Has she considered maybe a 7mm-08 with managed recoil rounds. With a lighter bulltet say 140 grain even though it may be slower than 100 grain .243, the 7mm-08 will do better fighting crosswinds and has more oomph down range. There is only a slight difference of powder capacity between the two calibers of 2 or 3 grains. The recoil may be a slight increase but recoil is highly subjective.
Need a 243 win bullet for white tail at 150 to 250 yards
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I'll kindly dispute part of that claim, the 140s won't buck wind any better than a 100 sgk (exception berger), or 103 eld (no exception) and I'm not going to run the numbers right at the moment but off the top of my head, a 100-103 (b.c. of high 4s to .512) leaving a 22" barrel at 2970 should impact harder than a 140 with average 4s (.5 berger) trucking out of a 22" barrel at ~2530(Hodgdon data adjusted for shorter barrel). The 7 needs to step up to 150s to really show progress over the 6. Any of the 6.5 flavors (faster than grendel) can get there with options 123 and higher. But 7mm 140 great low drag bullets are not yet a thing (I'm running 162s to get what I want outta my 7). She'll have no problems running the .243 with better bullet designs.
lordpaxman
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The .243 is a GREAT deer cartridge and recoil is very manageable so those with a lighter shoulder (like me) appreciate it! With those bullets, and your Ruger, I’d go with the 85gr SIE HPBT. I load those with 41 gr of IMR 4350 and they run about 3000fps out of my RPR. I believe you’ve got a 1:9 twist so the heavier than 90 bullets may not stabilize so keep that in mind. Others mentioned a HDY 103, it’s an ELDX, so it’d work as well. I load that one with H4831SC but would recommend the SIE load first. Good Luck!
That 1:9 will stabilize every hunting bullet up to the 103, the one exception being the more slippery of the bergers, we've had no issues with the 9.125 or 9.25 barrels and have tried even the heavier coppers, if the rugers won't shoot 90 weights, it's not a twist problem.
Right! Like a barnes! Not bad for hide hunting though.....
About 4 years ago I bought a Ruger American in .243 just so I could reload a different cartridge, and have a backup deer rifle. This year I took a buck with it for the first time. I used Sierra 100G Pro-Hunters. Plenty of blood with an exit hole. The deer ran maybe 40 yards and fell over dead with a straight trough lung shot. Not matter what you shoot shot placement is key. I would not hesitate to use Nosler or something else. Originally I picked Sierra because they were reasonably priced and seemed to have a good reputation.
-Jeff
-Jeff
I get what your saying but is that bullet a good bullet for hunting?
JimKirk
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I suggest you look into the Barnes TTSX 80 grain ...that bullet will do a number on deer easy at those ranges .... Pushing the TTSX to about 3300 fps will yield a nice flat shooting round and the recoil will be less than 100 grain loads ...
Reloder 17 works well with this bullet...
Reloder 17 works well with this bullet...
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I only referenced good hunting bullets.
I killed a feral hog bang-flop with a 120 grain Fusion bullet from my .25-06 last spring at about 75 yards but with real world reviews like this I plan to stick to Accubonds and / or Partitions for deer.
From what I've seen, Speer / ATK leveraged their Gold Dot personal protection hangun bullet manufacturing methods to the Fusion rifle line, and now offer Gold Dot rifle bullets. I wonder how those might perform on light skinned game?
From what I've seen, Speer / ATK leveraged their Gold Dot personal protection hangun bullet manufacturing methods to the Fusion rifle line, and now offer Gold Dot rifle bullets. I wonder how those might perform on light skinned game?
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Same as the fusion.
They're both electroplated. I haven't tortured the gold dots, but based on pictures, descriptions, price, and advertised performance, they're the same thing. Federal calls em fusion, sells em like crazy, and then several years later sister speer has gold dots, I'd be shocked if there was ANY difference.
Lets just say, this 243 is about all she could come up with & like a lot of us, an attachment to it that
would be hard to break.
I mentioned this to her Dad & that's what I got so I guess, go to war with what you got.
It is ALL about MARKETING, just mention the 6.5 Creedless around here & you will get one of those old tv comedies with
the fake audience laugh.
brewer12345
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Funny to hear all the hate on Fusions. My 30-06 shoots them very well and if I were not using partition hand loads for elk, 180 grain Fusions would be my choice. Then again, a full grown elk is a long way from a deer.
