Serra btsp for 243 deer hunting

[Dano4734]

Really depressing. I put one today right behind the shoulder of a beautiful buck at 50 yards with my 243 loaded with 39 grains of imr4350 and the Serra game king 100 grain bysp. The deer took off like I missed ran about 300 yards and fell over. He ran into a guy's posted property and would not let me pick up my deer. Hope he enjoys the meat. Ugh. I am switching to my 30-06 I thought the Serra game kings were good bullets. Am I wrong, do something wrong? Advice?

[Dufus]

Sierra bullets are way behind the times in hunting bullets, IMO.

They do make some very good target bullets though

I stopped using them in the mid 70s and have never looked back....for the same reason as you.

Lost 4 solidly hit deer back then due to poor bullet performance.

You should consider switching over to the 90 gr Accubond. They are deadly.

[Dano4734]

Thank you my brother, I could not believe that he did not fall in his tracks. Oh well. Tomorrowisanother day

[BBarn]

If I were in that situation I would be wondering about bullet performance as well. Not being able to examine the deer makes it tough to be certain about things like the exact bullet entry point and exit point (or if it did exit). Was there a blood trail?

[Dano4734]

No blood trail no hair but he fell dead after a 300 yard run. Don't get it

[BBarn]

Sounds like the bullet didn't exit. The 243 is a little small and unforgiving. Perhaps the shot placement wasn't as ideal as you thought?

My son shot a small mule deer at about 100 yds with a 7mm Mag several years back. I watched him run about 100 yds before he fell over dead. He had a sizable exit hole and a substantial blood trail. Shot placement was a little high and back (lung). Guess they can travel a good bit with a hole in the lung.

[.45 Vet]

I've sworn by the Gamekings since 77 with my 06, never lost a deer. Most dropped DRT. In .243 I'd be using a round nose softpoint on White tail.

[Dano4734]

Tomorrow I going with my 06. My shot placement may have been high. He sure ran though. Wish I could have recovered to see

[CarJunkieLS1]

A friend of mine does gel testing of rifle calibers commonly used for deer hunting. Across many bullet diameters and velocities the Sierra Game Kings are the worst performers of them all.

He only tests common cup and core bullets.

The best across all calibers has been Speer Hot-Cor. Followed by Hornady Interlocks and then Sierra.

[std7mag]

I would refer you to read the 243 Win article in the knowledgebase section.

www.ballisticstudies.com

[VoodooMountain]

It’s hard for me to blame Sierra. They’ve been in business for decades for a reason. I haven’t seen too many deer run more than 100 yards shot with any kind of bullet. Even a fmj through the heart/lungs would drop an animal within 100-200 yards.

Sierra bullets are designed to be frangible and often with a stout jacket .

Speer are much softer but hold together better.

Hornady isn’t as soft as speer and not frangible, so it’s in between the two.

Most people shooting these bullets into media decry the game king because they don’t see that mushroom we’ve all been told is perfection. Sierra bullets are made with a different philosophy and they work well for many circumstances including the op’s.

[zplinker]

A fellow I know, who did a ton of custom reloading in Alaska, where things have a tendency to bite back, said he couldn't give away Sierra bullets up there.

[Dano4734]

In my 65 years on earth I never had to chase a deer but I can now check that off my bucket list. I will just consider myself to blame but not use these bullets again just for my piece of mine. Also it's the first time I used a 243 on deer. Oh well it's hunting not shooting stuff happens

[mikejonestkd]

Sorry to hear that you lost the deer.
I have had good results with 95 gr NBTs and similar bullets in the 243 win. Over 20 satisfied 'customers' with none going more than 50 yards after a good hit.

I am guessing that you had a bullet that held together too well - and did not expand, or perhaps you hit the deer too high.

The '06 ought to do the trick for you, happy hunting

[GeauxTide]

With respect to the many that use smaller calibers, my position has always been the smaller calibers require stout bullets to perform like the big boys. In 308, 30-06, and 7mmRM, I've had excellent results with Hornady, Speer, and Sierra cup and core. My own minimum is a 6.5 Grendel with 123SST

[reloader28]

If that guy didnt let you pick up your deer, then the game warden needs to be visiting him. After a nice hefty fine for wasting a game animal I bet he would change his mind.
Around here, no matter how someone feels about it, they have to let you retrieve your animal or they get fined for wasting.

[pete2]

Deer that I've shot behind the shoulder nearly always ran. Never had one run 300 yards tho. They ran 15 to maybe 50 max. Whether with a .243 (85 gr Speer BTSP w/45 gr IMR 4831 or 130 Ballistic tip in the .270) the .270 does seem to put them down faster.
BUT, I don't expect one to drop in his tracks shot behind the shoulder, don't usually work that way. Brainpan, backbone or neck bone are the only sure thing to drop a buck in his tracks. Bigger bullets always seem to work better when placed properly.

