# Reloaders, what .243 bullet are YOU using for deer?



## Robert A. Langager

Just picked up a Savage .243 this weekend. I have ordered an assortment of bullets in the 85-105 grain range. I have had good success with the CT Ballistic Silver Tips in 168 gr. for my .308. So I got a box in the 95 gr. 243 offering as well.

Just looking for suggestions.

Thanks,
Robert


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## huntin1

Robert,

I load the .243 for both my son and my step-son. I have been loading the standard Nosler Ballistic Tip hunting bullet, 95 grain, for them for the past several years, both of them have had great success with this bullet.

I've shot the Ballistic Silver Tip factory loads in my .308, but I've not yet reloaded that bullet.

huntin1


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## Robert A. Langager

Well this is what I have ordered:

Speer 105 gr. Hot Cor
Rem 100 gr. Core-Lokt
Sierra 100 gr. Game King
CT 95 gr. Ballistic Silver Tip

And for fun:

Sierra 70 gr. Match King.


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## Horsager

85gn TSX for everything.


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## huntin1

Looks like a bit of load testing coming up. 

Any of the ones you got coming work well. It's going to depend on how your rifle shoots them.

The Barnes TSX is a devastating bullet in any calibur.

huntin1


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## Robert A. Langager

huntin1 said:


> The Barnes TSX is a devastating bullet in any calibur.


It looks like a devastatingly expensive bullet in any caliber too!


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## Horsager

Robert A. Langager said:


> huntin1 said:
> 
> 
> 
> The Barnes TSX is a devastating bullet in any calibur.
> 
> 
> 
> It looks like a devastatingly expensive bullet in any caliber too!
Click to expand...

They're less than $.60/bullet, what's the big deal? They only make one weight in 6mm, just get a box and try them. 45gn of Ramshot hunter has worked well in my rifle as well as another board members. 3200fps from a 22" barrel in a Kimber or a Savage.


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## People

They're less than $.60/bullet, what's the big deal? that is the best joke I herd in a long time. lol


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## MossyMO

95 grain Hornady SST with great results in my Savage. By the way, Horsager's 85 Barnes Triple Shock TSX grain shoots almost (frick'n close) identically out of my Savage as the 95 grain Hornady SST.


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## Horsager

People I assume you know that $.60/bullet means "sixty cents/bullet". It's getting tough to buy even "Blue box Federals" or "Silver Box Winchesters" for less than a dollar/shot. So you get $.75 (that's seventy-five cents) tied up into a load that's tuned to your rifle and uses a premium bullet (IMO one of if not THE best on the market) and you save 25% over entry level stuff. Again I ask, "What the problem?" Many will have more spent on fuel for one weekend than they do on ammo all year. We're talking about a load for deer hunting volume of shooting, not prairie dog volume of shooting.


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## SDHandgunner

I have been using the 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Hunting Bullet loaded with H-4350 for the past couple years with great success. Every Deer shot with this load out to almost 300 yards has been a one shot kill. The farthest any Deer traveled after the shot was a few yards and I never did loose sight of the deer after the shot before it collapsed.

Ever deer shot with this bullet has had about a 25 cent piece size exit wound, with no signs of bullet break up. I should also note that all were shot behind the shoulder through the lungs.

The 95gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Hunting Bullets loaded with H-4350 have also been super accurate in every .243 I have tried them in. In a 22" Ruger I had this load produced 3071 FPS.

Larry


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## Robert A. Langager

Horsager,

I understand where you are coming from. But when the projectile costs twice as much as the brass.............whoa. I may have to try out a box though.

Ok,

Let's talk about rates of twist in a .243. I tried the cleaning rod trick an found that the rate of twist is 1 in 10", which is pretty much the standard.

From what I have read elsewhere, this rate of twist may not be enough to stabilize bullets in the 100 grain and up range, hence the trend towards 1 in 9" and 1 in 8" twist rates.

What sayeth the reloaders?

