Matthew T.
Member
A lot of people say the 95-grain Nosler BT in .243 is just fine for broadside shots on white tail. Some folks say it doesn't give enough penetration. What are your thoughts?
ballistic tip for deer in .243?
- Thread starter Matthew T.
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critter
Member
I love BT's and use them in several rifles. I have no experience with a .243 (BT or otherwise), but I have used them in 25-06 (100 gr). I took several deer with them, one on an 'endwise' shot where it penetrated almost 2.5 ft of deer. Good enough for me.
Good luck with yours. I'd pick my shots with it though.
Good luck with yours. I'd pick my shots with it though.
MCgunner
Member
Should be fine on Texas sized (small) white tails. I think the penetration thing might be a problem on mulies and really big white tails, especially at quartering angles. Ballistic tip bullets expand rather rapidly. I'd go with a Barnes or Nosler partition on heavier deer, probably. I have no shooting experience with the specific 6mm bullet in question, drawing conclusions from my experience with 100 grain .257" bullets (similar terminal ballistic characteristics) which work fantastic on the deer around here.
We don't get really large whitetails around here, most "good" bucks are only about 200#, but with one occasionally getting into the 275#-or-so range. Lots of guys around here use BT's on deer successfully.
I doubt if you can name any bullet design or caliber about which you couldn't find anecdotes about the "one that got away."
I doubt if you can name any bullet design or caliber about which you couldn't find anecdotes about the "one that got away."
danurve
Member
I'm sure the bt's have been used for some good takes, I belive it's a judgement call on the size of the deer where you are. I also think some hunters are confused between frangible varmint bt's and the beefier jacket hunting bt's.
atblis
Member
They work great out of
my 308. However, a 243 is a whole different beast so... Can't help you
I will say this; If you keep them where they're supposed to go, then I think they'll work great. I've never made a bad shot with them, and all of the deer I'v'e shot with the BT have dropped in their tracks.
Then again
The ones I shot with Power Points dropped in their tracks
The ones I shot with Core Lokts all dropped dead.
The ones I shot with N. Partitions all dropped dead.
As said above make sure you use the ones intended for deer, not varmints.
my 308. However, a 243 is a whole different beast so... Can't help you
I will say this; If you keep them where they're supposed to go, then I think they'll work great. I've never made a bad shot with them, and all of the deer I'v'e shot with the BT have dropped in their tracks.
Then again
The ones I shot with Power Points dropped in their tracks
The ones I shot with Core Lokts all dropped dead.
The ones I shot with N. Partitions all dropped dead.
As said above make sure you use the ones intended for deer, not varmints.
superhornet
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Used the CTBT 95 grain a couple of times. Got the deer but massive damage. For a tried and true .243 deer handload, use the Hornady Interlock Round nose 100 grain. Great penetration.
MCgunner
Member
Rockstar said:
A 200 lbs buck in Texas is a monster. Largest I've ever shot field dressed 135 lbs. They get bigger ones down in the brush country, but 200 lbs would be bigger than I've ever seen. Mulies exceed 300 lbs up in the mountains, the desert variety are a little smaller.
Smokey Joe
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.243 on deer
IMHO, the .243 is marginal on deer, esp. larger individuals, and needs all the help it can get.
While the Nosler Ballistic Tip works fine in a heavier bullet--I use the 165 grainer myself on deer with my .30-'06 and my .300WSM--when you get down to 100 grains of bullet, the NBT is a little iffy on penetration. More than 100 grains of bullet out of a .243 and you start to run into bullet stabilisation problems.
When my #1 son was starting hunting he was quite recoil-shy, so we started him on a .243, which he liked. I loaded it with 100 grain Nosler Partitions, and every deer he shot at with 'em went down like a poleaxed steer.
I believe it is the rifle maker Charlie Sisk who is quoted as saying, "Shut up. Load Partitions. Go hunting."
IMHO, the .243 is marginal on deer, esp. larger individuals, and needs all the help it can get.
While the Nosler Ballistic Tip works fine in a heavier bullet--I use the 165 grainer myself on deer with my .30-'06 and my .300WSM--when you get down to 100 grains of bullet, the NBT is a little iffy on penetration. More than 100 grains of bullet out of a .243 and you start to run into bullet stabilisation problems.
When my #1 son was starting hunting he was quite recoil-shy, so we started him on a .243, which he liked. I loaded it with 100 grain Nosler Partitions, and every deer he shot at with 'em went down like a poleaxed steer.
I believe it is the rifle maker Charlie Sisk who is quoted as saying, "Shut up. Load Partitions. Go hunting."
Chuck R.
Member
I’ve killed 21 deer and 4 Chamois with BTs in my .270 and haven’t had to ever shoot an animal twice, and I’ve never lost an animal. A few have run, but only normal “well hit” distances. The Chamois have been shot from 100-430 meters (guide's estimate) again the BTs performed well.
