Best .243 Bullet Choices for Deer?

[jmd025]

how do they check the weight of your projectiles in the field?


and the regs say you can use up to 100gr for woodchucks but 80 for coyotes and foxes.... jersey is wierd

http://www.eregulations.com/newjersey/hunting/small-game-hunting/

 

[jrock]

I carry around my handy dandy RCBS beam scale in the field JK.
I recover the bullets and weight them when I get back to civilization. Manufacturers sometimes advertise bullet weight retention so you can get an idea of how much will be shed.

I have a friend from Jersey and I agree, very different than out west!

 

[bowhunthard88]

You are getting a lot of excellent opinions on bullets heaver than what you asked for and can legally use .
I still vote for Barnes 80gr. TTSX.

I can legally use any weight bullet out of NJ, but I have to stay 80 gr. or less to be legal in NJ for coyotes. My buddy doesn't want to re-zero between loads tho, so it will end up being an 80 gr. bullet. The Barnes TTSX will probably end up being the bullet of choice.

Personally, I use a .308 Win for deer hunting and either a 22-250 Rem or 6mm Int for coyotes.

Thanks again.

 

[bowhunthard88]

how do they check the weight of your projectiles in the field?


and the regs say you can use up to 100gr for woodchucks but 80 for coyotes and foxes.... jersey is wierd

Small Game Hunting | New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest | eRegulations.com

Yeah, they just change the woodchuck regs to match the coyote regs this year... Instead of changing the coyote regs to match the woodchuck regs (time tested/proven haha), and then I wouldn't have had a problem!

And of course they really can't check in the field, but it wouldn't be out of the question for one of the federal rangers to take one of your bullets to check... Not something I want to worry about lol.

 

[jrock]

The copper bullets are longer than the equivalent weight lead bullets so POI may shift. Never shot them so I don't know for sure.

 

[bowhunthard88]

The copper bullets are longer than the equivalent weight lead bullets so POI may shift. Never shot them so I don't know for sure.

Just curious, how will POI shift if he is using the same exact load for both?

And yes, I do know that the bearing surface/bullet length is longer. Because of this, a copper alloy bullet technically needs a faster twist than a lead core bullet of the same weight. A standard .243 Win twist will stabilize a 80 gr. copper alloy bullet just fine though.

Thanks!

 

[jrock]

Those were the things I was thinking of that might affect POI. However, for me if POI changes more than 1/4" at 100 yards, I resight for that load. Don't know if the OP has similar ticks.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Those were the things I was thinking of that might affect POI. However, for me if POI changes more than 1/4" at 100 yards, I resight for that load. Don't know if the OP has similar ticks.

I am the OP lol. That is the idea behind one load, so POI does not shift.

Thanks.