[603Country]

When shooting deer, sometimes the unexpected happens. I shot one this morning, right behind the shoulder. She ran, but didn’t drop. No problem, i’ll drink my coffee and then go find her. Went to where she had been standing, and no blood. That’s odd. I knew the path she took and where she entered the woods, so I walked that area. Not a drop of blood. Went to the edge of the woods. Found one tiny drop. Marked it with toilet paper. After a while I found another drop and marked it. She ought to be pouring blood, but scarcely any on the ground. Found several more drops and marked them with tp. Now I had a path and a direction. Finally found a big drop and then some on a bush, and finally found the doe. Took most of an hour. The entry and exit wounds were both very bloody. Blood everywhere near the doe. How did she get here from there, bleeding like that and dropping hardly any blood? Danged if I know.

Thank goodness for TP for blood trailing.

Rifle is a Tikka 260, with 120 gr Nosler BT’s. Been using it for years, with no failures, but this never happened before. Not the bullet’s fault. Has to be my fault on bullet placement, which from the in and out holes was good but I must have barely nicked the lungs.

[Don Fischer]

Sierra match bullet's are, for me, good as it get's. Gave up on Sierra hunting bullet's in the very early 1970's. Much to soft and blow up badly but, do make a real mess inside an animal if they get in there! I've read the pro hunter is a good hunting bullet but don't know. For hunting big game, I use only Hornady cup and core bullets and in over 40 yrs have never been let down one time.

I have killed three deer with a 243 and tend to be a bit skeptic of it on big game. But all three dropped right there and a whole lot of other' have had great result's from the 243. I think the secret is the bullet you use and how you place it! I thik if I was to use one on deer again, I might as I'm old, I'd go with a min 87/90gr bullet designed for hunting big game.

[T. O'Heir]

"...the bullet didn't exit..." Has nothing to do with it. The bullet's energy was expended in the carcass. That's a good thing.
It might have been a marginal hit though. Either way you should have immediately called the local CO's about the guy refusing to let you get your deer. As it is, in most jurisdictions, he's illegally in possession of the carcass. He has an obviously shot dead deer for which he likely has no hunting licence. Where you are matters, of course.
Oh and deer will run even when hit by any .30-06 bullet.

[hooligan1]

Load those hotter, I use 100 grn Sierras for my daughters 2, .243 win using Winchester Supreme 780, and they knock the heck out of them....

[Dano4734]

In my state, you cannot trespass without permission even to recover your game. Sucks actually and I am sure he has it all dressed out.. Some people have no conscience

[Dano4734]

Question: If I shoot a deer and it runs onto posted property, do I have the legal right to go on the property to retrieve it?
Answer: No. You should locate the landowner, explain the situation, and ask permission. If the landowner refuses, the hunter will not be able to enter the property. The DEC cannot compel a landowner to grant access.

The law in my state ugh

[Paul B.]

Well, I've probably shot more game with Sierra bullets than anything else. Mostly in .270 Win., .308 Win. and 30-06. Deer shot and deer died. The last animal I shot with a Sierra bullet was an antelope in New Mexico, the bullet then 150 gr. Game King. The shot was at roughly 75 yards and the bullet hit in the short ribs on the left side and exited close behind the right shoulder. The antelope did about a thirty foot half circle and expired. Meat damage was very little with most of the loss in rib meat. However, most game I've taken has been with the Sierra Pro-hunters and results were good.

I personally have never shot any big game animal with the .243 but have seen a couple taken by friend which were literally bangflop/DRTs. My .243 back then was a cheap Kodiak Mauser that was quite accurate with 100 gr. Hornady spire points so that what I shot in that rifle. During the years 1977 and 1979 I took several of the neighbor kids out for their first deer hunts. I had a deal with a rancher who allowed me to take the kids there for their hunts. I'd let them shoot the rifle over a period of several weeks prior to the hunt so they'd be comfortable with the rifle and then take them to the ranch. During the two year period six kids took their deer off the ranch with that .243.

Interesting as one deer was a bang flop/DRT, four ran various distances from a few feet to as far as fifty or so yards. One deer however ran about 250 yards hitting the fence at the end of the field. He backed up and hit it twice more before finally falling down and expiring. On autopsy, the lungs and heart were just a mess with severe damage to all three organs. To this day I have no idea how or what let that deer take off and run that way. BTW, these were all fairly large Nevada Mule Deer.
PB

[std7mag]

I'm hearing the cry against the landowner.

In many states you calling the game commission serves you no purpose. It's his property and he can decide to eother let you get it, or tell you to take a hike. It's up to the property owner.

And the OP never mentioned that the property owner let the deer go to waste.