The earlier BTs that came 100 to a box had some initial problems in that when you hit bone they shattered and cause some serious meat damage. They also expanded rapidly on close shots. I used to carry two loads, the BTs for when I expected an open terrain shot, and Partitions for when close shots were expected. When they switched over to the “hunting” BT with the thicker jacket the problem was solved.
I’ve never had one of the newer ones fail to penetrate. This season I filled my doe tag with a frontal shot at about 150 yards. The 130 grain BT penetrated the chest cavity completely.
As some of the other guys pointed out, the .243 is at the bottom end of the deer killing spectrum IMHO.
Chuck
The earlier BTs that came 100 to a box had some initial problems in that when you hit bone they shattered and cause some serious meat damage. They also expanded rapidly on close shots. I used to carry two loads, the BTs for when I expected an open terrain shot, and Partitions for when close shots were expected. When they switched over to the “hunting” BT with the thicker jacket the problem was solved.
I’ve never had one of the newer ones fail to penetrate. This season I filled my doe tag with a frontal shot at about 150 yards. The 130 grain BT penetrated the chest cavity completely.
As some of the other guys pointed out, the .243 is at the bottom end of the deer killing spectrum IMHO.
Chuck
MCgunner
Member
Try Barnes' boat tailed X bullets. I LOVE those things! Partitions are old tech magic bullets. Barnes is solid copper, expands easily, but only back to the bottom of the hollow cavity. It peels like a banana and retains its weight well for great penetration. Another bonus, a 150 grain Barnes will have a much higher sectional density than its lead equivalent in a given caliber. I shoot a 140 Barnes X in my .308 on BIG hogs, no problem, higher sectional density than the 150 Ballistic tip I load in the gun. Its boat tail design has a high BC, too.
T.R.
Member
I laugh when someone says discouraging words against one of the most popular deer cartridges of all time: the .243! Makes the person appear foolishly narrow minded and completley in the dark about sales figures.
This youngster buck was slain with a single 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet at a distance of approximately 275 yards or so. He toppled over at the shot, and never knew what hit him.
I'm a huge fan of the .243 for antelopin' and long shots at mulies. From my view, Nosler's 95 grain Ballistic Tip takes the .243 to 25-06 level of trajectory and lethality. In other words, a deadly cartridge for long distance hunting.
This older Remington pump action in .243 has slain several dozen antelope and many mulies for my family and extended family. Over the years, I've tried many bullets. This Nosler bullet and Hornady's SST are very accurate and hard hitting.
For the woodsman who shoots deer at distances of 100 yards or less, this fast stepping cartridge is NOT the best choice. I prefer a slower and heavier bullet. But for long shots way out there, the .243 is quite lethal indeed!
TR
I used a balistic tip (Hornady's 95gr. SST) for the first time this year in my 6mm and it performed perfectly. The buck was only about 30 yards away, I hit him in the heart and he walked about 10 yards before falling over dead. The bullet completely exited, and nearly cut the heart in two pieces. I would not hesitate to use it at any range I am comfortable shooting. Previously I had used 100 grain soft points from Winchester, Remington and Federal and they all worked the same; Deer shot with it at a variety of ranges were either dead right there, or dead 20 yards (at the most) from being hit. .243/.244/6mm is not what I would consider marginal on any whitetail deer.
Richard.Howe
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For an ideal or nearly ideal shot, in good conditions, with a stationary animal, I would not hesitate to use this bullet in a .243. All those caveats are what made me decide to do something different.
Rich
Rich
MCgunner
Member
I guess it's easy to fall for magnumitis. But it gets really hilarious when someone says you have to have something with a belt on it, just HAVE to, to kill a friggin' white tail deer.
.243 is an extremely popular white tail caliber around these parts and does its job every year in the hands of kids to old salts. I've killed a lot of deer with the ballistically similar .257 Roberts. I have a 7mm Remington Magnum collecting dust in the safe. Yeah, I fell for magnumitis some decades ago, quickly found out you don't need no friggin' cannon to kill deer. Save it for moose or elk or something if you have a smaller rifle. I'll admit, I'm currently smitten with the .308 Winchester and a certain stainless M7 that chambers it, but the .257 Roberts is what I took my first of many deer with at age 11, and many for my grandpa before that. Back then, the .30-06 was considered a cannon and most of the guys I knew hunted deer with stuff like .250-3000, .300 Savage, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester. NObody used a belted magnum! Lots of .30-30s about, also, but out where we hunted on my grandpa's lease in the hill country near Leaky, Texas, most of the guys were using turn bolts except for one old fellow I remember that had a Savage 99 in .300 Savage.
