Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting 243 and 75 gr Hornady HP

Not trying to sound like an ass, but I’d say people use them because they have them, they work, and they can. The “better bullet” topic paints with a pretty broad brush.

Sure they work until you make a mistake and have to follow a scant blood trail. I kill steers every week with a .22lr but do not need to worry about following one up.
If you can afford to buy a box of 75 gr. Bullets you can buy a box of 100 gr.

[quote=AbeJohnsen][quote=eyeball]After shooting coyotes with them I would pass on planning deer hunting, but I'm sure they would work well doing head/neck shots.

I completely agree here , not a bullet I'd plan on using. If it's all I have I'll drive a model T to work but you can bet I'll be scrounging to buy a better car as soon as I can. Why take a chance when you know a 100 grain is a more sure option in a .243? I shoot deer mostly with a .270. I"ve got 100 gain bullets for it But in the .277 diameter they're varming bullets. Would I use one if that's all I had and a nice deer walked out 50 yards ahead? Probably, if I thought I could hit it in the neck or head. But wouldn't plan a hunt with them. For deer in my .270 I use 130, 140, and sometimes 150 grain bullets(usually 130s) because they're designed to penetrate and expand in a deer size animal. Why use a varmint bullet for deer size game game? You're temping fate.

There are several good hunting bullets available for the 243. I'm not sure why anyone would consider using a varmint bullet for deer hunting in any caliber.

I'd say the difference in recoil between a 75 grain and 100 grain in a .243 is probably negligible. If he doesn't think he can handle the 100s get him some 85 grain SGK. They are tough enough to penetrate a deer. Using them wouldn't give me the warm and fuzzy, but I would feel a lot better with them than I would the 75 grains because the 75 grains are pure varmint bullets and I would more question them than the 85 grain Sierra as to whether they're tough enough to penetrate and reliably expand in a deer. The 85s aren't varmint bullets, they're constructed tough to more readily penetrate and expand. Though light for their length, they're tougher than a pure varmint bullet.

folks this thread is 7 yrs old

Yup, 7 years ago...

These are the bullets my buddy brought me.. so I loaded them up for him..

I shoot these due to their accuracy, so I have experience with them... my standard load is just 30 grains of 4198..

that is what I loaded up for Warren... and we are talking Antelope sized black tails here in S. Oregon..

The load and bullet worked for him that season just fine...in fact shot in his large wooded back yard...
he's was a Marine with 2 tours under his belt during Vietnam.. he knows how to shoot well

The following season, he stepped up to a 95 gr Ballistic tip over a charge of 4895 or 4064....
both that I use... also taught him to reload.. so he does his own...and still uses the ballistic tip now..

Funny resurrection the Lazarus post. I was going to recommend the 95 BT but held off after seeing how old this was. I tested the 75s way back and they were not accurate in my loads/rifle and they blew up on water jugs, pumpkins, clay banks, stacks of magazines you name it. They did exactly what they were designed to do, fragment easily.

I miss the 7 years old point...who cares ? Hopefully some novice does not read this thread TODAY and go out and buy a couple boxes of 75 gr .243 to hunt any whitetail with.

I usually look at the dates on the posts before I say anything (if I say anything), but this one bit me. Funny thing, though, as I shoot both of those bullets in my 243’s. Those are actually the only 2 I shoot. I’ve never had a problem with either of you know your limitations. Sounds like your friend accidentally made them work as well...

It might be 20 years old for all I care but it's still relevant. If just one person learns something then it's worth it.

Just read all this post, so decided to chime in. I reload for the 243 and the 100 g Hornady Interlock ( #2453) is a good deer bullet. Putting out like 1100 ft. pounds at 300 yards with about a 6.5" drop...so you can reach out there with it. Will completely penetrate a piece of 1/4" steel at that range. That bullet also one Hornady been making a long time and killed many a deer and probably elk also. The Barnes in the 85 TTSX another good deer bullet, but they are expensive.

Not me, but a long dead old buddy piled deer up with the 75gr Horn HP's in his 243 and 6mm Rem, he mostly took neck shots where it joins the body, also remember helping him drag a few out that were hit in the lungs, iirc they all dropped at the shot, never remember having to help the old fella trail one, if I also remember correctly, both his rifles were Remington Model 7's, small, short, lightweight little walnut and blued steel rifles.

He leaned on em hard in the load room too, don't remember the velocity, but they cooked!

We've shot a few deer with the 70 BTip. Never recovered a bullet yet. But it doesn't "blow up" like a 75HP.

I hAve killed deer and antelope with an 85 sierra bthp. an 85 nosler partition would be awesome too.

Am I mistaken, or is this bullet no longer in production? Seems like y'all are talking about the girl you banged at the HS prom......

Doubt it is still but may have been when the thread was started almost 7 years ago.

Still be some floating around on GB though.

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/858556055

Ok, time to move on to the bitch you banged that caused your first divorce. 🤣

Who do we bang if I post a link to another box of em?

When my daughters turned 12 I took them deer hunting with their 243s. I had purchased some Federal Premium loaded with Barnes 85gr TSX.

I was worried as I wasn't sure what to expect with both their reactions and the 243 with a 85gr bullet.

I shouldn't have worried, they shot great and the deer died quickly, as quick as with any other caliber/bullet. We've never recovered a bullet. I'm a believer in that Barnes.

If I only had a 243 and needed to kill an elk, I'd be confident in that TSX.

I've heard great things about the Siera Game King 85gr BTHP.