.243 rookie

[02bigdogs17]

I just bought a new browning bolt action in .243Win. I am planning on using this rifle for deer hunting now that they are leagal here. I load for my .308,30-30, .223, and many pistols but have never loaded for the .243 and am curious as to what bullets to start out loading? What weights? What style Bullet? What powder? I have read a lot of people’s opinions on this caliber for deer hunting and the opinions on Bullet weights for deer are all over the place. My rifle will have a 1-10” twist any info is appreciated.

[griz]

Heavier bullets, 95 to 105 grains. There are so many good ones that there is no "best" bullet, just favorites. Powders are the slowish ones. I've used 4350 and 4831, but there are newer choices out there that may work better.

[Scoits]

I use 95 gr Nosler part. For deer and 65 gr v-max for coyotes.

[jamaica]

Something like a 100 gr softpoint would do well. Please remember: To kill a deer first you have to hit it. Sight the rifle in to shoot 2 inches above point of aim at 100 yards. This way you can shoot right at the deer up to 300 yards without worrying about adjustments for range. Have fun!

[RC20]

243 is a classic deer caliber. 6.5 mm is used to shoot Moose in Scandinavia with no issues and 6 mm is great for dear. Any standard hunting bullet will do the job.

Always scratched my head on those who have a 30-06 or 300 WM for that job.

My dad did it but it was what he had and he puts his together for Moose and moved and money was tight so he used what he had.

[02bigdogs17]

Thanks for the info guys. I was told the 100gr and heavier bullets won’t stabilize in the 1-10” twist but it doesn’t seem like that’s the case.

[flyguy958]

I use both 100gr Partitions and 85gr Barnes. My opinion is that this is the smallest caliber I want to use for deer, so I want a bullet that has good weight retention. Just my 2 cents.

Both do a great job on deer sized game, as long as I do my part and put it where is needs to be.

[T. O'Heir]

"...never loaded for the .243..." If you've reloaded any bottle necked case, you've reloaded 'em all. The .243 is nothing more than a necked down .308.
Only thing is lighter than about 85 grains are usually varmint bullets and are not suitable for deer sized game. Nothing says you must use varmint bullets for varmints though. Unless you're hide hunting coyotes, a deer bullet will do astounding things to a ground hog and it won't care what bullet killed it. Been using 90 and 105 grain Speers with IMR4350 for eons myself. Nothing beats varmint hunting as practice for deer season either.
"...heavier bullets won’t stabilize in the 1-10” twist..." Not true. The regular .243/6mm twist is 1 in 9.125. 1 in 10 will do though. The 1 in 10 is a Browning quirk. They use 1 in 11 for .30-06 and .308 too.
"...2 inches above point of aim at 100 yards..." More like 3" high at 100 with a 100 grain bullet to be on target at 200. Most bullet weights drop like bricks past 200 in factory ammo. Depends on the load though.

[FrankenMauser]

100+ gr bullets are a touchy subject.
Personally...
I had a .243 Win with a 1:10" twist that really didn't like 100(+) gr bullets. As such, I've avoided them ever since - even though that rifle is long gone and my current .243s are higher quality, and one of them even has a 1:9" twist.

The only way to know for sure is to test in your rifle.


My personal favorites for hunting bullets in .243 Win are: 95 gr Nosler Partition and 95 gr Hornady SST.
For varmints, the 75 gr Hornady HP and [various weights] Nosler Ballistic Tips are quite effective.

My go-to powders are IMR 3031 and IMR 4064.
There are plenty of other good powders, though. Varget seems to be a 'modern' favorite.

[std7mag]

100 gr is fine for 1:10 twist.

I use Alliant RL26.
Will really supercharge those pills.

[FrankenMauser]

I use Alliant RL26.
Will really supercharge those pills.

Aye. The slow powders can do quite well.
I run AA3100 behind a lot of 95 gr bullets. Works very, very well.
But I wasn't going to suggest it, since it was fairly uncommon when available, and now it's discontinued. Everything that I love ends up dying.

[Hunter Customs]

I have an older Remington 700 BDL heavy barrel rifle it will consistently shoot 3/8 inch groups with Nosler 95gr Ballistic Tips setting on top of IMR 4831. I've tried lighter bullet weights but my rifle doesn't seem to care for them no matter what powder I tried.

[hooligan1]

Im shooting a MarkX .243 winchester using 100 grn Sierra Gamekings and Winchester 780 Supreme.....and it loves it..

[ligonierbill]

One thing I've found with .243 is that it seems to work well with a variety of powders. My best deer loads, however:

80 Barnes TTSX
COL 2.610
Reloder-17 or -19
3,050 fps
1" groups

100 Sierra GameKing
COL 2.650
IMR-4064
2,950 fps (same as Winchester Super X commercial)
1 1/8" (4 were in one hole, 1 "flier")

These are from a Ruger American 22" bbl, 1:9 twist.

[pogson]

jamaica wrote, "Sight the rifle in to shoot 2 inches above point of aim at 100 yards. This way you can shoot right at the deer up to 300 yards without worrying about adjustments for range. Have fun!"

