I started out with my .243 with the intent to limit it to varmints. I did a bit of experimenting with the 70-grain Hornady flat-base and the Sierra 85-grain HPBT. Both were sub-MOA for five-shot groups in my Sako carbine.
The deer at my home place near Austin were smallish; the 85-grain bullet worked just fine. I was generally picky about neck shots, though. But, I quit using the 70-grain bullet and over the last umpteen years have just used the 85-grain bullet for anything I'm gonna shoot. It's definitely ruinacious on coyotes.
I've bought some of these relatively new 55-grain bullets, but haven't tried them yet. The word is that they're devastating.
I'd bet that if you're expecting shots out toward 400 yards, the 85-grain would be preferred. But for 300 and in, the lighter bullets would be great.
Speculating, if you load the 55-grain bullet down a bit, and not shoot very quickly over extended strings of fire, you'd get great barrel life with good results on varmints. Say, 3,500 ft/sec instead of 4,000.
Art
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