243 Winchester bullet choice

[john k]

I'll be a bit of an outlier here - the 85gr Partition is the way to go. BC and ultimate accuracy aren't needed. Solid initial hydrostatic expansion combined with penetration thereafter are needed in this application. If the shot isn't perfect, you're covered as best you can be. The Barnes is a good 2nd choice.

I absolutely agree. Excellent performer and great weight for the twist. Ballistic tips have great accuracy but are like hand grenades when they hit.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Have used 100 gr SGK. All dry, no exit. Several with the 80 gr Barnes TTSX. 20ish yards was the farthest any went. Gonna try the 80 gr Hammer in my new ai this year.

 

[Calvin45]

Well no one's said this yet...I'm intrigued by the 90 grain Sierra game changer/tipped gameking. Haven't loaded them yet, have them ready. Bc of .480 hard to ignore for this weight. Reports are that these bullets are pretty forgiving regarding seating depth and jump, 1.5 degree ogive start to match the leade angle of most rifles. Significantly thicker jacket than original gameking bullets, toughness on deer size game not going to be a concern. Confirmed from Sierra that they will stabilize in the 1:10 twist of my savage 99.

 

[Scott E Ames]

90 gr. Scirocco and the 85 gr. triple shock both do the job. Tipped TS probably not necessary for 200 yard or less shots. I use both in 243 Win and 243 WSSM and they are death rays on whitetails with light enough recoil you can watch the impact through the scope.

 

[PartsJr.]

80gr Barnes TTSX

 

[hoffbill]

Truth is any quality hunting bullet your 243 shoots accurately will whack Bambi if the shot is in the kill zone. And any quality bullet will sometimes fail to perform perfectly for a variety of reasons. I have killed a lot of deer with the 243 and it seems the combination of high velocity and skinny bullet makes it more prone to deflection than heavier calibers. Such as perfect lung shot hitting a rib and instead of exit on the opposite side it ended up next to the spine in one of the tenderloins. But Bambi tipped over and was eaten except for part of 1 tenderloin

 

[lunatic209]

90 grn accubonds, used to shoot them before this Statewide non lead ban here. Almost every deer dropped instantly.

 

[Beelzebub]

I shoot the Berger 95 VLD H a lot. At deer and at steel.

 

[Fred3]

Lots of good advice here.
I would snag a box of something super light, like a box of 60 grain HP and load them light.
spend a couple Saturdays burning them up building skills like form, trigger control and breathing. My 7 year old is doing very well with a 7-08 ai he's pretty much doping his own scope and making hits at 800+.
he's a little unhappy with his mother's stock color selection, but his is coming this month and it will be all boy colors.

Then any of the hunting bullets mention will be more than adequate.
Just my 2¢

 

[dfrahm]

Make sure the rifle fits him (stock too big/long?), and let him shoot it a ton before hunting. Have a blast!

 

[Scott E Ames]

Also, just like we all tell each other, plenty of dry firing to check shooting form and get used to the trigger.

 

[klemm]

Decided to go with 90 grain ELD-X. That's all he had at the shop. That'll work for now, now the second problem. My Hornaday 11th edition does not list that bullet in it's library. I know I can use H 4350. Does anyone have a safe starting load, or I could just extrapolate it between the 87 grain VMAX and the 95s. Just wondering if anyone has the specific load data for that bullet.
Thanks for all the thanks for all the above suggestions.

 

[Lee Goodwin]

243, 80 grain Sierra lead tip boat tail, BCL2, 37 grains, about 3100 fps. 400 yards, hit a 16 inch plate and, or the Coors can ( 4-5 times), all 20 of these reloads. Remington 700 26 inch heavy barrel all factory, X scope and base.

 

[slas]

Another Sierra 85 GK guy here, over Varget. I hunt with multiple calibers but I'm always amazed at how good a job that little bullet does each year on our local deer.