Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Hornady 243 cal 87 gr BTHP for Deer?

I'm shopping bullets for a new rifle and came across a lot of really positive comments on this bullet on Midway, as well as a description that suggests big game.

When I looked at the Hornady catalog, however, I found this bullet listed as a varmint bullet. Does anybody know if this was recently redesigned (which would account for the different descriptions) or if it is just a heavy varmint bullet that is capable of killing whitetail?

Anybody have experience with this bullet and whitetails?

Any comments on experience are welcome.

Thanks,

efw

Well, a friend of mine and his wife went caribou hunting last November with the wrong box of ammo, 87 gr BTHP instead of 85 gr TX. They came home with two big caribou bulls, taken with two shots, so I would imagine they would work on deer.

Ted

Well, here is the way their website describes the bullet:

Features:
Streamlined design for ultra flat trajectories.
Match grade jacket design provides maximum accuracy at all ranges.
Explosive expansion, even at low velocities

Plus, it has no interlock ring. Sounds like a bullet designed for varmints, not deer. Will it kill a deer? Sure, if conditions are perfect, or you are willing to wait until they are perfect.

IMHO, there are many better bullets than this one for deer.

I'd use a Sierra 85gr. BTHP first.

I personally would not.

Certainly, there are better bullets for the job.

However, as my friend found out when he was over 400 miles away from home with the wrong ammo, while it is not an ideal bullet, it did the job very cleanly with two carefully placed shots on two quite large animals.

Ted

Here is the response I got from Hornady:

"Eric, The bullets have not changed. we actually market them as a varmint bullet. It is pretty light on deer sized game unless you rib shoot. Expect quite a bit of expansion though. Thanks"

I'll find something better suited to the task, like the 85 gr Interbond or the 85 gr Sierra that Selmer mentioned.

Thanks all,

efw

If you want a "soft" but still deer oriented bullet in that weight class you might consider the 85 grain Speer. Ingwe had some nice results with it IIRC. Shoot him a PM.

This is the bullet i use in my 6mm Remington for deer hunting and it kills them DOA and it is the most accurate bullet out of my Shilen 1&12 twist. I use Win 760 with this bullet and my Remington 700 group just under 1/2 inch. Left Hand 700 Shilen SS Select Match Barrel with 1&12 twist in 6mm Rem.

EFW- I Shot that bullet out my 12 twist .243 in my first 1000 yard match and won. i have only shot paper with it. i have shot a lot of deer with the 85 sierra bthp with excellent results. but as a strictly deer bullet : the 95 partition is my fave along with the sierra and horn 100.

A friend's daughter has used that bullet out of her 243AI to take a deer each of the last 2 seasons.

The buck dropped at the shot and the doe made it maybe 40yds.

Both were complete pass-throughs and neither tore up more meat than any other regular bullet we've used.

I've used the 87 grain Hornady SP in a 243 to take several deer, and it worked just fine.

the HP's performance is very similar to that of a ballistic tip.

for a lower velocity load ( like 2000 to 2400 fps) it is a GREAT bullet for deer..

Wow guys. These comments accurately reflect those reviewing the bullet on the Midway site that caused the question in the first place. I appreciate those with experience stepping forward.

I'll definately try this for accuracy purposes as well as the Sierra and Speers others have suggested and let the rifle to the choosing.

Thanks again for the input!

efw