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

[wolf peltonen]

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

use speer100 grainspitzer killed50 deer over years 50 yards furthest after lung hit in 243 also use a 257 Roberts no recovery problems if you can hit what ya aim at

 

[WYO300RUM]

I 100% respect all comments and value everyone's actual results. I've loaded my own for over 30 years and for nearly half of those years put all my trust in hunting bullets on the Nosler Partitions. I made the change to the TSX and TTSX and have had 100% success on 150+ deer and 14 bull elk. I'm now in the process of changing to the Hammer Hunters for this upcoming season and excited to do so. Unlike most, I'm a Weatherby nut and to date, I've never had one that hasn't exceeded my expectations albeit some have have taken a little more effort to dial in than others. That being said, I'm expecting higher velocities from the Hammer Hunters because of their design and the fact that their copper is softer than Barnes. I'll share results by the end of November. Till then enjoy the outdoors and safe hunting!

I ditto your exact post .

 

[Window]

I ditto your exact post .

Have you already made the change to the Hammer Hunters? If so what are your results with accuracy and velocity?

 

[WYO300RUM]

Have you already made the change to the Hammer Hunters? If so what are your results with accuracy and velocity?

Yes but not in 6mm yet. 6.5 , 7mm, .308. Working on loads . Will test this Oct. and Nov. . So far accurate . I have no doubt will be devastating on game. Have used Barnes x , xbt, tx, ttx, etc. For many years. Good look with last 2 with 7mm and 30 cal.. i have never had a problem with Barnes TX or TTX. Ever. But Hammers are a totally different design and I think will be a lot more devastating and quick killers. I'll take that over a little meat loss anytime .

 

[emtyhopper]

I load 85 gr sierra gameking HPBTs for my wife's rifle. They work great on Missouri whitetails.

 

[WalksLikeADeer]

It probably would. I'd prefer to lose a little meat due to shot placement than lose a wounded animal.

I don't mean to imply that anyone would disagree. I'm very pleased with the grenade effect I've seen these have on animals upon impact.

I think we all would agree on that. My question was more along the lines of assuming the deer dies when it's hit with a .243 Win, do some of the more explosive bullets like the Bergers create more blood shot(wasted meat) and lead fragments in edible meat than Partitions or TSX, etc? I'm curious because I just switched to the 95 gr Berger Classic Hunters for accuracy reasons, but haven't hunted with them yet.

Does anyone have first hand experience ? Thanks.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Wherever you shoot them there will be damage. Hit meat and you will destroy some, even with monolithic. It's a simple fact that ALL expanding lead bullets, even bonded ones, will shed some lead fragments. This transfers more energy and ultimately results in more trama (bloodshot tissue). Various bullet constructions will dictate the amount of this tissue destruction. Try them and see if they perform within your standards. I can't argue with results of either type. Dead is dead.

 

[CBS]

That's a tough question to answer but from my experience the difference in damaged meat will be somewhere between negligible and imperceptible. (other than the deer will be laying right where it was when you took the shot).

 

[LVJ76]

I think we all would agree on that. My question was more along the lines of assuming the deer dies when it's hit with a .243 Win, do some of the more explosive bullets like the Bergers create more blood shot(wasted meat) and lead fragments in edible meat than Partitions or TSX, etc? I'm curious because I just switched to the 95 gr Berger Classic Hunters for accuracy reasons, but haven't hunted with them yet.

Does anyone have first hand experience ? Thanks.

Any cup and core bullet including bonded bullets will shed lead fragments and leave some in the meat. If you want to avoid this then use a Hammer bullet, I am yet to see one complaint about them

Avoid the Barnes, GMX, etc, they do not always expand, this is proven.

 

[jjmp]

It's also proven that the Barnes Work , been loading them since they came out,had nothing but success ,x originals ,xlc blue Barnes ,tsx,all have been great ,cartridges 243,25/06,308,30/06,7STW,..,338w/mag friends 708 Encore Pistol took blk bear,same friends his reload 300 Dakota Custom 165 tsx about 33350ish, many many animals taken in Africa, PH's love them for good reason they work .Cheers !

 

[LVJ76]

It's also proven that the Barnes Work , been loading them since they came out,had nothing but success ,x originals ,xlc blue Barnes ,tsx,all have been great ,cartridges 243,25/06,308,30/06,7STW,..,338w/mag friends 708 Encore Pistol took blk bear,same friends his reload 300 Dakota Custom 165 tsx about 33350ish, many many animals taken in Africa, PH's love them for good reason they work .Cheers !

You are correct, they do work but not always, for me the fact that they don't sometimes is enought to stay away from them. They are less forgiving that some cup and core bullets.

With a monolithic hitting bone will ensure fragmentation, otherwise they can pencil through and cause a slow death to the animal you are hunting. Most cup and core bullets will expand without hitting bone and some also penetrate all the way through when hitting bone, causing more damage and a faster kill.

Many african game are thick skinned and if I am not mistaken most shots are relatively close, not 400 yds or 800 yds or further. Their thick and hard skin/hide and high velocity at close range will ensure expansion on a monolithic bullet and of course penetrate enough or all the way through since they don't lose weight, therefore causing a fast kill on these dangerous game animals.

Just my $0.02

 

[jjmp]

I stand by what I said ,& I'll use what I like agreed , you do the same , I'm not getting any younger , but I'll not put dwn one Bullet to make another look better , Or one Carthridge to make another look better .

 

[LVJ76]

I stand by what I said ,& I'll use what I like agreed , you do the same , I'm not getting any younger , but I'll not put dwn one Bullet to make another look better , Or one Carthridge to make another look better .

Apologies if I came off in a demeaning way or sounded like trying to impose, not my intention.

We each decide what to use and how based on our needs. If they work for you thats great and I mean that in a good way. What and where I hunt they don't work well and I provably should've asked the OP for more info so it did not look like I was bashing the Barnes bullets.

I can come off as abrasive sometimes and thanks for your last comment, deserved it

 

[jjmp]

No apologies needed Brother , Regards N Cheers !!! Now back to our Op's post .