Jeff, I knew a guy some years ago that exclusively used the Sierra 85gr HPBT for deer. He had great results with it from his short barreled M7 (18.5" barrel in those days)with a dose of 4320 powder. He used that load for years before he ever got around to chronographing it-turns out it was chugging along at around 2,800 fps, which explains why he got such consistently good results.
I used the same bullet on just one deer, an average sized doe that I shot broadside right behind her shoulder. She was about 20 yds away so impact velocity was probably 3,150. The bullet hit a rib on the way in and took out a chunk of the rib next to it. Lung destruction was impressive, but penetration, while adequate, wasn't-I found what was left of the jacket sans any lead just under the skin in the rib area just behind the offside shoulder. Certainly a quick kill, but I'm glad it wasn't an angling away or shoulder shot.
I cross sectioned a couple of .243" Sierra's one time about 15 years ago. They were the 85 gr HPBT and the 100 gr SPBT. The 85 showed a consistent jacket thickness from nose to heel with a slightly thicker base. The 100 grainer had a forward jacket section of similar thickness to the 85, but thickened considerably about 1/3 of the way back from the nose. This thicker section was at least half again the thickness of the nose section and extended to the heel of the bullet.
I like the 85 HPBT, I still have several hundred of them and would consider using it on deer again, but probably only where shots were going to be longish or if firing this bullet at a lower velocity, such as from a 6x45 (which for some reason really calls to me).
Last edited by bruinruin; 05/24/12.