Thanks,
Robert


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## Horsager

It'll shoot 100's just fine. Might not shoot some of the heavier 105, 107 and up match bullets though. That said, 85's of some sort are the way to go with any 6mm chambering for hunting, and the tougher constructed 85's make good "all around" bullets. I sorta wish that Nosler made an 80-90gn Accubond. I know Swift makes a 90 but Swift's can sometimes be difficult to get and my one try with Scirrocco's didn't give me good accuracy from a proven rifle (I must admit I didn't try very hard either).


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## Burly1

I load the CT Ballistic tip, 95 grains for my Ruger 77 in 6mm Remington. This rifle also sports a one in ten inch twist. The CT has proven to be a very accurate bullet, expanding well on game on all but the closest shots. The last game animal taken with this combination was a nice Pronghorn buck at a laser ranged three hundred six yards. The bullet caught the bottom of the spine, and caused a baseball sized exit hole. Not perfect placement, as the wind was blowing left-to-right at about twenty five mph. Johnsona was plenty happy with the result, nonetheless.
I plan to try the Berger VLD in 90 grain configuration sometime in the near future. Reports from the field laud this bullet as a great performer on thin skinned game, as well as being super accurate. If you are concerned about cost, you won't go wrong with a premium spire point bullet from any of the major manufacturers. A little experimentation with powder and OAL will likely have you finding all the accuracy you need for deer hunting. But as Horsager says, money spent on a superbly accurate, high performance bullet for big game hunting is always well spent. Good shooting, Burl


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## ndm

Robert,

I have a Savage Weather Warrior in .243. You will have no trouble stabilizing 100 grain bullets. My rifle shoots the 100 gr. Sierra better than any other bullet. I still like the 100 gr. Nosler Partition best for hunting.


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## Brad from ND

SDHandgunner how many grains of H-4350 are you running? I've been trying 90 grn Ballistic Tips with 4350 without much success. It's looking like time for a new powder. My gun is a Rem 700 with 1-10 twist and 22 inch barrel. It really likes 41.5 grn of Varget with a 65 grn V-Max, though.


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## Acer

Have had good luck with 85 sierra game king BTHP but these things do a lot of damage. The partition type of a Barns TSX would be much better. I have been thinking about changeing over to it. (I'd have to think that the damage would be lower but just as affective)


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## bwnelson

One good way to cut the costs of hunting with TSX's is to work up a load with a same weight varmint bullet for "play" and use the TSX for "keeps". Several people load 85gr Sierra HP's to shoot to the same point of impact as the spendy Barnes bullets for offseason fur whacking and paper punching.


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## Kelly Hannan

Hornady 100gr for deer, with 35gr of 4895. Sierra 85gr, with 35 gr 4895 for coyotes, these two loads shot very well out of my Model 70.


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## Whelen35

I second the barns bullet for the 243. My thinking is the 243 is marginal for deer, so use the best bullets you can. Barns use to mack a 75 grain 243 bullet that was truely great. Too bad they only make the 85 grain bullet. You can't seem to drive the barns bullet to fast. The nosler bt is a great and accurate bullet, but it needs to be run in its velosity range to work great.


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## fox412

85 grn sierra game kings


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## foster_65

100 gr hornadys


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## hagfan72

I have a 6mm Rem that I load for and I use either Nosler 95gr Partitions or Hornady 100gr BTSPs.


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## weston

when i load for deer in my 243 remington 700 i would be loading a 100 gr nosler partition it has no problem going thru a shoulder of a deer in fact it is a pretty mean little load


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## Habitat Hugger

I have used 95 grain Noslers and 100 grain partitions over the years in the .243. 
This year I decided to try Swift Sciroccos. Just got back from an antelope hunt in Montana, and myself and two others all used my rifle and loads with their antelope. (After I bagged mine at 248, they decided to try it, both usually using 7mm mags previously, and were scepticle of the flatness of the .243) 
Got mine a 248 yards, another guy got his at 305 and the other at 285, all clean one shot kills. My load/rifle was sigted in at exactly 200 yards, and was 7 inches low at 300. In the 305 yarder, an antelope slowly walking away, I told him to hold on the back of the head and it would take him where the neck joined the body, which it did, a neat one shot kill, as were all three last weekend. So no complaints with the Swifts!
Antelope are small animals, though, and I plan to try the sciroccos out on some whitetails in a couple of weeks.


