I'd go with 100gr. bullets. I'm sure there are good 85gr. bullets; it is just that I have not used any so can't much comment. I can, however, comment on 100gr. bullets in the 6mm Rem. In that chambering, I have had good luck with factory Remington 100gr. Core-Lokt, and also my reloads with 100gr. Hornady Interlock. Deer, pigs, and various varmits have been reliably dispatched....

I have several nieces/nephews that have dispatched deer with the .243 and I think that 100gr. ammo was used, possibly Winchester. I'll ask next time I have the opportunity.

Hope that helps and good luck.

 

Factory or reloads?

 

Reloading.

 

Welcome to the shooters forum.

If you handload, my suggestion would be to try the 100 grain bullet. The ones I load for my son is the 100 grain Sierra Gameking. He has taken a bunch of deer including some good sized bucks. Haven't heard any complaints yet and its been years.
The ultimate choice though is the bullet your rifle shoots best that is suitable for medium game.

 

I once used a 100 gr Sierra Boat-Tail (SBT) in my .243 Winchester Model 70 to take a nice whitetail doe on a limited-draw agricultural controlled hunt. It worked great - one-shot kill.

 

The family that got me hunting used the 95gr partitions for years on deer, bear, and elk.

 

Nosler Partition.

 

243 Bullet


Waterman's got the answer. Nosler 85 gr Partition is your huckleberry. I've had excellent accuracy with a dose of IMR4350 and that bullet out to 300 yards. Far enough to take any whitetail I care to shoot.
Don't rule out the 90 gr Accubond though. I had better accuracy with that bullet in my rifle. But, each rifle is different.

 

Tell ya what, I've been using the Speer 90 grain Hot Core for a very long time, it's a simply amazing hunting bullet. I honestly can't count the number of large body mule deer and small couse white tail deer we've taken with this inexpensive projectile. Every single deer we've killed with it has been a through and through, in and out, even on tough shoulder shots we've experienced absolutely zero fragmentation. The typical shots out here in Arizona are between 300 and 550 yards with the occasional 200-250 yard shot. Pushing them at as high velocity as conceivably possible without exceeding safe operating pressures, even those occasional close kills have shown that this bullet does not fragment or experience jacket separation. One of the hunters we took a broadside shot and hit the muley high, slamming into the spine, the bullet busted through with fierce efficiency.

And despite it's ability to maintain integrity, they still mushroom quite well while still not fragmenting. An especially interesting testament to their integrity is something I experienced when using the 130 gr. (277 win.) Hot Core on a bull elk hunt years ago. I shot this bull from no more than 50 yards, velocity was in the 3150 fps range. Being that it was the last day of the hunt the only shot that presented too me was the butt facing me, in which the bullet entered just above the anus and traveled straight up the spinal column, busting through every single vertebra before coming to a stop at the base of the neck. When I recovered the bullet it was completely intact, but mushroomed completely back to the heel. After cleaning the bone and flesh off of it I weighed it and was shocked to find that it retained something like 93% of it's weight.

They're not actually a true bonded bullet however, but when attempting to separate the jacket from the core by trying to peel it off has been virtually impossible. Accuracy is also very impressive and satisfying, with most decent quality rifle's capable of 1/2" and better groups with the right load development.

No doubt there are numerous other projectiles that will keep pace with the integrity of the Hot Core, but not for .25 per bullet. At this price load development and testing is very economical, so a person can easily spend twice that much for another bullet of equal construction traits.

SMOA

 

fishfreak--- I've shot just over 60 Whitetails with the 85 gr. Sierra HPBT and never had a failure. I wouldn't consider anything else but I'm sure others are just as good. They shoot well in 1-10 and 1-12 twist.

 

According to Sierra this is the # 1 Selling bullet for them in the state of WV as anything bigger than a 243 is toooo much gun for Deer as far as they R concerned

Jim

 

Barnes TTSX ..... shoots well above it's weight.

 

For deer sized game I would agree with the previous comments and try the heaviest bullet that will shoot well in your rifle. A 100gr Core Lokt will work. I'm not one who thinks you need a $50 box of ammo to shoot whitetail

 

I agree with JBelk. 85 gr. Sierra HPBT has my vote.

 

I've shot three deer with a 243 and each one shot and out. That said I'm not a fan of the 243 for big game. Here in Oregon it is legal for elk and without a doubt it will kill n elk. But what you can do and what you should do are two different thing's some time's. Under the right circumstance's I could take out an elk easily with a 22 RF, doesn't mean it should be used. The 24 and 25 caliber's I think are best used up to deer sized but no further. Someone mentioned the 95gr Hot Core. I always though the Hot Core bullet's were the ideal bullet's for game, then Speer sold out and Vernon retired. I recently tried a Hot Core again in one of my rifles and it did not shoot even remotely well. Wish the made a 130 gr class Hot Core in 6.5mm, I'd try them just to see. If I was going to hunt deer again, I think that 95 gr Hot Core would be the bullet, if, I could get to shoot in one of my 243's. I've got a load for one of them that is super with the 87 gr Hornady and I suspect it might be a good deer bullet also. First try would go to the Hot Core. Everyone I read about using the Hot Core claim it's shoot's well. Maybe I just got a bad box!

 

Hey there Don Fisher, Speer doesn't offer 130 gr. Hot Core in the 6.5, but they do have 120 gr. & 140 gr., maybe give those a shot and see what ya think, just a thought. BTW, they don't make a 95 gr. in .243", it's a 90 gr..

