Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .243 Winchester bullet advice

I've caught a 210gr Partition from a 338 Win in a buck pronghorn, but have never recovered a 139gr Scenar from a 260 Rem. Crazy how that works at times...

Too bad you had this experience, I have had good luck with the 95 gr Ballistic Tips on deer. And they are accurate out of my old Ruger.

Yeah, a buddy of mine recovered a 210 Partition from a whitetail buck that was smaller than the one I killed with the 225 Hornady! Same sort of deal, an angling-away shot.

95nbt been my go to for years now with wonderful results. Have caught a few over the years on offside shoulder but normally gives me pass throughs. Can’t see myself changing anytime soon

Last fall shot a big boar and the bullet went through around 22” of tissue including front shoulder and the plate with a nice exit

Also shot a doe last fall at 175 in the ribs. No exit wound but she went straight down and never moved. Insides were soup

I don’t worry much about exit wounds with the 243. Most go down in sight anyways

I also tried the 105 and 95 Berger vld with great results. 6br and 243. Sample size of 6 deer but all complete pass through with big exit holes

I wouldn’t switch bullets due to one deer if it shoots well out of your rifle

Folks, don't get me wrong, the 95 grain ballistic tip is plenty accurate in my .243 Winchester and It killed the deer (lungs had a big hole through them) just fine.
My only complaint is that there was absolutely no blood trail. In fact this morning there was 2 inches of fresh snow and because of all the deer tracks in the area I walked right past the deer's path without seeing any blood. It took me 10 or 20 minutes to find the buck.

I was a slow convert back to the Ballistic tips after experience with the early ones. With the 95gr. 6mm BT I think I have run 18 one shot kills on deer ranging 120 - 180 lbs. field dressed and have yet to recover one, bullet that is. I never needed it but I don't recall any time there was not a blood trail. As some one said it depends on where you hit them. A lower shot is more likely to bleed sooner than a high one. Occasionally when the heart or aorta is hit it looks like all the blood collects in the chest and there is no pressure for it to go back out the entry or exit until the deer is down.

The shooters Pro shop has the 85 grain partition for sale but still about twice what the BT is, I don't worry about the cost on the actual hunting bullet and buy something else for load work up. I shot the 85s back when they were a semi spitzer, why a semi spitzer I'm not sure maybe they were concerned about the 244 Rem. twist which they needn't be? But the new ones work well and shoot flatter.

Agree with most here... if you want your best chance at an exit, use a mono... but I wouldn't expect bang flops with behind the shoulder lung shots.

With that said, I love the 85gr Sierra GK HPBT. It kills way above its pay grade. I also love the 95gr NBT, so...

As stated before, the 90gr NAB is worth a look, too.

I'm a shoulder shooter - I'll give up some shoulder meat in exchange for knocking out their running gear. With that, a 75 yard death run after a top-of-the-lungs shot doesn't seem too bad to me. I've seen lung shot deer run a lot further than that - blood and no blood.

My father had a perfect broadside shot deer run over 100 yards. This was with a hit that put a big hole all the way through. They can do amazing things even when well hit.

That's the ticket........

I have two 243's that have killed 14 elk between them. And a few deer and pronghorns. So far any broadside shot on elk have been a pass-thru. Quartering shots will usually stop the bullet before it exits. Most have traveled less than ~30 yds, one did go about 100 yds.

I'm a shoulder shooter, and have hit a few deer and pigs there, my little pre-64 FTW 243 firing hand loaded 100gr partitions has never let me down, or failed to exit said animals, those that ran left plenty of blood to follow.

Stick that 95 nbt into the high shoulder and I doubt you’ll be tracking any.



I’m a shoulder shooter so the monos have done well for me.


I caught a .458” Speer bonded HP on an angled shot a couple years ago on a whitetail doe. I broke her near shoulder so tracking was about 30 feet.


I’ve never had another one stay in a deer.

I once punched a 12 gauge Foster slug through both lungs of a broadside doe at 30 yards and watched in amazement as she ran 250 yards across a field before she fell, draped over the barbed wire fence on the opposite side. I had seen the impact of the slug, hair fly and a gaping hole spraying blood as she departed the scene so knew she was dead on her feet. Just couldn't believe it took her so long to give it up.

Sorry..but if thats what you want, as others have said, you'll be going to the expense...

That said, the bullet( even the ones you use up in practice..) are the cheapest part of any given hunt.

We use the 90 gr. AB and have had great results with it. We have also used the 6mm Partitions and those normally exit, too. As others have mentioned, buying seconds through the pro shop saves $ and I have never been able to see any difference in them.

Did you take any pics of the ballistic tip you found in that deer? How far did it run. Just out of curiosity?

I do from time to time try new bullets, but the 95nbt is not one I would be looking to switch

I have used the 95 and 105 vld with great success also, and so has SLG888. He went back to the 95nbt though

I believe my best friend user the Sierra game king although it could be a partition in his 243. He is happy with it but didn’t get a pass through last fall on a doe that weighed 75lbs dressed. Shot in the ribs too. Deer was DRT so job well done

If you are handloading your own, you should already know about SPS. The partitions are not really that expensive when you think about it. That's the route I'd go. Either a 95 or 100 gr partition and you'll get excellent results from your 243... If you are cheaping out and looking for good results, you can also look at the 100gr. Hornady interlock sp flat based bullet. Those penetrate and hold together pretty good in the 243...

You’re such a fickle bitch.

Not long ago anybody that used a .243 was a pu ssy and idiot, now you try giving advice like you have experience killing with the .243.

I believe that he was 5 or 6 at the time! memtb

I load the 80 TTSX for grandkids, never recovered one. They have been lucky, never lost a deer yet.

I voiced the same compaint after almost giving up on a buck shot the same place with a 130gr IL from my .270. No exit, no blood at all, just hair knocked off the far side by the impact of the bullet.

Tough bullets are one solution. Placing you shot lower so blood starts leaking out sooner is another. High shoulder shots, as some have pointed out, are another, eliminating the need for a blood trail.

If you can figure out how to shoot Muzzy broadheads out of that .243, all your bloodtrail issues will vanish. Big hole in, big hole out. Maximum carnage!