Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles barnes 80gr ttsx 243

anyone shoot these in their 243? picked up a box the other day. and r u pleased with their performance?

This load produced the fastest deer kill I've ever witnessed when my son shot his first deer (a medium size TX doe). Sample of one I realize but it was a shockingly impressive example. Very accurate in my gun as well. 5 shots right at MOA @ 100.

I shoot 85s in my 243. Great accuracy and great performance. Yet to recover one.

I've not shot any deer with it yet, but I did put a load together that will remove all blame from the rifle if I miss.

They shoot noticeably better than the TSX in my rifle, and if they kill as good, then I'll be just fine with that.

I supervised a friend loading some on my eqpmt don't think he has killed anything but paper with them yet, shot well in his model 7.

Used new Hornady brass because that was about all he could find at the time.

Mike

The first load i tried was moa at 3420 Fps in my marlin x7. Figured that will do and can't wait to kill one with it this year.

Also a sample of one, but no complaints here.

This combo has worked very well for my kids on both whitetail and mulies.

Loaded them in my 243 for my 10yr old's first deer this year, this dork buck hated them...

nice! havent gotten into reloading yet so these are the vortx factory ammo. cant wait to try em

One through both lungs and heart of a whitetail buck produced one of the longest/hardest tracking jobs I've had in a long time. Hit bone or go home!

im open to suggestions for other 243 bullets as well. i have some hornady btsp 100gr also

95gr NBT by miles.

I shot 5 or 6 deer with those and all hits have acted like a much larger caliber. Blood trails, when needed have be adequate and impressive.

95 nbt & 4350 for me

I have not tried the Barnes on game but have heard great things and likely will. I can second the recommendation for the 95gr Ballistic Tip. I was very impressed with the performance on antelope this year. In the ribs(breaking one) across the bottom of the vertebrae and out the off side shoulder at 242 yards. The minimal meat loss was caused by bone chips and was very minor. Seems like a tough little bullet, considering.

The TTSX or NBT?

Thanks

What do you boys think about the Sierra Game King in the .243?

Wilkes,

I have not shot the 100 Game King at deer but I have a buddy that has used it on well over a hundred deer - he swears by it. He says that if you hit ribs it will exit and they will run 30-50 yars (like most lung hits) but if you hit shoulder they will drop and it will not exit. I hunt really, really thick terrain and need an exit if they run so I have not shot the Sierra's.

That has been my experience with the Sierra Pro-hunter 100 grain. A perfect side presentation will net an exit, but a raking shot won't, nor will a bone shot.

They sure make soup of the insides, too.

Bear in mind that most of my shots are going to be 50 yards or closer. That can be hard on a fast bullet.

Anyone have experience with a 100gr Partition on Deer?

^ id like to know about these as well

IME..., I haven't needed a "premium" bullet in my 243 to kill a whitetail....YMMV

Thanks for the feedback!

"Anyone have experience with a 100gr Partition on Deer?"

They work great as well as both the 95 partition and ballistic tip.

If I was shooting really big deer I think the 100 gr. partition would be a top choice, likewise for Elk if I was limited to a .243 for that purpose.

The partition takes advantage of some limited bullet fragmentation while still delivering penetration. Smaller lighter bullets benefit from this more than heavier conventional bullets. But they all benefit from this design as well. The smaller bullets just have a more limited mass to start with.

I loaded 95gr Partitions over a middling load of Varget for years for myself, my kids, and grand kids. Across the family have taken a more than two dozen KY White Tail with them. Mostly one shot kills. Mostly DRT. Never caught one. If I hadn't started reading forums like this, I'd still be shooting 95gr NPT's in a .243 exclusively...

wanted to try the partitions in my 243 but i everywhere i look is out of stock in factory ammo

Thanks for the feedback guys and sorry to jump your thread killindeer.

I picked up a new 243 recently and this thread drew my attention. I will definitely give the Partitions a whirl if I can find them.

^no prob man. same here. midwayusa has the 85gr in stock. may try a box of em if my local basspro is out of the 100gr

It might be a matter of what your rifle likes to shoot. Mine loves the 85 grn game king HP a lot more than any 100 grn loads I have tried.

You don't need a partition to drop deer w a 243. I've used them but prefer the 95 NBT or a Barnes 80/85. The other one I'd like to try is the Swift 90.

You WANT Expansion w Vitals reaching penetration. There's a good reason the 85 SGK HP is popular - in a small cal it offers a wide wound channel. The 95 NBT IS a tough bullet And expands, and I bet they routinely outshoot Partitions

Here's a one shot kill in Utah with the 100 NPT out of a 6mm Remington, the .243s ballistic twin. The shot was a complete pass-through and the bullet wasn't recovered.

I've also shot several Texas whitetails with the 100 NPT in both the .243 and 6mm Rem. I most often use IMR4831, because it gives better velocity with equal accuracy as the popular 4350s.

"Partitions always expand and they always penetrate." Bob Hagel.

That smile says it all!!

Mike

that it does heading out this wkend youth season with youngest son .100 grn. hornady rn. still have a couple bxs left.he has killed a pile of deer with them.also 85 grn. partition has been working very well for me as well.

I still think the 95/100gr Partition is the best thing going for a deer bullet in the 6mm chamberings, as they are generally going to exit but are pretty rough on lungs too.

Daughter shoots 85gr TSX in her .243 and that rifle/bullet combo has killed a ton of deer. Lung shots don't always give spectacular blood trails but we have killed every deer we have shot with one. She tends to punch them through both shoulders now, dropping them there. She has anchored deer out to 250 yards with it. It is a nice little deer package.

Last deer I shot w a 95 NBT went thru both shoulders.