Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .243 Bullet opinion

Palidun, what load data were you using with th 95gr BT out of the 20". Thinking about this bullet for my grandson. Thanks

I'd prefer the flatbase over the boattail and 2,800 FPS is fine but you can do better and it wouldn't hurt at all to do so.

My go to 243 bullet has been 85 gr HPBT by Sierra. I just ordered 500 95 gr Ballistic Tip bullets from Shooters Pro. They cost 9.95 for 50. I paid about twice that a couple of years ago. I did not want to say anything before I placed my order. You cannot go wrong with either of these bullets. Pull the trigger on either of these. You had better have the knife sharp.

I use 41.5grs IMR-4350 from my 24" .243 Win with the 95NBT:

Over the years we have used just about every 6 mm bullet made in our .243 rifles, the 95 gr. BTHP has served us well. Rio7

I was using a surplus powder (WC852) I bought in bulk and worked up to 41.0 grains. This powder is capable of making really good accuracy but it truly is different (in burn rate) every time you get it. I used 44.0 grs. of it in my 6MM Remington but with either rifle I can't really say just how fast the bullets were going. Fast enough though.

I vote on the 80 grain Barnes. DRT

The Hornady ballistics chart on their website shows this bullet started at 2960 is traveling 2729 fps at 100, 2509 at 200, 2300 at 300, 2101 at 400 and 1912 at 500. I would extrapolate 1800 fps to be pretty close to the 550 yard range.

I'd not hesitate to use it,been using the same in my .257bob for years w\excellent results...ScottyO.

Dodzapper,

I'm just curious what cartridge you used in Africa. That sounds like great bullet / cartridge performance! I've always had good results from Hornady as well.

I've been on two lengthy safaris, one to Zim and one to RSA's Northern Transvaal (near Beitbridge on the Limpopo). I used a .30-'06 both times; 180-grain Partitions on the hunt in Zim and 180-grain Hornady Spire Point Boat Tail Interlockeds on the RSA hunt.

The Partitions killed well enough on the first hunt and I finished the safari with one more critter than shots fired (picked up a Rowland Ward impala ram that was standing behind the one I killed) All one shot kills and the Partition surely did the job.

However, I wanted kills that were faster, so I shot the Hornady Interlockeds on the second safari ... I was not to be disappointed; twenty-three or twenty-four head of plains game with as many shots. Penetration was excellent, expansion was to about .75-inch and retained weight was on the order of 75%.

We live in the Golden Era of Bullets.

God Bless,

Steve

Steve, heres a pic of the last two 95NBTs I shot.




The one on the left came out of a Blackbuck,150 yard shot quartering as he lay in his bed. The other was a quartering going away shot on an Axis, behind right shoulder, jacket ended up in left shoulder...I didn't see the core...but Im not the one who did the post mortem.

95gr Berger VLD. I've killed a lot of game with this bullet.

Didn't you kill a big hog a few years ago with the 95 VLD?