.243 bullet 300 and under on deer & Barnes TSX question

[jrock]

100 gr. Hornady SPBT interlocks are my go to for hunting. I am going to try the 105 Bergers and 108 ELDxs as well.

 

[the blur]

My best .243 kill, was cheap 100gr Federal Blue ammo. Exit wound was the size of an orange. Buck went Bang flop.

Then I shot a hog with 4 rounds of quality Nosler .243 accubonds, and I had to shoot the hog 4 times until it stopped walking. One round hit a bone, and went up through his head.

 

[Turtle566]

I've found the speer 100 grain boat tail soft point to be tremendously accurate and easy to work with (and very affordable). It's on the opposite end of the toughness spectrum from your mono-metals. I think this is a good thing personally, much faster killing if you wait to take the classic broadside double lung shot, but if you're requiring exit wounds from any angle every time it may not be what you want.

I also use the Speer 100gn BTSP on heavy animals in Australia where I live, I load 32.5 grains of ADI AR2208 powder which is equivalent to your IMR4064 or Hodgson Charger powders, has bloody good stopping power and rearlly exits the animal, be it camels, Brumbies or wild pigs.

Cheers
Graham .

 

[popgun240]

Good morning, im looking for a bullet for a .243 that will likely be shot at 300 yards and under. This is a rifle for my wife that she hunted with last year. We deer hunt in Indiana mostly and we would be hard pressed to get a shot longer than that at the woods we hunt. Last year i loaded up some Barnes 85gr. TSX and got pretty good accuracy out of them and them seem to perform well when we tested them on milk jugs. we recovered a bullet that had almost 100% weight retention. Anyways she shot a buck last year at probably 75 yards and it ran off. it bled out alot but did not die we tracked it for awhile and saw it run into the neighboring fields corn that was still standing. I did not see the shot so im unsure if the shot was bad or if anything like that happened but my question is is the TSX not expanding on the fairly thin skinned deer at that close of range? If you guys dont think that was what happened i will probably continue to load the TSX or if you guys have a better suggestion im more than open to trying something else. Thanks for any info

I've always used the Sierra 100 gr SBT. Could cover a 10 shot group @ 100yds with a dime. Using a 6mm/284 Win. Clean one shot kills from 30 to over 400 yards.

 

[naja302]

I would not blame the bullet. I really like Barnes Bullets and I think they kill very well. I have shot a fair number of critters with them with great results. I have used and still do use many other different bullets too.
I don't believe the "pencil through without opening" nonsense...mostly cause there is no way to prove anything when an animal is shot and not recovered.

I have only killed one deer with a Barnes/243. I had to borrow my dads rifle cause I had stuck a bullet in the chamber of my 270 on a hunt.
I shot a 3 year old mule deer (not a real big deer) at 400 yards with factory Barnes ammo and 80g TTSX. Lung shot and it went about 20-30 yards and fell over dead. We recovered the bullet just under the offside hide and it looks like a Barnes commercial.
Sometimes bad results happen but I rarely blame the bullet. These days I tend to use more cartridge than needed, but my advice to you is to not worry about it and continue using that bullet.
If it was a life or death situation and I had to shoot an elk with the 243, I'd rather use that bullet (85 Barnes) than any conventional cup/core lead 100 grain bullet

 

[zb338]

I have seen many deer killed with .243s using various 100 or 105 grain bullets
in factory ammo and handloads. The .243 is remarkably potent for such a small
caliber. It's really accurate and easy to shoot I guess that's one of the reasons
hunters do so well with it.
Zeke

 

[extremesolo]

Another great bullet for the .243 is the 95 grain ballistic tip. I have had great accuracy and on game performance from them. I would think it would be a really good option out to 300 yards too.

 

[FIGJAM]

Good morning, im looking for a bullet for a .243 that will likely be shot at 300 yards and under. This is a rifle for my wife that she hunted with last year. We deer hunt in Indiana mostly and we would be hard pressed to get a shot longer than that at the woods we hunt. Last year i loaded up some Barnes 85gr. TSX and got pretty good accuracy out of them and them seem to perform well when we tested them on milk jugs. we recovered a bullet that had almost 100% weight retention. Anyways she shot a buck last year at probably 75 yards and it ran off. it bled out alot but did not die we tracked it for awhile and saw it run into the neighboring fields corn that was still standing. I did not see the shot so im unsure if the shot was bad or if anything like that happened but my question is is the TSX not expanding on the fairly thin skinned deer at that close of range? If you guys dont think that was what happened i will probably continue to load the TSX or if you guys have a better suggestion im more than open to trying something else. Thanks for any info

I am not a mono fan, tried the barnes LRX a few years ago and was underwhelmed. I went back to bergers and hornady ELDM (Amax) and ELDX. The 103gr eldx is awesome - I use that in my 6mm creed. I have never had an animal take more than a couple steps with an ELDM or ELDX right behind the shoulder.

 

[MarkA]

Another great bullet for the .243 is the 95 grain ballistic tip. I have had great accuracy and on game performance from them. I would think it would be a really good option out to 300 yards too.

As well as the 95 Partition. It is generally an easy to bullet to get accuracy and will deliver good pass thru's in 99% of angle shots. It is best suited to a 10 twist barrel also. Works great with H4350 for best all around temperature use.

The 100 grain Partition shoots great in some 10 twist but not all of them (maybe twist is a bit more or bit less than 10 on some barrels I don't know).

As i posted earlier I had couple long night tracking jobs with the 85 TSX and where recovered with perfect lung shots, one went near 300 yds. Not all Barnes bullets behave consistent on impact period expecially in the small calibers, and I was shooting them at 3,250 fps and very accurate. Just lost faith when have upset kid thinking its was a bad shot or turning into a loss when it was not.

Never had one issue with the Partitions after switching. And even yet way more dramatic kills since going to the hammer. Hers is a 9 twist so we use the 80 grain hammer. Its really bad medicine and so easy to dial load for.

 

[jimbires]

I'm not a Barnes bullet fan . I've used them in my 7mm rem mag with poor results . I started my son with a 243 . I tried several different bullets . the 100 gr partition was the answer for us . the deer either dropped at the shot or fell within sight . I used a compressed load of IMR7828 , this was before the short cut version was on the market . I'd recommend using IMR7828ssc it will fit in the case better .

 

[Popapi]

I am going to try the 105 Bergers and 108 ELDxs as well.

Hornady doesn't make a 108 ELDX, but do make 103s

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

Drop back to the 80 grain TTSX. The plastic tip allows for a little faster expansion.

 

[jjmp]

naja302 nailed it !, I'm a Barnes fan have been from the beginning ,at that range I question shot placement. OP ,more info, did you recover deer , dress it out ,inspect bullet path entrance . Maybe more range time your lucky your Better half hunts with you many don't Sad really ,my Vote is use them !. Better yet load up some other mfg's bullets and shoot those water jugs again it's a real eye opener I've done it , use a box with dry rags to catch the bullet behind your water jugs .

 

[55stone]

JJMP we did not recover the deer. the deer ran into the neighbors corn field that was still standing. we tracked for as far as we could. Shes a great shot on paper, she defiantly lets her nerves get to her when there is a deer in front of her.