Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 243 Win. Using Sierra 85 gr H/P #1530 On Antelope/Deer?

I am putting together an Antelope/Whitetail Deer Rifle that may be used by a young Hunter in the future.
The Rifle is a new to me Remington 700 LSS (laminated stock stainless) in 243 Winchester with a Leupold 4x12 variable scope.
The Rifle will be used in open country and on cultivated fields.
I was reading my Sierra Manual #5 and in the description for this bullet they describe it as "usefull on Deer and Antelope with carefully placed shots and for long range Varmints".
I have 9 unopened boxes of these Sierra 85 grain "Game King" bullets and one partial box - I have never used this bullet on Deer or Antelope and am seeking personal experiences and advice regarding this bullet on Antelope or Deer.
I know this bullet is accurate and on Coyotes and Rock Chucks it is great medicine - I just need info about its lethality/reliability on medium game.
Thanks in advance.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Sure, I'd use it if that is what you have. I would hesitate to bust a lot of bone or trying to run any up the cheerio. On lung shots, it's probably as good as it gets for quick kills. I don't consider it an "all-around" bullet though for deer.

Yea, I kinda take "usefull on Deer and Antelope with carefully placed shots" to mean "avoid bones".

It would probably make damn good "lung soup", though. I just did that a couple of weeks ago with the 100 grain Pro-hunter.

The 85 grain has the BC you need for longer shots, the 100 is fine under 200 yds

I'm going to take the "other side" on this. Assuming this young hunter does not have much depth of hunting experience, I think I'd happily burn some of those unopened boxes during range time, then switch to something like the 85 NPT for the hunt. I'd really hate to see a young person have a bad first experience and the better bullets do cover some ground when it comes to errors. The Partition will still give the same dramatic expansion even on lung shots, but will be a more reliable deep hole driller if the placement of the bullet makes that a beneficial bonus. Obviously we all want and hope for "carefully placed" shots, but the likelihood of that is increased as one gains experience and confidence. Young/less-experienced hunters are good ways to use top quality hunting bullets.

I agree. You almost have to assume a novice is going to make a less than optimum shot.

I've shot enough crows etc. to know that the 85 BTHP is pretty fragile. An 85 gr. Partition or 95 Partition or Ballistic Tip gives a bit more room for error with a good ballistic coefficient too.

Had great luck on antelope and a couple of deer with the 85 bthp. Nice accuracy as well. Since you have them, I would use them and not worry in the least.

Here is what Sierra says.

6mm .243 Caliber (.243) 85 gr. HPBT (100 bullets)
6mm .243 Caliber (.243) 85 gr. HPBT

For rifles chambered in 6mm cartridges, the #1530 85 grain hollow point boat tail bullet has proven to be highly effective on medium game, such as deer and antelope, and it is outstanding in this application. It is one of the best all-around bullets for rifles chambered in 6mm Remington or 243 Winchester. It is one of the most recommended bullets for varmints such as prairie dogs, groundhogs, coyotes, to medium game such as deer and antelope. Shooters using any rifle in the entire range of 6mm cartridges will find this to be an excellent bullet. This bullet shoots like a MatchKing and expands like a hunting bullet.



In handguns, the 85 grain #1530 Hollow Point Boat Tail bullet is nearly ideal for all shooting applications. In cartridges from the 6mm BR up to the larger wildcats chambered in the Remington XP-100 and other strong single-shot handguns, this may be the best single bullet. When used with smaller-capacity cases at close range it would be suitable for varmints. This is a fairly "hard" bullet when fired from a handgun but a good choice for most applications and conditions.

Really?

The BC of the 85 HPBT is .279 while the BC of the Pro-hunter is .387, and sectional density is less also for the lighter bullet, and it's superior at long range?

That is contrary to my experience with rifles in the last 43 years of shooting centerfires. I guess there's no need for that 8-twist barrel and 105 VLDs after all.

Edited to add:
I checked with JBM and it is flatter shooting according to them, but the 100 grain only good for 200 yards? I'd take a 400 yard shot with the 100 grainer if the opportunity was good. I know it's soft enough to expand..

