Greg Duerr
Well-Known Member
Whats your favorite Deer Hunting bullet in your 6mm or .243 class Rifles......?
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Favorite 6mm class Deer hunting bullet?
- Thread starter Greg Duerr
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Catbird
Well-Known Member
My rifle is a factory Rem with a 24in tube.I use Nos 95gr BTs with good results.I like the price compared to some brands which are good also.In the past I have used Sierra 100 gr SPBTs and they worked fine also.
If you put a quality bullet in the right place , it will get the job done.gun)
If you put a quality bullet in the right place , it will get the job done.gun)
Greg Duerr
Well-Known Member
So you use your 6mm on Deer ..............how did animals react to the 95gr bulets were they all one shot kills?
BiG tRaV aus
Member
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2013
- Messages
- 18
Not sure about in the states what kind of size your deer reach but down here in Oz I would not recommend a 243 for effectively taking more than a fallow deer. I have personally used both 87 and 95 grain bullets on these, goats, kangaroos and wild sheep and pigs. In saying this however I have seen other people using a similar setup fail to effectively drop large pigs with them, I.E. exploded on the shoulder plate or glanced off of heavy bone and caused little more than a painful wound on the animal.
Personally for most of the species down here, I would prefer a 25 cal or larger (270 7mm or 308 would be the choices for sambar and large reds) and it is in fact stated that 270 is the minimum caliber to be used for hunting sambar.
The 243 performs best on game weighing between 40 and 60 kg's with a probable maximum of around 80 to 100 kgs (180 to 200 lbs.) This is the ethical range, and yes people have taken much larger game (myself included) than this with them but beyond this range the chance of not cleanly killing/wounding the animal increase dramatically. On game at the upper end of this range for the general shooter I would recommend a range of less than 250 yards.
Personally I consider the 243 a bit underpowered as a deer rifle, but, if I stumbled across a deer within effective range and I had heavy enough loads with me I would probably use it if I had nothing bigger. Generally in the past if I had the 243 with me I also had the 30-06 as well.
anyway thats my 2 cents worth on the topic, I am sure that there will be guys out there who will tell you they have taken elephants with 22 shorts and that barnes x bullets perform miracles and stuff, but I would buy something a little bigger for peace of mind when it comes that time where the 243 lets that prize rack get away.
Trav
Personally for most of the species down here, I would prefer a 25 cal or larger (270 7mm or 308 would be the choices for sambar and large reds) and it is in fact stated that 270 is the minimum caliber to be used for hunting sambar.
The 243 performs best on game weighing between 40 and 60 kg's with a probable maximum of around 80 to 100 kgs (180 to 200 lbs.) This is the ethical range, and yes people have taken much larger game (myself included) than this with them but beyond this range the chance of not cleanly killing/wounding the animal increase dramatically. On game at the upper end of this range for the general shooter I would recommend a range of less than 250 yards.
Personally I consider the 243 a bit underpowered as a deer rifle, but, if I stumbled across a deer within effective range and I had heavy enough loads with me I would probably use it if I had nothing bigger. Generally in the past if I had the 243 with me I also had the 30-06 as well.
anyway thats my 2 cents worth on the topic, I am sure that there will be guys out there who will tell you they have taken elephants with 22 shorts and that barnes x bullets perform miracles and stuff, but I would buy something a little bigger for peace of mind when it comes that time where the 243 lets that prize rack get away.
Trav
It all depends on the size of the deer and the yardage expected to shoot one at. For deer in the 150 lb average on the hoof size the 85 gr Sierra BTHP works really well out to 300 or so yards. If I had to use just one bullet out of all that I have used over the years it would be the 100 gr Sierra. It is very accurate and kills really well form point blank out to 300 or so yards. You can hit deer further away but the 243 Win is loosing a lot of steam past 300 yards. As with any caliber you have to put the bullet where it is supposed to go. None of those Texas heart shots or weird raking shots especially on large body deer.
