Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 85 gr .243 experiences

A guy I work with just got his daughter a Marlin XS7 youth model. I am going to work up a light recoiling deer capable load, and am thinking about using an 85 gr bullet at around 3000 FPS. I am thinking about the 85 gr Interbond, 85 gr Partition or the 85 gr Speer. Does anybody have any expereince with these?

Not much. My 12-yr-old daughter shot a decent whitetail last year with Federal Premium 243 85 gr TSX.

It is tough to beat the Sierra 85gr HPBT for deer sized game out of the .243. It did wonders out of my 6mm.

I have used the speer some,with good results.Not the other two,but cant see how they wouldnt work just fine.

I have normally used hornady bullets when hunting with a 243 bore and have good results.

the federal 85gr tsx is very accurate out of my 243. haven't used it on game yet.

85 g Speer over 37.5gr Varget is my .243 load for deer. Consistent 1" groups at 100 yards, and usually DRT. Had the Speers and Varget on hand, shot good, so I haven't tried any others.

I like the 95 grain Partition and BT combo, using the Partition for deer and the less expensive BT for practice and varmints.

For a long time, close to 20 years, I used the 85 grain Sierra HPBT Gameking, but after having a couple of failures, I switched to the Partition as my .243" bore bullet of choice for medium game. The 85 grain Sierra has been a very accurate bullet in nearly every 243 or 6mm rifle that I tried it in and it is a great varmint bullet, but (4ME) the Partition is a better/surer choice for deer.

As a ROT, I now prefer to use premium bullets for medium game in my .224" and .243" bore rifles. I have had really good luck with the 60 grain .224" and 95 grain .243" Partitions and can recommend them without any reservations.

Jeff

Used the HPBT for my son's deer in Tx with deadly results, and like the 87 SP and HP, not vmax, but one you use a Barnes and see how it works, it's hard to use anything else.

The 85 Barnes TSX (and 80 TTSX) is hard to beat, factory or handload, but my last 2 dropped with 95 Ballistic Tips and I truly believe it's a STOUT bullet for a BT and will hold it's own for a bullet in the 90-100gr on deer.

You mention light recoil, at a tad reduced speed, I'd look at an 80gr TTSX or the 85 HPBT as they might expand a tad easier at lower speeds.

Shot placement will guarantee success. Good luck with your daughter.

I used the 85 grain HPBT for 20 years with great results, but after a couple of failures, I decided that a tougher bullet was in order 4ME. Since I will no longer use them myself, I can't recommend them to others.

However, as with many things, YMMV.

Jeff

The 85 grain partition is a winner at full power or reduced loads. Went through several boxes of the old style with great results. Loaded some of the new ones for my sons as the next step up from a 223 and they worked well down to about 2,800 fps. Probably much slower is possible but I never tried anything lighter.

I was using starting loads for IMR4350 and didn't want to reduce too much and found good accuracy at close to the same sight setting as 95&100 grain loads.

At the reduced speeds standard bullets will work fine but the little partitions gave me more confidence and avoided any mystery reactions due to bullet performance.

Hey Jeff, I understand the HPBT was 'beefed up' over time, any chance you got some Early run bullets OR just that the batch you had, did not perform as others had prior? Just curious.

No doubt Tejano, Confidence causes us all to form our bias, and I can't argue a man choosing what they have confidence in, as it's usually borne out of experience.

I actually had 4 Sierra HPBTs fail in a single season, 2 of the 85 grain .243" and 2 of the 90 grain .257". 4 seems like a trend and, besides, I like the through/through penetration of the Partitions even if they don't kill quite a quickly as the Sierra HPBT grenades.

Jeff

I've had good luck with the .243 Winchester cartridge and Sierra 85 gr. HPBT on deer. I've used it off and on for years with exactly zero troubles.

Grenade, that's what I thought of the hole in the shoulder of my sons deer he shot around 275 paces, looked like a 270 hit it, same with the grapefruit sized hole in the back of the first he shot minutes earlier at 300 paces. Extended range probably helped give more penetration that up real close. No doubt, I don't get fond of bullets that won't exit, but have a few times with careful placement done so.

I can't argue an 85 Partition, love the TSX and feel the 80 TTSX would be the bomb (not as in explosive, but deadly).

We are no different, as if I get a gross failure in any equipment, whether bullet, rifle, or whatever, I seriously consider if I will use it again. No doubt a partition or barnes will likely statistically rarely if ever come apart like an HPBT might be prone to do, depending on what they hit.

As I recall the Sierra loading manual describes the 85 gr HPBT as a long range varmint bullet that can be used on smaller deer with careful shot placement with good results. At the moment I am a thousand miles away from said manual so perhaps someone else can take a look.

Conversely, the 90 grn Sierra HPBT in .257 is described the same way in the Sierra manual. I have had good results with that bullet on deer in a .250 Savage with 1 in 14" model 99. Sierra customer service told me simply to drive the bullet at top velocities for best results.

I would not hesitate to use either premium 85 grn bullet for deer. Heavier but cheaper 95 and 100 grn C&C or poly-tip bullets have also given consistently good results for years.

Not a 243, but they've done well in a 6mm Rem the wife took away from me. We've never had a buck complain with shots to just over 400 yds.

I shot a big wild boar with an 85 grain Sierra HPBT last year.

The bullet failed to make it to the vitals and I had to finish him with a tougher bullet.

I won't use them on big game again.

The 4 HPBT failures that I had involved bullets that disintegrated on contact and failed to penetrate through the ribs and into the pleural cavity of whitetails. 1x maybe, but 4x is too many for me. I still have in the neighborhood of 1K of those bullets, both the 85 grain .243" and 90 grain .257", but I won't use them on game, just paper and varmints.

I can only report on my experiences and, as with many things, YMMV.

Jeff

kimber- i have shot a lot of deer with a .243 85 sierra hpbt. also the 95 parttion. and a few with the 100 grain horn. any of the ones you mentioned are fine. i would lean to the 85 partition. try varget or I-4064 to start.

85's are all i shoot out of my .243. I shot a 5x5 whitetail a few years ago with a 85 Partition. I shot hit at 70 yads or so through the neck and dropped him. Did the job well. I have a new load with the 85 TSX that I will be using this season, so I hope I can lett you know how it works.