Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 100 gr Sierra Pro Hunter in 243.

I've used the Pro Hunter in other calibers to take Dall Sheep, Mountain Caribou, Mule Deer, ( Remington 280),Coues Whitetail, Pronghorn and Javelina (257 Roberts). I would have ceased using them after the Dall Sheep hunt if they had not performed well. I have also found them to be very accurate. I assume you would see similar results in a 243.

I have also had more profuse blood trails with the larger calibers. Sparse trails are something I've come to accept with using a .243, and part of the reason I like two holes. You mentioned earlier about the bullet possibly taking an odd path, and again is something I've had happen with a .243, but cannot remember exactly which bullet it was. I do know it was a factory 100 grain load, possibly Winchester, but I'm not really sure.

But, I've never had a .243 let me down. And they are so pleasant to shoot.

We gave shot a barn full of deer with that bullet. Look no further.

I know you asked for 243 but I use the 100gr pro hunter in my kids 250-3000. Anyhow I had a friend who’s daughter drew a caribou tag. So he has her shooting I think a 270 and it’s thumping her pretty good. I told him have the perfect rifle for her to use. This 250 savage on a pieced together Mexican Mauser with a pacnor barrel screwed on it sitting in a piece of crab apple wood. Anyhow his daughter shot a nice caribou with it using those 100gr sierras. My friend bugged for days wanting to buy it. He said it was the perfect kids rifle..

I always had very good luck with 95 grain Nosler Part. in the 243

My granddaughter wanted to deer hunt this year, after a few years of not going. She is shooting a 20 inch barreled Model 700 Youth in the 243. I wanted to load something I felt would kill the best, so having quite a few 100 grain Core Locts on hand, that's what I loaded up for her to use. 75 yards, double lung shot, bullet left a big enough exit wound that the 20 yards the deer went after being shot, left a blood trail a blind man could have followed. I have found that my 243's shoot the lighter weight bullets more accurately than they do the heavier ones. But, a good 100 grain bullet in a 243 will kill just as good as anything else. Providing, of course, it's put in the right spot.

One deer with the Sierra PH 100gr out of the 243 Win. The bullet lost it's jacket on the far side and the core punched A small hole out. A lot like all the other standard bullets I have used out of the 243 Win. Till I started using the Nosler 95 BT which seems to have the right stuff for explosive meanness and penetration.

Shot a nice 8 pt buck last evening with the Sierra 100 Pro Hunter from a 243. Shot was at 60 yards, almost broadside. Aimed right behind left leg. Deer turned and ran down a trail in the woods at full speed. He disappeared from sight after about 50 yards. With the help of my tracker wife and our neighbor, we finally found the deer. He had gone about 150 yards leaving no blood trail. Bullet did not exit. I had brought our dog down to track, which she did, but the neighbor saw the white of the deer's belly about the same time that the dog was dragging my wife in that direction.

I know all of the Nosler BT users will be along to say that's the bullet I should have used and you may be right. But the time I used the 95BT, the deer went about 75 yards, in sight the whole time. Bullet did exit but very small hole. That was a 100 yard shot. Shot one with a 90 Accubond at about 50 yards and it went about 75 yards with very little if any blood. Very small exit hole. The heart was disconnected so that may account for lack of blood.

I will be using my 7mm08 or 308 next year. The 243 will be for coyotes.

Flame away!

Over the years, I have switched back and forth on the 243 myself. I've seen a bunch of deer over the years that were shot with the 243, and either lost or had to be tracked. But then, after saying that, I think about the positives. The heaviest buck I ever saw was a one shot kill with a 243. The longest shot on a deer that I ever witnessed, a measured 495 yards, was made with a 243.....brother shot it, using my rifle. I killed a buck at a little over 300 yards with a 243, dropped in it's tracks. There were 2 local hunters who were somewhat famous for all the deer they killed, most of them illegally, and they both used a 243. So, to say that the 243 is not a good deer cartridge is not fair. It works.......period.

I think the thing that has often given the 243 a bum rap, is that is usually the cartridge of choice for young and inexperienced hunters. These hunters often cannot put that bullet in a spot that results in a quick kill, and often results in a wounded deer. Rather than telling it like it is......a bad shot, people often blame the cartridge or the bullet. But, then each shot on a deer is different, resulting in a different reaction from the deer. A shot that might drop one in it's tracks, might result in another deer running some distance before it dies. That happens with ALL cartridges, not just the 243.

In summary, what happened to you is just one of those unexplainable things that has happened to most of us. You might shoot a 100 deer the way you shot that one, and drop each one where it stands. You just never know. However, I know this.......I have a lot more faith in a 100 grain bullet in a 243 than I do with ANY bullet in a 223 or 22-250. You do make a good point though, the 243 is a great choice for coyotes.

I've shot several with them, they work fine

I have used it in the 243 with no complaints. Watched my Uncle over the years use that bullet in 243 on over 200 whitetails. No problems with it.
GreggH

Look at the bright side--there's guys on here who have problems killing a 140lb whitetail with 243 and a Partition............

I mean, I have a 243 that has killed 14 elk, and for half of them it was kids pulling the trigger.

This is good to see as I always have had superlative accuracy from Sierras but not always on game terminal performance. Sierras have been a good match for TSXs and NBT for a cheaper alternative. I will not relegate them to sight in and practice now and will ring them out on game I hope. Just that I have so many Noslers, Barnes and Hornadays to work through first.

After hunting this bullet I can say with complete confidence... Not only does it work... but it works damn well.

Loaded GameKings for granddaughter’s 243. She hasn’t lost a deer or pig yet.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I have only used 1 Pro Hunter so far but tons of Gamekings as has a bud of mine. ProHunters "should" be a better penetrator but I have never had these penetration "issues" that I see on the internet with a Gameking.

Here's a pic of last years buck, maybe a 60 yard shot. I intentionally aimed at the point of the shoulder where it and the spine meet for a DRT kill, didn't need him to run where he was headed towards, another deep ditch and another hill to drag him over. Did recover a little bit of bullet, jacket with some lead until I wiped it down a bit and the lead came out. Buck was maybe a 175# deer since he was pretty poor from the rut. (Notice the spine showing where he had thinned down).

Sierra 100 grain ProHunter. Actually the discontinued semi pointed bullet.

My favorite question to ask people who speak of bullet failure... "In what part of the animals death did the bullet failure occur?"

The part where the deer ran 150 yards or more leaving no blood trail and was almost lost. That part.

I didn't call my experience a failure but it sure wasn't the performance I was expecting. A perfect broadside lung shot where the bullet barely nicks a rib and still doesn't exit is not what I want.

To each, his own. I hope you have continued success with your 243.

I mostly use Sierra Pro Hunter bullets for deer hunting in all other calibers and have had excellent results. Just didn't happen this time.

I like them with my 6mm. For deer I like them better than the copper solids. The 100gr Pro Hunters do more internal damage and deer don't go so far if anywhere. (Heart shot, don't want to loose meat)