Might mention that I know two women who went on plains-game safaris and killed animals up through wildebeest with the .243 Winchester and .257 Roberts, both with one shot per animal. Both used Nosler Partitions, 85-grain in the .243 and 120 in the .257.
Of course, their husbands used much larger cartridges
LOL, that's good news Mule Deer, surely the 100gr TTSX or A Frame with petals blown off or pancaked near flat would equal the weight of an 85gr npt? so, what were you and the other guy shooting?
Thanks RinB, sd's of .264/120gr have to be close to .257/100gr, having the kids load running slower had to help with penetration.
Fubar, that's part of the deal that's bugging me old Buddy, i'm altering a purpose built bullet by pulling the tips to help with stabilization, there lies a pretty damn big hole under those tips, hence the concern for blowing petals before i can drill the vitals, i love that little 100gr A Frame, it's the most accurate in this rifle, but damn it's short, i have to wonder how it will penetrate if i pancake it near flat, hoping if i wind up using it ample damage will be done before it gets riveted, also giving both bullets all the help i can give by using 3450-3500 fps instead of 3600-3700, one thing about that, the stubby bullets slow down fast, 100-200+ yard shooting will certainly lessen my concerns.
Pete, those 2 to 300lb deer will near cover this hunt, red hartebeest, waterbuck and blue wildebeest will be the only things that exceed that weight, but holy damn, what if another 57 inch Kudu jumps up??
I took the rifle to the bench this morning, cold bore fired two rounds at 400 yards with the 100gr tipless ttsx holding 3 inched right wind and dead center on the white bullseye to check drop, strikes landed near dead center 6 o'clock and 7 inches low of dead center bullseye, that'll work, went and put up Redfield diamond target for 100 yard shooting to see which COL worked best, 3.235 COL had two in the same hole with one a bit over an inch high straight up, COL of 3.170 had three in a very nice triangle less than 3/4 of an inch, i'll load the remaining brass to 3.170, it also clocks 24 fps slower, even though not mashing on the gas with these loads i don't know how Norma 204 will behave in 95 degree weather so i'll take the lower pressure, don't expect it to be very temp stable.
