# 6mm deer bullet



## jk3hunter (Dec 29, 2010)

Hello all, I have a Remington model 722 chambered in 244 Remington. It has a slow twist of 1:12 and shoots the light bullets very well, however I'm looking to find a deer bullet that is lighter than 80 grains and am having a hard time doing so. I have done some experimentation with the 85 gr Sierra BTHP and it shoots ok, but I would like to go lighter if possible. Does anybody know of any deer bullets 80 gr or lighter for the 6mm?


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Stop looking and go to the 85 gr TSX, the hit like a 130gr bullet and are lethal on deer. Friend has been shooting them the last few years in his Rem Classic 6mm with the same twist. While you may find a lighter bullet, the performance of the bullets lighter will disappoint. I went from shooting my 300 Win Mag or 30-06 to the .243 using the same bullet. Simply put after dozens of deer between us I doubt I will shoot anything else. The best part is that it makes a great coyote load as well. Flat shooting outstanding performance on impact even when the shot is not exact. The hydro shock that these bullets produce will cause internal bleeding well above other bullets even heavier!!!


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

I don't think they make a deer bullet in 6mm lighter than the x bullet. I have shot deer with the Hornady 87 gr HP. I was surprised that Hornady listed a hollow point as a deer bullet, but they do and it works. 
I would agree with Ron on the lethality of the X bullet. The only thing I disagree on is the hydroshock and think it has the least of all bullets other than the full metal. If you look at the companies own data and images of performance in their tests. I'll try to describe it. When a soft point 150 gr 30 caliber bullet hits tissue it expands to about two inches instantly. About two inches in it starts to expand to a wound channel about six to eight inches in diameter, and stays that way for about eight inches. Then it tapers for another four inches to a two inch wound channel and stops at about 18 inches. The X bullet expands quickly to about a three inch wound channel tapers to a two inches in and stays that way for a total penetration of about 32 inches. I started shooting X bullets when they were just getting started. I always say they penetrate so well that more energy is expended on the hill behind the deer than on the deer.

My experience I have mentioned many times. Not many bullets as lethal as an X bullet, but my experience is they always run further than a hit with a soft point. If I was hunting the mountains for elk with few people around I may shoot the X bullet because you can reach the heart on a bull elk going straight away from you. If I was hunting public land with the chance of my deer running over the hill and listening to shot and a guy saying he got it I would shoot a bonded core and not the X bullet. Also if I was shooting something as light as a 6mm I may shoot the X bullet for everything.

Since the 85 gr X bullet is nearly as long as a lead core 100 gr bullet I am surprised the 1 in 12 twists stabilizes it, but if it works for Ron's friend I think it would be the best choice.

Oh, forgot to mention. If you look at total cubic inches of wound channel the X bullet has a larger area of tissue destruction. If you look at tissue damage in the first 12 inches of wound channel the lead core bullet has more cubic inches of tissue destruction.


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## Habitat Hugger (Jan 19, 2005)

Yes, go With the 85 grain TTSX! Stabilizes fine in the 6mm Rem or even the early .244's! Excellent bullet! The only hunting bullet I use in all my .243 cal rifles any more.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

My comment on hydro shock is simply looking at the damage inside a deer cavity from the bullet. Few years back a friends granddad shot a doe in the stomach. No liver or kidney hit, but the back portion of the lungs well away from the entry and exit point looked like jello cool whip mixed. Never have I seen that from any other bullet.

Buck I shot this year was a complete pass through with the bullet going in the center of the brisket and exited out the rear without hitting a bone. Again the destruction inside was unreal.

The big thing I like is the bullets stay together. First deer I shot with them was a buck with 165gr out of my 30-06. It is the only bullet I have ever found. I hit the left rear leg bone, it deflected and went up hit the pelvic bone, then changed direction traveling forward through the lungs exiting the right side hitting a rib then following along the underside of the hide. Stopped 6" from the head. When skinning the animal I found the bullet. It weighed out at 161 grs with just a small portion of the one petal broken off.

I have shot a lot of bullet types on deer, elk, hogs and I am sold on the TSX


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

Ron Gilmore said:


> Stop looking and go to the 85 gr TSX, the hit like a 130gr bullet and are lethal on deer. Friend has been shooting them the last few years in his Rem Classic 6mm with the same twist. While you may find a lighter bullet, the performance of the bullets lighter will disappoint. I went from shooting my 300 Win Mag or 30-06 to the .243 using the same bullet. Simply put after dozens of deer between us I doubt I will shoot anything else. The best part is that it makes a great coyote load as well. Flat shooting outstanding performance on impact even when the shot is not exact. The hydro shock that these bullets produce will cause internal bleeding well above other bullets even heavier!!!


I really doubt that. I bought a first run 6MM ADL when they changed the name from 244. and it had a twist of 1 in 9 that was before the classic series came out.

The name change came with/because of the change in twist


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## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

Zogman yup, the twist rate of the old 244 was what killed it. The Winchester 243 came out with a faster twist and although the new Remington 6mm changed twist it never recovered while the 243 became a success. I know the 244 will not stabilize a standard 100 gr bullet. Maybe now and again you will find a rifle that will, but I have not seen one.

Yes, I like the X bullet. I have shot it since 1988. Not so much anymore. I like the high ballistic coefficient of some of the new bullets. They exaggerated the X bullet ballistic coefficient. Out of my 300 Win Mag a standard bullet with a .475 ballistic coefficient hits just as high at 800 yards as an X bullet with a .505 ballistic coefficient.

With the 165 gr X bullet at 3200 fps and hitting deer between 200 and 300 yards right through both lungs they still run 100 to 200 yards for me. I had one in Montana at 300 yards take a hit right on the left shoulder. He run about 100 yards west, got confused, turned around, run right back and dropped where I had first shot him. The left shoulder was one giant black and blue chunk of meat. The bullet exited the right hind quarter. You can't ask for better penetration than that.

I have not recovered many X bullets. One day on the way to work the car in front of me hit a deer. I called the warden then put her down. About six hours later it hit me --- test medium. I called the warden, then called my friend, loaded his 308 down to simulate a hit at 400 yards, went and drug her into a shelterbelt. Laid her on the ground with her butt up against a big cottonwood, got back 20 yards, and put two shots through her lengthwise. We seen something bounce back over our heads on the second shot. I used a metal detector to search for the bullets. One was under the skin on the back side of a hind quarter. That was 30 years ago and it's still on my keychain today. We never found the other bullet.


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