The .243 was gaining popularity then and had taken over the .257's niche. It was the latest and greatest at the time, if no big improvement at all over the .250-3000 or .257. It remains popular with folks that don't fall for the belted magnum myth and white tail deer, or mulies for that matter.
The Remington 7mm came out in '62, the first really popular belted magnum. It remains popular today and for what reason I can't say when most folks that use it, use it on white tails. Yeah, it'll kill white tails, no problem. But, it's not necessary. I'd thought about downloading mine to .280 ballistics, but got the .308 in a much lighter, handier rifle. If I hadn't won that rifle in a door prize raffle at a local gun show, I'd likely still be hunting white tail every years with my trusty .257 Roberts. I really like that little stainless M7, though.
.243 is an extremely popular white tail caliber around these parts and does its job every year in the hands of kids to old salts. I've killed a lot of deer with the ballistically similar .257 Roberts. I have a 7mm Remington Magnum collecting dust in the safe. Yeah, I fell for magnumitis some decades ago, quickly found out you don't need no friggin' cannon to kill deer. Save it for moose or elk or something if you have a smaller rifle. I'll admit, I'm currently smitten with the .308 Winchester and a certain stainless M7 that chambers it, but the .257 Roberts is what I took my first of many deer with at age 11, and many for my grandpa before that. Back then, the .30-06 was considered a cannon and most of the guys I knew hunted deer with stuff like .250-3000, .300 Savage, .308 Winchester, .270 Winchester. NObody used a belted magnum! Lots of .30-30s about, also, but out where we hunted on my grandpa's lease in the hill country near Leaky, Texas, most of the guys were using turn bolts except for one old fellow I remember that had a Savage 99 in .300 Savage.The .243 was gaining popularity then and had taken over the .257's niche. It was the latest and greatest at the time, if no big improvement at all over the .250-3000 or .257. It remains popular with folks that don't fall for the belted magnum myth and white tail deer, or mulies for that matter.
The Remington 7mm came out in '62, the first really popular belted magnum. It remains popular today and for what reason I can't say when most folks that use it, use it on white tails. Yeah, it'll kill white tails, no problem. But, it's not necessary. I'd thought about downloading mine to .280 ballistics, but got the .308 in a much lighter, handier rifle. If I hadn't won that rifle in a door prize raffle at a local gun show, I'd likely still be hunting white tail every years with my trusty .257 Roberts. I really like that little stainless M7, though.
runninmike
Member
Never tried a ballistic tip but, I used my 243 with federal and winchester 100gr pointed soft point rounds to take several mule deer when I lived in Mt growing up and they made complete penetration every time. Was also wonderful on chucks & jacks at great distances with 60-80 gr hp bullets.
Best-MC
Best-MC
Wilburs Horse
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My usual deer bullet is the 100 gr. Rem. Core Lokt but I used 70 gr. Nosler BTs in my 6mm Rem. to dispatch some deer that had overpopulated this area. They worked like a dream. I wonder if the guy who popped a whitetail as it stood broadside at 100 yds. with a 95 gr. Nosler BT knows for sure that he hit his target. There are some statements that are made to save face, fellas. And lets not forget.. a deer with his leg shot off isn't going to give it up and die just 'cuz it was shot off with a big bullet. You guys that think a .243 is marginal on deer must have never read what Jack O'Connor thought of this cartridge. O'Connor put the .243 in his son's hands as well as his wife's for deer, sheep, elk, what have you. Anyone want to question Jack's wisdom?
T.R., welcome to the forum.
Now, let's look at some, um, challenges in your post.
"I laugh when someone says discouraging words against one of the most popular deer cartridges of all time: the .243! Makes the person appear foolishly narrow minded and completley in the dark about sales figures."
Oooookay. So, what you're saying, is that "sales figures" are equal to effectiveness? You're saying that what sells best is most effective?
"This youngster buck was slain with a single 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet at a distance of approximately 275 yards or so. He toppled over at the shot, and never knew what hit him."
That buck appears to have fallen to a high neck shot, if I'm identifying the wound correctly. (Good shooting, by the way!) With that shot, almost ANY round would have worked. I put an instant quietus on a very tough deer (he'd taken a .35 Remington though the chest 40 minutes before) with a .40 155-graim bullet doing a measly 1170 fps with a shot a little higher than yours- but a CNS shot with ANYTHING will put down an animal, so that only proves you made a great shot.
"I'm a huge fan of the .243 for antelopin' and long shots at mulies..a deadly cartridge for long distance hunting...
For the woodsman who shoots deer at distances of 100 yards or less, this fast stepping cartridge is NOT the best choice. I prefer a slower and heavier bullet. But for long shots way out there, the .243 is quite lethal indeed!"
