243 coyote/cat loads

[gooseman]

The lovely Santa bought me a new Savage 243 for Christmas to replace my old 222 the bag guys stole. I sold 56 pelts last year, wanting something that won't tear gaping hole in the fur. Majority of the hunting is done with cattle near by, so prefer some thing that won't keep going to far if exiting. The 222 and 50 gn TNT was about the closet thing to perfect I could have asked for. Any body have a light load using 70 TNT or one of the other varmint bullets that might fit the bill?

 

[brushcountry101]

sell it and get 22 hornet. i think the 243 has just a little to much *** if your worried about pelts, good luck though on ur hunt.

 

[rtv900]

I would like to know too. I bought a 243 because I wanted to anchor coyotes and was not to worried about the big hole. If there is a load in the 70 to 80grain range that would not exit or make minimal damage that would be cool. Until then I will just plan on punching holes in what I shoot.

 

[coyotelatrans]

I would try 70 grain and 80 grain nosler bal tips and keep them around 3,100 fps or a hair slower and you should see decent results on fur. I shot 80's and have had great accuracy but don't hit shoulders or you will have bullet splash! Accuracy is top notch from my 1-9 twist remington! Try varget powder. I do adc so fur isn't my biggest concern and have been playing with 90 nosler bal tips and 95 berger VLD"s. I shoot at some longer ranges and want dead coyotes and don't worry about fur as much, but I was surprised with the 80 nolsers! They are very fur friendly as long as you keep them off bone!

 

[Dennis81082]

I've had good results this season (so far) with little or no fur damage using Hornady 75 gr HP's. All shots were frontal or quarting to. Haven't had a broadside yet.

No enough coyotes taken with this load to make a "for sure" claim but it looks promising.

 

[Magnumpeanut]

85g SGK. 2 holes, thats all folks, in and out.

 

[screech]

first depends on the twist that your gun will allow you to shoot acurately. I wanted to shoot 55gr. btips out of one of mine and it just simply wont. I loaded it with 87gr. vmaxes and it shoots lights out. So if your gun will shoot 55gr. ballistic tips well try them to see. I have used them on squirles and they blow them sky high and I used them on white tails and it punches one hole in and good night. I havent had an exit or a run away. Actually havent had one move after the shot??????

I would say give them a try and if they tear them up try a solid with beanie cap shots. I personally havent dealt with anyother 6mm bullets on yotes except the 87gr. vmax and have had mixed results.

 

[dogdinger]

I would do as brushcountry said , but go with the 204 ruger. My experience shooting coyotes over the yrs with a 243 or 6mm has been that you just cant find a fur friendly bullet for them. Either you blow them apart or you stick a needle hole through and they run away. The 204 has been the most impressive cartridge i have shot in the last 30 yrs. AJ

 

[dogdinger]

post script:

i wrote an article that covered a lot of this subject that you may be interested in reading. - Songdog Fever -- Coyote Hunting

Dont dare shoot a bobcat with that .243 if you plan on keeping anything other than the head for a shoulder mount. It will absolutely ruin a cat. My little brother made the mistake of doing that once. It was a beautiful but smallish female cat that would have fetched 300 t0 400 dollars at the time. There was on strip of hide holding the front to the back, with nothing left in the middle. AJ

 

[Bear2]

Question:
I have read other threads on this site stating that 243 Wins are barrel burners, but 6mm Rem are not. Would some kindly explain why?
Thanks in advance
Duane

 

[coyotelatrans]

shoulder angle, powder used and amounts all will have to do with barrel/throat wear. If you don't use small bullets at high end speeds most .243's will give you 1,300+ rounds of great accuracy. I don't call that a barrel burner in my book. making the .243 AI will increase use by a few 100 rounds, but a bigger bullet and slower powders and not using it as a primary p-dog gun a .243 will give you many years of good service before you need a new barrel. Good brass IMO alos helps with wear and tear of the throat as well a better aligned bullet that leaves the throat more sqaure to the bore is a good thing as well.

 

[Bear2]

Coyotelatrans:
Thank you
Bear2

 

[Sledge1]

I've had good results this season (so far) with little or no fur damage using Hornady 75 gr HP's. All shots were frontal or quarting to. Haven't had a broadside yet.

No enough coyotes taken with this load to make a "for sure" claim but it looks promising.

I use to use the 75' HP in Hornady's "Custom" loading. They always blew big exit holes in broadside shot coyotes for me and will plain cut a fox in half. YMMV

 

[okgobbler]

I have been using 70 gr speer hps and imr4895 for a couple of years in my .243. Great accuracy, but maximum destruction is the result. Bullets have not exited and the entry hole is the size of a softball. I have been liking the results of the 68 gr berger out of my 6mm-06 though.