That recipe doesn't specify a point of aim. At 300, aiming at the centre of the heart, the bullet would clip hair and maybe nick a leg. I suggest shooting higher. Zero for the maximum effective range where the bullet will expand and has enough energy and has a height of trajectory smaller than the vital zone of the animal. In northern deer that can be 10 inches. Zeroing for 300 yards with 85-100 grain bullets will give a 5 inch height of trajectory so you're good to go holding on the heart except for very close shots which could be 1 inch low because of the height of the sight. It's easy to tell when you're that close. Judging the difference between 200 and 300 yards is difficult in clutter and rolling terrain. A 6mm bullet in the centre of the vital zone will kill a deer quickly. The important factor is velocity at impact. You should test expansion and accuracy at 300 yards to be sure.

[jamaica]

"That recipe doesn't specify a point of aim."

Point of aim? I reckon if you are using a scope the point of aim is where the cross hairs are. If shooting a paper bullseye hold the cross hairs on the center of the target and adjust the scope till the bullets hit 2 inches above the point of aim, or in other words 2 inches above center of the bull. This will put you right on at 200 yards and about 3 inches low at 300 yards. This may vary a bit in different rifles but try it out in your rifle and see how it does.

All this noise about velocity....... who gives a crap? Learn to shoot to hit the target! If you can hit the target you can bring home the game. It doesn't matter how fast that bullet is, what matters is hitting your target!

[243winxb]

Sierra #1530 85 gr hpbt-IMR4350-42.0gr-CCI BR2 primer-Win or Rem brass.

Works well in my 1-10 twists. H4350 works as well, but with a bit more powder.

This works in a 18" barrel as well as my 27 1/2" barrel.
Very different velocity, 2700 vs 3150 fps.

[jamaica]

Here in Utah a youth could get a deer license at age 16. Dad used to hunt deer. He would get on his horse with his ol 30-30 long tom and ride out in the hills. Few hours later he would return with a deer tied on the horse. When I turned 16 I got a license and we only had one horse and one rifle so we both got on the horse and went riding up the trail. After a bit we saw a deer, dad said jump off, so I did and he handed me the rifle. I had never shot this ol 30-30 long tom, he simply said, "pull a fine bead" So I did and pulled the trigger and killed a deer with my first shot with this rifle. That was Dad's way, he was not about to waste ammo target practicing. He had lived through hard times and wanted every shot to count.

[jamaica]

When Dad left us I ended up with his rifles. I soon learned that the ol 30-30 long tom had been fired so many times the barrel was worn and at 100 yards it would shoot a pattern about 5 inches diameter. It is now a wall decoration and I don't even bother to get a deer license any more. I have a 90 acre piece out South of home and it is a mountain. I raise deer and ground squirrels.

[RC20]

Sound like what I should be doing.

[shootbrownelk]

I use 100 gr. Nosler partitions, 80 gr. Hornady GMX and 85 gr. Barnes TTSX bullets in my Remington 660 using IMR 4064 or IMR 4350. My 660 has a 1 in 9 twist.

[pogson]

jamaica wrote, "It doesn't matter how fast that bullet is, what matters is hitting your target!"

That's not correct. I've seen pointed bullets with hardened cores that went right through a deer without expanding even at close range because they were coming out of a 6.5X55 instead of a 6.5mm magnum. All lead-cored bullets will have a range of velocity at which they will expand. Unless they start out big-bore, they need to expand to cause enough damage to drop a deer promptly. A .30 calibre hole through a deer will often allow the deer to run hundreds of yards before it lays down out of sight. Bullets that will expand reliably out to 400-600 yards often will over-expand at close range and give little penetration. So, velocity matters. I want a bullet that will do the job from muzzle to ~200 yards at modest velocity, say a heavy RN bullet at modest velocity. I want a bullet that will do the job from ~200 yards to 400 yards at near-maximum velocity to ensure good expansion and low height of trajectory. Velocity certainly does matter.

jamaica also wrote, "Point of aim? I reckon if you are using a scope the point of aim is where the cross hairs are."

No. The point of aim is where the sights are aligned on the deer. That's not just language. It has meaning. Where I live deer have fairly long fur. If your point of aim is the bottom edge of the fur, your bullet has to rise several inches to get into the vital zone. If you aim at the top edge of the fur, the bullet has to drop down to the spine or further to get to the vital zone, again several inches. Many advocate aiming at the centre of the vital zone but then the height of trajectory before the second zero is achieved far sooner than when the drop past the second zero drops the bullet out of the vital zone. I recommend aiming at the bottom edge of the vital zone and setting the second zero out as far as practical with the bullet still able to expand and penetrate and the height of trajectory still fits in the vital zone. Then you've maximized the effective range of your rifle at least for common hunting rounds. Some calibres are very effective out to 600 yards but then you have to hold under which can be difficult in rolling or bushy terrain. I've never been in a situation where I needed to do that and I've never had a problem shooting over or under a deer at any reasonable range.

[Road_Clam]

95-107 gr bullets I like 4350.

70-80 gr bullets i've had good luck with Varget


You can run 'em real fast but be warned .243 heavies will burn up a barrel pretty quick if you shoot quick strings and let the barrel heat up .

[std7mag]

T.O.
The 1:10 twist for 243 is not just a "Browning quirk".

My wifes Rossi R243, neighbors Savage, friends Winchester Model 70 all have 1:10.

Remington brought out their 244 Rem with a 1:12 if i remember right.
They later renamed it the 6mm Rem with a 1:9 twist.

[Jevyod]

100 grain partitions group at .75 @ 100 yards. Good deer medicine