Now, TR, be honest. Are you laughing at yourself? You start out by criticizing the logic of those who say "discouraging words" about the .243, and then end your statements by giving some of the same: without careful bullet selection and/or shot placement, some .243 bullets at close range tend to fragment.
That's a reasonable statement. It's the same reason those same bullets do well when fired at a further target- they're in their performance envelope, and hold together longer and penetrate deeper with a little less velocity.
So, in summary, I give you the .243: perfect for some times, places, and people.
John
Now, let's look at some, um, challenges in your post.
"I laugh when someone says discouraging words against one of the most popular deer cartridges of all time: the .243! Makes the person appear foolishly narrow minded and completley in the dark about sales figures."
Oooookay. So, what you're saying, is that "sales figures" are equal to effectiveness? You're saying that what sells best is most effective?
"This youngster buck was slain with a single 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet at a distance of approximately 275 yards or so. He toppled over at the shot, and never knew what hit him."
That buck appears to have fallen to a high neck shot, if I'm identifying the wound correctly. (Good shooting, by the way!) With that shot, almost ANY round would have worked. I put an instant quietus on a very tough deer (he'd taken a .35 Remington though the chest 40 minutes before) with a .40 155-graim bullet doing a measly 1170 fps with a shot a little higher than yours- but a CNS shot with ANYTHING will put down an animal, so that only proves you made a great shot.
"I'm a huge fan of the .243 for antelopin' and long shots at mulies..a deadly cartridge for long distance hunting...
For the woodsman who shoots deer at distances of 100 yards or less, this fast stepping cartridge is NOT the best choice. I prefer a slower and heavier bullet. But for long shots way out there, the .243 is quite lethal indeed!"
Now, TR, be honest. Are you laughing at yourself? You start out by criticizing the logic of those who say "discouraging words" about the .243, and then end your statements by giving some of the same: without careful bullet selection and/or shot placement, some .243 bullets at close range tend to fragment.
That's a reasonable statement. It's the same reason those same bullets do well when fired at a further target- they're in their performance envelope, and hold together longer and penetrate deeper with a little less velocity.
So, in summary, I give you the .243: perfect for some times, places, and people.
John
MCgunner
Member
Most calibers take some bullet selection to match the game, unless, of course, you shoot .45-70. I kinda want a .45-70. I'd cast MONSTER flat nosed bullets for it. Any bullet is a hunting bullet in .45-70.
Any bullet is a hunting bullet in .45-70.Art Eatman
Moderator In Memoriam
I allus noticed that if you hit'em in the white spot...
Most 95- and 100-grain bullets in the .243 work better for penetration than my Sierra 85-grain HPBTs. That 85-grain bullet blows up nicely with a neck or a heart/lung broadside shot. So, I don't take angling shots and generally sorta limit myself to around 200 yards.
Art
Most 95- and 100-grain bullets in the .243 work better for penetration than my Sierra 85-grain HPBTs. That 85-grain bullet blows up nicely with a neck or a heart/lung broadside shot. So, I don't take angling shots and generally sorta limit myself to around 200 yards.
Art
bogie
Member
Terminal ballistics is the result of three major things...
Weight, speed, and construction.
A .243 bullet meant for varmints won't have the weight or the speed.
If your barrel will not stabilize a long bullet, that's also a bad thing.
I'd go heavyish, since most factory barrels will stabilize a longer bullet. Check it first tho.
Weight, speed, and construction.
A .243 bullet meant for varmints won't have the weight or the speed.
If your barrel will not stabilize a long bullet, that's also a bad thing.
I'd go heavyish, since most factory barrels will stabilize a longer bullet. Check it first tho.
SSTHitman
Member
My friend hunts antelope and mule deer with BT's in .243......and its always worked fine. But, like with any other gun you need to be comfortable with it and know your limitations.
It'll probably work well in many instances but there are better bullets for deer when using the .243. Without getting into the whole 'inadequacy' issue of the .243 let's agree that some consider it marginal for large whitetails at best. Let us also assume that there is merit to their arguments. I also understand that the sub-6mm Ballistic Tips are designed with thinner jackets than the larger-caliber ones; they are designed to be coyote killers. This being said, I feel that there are much better choices to use with your .243 for killing deer.
Please understand that the above information is limited to hearsay rather than personal experience and as such should be judged accordingly. My main point is that even if this tool (the .243 Ballistic Tip) performs well enough most of the time, there are, in my opinion, thicker-skinned bullets that would be a better choice for harvesting deer in the most efficient manner.
Please understand that the above information is limited to hearsay rather than personal experience and as such should be judged accordingly. My main point is that even if this tool (the .243 Ballistic Tip) performs well enough most of the time, there are, in my opinion, thicker-skinned bullets that would be a better choice for harvesting deer in the most efficient manner.
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