Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 243 Load For Deer

Hey Gang,

Does anyone have any good 243 load or loads to try out? I am looking for something in the 80 to 100 grain weight. Shots will be closer than father I hope since its for my son but I figure max range will be 300 to 400 yards with most shot opportunity being below that. Any info or opinion appreciated.

Kique

What is the intended target. Deer? What?

I suggest the 95/100gr Partition over something with a burn rate from 4350 to 7828. There are lots of good loads out there, and that bullet has always treated me well in the .243Win. I'd also be tempted to try the 90gr E-Tip, as the 100gr .257 version has been a winner.

95gr partiton over 41gr of H4350..

80gr TTSX and 4350...

Given the title, probably.

I have working on Hornady 100 btsp with varget. Haven't chronoed. Never shot anything with it but paper.

80 TTSX and Varget. Great shooter through all 3 guns I have tried it in. First time I shot a deer with it, the performance was like a 270 or 30-06. Hits very hard, penetrates fully, and gives great blood trails.

I use 41.0grs of RL17 powder with a Barnes 80gr. TTSX

I'd try 95/100 NPT, depending on twist and groups over RL-16. Burn rate similar to 4350, more speed.

DF

Here's E-tip at ~$17/box if you want to simplify life:

http://www.shootersproshop.com/cata...ain-lead-free-ammo-blem-20ct/category/2/

Simple cup and core bullets don't hang together well if they impact at more than about 2800 FPS.

I suggest 44 to 44.5 grains of the old, long cut H4831 behind a 100 grain premium bullet such as the Partition (or the Nosler Solid Base if any of those are still around). That should get you 2940 FPS out of a 24" barrel.

Why the old long cut H4831? It is less dense than the newer short cut powder, and just nicely fills the case. Many 243 loads leave a lot of extra space in the case. (Besides, I have a lot of it.)

The .243 I let some neighbor kids use was loaded with the 100 gr. Hornady SPFB over either 4350 or 4831. My apologies as this was when I lived in Nevada and all my load notes were lost in the move to Arizona. All I can add is some very heavy bodied Nevada Mule Deer died quite nicely. No bullets recovered.
Paul B.

100g Hornady BTSP, 95g NBT, 85g TSX, 95/100g NPT all work well. Pick an appropriate powder and work up.

I've not used it at over 330 yards or less than 40 yards, but he 95gr ballistic tip has worked great for me. Exits on all of them. Some of them were forming loads in an AI (Nosler's book max of H4350). A couple grains more in the AI'd brass.

If you want longer range, others fly flatter, but it's treated me well for deer at the ranges you mentioned.

100gr Partition with whatever powder you have that gets you to 2900 or thereabouts. Got a bunch of ETips to try myself, but the NPs are a sure thing, assuming your gun likes them.

I grabbed a book load using RL-17 and 100 gr partitions for my old pre-64 FWT 243W, velocity is 2964 fps, a very uniform and accurate load, I used it on the largest whitetail doe I've ever seen, center punched her right shoulder to exit ribs on offside, DRT'd at iirc 55 yards, a very hard hitting little round and bullet.

She had to have weighed at least 180 lbs on the hoof.

There's really no reason not to use a Partition. They have never been my most accurate load, but they are always accurate enough. They don't complain when they hit bone, they hold together and continue to penetrate. Wound channels are devastating. It's been years since I loaded for the 243, but with 100 grain bullets 4350 is a good place to start. An 85 grain Partition pushed by a max charge of Varget is very easy for kids to manage, and they have devastating on-game performance.

Thanks guys,

His junior tag is good for whitetail or mule deer. We will mostly focus on coues in the low desert stuff and see if we can find him the buck that jumped out a couple years ago when my dad and I killed our bucks. However we also seen a really nice muley that same day on the same ridge that i'd love for him to see if he's alive.
Seems like i should start with the partitions and if those don't fly to my liking, I could try those hippie TTSX or Etips.
There's 85, 95 and 100 grain flavors. his rifle has a 20" barrel. seems like most say the 100s but should I try the 85 to get a little more speed out of em?

Sorry guys. I beat topics like a dead horse. I go rounds and rounds till I finally get something im confident in. Being his first deer tag and knowing what we can see, I wanna make sure i do right by him and what he is gonna shoot at.

Kique

Good luck.

Pick a few bullets, build a load ...fine tune it and let the young man practice from 40-400 yards

Ballistic tip, partition, interlock, TTsx, Etip, corelokt, all will kill when properly placed.

Confidence in ability can make all the difference.

Kudos to you for making cherished memories
Burt2506

Damn, you guys let me off easy considering I failed to read title. My post was dumb.