Captcurt
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The first half dozen deer that I took with 243 were with Fusions. Never lost a deer with them and had no issues. Having 55 years of experience in bullet placement might have something to do with it. The only malfunction that I have had with the 243 was a 90 gr Nosler BT at about 30 yards. I hit a yearling in the shoulder and the bullet cratered. The shoulder and the entire rib cage was bloodshot. Poor little bambi went 60 or 70 yards.
mustanger98
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Some folks harvest elk with .243 too. Again, it's all about placement.
Varminterror
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Part of me always wants to favor a 140 grain bullet over a 100-115, but personally, my experiences back the above statement.
From one side - I started hunting with a .30-06, buying a lot of hype. Moved to a 7x57, then a 7-08 for longer range plinking, and realized I didn’t need a .30-06 to kill whitetails. Concurrently, I had started shooting a 243win for coyotes (and BR) and quickly realized I could - counterintuitively - anchor deer faster with a 243win than I could with even the 7-08.
From another perspective, I know I dial less wind and less elevation with a fast 6mm over 42grn of powder in a similar case than I do under a short action 7mm, or even 6.5. I’m sharing data with other shooters every other weekend, and smiling when I walk away with a wind bracket smaller than my target because I’m shooting a “barrel burning 6 creed,” instead of a 6.5 like the other guys stressing over twitchy winds and small targets. Gimme a 280AI and maybe the story sounds different, but as much as I love the 7-08 (and REALLY love the 7 Mauser), I’d rank the 243 killing deer quicker than the 7.
I know we would all, including myself, would want the little girl to try different calibers & rifles as well
as various versions of the 243 Winchester but in real life she is very independent & self sufficient in her
life regardless of a less than satisfactory INCOME which is where I come in with options that might or
might not help her next deer season. At least she does know that I have access to you guys for info
that might settle her mind on hard to track deer & that people are REALLY interested in her problem.
That said, most of us here are probably experienced trackers & shooters. The bullet itself may or
may not be a problem in this case then if it happens NEXT YEAR with my formula up front it might fall
on me yet if my health holds out I will have her down here for some REAL practice.
as various versions of the 243 Winchester but in real life she is very independent & self sufficient in her
life regardless of a less than satisfactory INCOME which is where I come in with options that might or
might not help her next deer season. At least she does know that I have access to you guys for info
that might settle her mind on hard to track deer & that people are REALLY interested in her problem.
That said, most of us here are probably experienced trackers & shooters. The bullet itself may or
may not be a problem in this case then if it happens NEXT YEAR with my formula up front it might fall
on me yet if my health holds out I will have her down here for some REAL practice.
Varminterror
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False! For deerish sized game, I'd only vary her bullets! Partitions, bonded, and coppers for the larger critters, and btips, cup and cores, and hollow points of various sizes for smaller quarry. Match the bullet to the job and the diameter difference of yesteryear sheds quickly! If all goes well Sunday, I'll throw in some info on what a .223 can do with a 50 gr bullet to those armor clad deer. You tell her the same thing that I tell my friends and family, that .243 kills deer quicker than people can bash it! (Mind you I shun 10 twist barrels).
mustanger98
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The .243 I use is a 1:9.25 twist barrel. I use 100gr SP cup/core... CoreLokt, PowerPoint, and Interlock... and I've seen no problem shooting deer in the heart/lungs with that combination.
I've also seen deer killed with the same brands of 150gr cup/core SP's and RN's in .270Win and .30-06. For the distances in my area... within 200yds... the only differences I saw were in powder charge weight and recoil.
I've also seen deer killed with the same brands of 150gr cup/core SP's and RN's in .270Win and .30-06. For the distances in my area... within 200yds... the only differences I saw were in powder charge weight and recoil.
Got it, in all transparency and honesty I have no experience on different types of bullets for hunting, I've always used Remington-Core lokts in 30-30 and 30-06 for about 54 years. I know my brother used a couple of TTSX types a while back on hogs and he didn't care for them as he felt they weren't dropping fast enough, but in all honesty it could have been shot placement as well.
Heard that, the ttsx NEEDS speed, but because of tiny exits I like em for hides!!!
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