Best .243 Bullet Choices for Deer?

[bowhunthard88]

Ok, I do have reasonable experience with this type of stuff, but I have never shot anything larger than a coyote with .243 or less... I do have specific requirements, if they can be met practically though... Any personal experience or preference?

So what .243 diameter bullet, 80 gr. or less, would be suitable for deer hunting? Preferably out to MAX 300 yards.

Reason: My buddy is looking at getting a rifle for both coyote and deer hunting, and we live in NJ... We both hunt NJ, PA, and NY; so we can deer hunt with rifles in PA and NY. NJ's coyote/woodchuck regulations state ".25 cal or less AND 80 gr. bullet or less". My buddy only wants to buy one rifle (and only shoot one load, so no change of zero between loads / he is NOT a "rifle and ballistics" guy), so, there we are.

Thank you ahead of time for the insight/input!

 

[adam32]

I just bought some 80gr Barnes Tipped Triple Shocks...I haven't shot them yet but there's no doubt that they will do the trick on deer gun)

 

[chainsaw]

Partition bullets have always done me good.

 

[Punisher]

Ok, I do have reasonable experience with this type of stuff, but I have never shot anything larger than a coyote with .243 or less... I do have specific requirements, if they can be met practically though... Any personal experience or preference?

So what .243 diameter bullet, 80 gr. or less, would be suitable for deer hunting? Preferably out to MAX 300 yards.

Reason: My buddy is looking at getting a rifle for both coyote and deer hunting, and we live in NJ... We both hunt NJ, PA, and NY; so we can deer hunt with rifles in PA and NY. NJ's coyote/woodchuck regulations state ".25 cal or less AND 80 gr. bullet or less". My buddy only wants to buy one rifle (and only shoot one load, so no change of zero between loads / he is NOT a "rifle and ballistics" guy), so, there we are.

Thank you ahead of time for the insight/input!

I use 75gr Sierra Varminters. A hollow point with quick expansion. It does exactly what berger bullets do. Goes in an inch and turns into shrapnel.

I have killed many deer with them. They are accurate enough for head shots and do enough damage to completely drop the animal if you hit it in the leg or muscle.

I have taken coyotes as far as 505 yards with that bullet. They do just what you need them to.

 

[Demon061]

I've got some factory loaded "American Whitetails" from Hornady. 100 grn Interlocks. I've heard they do pretty well.

 

[projp]

Barnes 80 TTSX are great.
Taken many deer with excellent results

 

[davkrat]

Those 80 gr Barnes may work great on deer but they may not be your best bet for coyotes. Have a friend that was using them in the CA Condor range and they would zip through coyotes. Great for deer and pigs though.

The TTSX may have a better chance opening up on coyotes though than nontipped

 

[Dgd6mm]

With my .243 the only Deer that I have shot and killed was with a 105 Amax. It has dropped them right where they stood. My brother shoots the same rifle, has shot and killed about 10 times as many as I have with the 105 Amax that I load for him. He has had only 1 not drop where it stood, it went 20-25 yards. I also load for a buddy we hunt with, yup same set up. His worst traveled close to 30 yards. We have never lost a Deer to any Amax ever... I have used the in all my hunting cartridges and am 100 percent satisfied. They are designed as a target bullet, but do a heck of a job for hunting...gun)

 

[WarKitty]

Being a 6MM Remington nut, I like Nosler in the 90-100 grain range.

Also being a 6MM nut I'd say dump that chicken dinner 243 and get with the 6MM winner. Sorry Just kidding... its a long running caliber war between my family for decades.

 

[lloydsmale]

my first bolt rifle was a 6mm rem. I killed a pile of deer with that gun and so did everyone else in my family. I was usually loaded with factory 100 grain corelocks or 100 grain sierras, hornadys, or speers. I dont recall ever loosing a deer hit properly by one. Its a small bore round that in my opinion needs good expansion over any other bullet characteristic. Ive not had the greatest luck with 24 calibers be it the 6mm, 243, or 240 through the years with bullets like barnes, bonded bullets or even partitions. Stick to a decent cup and core 100 grain bullet and youll be eating backstraps the next day.

 

[jmd025]

always had exceptional terminal performance out of the Sierra Gameking 85 gr HPBT in the 243s ive had. Still my "go to"

 

[RT2506]

After actually reading what the OP asked I would like to relate my experience.
I did some average 100 to 150 lb white tail deer shooting with a wildcat caliber made up on a 225 Winchester case necked out to 6mm from a 14" barrel Contender pistol. It had the slow twist that would not shoot a bullet much over 80 grs. It would shoot the 80s at 2850 fps. I started out shooting the now discontinued 80 gr Sierra Single Shot Pistol bullet. My findings were that out to 100 yards it was too lightly constructed for my liking. It never exited a deer and unless the spine was hit the deer would run off a ways and leave little or no blood trail. My understanding is that the 80 gr Sierra Blitz is basically the same bullet. The 85 gr Nosler partition really did a good job on these deer but was not glint edge accurate and I never got to shoot a deer over 108 yards away. It is a tall order to want a bullet that is light enough constructed to kill yotes well but tough enough to kill a white tail deer. It will take some experimentation but I would suggest one of these bullets to try. The Sierra 85 gr Varminter, 85 gr Sierra HP Game King, or if you can find them and that is a BIG IF these days the Speer 80 gr DeepCurl sp may be the best of them all. Good luck.

 

[projp]

So what .243 diameter bullet, 80 gr. or less, would be suitable for deer hunting? Preferably out to MAX 300 yards.

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.

 

[jrock]

I've got some factory loaded "American Whitetails" from Hornady. 100 grn Interlocks. I've heard they do pretty well.

I've taken a number of deer with these. I opt for the heavy bullets in the .243 for deer. Conventional bullets shed 50% of their mass so a 100 grain bullet would end up being 50 grains. I've shot all my deer at less than 200 yards and the Interlock always ended up on the skin on the other side and a dead deer less than 30 yards from where I shot it. Going to try the 95 grain Bergers for better BC next time.

As for your 80 grain or less question, I would look for a bonded bullet or the Barnes. I have a box of the Barnes but never used them. I'm sure the old standby's of Partition, Game Kings, and Corelokts will do it for you at shorter ranges just fine.