SMOA

 

I have tried one box of 140gr Hot Core's, they didn't shoot well at all. Surprised me to as years ago I had good luck with them. The 120gr is just to light for me. If I was to use a 120gr bullet I'd use my 25-06. Mine handles that weight bullet really well.

 

I have taken lots of deer with 100 gr Sierra Gamekings. I have never had one walk away. My best loads have been backed by H4831 powder. I started with that load in 1968 and it is still my primary deer load. Good luck in building your load.

 

My Tikka likes the 85 grn hpbt they shot well. If you have any trouble getting a load worked up go to wally world and get the cheapest box of Winchester 100 grain bullets. they're 17.00 my rifle loves them. it's 1:10 also. Target is with the Wal-chesters

 

Barnes TSX
44.5 Gr IMR 4831

 

Texas Heart Shot !!

 

Lots of people will recommend heavier bullets just because they are heavier but I've had good luck with the 87 grain Hornady and you see lots of votes for 85-90 grain bullets so I think you'd be happy with anything in that neighborhood.

 

Nosler 70 grain deermegeddons talk about accurate! They are fine for me here in Pennsyltucky with our 100 pound deer,. If your hunting large muleys you may want something heavier with a thicker jacket.

 

Just curious, but why limit yourself to 85 grain?

I've used 85 gr Nosler Solid bases and 87 gr Hornady SP for antelope and have been pleased with their performance. I much rather use a 90/95 grain B-tip or 95/100 gr Partition when it comes to Mule deer. Nosler does makes an 85 gr Partition which might be the way to go if you're set on 85 gr.

Hornady makes an 85 gr Interbond and an 80 gr GMX which would be good performers. Sierra's 85 gr HPBT GK might be worth looking at but I've never used their HP GKs. The 100 gr SBT Gameking and 100 gr SPT Prohunter are great bullets, both of which I've used on lope and mule deer.

 

I have to second the 85 gr HPBT Sierra bullet. The Sierra manual recommends them for deer. After years of shooting them at PDs in my 6mm Rem I tried them on deer. It was great that my favorite gopher load worked so well on deer. A friend with unarguable credentials has used a 6 with that bullet on elk several times and says they work amazingly well on them also. I don't think I would take a quartering away shot on an elk with them but for a side shot under 150 yards I wouldn't hesitate.

 

**************************************************************************
The 1:10 will probably stabilize the 85 grain bullet just fine. Try some at the range before you load up a whole bunch.
The 243 was originally designed around an 80 grain bullet. 80 grain bullets work just fine for just about every critter you can hunt with a light rifle. If you decide to go with a heavier bullet, shoot several at the range before you take them hunting. Some guns shoot heavy bullets better than others, but the twist rate in most 243 rifles is around 1 in 9 1/4". That is enough to stabilize bullets up to about 90 grains. Anything heavier may or may not stabilize out of your rifle.
I shoot 58 grain bullets for coyotes, and they work just fine. Sometimes they don't even exit the animal, but terminal performance is real positive.
Good luck and good hunting.
BD

 

which bullet



I've handloaded 100gr Nosler Partitions since 1974. Out of a Remington Model 7 and 600 Mohawk. Accuracy is outstanding, and 2 deer per year since 1975 have been 1 shot kills, all but 2 anchored on the spot. Never had a reason to try anything different, it ain't broke so I'm not fixing it.

 

If I were going to use the 243 on deer, I'd go with the 87 gr bullet. The last deer I shot wit it, the third, was dead right there with a 75 gr a-max. Was out looking for coyote's and got a decent shot at a deer. I was very careful about where I placed the shot, just behind the shoulder. Made a mess inside and did not exit, big surprise.

Big drawback for me with the 24 cal cartridges is a lack of suitable bullet's without going the premium route. Everyone I've known over the year's use them with 100 gr bullet's! Good bullet's!

 

.243 Threads Are Special

And somewhat redundant.

Over several decades, I had the opportunity to shoot deer and antelope with a .243, and went through a series of bullets from 85gr-105gr. I never lost a single critter with 85gr bullets or 100gr bullets, and I can't say that one weight is any better, or different, performance wise, than the other.

The 85gr Sierra BTHP, 85gr Speer BTSP, and 85gr Nosler Partition all worked. My experience is that the DRT kills are not common, in fact I don't recall any that were not a bit high, that had clipped the spine. I never intentionally aimed for a shoulder, so I never recovered a single bullet of either weight. One season, back when WY had more deer and antelope, I was able to get a buck and doe tag for mule deer and antelope, and brought hope a set of each using a .243 with the 85gr Sierra BTHP. That same year, when I returned home, I shot a medium size whitetail in both PA and NY. The Sierra that held up well on mule deer and antelope at 150yds to 350yds, disappeared on whitetails at 35yds to 50yds. Neither bullet on the close shots left anything I could find when I skinned the deer and processed the meat. But the deer were dead in sight, so I'm not complaining. It might not be the best elk or bear bullet.

Whatever bullet you pick, the .243 is not going to turn into a 7-08 or .30-30 for punch and effectiveness, it will never be a .270 or .30-06. The .243 is for the shooter that can pass on a bad angle, and go home empty hqnded. The shooter that can place their shots with precision, and knows where to aim. The .243 gets it's magic from skill, not HP.