Get a stout bullet that doesn't have a soft front end and let the rodeo begin.
What bullets would those be exactly in .243" ? I've killed deer with 100 gr. interlocks, 100 gr. core-lokts, 100 gr. power shoks, 95 gr. SST's, 85 gr. Sierra HPBT and didn't find any to be overly "stout". In fact I've recovered examples of all those bullets from deer and all were anywhere from "well and fully mushroomed" with significant weight loss to "well and truly fragmented" in bits and pieces.
In my experience monos mainly. I did shoot a few with the Hornady 87 grain BTHP and didn't care for them, found a couple that were together, expanded but not to my liking.
Wasn't a fan of the 95 grain SST early on or the 85 grain HPBT Sierra. Both seem hard.
Of the 100s I liked Hornady BTSP and the Sierra Gameking. Buddy likes the 100 grain Speer boattail. Typical exit hole about like a golf ball, sometimes bigger if you could catch bone going in and out.
85 grain Sierra Varminter SP, 80 grain Sierra Varminter BTSP were both very fast killers. The 85 Sierra SP was all dad's 6mm ever shot from '78 until I tried a 100 grain Sierra Prohunter semi pointed in about 2014/2015.
I have killed a handful with a Partition which has a very soft front end.
Currently have the 90 grain Ballistic Tip on deck for the 6mm.
Never did mind a bullet that was in several pieces. Those were fast kills for sure.
Even when I was using 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06, 7mm and 300 Magnums I was using a soft bullet, Gamekings generally. Same fast kills, just more damage than was needed for a 200# animal IMO.
140 Ballistic Tips in the 7-08 right now.
Last edited by 10gaugemag; 11/25/23.
The last time that bear ate a lawyer he had the runs for 33 days!