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## Habitat Hugger

Forgot - my load was 39.5 grains H380 behind a Scirrocco 90 grain and rifle a Ruger 77 with the original 'lawyer trigger' thrown into the trash and replaced with a Timney Trigger set at 3 pounds!


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## Habitat Hugger

Forgot to mention the load - 39.5 grains H380 behind a Scirocco 90 grain and rifle a Ruger 77 with the original 'lawyer trigger' thrown into the trash and replaced with a Timney Trigger set at 3 pounds!
That particular combination shoots quarter sized groups all day off sand at 100 yards in my rifle, anyway.
The Noslers were fine and I had good luck with them on deer and antelope, too. I once shot a bull moose with the 100 grain Nosler Partition and a Ruger no. 1, not to be recommended, but under the circumstaces with exact bullet placement it worked just fine, in fact, passed completely through the chest cavity taking out the heart on a broadside shot. 
The best thing about a .243 and other smaller rifles is that people tend to shoot it accurately, without the trigger jerking and flinching you see too often with the superboomer magnums. A smaller bullet through the heart/lungs kills much better than a superboomer bullet through the butt or gut or leg!
Size might matter sometimes, but sometimes it matters inversely with rifles and accuracy! LOL


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## People

Horsager sorry I did not respond earlier. My comment was on the cost of bullets in general. You are preaching to the quire about the cost of bullets. I am the guy that uses a 50 BMG on deer. I remember back when the bullet was $1.00 each the primer was $0.25. Lets go forward to today the same bullet is about $1.75 each (they come in boxes of 20) and primers are very close to $0.45 each and that is if you buy 500 of them.

I load Hornady 87gr softpoints for my friend. He seems to have good luck with them. He is using a Rem pump in 243.

Please do not comment about spelling my word has not been installed yet. I just formatted so I can dual boot with Fedora.


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## Habitat Hugger

Hey Robert - while you are at it, you might try some 55 grain BT's for prairie rats! My Ruger 77 shoots them amazingly well, though to a point of impact exactly 7 inches high at 100 yards compared to the 90 grain Swifts, although I'm sure it would be different in every rifle. And do they ever do a number on p dogs and trophy skunks!!
Years ago I used 105 grain Speers and they performed well on deer and antelope, too.


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## headshot

I used 85gr TSX and 100gr partitions. Both were more then adequate but the partition had more umphh on the close shots. Both loads performed well on yotes too. :sniper:


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## Turbine Doctor

I just took a deer at 220 yds with my 6mm shooting 95gr Nosler Balistic tips loaded with about 45gr IMR 4350. Broke one rib going in, nicked the spine and took out two ribs on the way out. It ran about 20 yards and it was lights out. I am now playing with some 95gr Combined Technologies with 40.7grs IMR 4350. I am finding they group pretty good but like less powder then the Noslers.

I have also used 70gr Sierras for deer. The load was good enough where I felt comfortable taking neck shots out to 300yds. Dropped them like a rock.


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## Robert A. Langager

Season Update:

So far I only have one deer down. Season runs through January 1 so I will be making a big push in the next week.

This is what I have found:

The doe was taken at a mere 60 yards with the 95 grain Ballistic Silver Tip. It was a bang-flop. The bullet performed perfectly.

The Savage did not shoot the heavier bullets (100 and up) well with the 1 in 10" twist barrel. The 95s would hold about and inch or so. So I went with them.

