Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 243 bullets for whitetails

Plenty of good bullets for that type of service....

but you are already using one of the best in a field of a lot of good choices...

why mess with success...

I agree with the above post. The 95 BT is tough and accurate and sounds like you have a load working with them. There are few 6mm bullets as good IMO

80 TTSX and no other. Shoots the same as the varmint bullets and hits like lightning. Never a lack of penetration or expansion.

My 'on game' experience with the .243 (and 6mm) is probably much less than many of the other respondents, so take that into consideration when you read the following.

My daughter owns a .243 and the one deer I have seen shot with it fell to a 100 grain Interlock and it fell right there. Of course a sample size of 1 means little.

I have used Remington 80 grain core lock factory loads out of a 6mm on a few deer and a bunch of smaller stuff and it always worked fine, but it is more of a varmint bullet in my mind.

I am happy loading the 100 grain Interlock in both the .243 and 6mm, although I suppose the NBT or partition are 'better'. I have also had good luck accuracy wise with the 95 gr SST, and wouldn't hesitate to use it as a deer bullet.

This may be a dumb reason for a bullet choice, but the Interlock does everything I want it to do at half the price of some of the fancier options, so I can load one bullet in all my .243/6mm guns and shoot a lot.

If I were taking a trip 'out west' I would probably devote more energy to finding the perfect .243 bullet, but it doubt the game could tell a difference.

Any/all the bullets in the 95gr+ range if we are talking lead core will work just fine. The only bullet that seems a wee bit soft in that weight range is the 95gr SST. I'd rather use a Nosler varmint bullet. In fact, Nosler varmint bullets are getting loaded at moderate speed in 243 for a youngster for hunting this year. A nephew. IIRC, they are the 70gr, and the initial tests show varmint accuracy from 2400-2600fps.

Haven't done any expansion tests yet to determine what the final speed will be, but I have high hopes for this setup, given the light recoil and excellent accuracy. No reason to step on the gas for deer 150-200yds, which is a max distance for the kids, and the shot will be broadside or close to it, so a tough bullet is not needed.

My boys used the TSX 85gr with no issues. They only killed 4 or 5 with it but all were one shot kills. All had exit wounds.

85 TSX

Not a Berger lover, but found a deal on a box of 95 grain VLD's awhile ago. My kids have been hammering deer and antelope with them. Gonna load some BT's for the heck of it. mtmuley

You can't kill deer with target bullets.

80TTSX

95gr nosler bt for me going to try the sierra 85gr hpbt

Another vote for the 95 NBT

90gr NBT, 100gr grand slam & 85gr speer boat tail all work very well for me.

My two favorites are the Speer 90 gr Deep Shock, and the Swift 90 gr Scirocco.

Used the 95gr Nosler Partition to great affect for a few years. But if you put the bullet where it belongs, the deer will die with any good bullet from a 243.

Oh yeah? How do you know? mtmuley

There, fixt it.

90 NBT and 85 TTSX from my 243 Win and my WSSM. Both tough bullets but also exhibit good expansion.

Sarcasm here also. mtmuley

The 95gr NBTs had no problem breaking bear shoulders this spring, awesome bullets!