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Little nervous with ammo choice with this caliper, will be shooting factory ammo at less than 250 yards. What loads have you had good success with? Thanks

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https://winchester.com/Products/Ammunition/Rifle/Ballistic-Silvertip/SBST243A

This is basically the factory version of my 95 grain Ballistic Tip handloads.

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Federal Fusion factory shoots great out of my Tikka. 1/2" 3 shot fairly consistent and killed a large bodied buck at 200+ two years ago.

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mathman, I watched a vid of that ammo shot through gel. It left a lot of bullet debris through out the wound channel. Has this been your experience? I guess what I'm looking for is the most bullet weight retention i can get.

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I've killed several truckloads of antelope and a bunch of deer with my .243 shooting 95 grain factory Fusion ammo, its works fine.


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For me the wound channel has primarily been the wrecked chest cavity contents and I didn't go looking for the debris. grin

Are you looking for weight retention for its own sake?

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mathman, I guess yes. I don't like long tracking jobs and not having any experience with such a small caliper bullet. I would like to use the best bullet for knock down power that i can. Maybe over think it but i hate wounded game. Thanks

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WW or RP factory ammo will kill very efficiently and it does not need to be the expensive stuff.
Use 85 to 100 gr. cup and core and shoot em in the chest.
You want the innards to look like a small bomb went of in there.
You want a dead animal, not a blood trail.

Just my 2 cents.


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I bought a Ruger M77 Compact Carbine back in the mid 80's. Been loaned out a bunch of times over the years to youth hunters and adults to. Originally sighted it in with 100gr CoreLokts. Switched to 100gr Federals quite a few years back. Never any complaints. Last deer taken was decent 6pt at 246 steps by my granddaughter.

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What MichiganRoadkill said. I use 100 gr Hornadys or Noslers, (handloads) shoot them in the chest, behind the shoulder, not in the shoulder. SHot one big buck in the shoulder and had a hard time finding him, Shot several behind the shoulder and if they moved, it was a tracking job Stevie Wonder could follow.


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Nothing shoulder fired will actually knock one down. Cause them to fall down, yes. Unless you hit the central nervous system it's wrecked innards causing them to expire. A 95 grain Ballistic Tip wrecks deer innards nicely, as does the 95 grain SST in my experience. My nephew has downed a few with the 95 SST and we haven't caught a bullet yet.

There are others on these boards who have a lot more 243 experience. I was a late comer to the cartridge, for years it was too small for my taste.

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I'm with mathman, if you want quick expiration without hitting the CNS, then I opt for less retention and more expansion within the animal. What goes out the opposite side doesn't impact any more damage to the vitals. Just my opinion though.

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Yep, we've been using Hornady Superformance 95gr SST for quite a while now.

Stay off bone (except ribs), broadside & you'll have a very dead deer, a maximum of 40 yards away.

Also used;
Federal blue box 100gr
Federal Fusion 95gr
Barnes Vortx 95gr TSX

Like the TSX the least, but they all work.

Like stated, I want as much energy expended, within the chest cavity, whilst maintaining an exit !


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The best value in factory ammo is the Federal Fusion 95 grain. It works great on deer and is accurate in most everything.

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Originally Posted by DakotaDeer
The best value in factory ammo is the Federal Fusion 95 grain. It works great on deer and is accurate in most everything.




^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


THIS


Have had a great deal of success over the years with a .243...a near perfect deer cartridge IMHO

Last edited by ingwe; 07/10/19.

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Used Remington Core lokt for years and they worked well. The current core lokt has a thinner jacket so they can come apart sometimes but usually do well. Just about any Hardware store around here carries the Remington loads so a plus if you ever forget your ammo.

The Federals are a good option and the electroplating process bonds the jacket and core. They can still fragment but usually stay in one piece and exit. As others have said the fragmenting is usually in the chest cavity so doesn't affect the meat and it also creates more devastation for faster kills.

For reloading I am using mostly the 95 grain Ballistic tip and the Partitions. These both perform really well, but not enough better to justify paying for premium ammunition. I have also used the Barnes 85 X and the Blue version too. These were the champs for penetration but I don't think they are needed on Deer but they were just right for on the shoulder shots on big hogs.

I would keep it simple and cheap and get a box of Remington and one of Federal and see which one the rifle liked better. If the accuracy is equal then I think I would go Federal Fusion because of the bonded effect.

Last edited by Tejano; 07/10/19.

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Which ammo are you nervous about at that range?

You'll have no issues if you do your part.


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Here is my son with a Mulie in SD last fall. .223 rem with 55gr bullets. 90 yards. Deer ran 40 yards with blood squirting out.


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[Linked Image]



Believe it or not...This is the entrance. .223 Rem. Barnes 55gr TTSX, 90 yards.
[Linked Image]

Exit. Through the heart and lungs. We should have taken a pic of the heart. It was a "heart Slinky." Unwound. I've never seen anything like it.
[Linked Image]

My daughter with the same rifle, same bullet, same result, last fall on BIG WI doe...
[Linked Image]

Deer took zero steps. In the shoulder, out the shoulder. Not sure what else you'd want from a .300 Mag let alone a .223 Rem.


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Watched a girl shoot a 220+lb mulie, it never got out of it's bed, then a nice antelope buck, blew out the top of the heart, buck stumbled 2 steps and fell on it's nose.

.243 work

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Killed a whole bunch of deer, and other smaller critters, with a .243 Win, works great! If you're worried about bullet retention, shoot any of the all copper bullets. IMO, the 85gr. Barnes TSX is an excellent bullet in a 243 Win.


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