CCI primer, 41 grains of IMR-4350 and the above mentioned Sierra 100 grain bullets.
In my opinion a 100 grain bullet in a .243 is a deer killer for sure. For smallish deer and medium ranges you could probably drop down to 85-90 grain bullets and get the same results. I would trust the 100 grain load with carefully placed shots to 300 yards based on my experiences with it.
Good luck with your daughters rifle.

My son-in-laws Model 700 really likes the 90 grain Nosler ballistic tips. I know a lot of guys that shoot 300 yds with their .243s but the energy really starts to drop out there. I'd recommend a 200 to 250 yds maximum range. My nickels worth.

I just bought a Savage .243 package rifle last week without the Accutrigger and it has real possibliities. It grouped under an inch with Federal 100 gr ammo. With a trigger replacement, good hand loads and a better scope it should be awesome.

I did a lot of reading before buying a .243 Win. 'cause you know some say you need more for deer. There sure are enough testimonials that it is adequate----that 300 yard max. is often repeated.

The .243 will be a nice gun to pull out at the range after shooting a box or two of 30 cal.

There are LOTS of good deer bullets for the .243. Generally, anything from 90 grains up does pretty well. The Nosler Partition is fine, but you really don't need a "premium" bullet in this caliber for deer. I would stay away from bullets like the monometals which may not open rapidly enough.

I have used nothing but the old Nosler Solid Base (not Ballistic Tip) 100 grain bullet in my .243 for years. A friend killed a medium-sized whitetail buck at 375 yards with it with a single shot. They are unavailable over-the-counter, but you can often find them at Nosler.com or Shooters Pro Shop on the web for excellent prices (they are listed as Nosler seconds, but are actually perfect bullets that Nosler sells to ammunition manufacturers.)

Thanks to all for your input.

Hi,
http://gscustom.co.za/
Is the GS customs URL

My 243 likes the Hornady 100 grain BTSP at about 3150 fps. Kills deer and antelope out to 400 yards very effectively.

I like the 85 gr TSX from my .243. Fast, flat and effective. I can't ask for more than that!

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
I reload the 100 grain Hornady interlock flatbase in both the .243 and the 6mm Rem.

300 yards is not at all overextending the range of that bullet in the .243. If you're good the range can be pushed another 100 yards.....there's nothing anemic about the .243!

+1 on the 100 grainers. That's my pet load in my H&R with 35 grains of IMR 4064.

Tony

I like the 100 gr. Sierra Prohunter Boattail. Very accurate, and deadly on deer, and pronghorn. The .243 is just a great cartridge. I'm sure you, and your Daughter will be well pleased. I believe any or the above bullets would work well. Simply pick the one that shots best out of your gun.

I agree with Bo Rich. The sierra prohunters work well for me - but then so would many other bullets. Tom