A quick reality check with those of you who also hunt deer or deer-sized game with the 243 Winchester: What bullet do you recommend when hunting whitetails of 100-200 pounds weight at ranges from 50 feet to no more than 200 yards? Personally, I've had good experience with the Remington 100 grain Corelokt (both handloaded and factory) and handloaded 95 grain Nosler Partitions (chosen only because the shop had no 100 grain Partitions) at ranges from 25 to 250 yards. Has anyone here used the 85 grain Partition for such work? Any of the Barnes X-bullets? Anyone worked with the 115 grain Barnes Original? Are there other 6mm bullets you can recommend from personal experience for game in this weight range? Good hunting! MB

For deer I prefer the Hornady 95gr SST, the Nosler 100gr Partition, the Speer 100gr. PSP, the Sierra 100gr. PSP and the Remington 100gr. Core-lok. There are no shortages of good hunting bullets in this caliber. We're blessed in that respect. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I second the 100gr Partition loaded as fast as you can get it to go(safety and accuracy permitting of course). But, since you said you cannot get the 100's at the local store, the 95 grainer is nice too. The BC is still fairly high for that one, and also not that big of a deal since you are not lobbing bullets 600yd at deer. IMO that 5 grain difference between the 2 is small in terms of performance.

I use 100gr Hornady Interlocks on Fallow and Red deer with no problems.I have used Winchester 100gr power points years ago before i started reloading they worked well too.

Deer 100-200lbs I have used:-

87gr Hornady soft point
90gr Ballistic tip
95gr Ballistic tip

I shot a really big fallow on Sunday night that'll weigh 150lb with no head legs or internal organs. The 90gr BT hit a rib on the way in and on the way out before lodging somewhere inside the far shoulder. The buck went 30yards.

IMHO 85-90gr bullets provide the best compromise of velocity, energy, expansion, trajectory and on game effect for a careful user of the 243/6mm. They will not exit every time if there is angle or shoulder involved but they do work well.

If I was stalking in wilder areas and did not have a dog for trailing (and so needed an exit more) I would use 100/105gr and RL22 or similar.

I've been hunting deer with 243's for close to 35 years. I've killed a lot of deer and never lost one. I strongly believe that it is necessary to only shoot when you are sure of shot placement. I use 85 and 95 gr Nosler Partitions depending on the rifle's preference. I try to obtain at least 3000fps. Most of the deer that I've shot laid in their tracks or within a very few feet.

knobmtn

MB - I have had good luck with the 100gr. Spt Hornady, but my all time favorite is the 100gr. Speer Grand Slam. It works like a Partition at 1/3 less cost.

I use the Winchester bulk packed(read cheap)100 grainers. Have for years. Besides my own ammo,I keep one son in law and one grandson supplied. Past season they were four shots-four deer.

My remington 700 after some bedding work prefers the Federal Premium 85 grain BTHP load shooting tem into a .5 to .75 inch group every time. At first I was hesitant to shoot deer with them as the velocity is upwards of 3300 fps and the bullet does not have the integrity of the heavier and premium bullet like the nosler partition or grand slam. But after shooting several of our texas deer with them including a 7.5 year old cull buck that dressed out at over 150 pounds, I can say that they are adequate. Most deer dropped in their tracks without even kicking when solid chest cavity splacement was used, but two deer (a spike and a doe) each made a 15-25 yard attempt at running only to fall end over end like they had been tripped. The results of this little load has won my "little" rifle a lot of respect, so don't automatically discredit sub-100 grain loads for deer like so many do.

I have used the old Nosler 100 grain Solid Base for years with excellent results in my Sako .243. I understand that the Solid Base is once again available directly from Nosler.

The 100 grain Sierra has also done well for me in the past.

mb,

I've used 85 grainers exclusively in the .243 Win. for decades with great success, in the States (Florida & Arizona, granted smaller Whitetails) and here in Europe (Roe Deer, which are very small deer and Fallow Deer).

I found the the 100 gr. Remington Corelokts way too explosive for my tatse, others swear by em. I had the same experience with 100 gr. Sierra's, the off-side shoulders looked someone put a hand grenade in the exit wound.

So I looked elsewhere and I've primarily used the Speer 85 grain Spitzer Boattils and last year started using 85 gr. Nosler Partitions. The dead differnce is naught, but the the NP's ALWAYS give a good solid exit wound, not a gaping cavity. The Speers occaisionally (depending on the angle) didn't exit but nevertheless left alot of dead deer on the spot where they were standing when the bullet hit. Let me qualify "angle" here; I'm also not trying to shoot Deer from Stem-to-Stern with a .243 Winchester, I'm talking about either broadside or slight quartering shots.

Net, I'd feel fine with 85 grainers in a .243 Winchester on the Deer-sized game you've specified.

By-the-by, In Scotland where annually they pot a couple of Red Stags one of the most popular Stag cartridges after the .270 Winchester is the .243 Winchester and trust me when I relate our Scottish colleagues are not at all shy about tackling a large beast with their .243's.

Cheers,

Gerry

I have always used the 100 grain Noslers, but then again I have not really experimented with any other load. I haven't needed to =) I think anything 85-grain plus will do the trick as long as you place the bullet well.