It really likes the 85 grain Sierra Game Kings and the 87 grain Hornadys. They would hold about 0.5-0.75" groups. I am zeroed for the Game Kings now and will see how they do.

I will work-up the Barnes during the off-season and try them out next year.

Robert


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## JCHiggins double 9

I own a NEF Handi Rifle in 243. When I first got it, I could not hit a paper plate at 100 yards with factory ammo (Win and Rem). So I got a new scope, with the same results. So I used this as an excuse to try my hand at reloading. Needless to say, I have had great results. Sub-MOA groups with 85 BT Sierra's on IMR 4350 at 43.5 grains would back up my saying I am happy.

As far a deer load, I used 85 Grain Speer Soft Point, with the same powder charge, worked wonders this past season at 155 steps on a small whitetail. He never knew what hit him. :sniper:

I have tried heavier bullets with poor results, but I have great results with lighter bullets.


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## Robert A. Langager

Welcome to the site Mr. Higgins. Your pet load is almost exactly the same as mine. My Savage is very fond of the 85 gr Sierra or 87 gr Hornady behind 43.5 gr of H4350 (which I guess is a close cousin of IMR 4350). It is grouping right around 0.75". Not bad for a 35 year old pencil barreled Savage.

Robert


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## Burly1

I found it interesting that the Turbine Doc had different results with the BT vs the CT. They are the same bullet, but the CT has a moly based coating. I found that the coated bullets liked a little MORE powder! I also used a 6mm Remington cartridge. Maybe Doc stopped a little short when developing his loads, due to pressure signs, restrictions in the manual, or whatever. I use a bit over 46 grains of IMR 4350. The load is accurate, and I've seen no sign of excessive pressure. These results are consistant with other moly coated bullets I have tried in the 6, and other cartridges as well.
Burl


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## MagnumManiac

The only 243 bullet I use on deer is the Nosler 110gr Accubond in my 25-06!!!!!!!!!
THATS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:


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## osoksniper

This is a cool discussion. I really enjoy the Barnes bullets and agree, for game there is no equal. I have bagged 8 this year already and, none have run more than 40 yds...all have been easy to locate, and the meat contains no lead and the grinder is very grateful as well as the other hunters helping to get the meat off the bones. I'm not saying there are not cheaper, or even better shooting bullets out there however, for game and keeping the meat, it would be virtually impossible to be the barnes tsx in a .243. I really enjoy the speer and the hornady and even nosler for shooting at the paper and coyotes and such where i am not keeping the meat for my family and friends. I used a nosler a few years ago and loaded it about 3260 fps, torm the deer up internally and, had to leave a good bit of meat behind. Again, as another writer said here, they are not for target practice unless you have deep pockets and, you must have a perfectly clean bore to shoot them. Use pro shot solvent until no blue or black color to get all the previous versions of bullets free from the bore and then kroil it with 3 patches...when you take it out again, one kroil and three dry patches and the barnes will shoot just as good as a nosler or speer. I saw a post where someone was using the 85 grn tsx over 45 grains of Ramshot Hunter. That is a great load and, have used that for warm weather hunting and, use 45.5 for my deer hunting since most of my shots are taken under 45 F. This was a really good discussion, sorry i missed the beginning. Oh, and never seat a barnes x to the lands as others...they need a little room...to start...if you make them to fit in the mag usually they will shoot well. I know some folks that load their bullets so long they have to feed them one at a time...ha!!! For long distance shooting...i am guilty of that as well...for hunting, you just need to know your longest distance...if it is under 300 yd, you can probably use the normal length...for longer shots, you might need that perferct length, olgive measure, weigh the bullets and cases and, even lots of bullets and primers...that is not the norm however. Later taters. :beer:


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## KurtR

barrel makers gotta love all that cleaning. That is counter to everthing i have heard about shooting a clean bbl. I know the 130ttsx out of the 270 wsm need about 4 shots in that gun to get it to settle in. If i had the 6 flavor i would shoot the 105ish amax,berger if the tube can spin it.


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