Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 243 AI - which bullet for groundhogs and deer?

I have a 26" 243 Ackley Improved and I am wondering if there is a bullet which will work on groundhogs and deer. Would the Nosler 90 or 95 grain Ballistic Tip work? Or the Hornady 95 grain SST? How about the Speer 85 grain boat tail bullet? What have you tried?

I have a 10 twist 243AI that shoot the 85gr Sierra Game kings and the 87gr Hornady BT. Both are very accurate for not being match and both will kill hogs and deer. Good Luck.

I would work up a different load for each.

70g Nosler Ballistic tip, 70g Speer TNT, 70g Sierra Blitz king for chucks.

85g Tripple shocks for deer.

Use Win 760 for the light bullets and R#19 for the tripple shocks.

The 243 AI with a 26" barrel will be super accurate with the Win 760(CCI 250 primer) using the 70's at 3750-3800.

R#19 with the 85's, start off at 45.5g and work your way up, win primer, bullet seated .050 off the lands.

Deer bullets will not as well on varmints as the distances get over 300 yards. I shot 10,000+ of the Sierra 85g BTHP and the 85gSP before then toughened them up.

If I were forced to use one bullet for both, then my choice would be the Nosler Combined Technology 95g, H4350, Win primer, and stomp on the gas!

Bullets bouncing around the neighborhood would be a question in my mind using deer bullets.

JBB111,

Where in Virginia are you? I'm in Winchester.

Brian

Keith,

Is the Nosler combined technology bullet the same as a ballistic tip with a coating on the bullet?

Brian

I used the 95 NBT for a long time out of my 6/06 on all that moved and that included a lot of chucks and deer/lopes. It'll do very well for you.

Dober

Thank you, Mark. I was leaning toward the 95 grain Ballistic Tip.

Do you have enough twist for the 105 A-Max? It's a hammer.

R.

R.

My rifle is a Cooper Model 22 and it has a 1-10" twist. I was under the impression that my twist would be too slow.

Brian

They probably won't make it. My next choice would be the 95 grain Nosler.

R.

Stomp on the gas hard with v hard?

Pick a good deer bullet and let everything be collateral damage. Ive been shooting some of the old Nosler solid base bullets. When I'm out its Hornady 100 sp's.

Joseph

Barm, I am from Winchester as well!

I have used the 85 gr HPBT Sierra bullet for over 30 years. It sure does not let critters get away from it.

I have used it in both a 6mm Rem and a couple of 6mmX284. It just plain works!

WVGuy,

It really is a small world. Does the 85 grain HPBT from Sierra hold its accuracy at longer ranges? I was looking at the B.C. which Sierra lists at .282.

Brian

I have only shot it less than 300 yards. I have never heard of anyone having accuracy problems with this bullet. It is one that is often mentioned any time someone asks for a 243 diameter bullet.

Berger is coming out with an 87 grain hunting bullet with .412 BC that will do well for both critters.

+P on the 85 seirra hpbt, the berger could be interesting as well

85 grain Sierra HP or the 90 grain Ballistic tip would be my first two choices.

Hornady 87 grain HP or SP are also both a good choice...

Only had range time with it so far, but my last groups with the Sierra 85 HPBT Gameking was 1.5 at 400 yards with my little lw Model 7. Was a single, slightly larger than caliber hole at 100 as well so it wasn't a fluke.

Dave

What was your load, Dave?