I've been shooting a 243 since the mid 60's have used that bullet since Sierra came out with it many moons ago. It's works outstanding on deer size game. Between several buddies and I, I can safely say we've taken well over 100 whitetails using it here on the east coast. As far as I'm concerned, it's a much better deer bullet then most 100 cup and core bullets. The hollow point produces a wide but also deep wound channel while also giving good penetration. The other knock on this bullet is "don't take shoulder shots, it's to soft" ... that comment is BS and is probably made by guys that have never used the bullet in their lives. I've taken many shoulder shots using the 85 hpbt bullet and it works just fine. I've actually broken both shoulders using it. Sierra Hollow Point Gameking bullets are actually jacketed heavier then Prohunter bullets ... if you don't believe me, call Sierra and ask them. I know an 85 grain HP bullet seems to be a very small bullet compared to the larger bullets used in bigger caliber rifles, but believe me it works just fine on deer size game. I think the best thing for you to do is to try them and see for yourself how they work ... I don't think you'll be disappointed. Ben

Fear not...they work. Killed plenty of deer and hogs with that bullet in a 6mm Rem. In my opinion the 85tsx is THE bullet for a 243, but given your stockpile, I would load them and never look back.

This bullet has always been an enigma.

Sierra has said conflicting things about this bullet over the years. One manual said something like, despite the GameKing moniker, the 85gr 6MM HPBT and 90gr 257 HPBT were made for varminting. Other times they have said it works well for "small deer" at moderate velocities.

And every time it's discussed on the 'fire, there are lots of guys who have used it and love it, and there are many other who offer warnings about using it...

I've taken close to 35 deer with that bullet over 37.6 grains of Varget and it worked exceptionally in every instance. Most shots were under 100 yds, but I had a few in the 300 yd range and the deer dropped in each instance.

On several of them, the bullet punched right through the shoulder into the vitals. I rarely had exits, but I never had to track any of the animals to find them either.

Almost all of the deer were in the hill country of central Texas. Most of them were does and weren't monsters in terms of size. I wouldn't hunt an elk with that bullet, but I'd have no concerns taking a deer with one.

Ryan, what velocity do you think you were going with those bullets?

I'll openly admit I'm disappointed in the 100 grain Pro-hunter. I have used the 165 grain HPBT in my .308 and .30-06 with totally satisfactory results, but didn't want to assume that I could expect the same performance out of the 6MM bullet.

They were right around 3,100 fps through the chrony. I've never used the 100 gr ProHunters in it. I had some, but never loaded them and wound up selling them off.

Ever since I had a 250AI built, I haven't used the 243. But, there certainly aren't any flies on it in terms of deer.

I've also used the 165 gr HPBT's in my 30-06 and was pleased with their performance and accuracy. However, I'm primarily using 150 gr TTSX's in my 30-06 now.

The Pro-hunters are accurate, but soft. Not a bone bullet.

They do liquify lungs, though.

To All: I want to thank you all very much for the important to me experiences and opinion posts.
I got called away this morning at the last minute, and my response has been slow to you all - sorry for that.
I spent all day today doing a favor for a friend I sometimes Hunt Elk with.
He needed some heavy lifting done at his mining complex and I was the only one available - we four wheeled and chained our way to near his sub-alpine mining complex and then spent all the daylight doing "things" at his mines.
Including going into some 60+ year old shafts/caves/tunnels many of whom had suffered partial and or complete "cave-ins".
I was a nervous wreck by the time we left.
I am not a dark, cold, caving in kind of tunnel guy I found out.
Anyway he owes me now - and I will get to thanking all of you by loading some bullets tomorrow and testing them ASAP.
I will use the Sierra 85's initially as I have so many of them and other bullets are hard to find (in the 24 and smaller calibers for sure) around here.
As some of you touched on - I am always the optimist and NOT all young and new Hunters can/will make "a good shot" when the time is important - I should make time to realistically assess the young shooters ability.
But it sounds like some of you have confidence in it to get through a shoulder blade and a rib!
In a month I will be travelling again and will also look for a couple of boxes of heavier 24 caliber bullets in case I decide to go that way.
I have half a box of Nosler 100 grain Partitions and they are the OLD brass looking cannelured style.
Not enough there for testing and Hunting.
Again thank you all for the much apprieciated knowledge/opinions and responses.
This Rifle and scope are new to me and I have plenty of time to wring it out before next Deer/Antlope season with these 85 grainers and for spring/summer practice for the youngster.
I have an extra Harris Bi-pod for his use also.
We'll see how he performs come spring then decide on the heavier bullets or not.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

The 100 SMP Pro-Hunter was the bullet I used most in my 6mm for caribou. I killed between 2-3 dozen 'bow with that one and only trapped one as I recall. Definitely didn't act as a soft bullet IME. But the 85-95 Partition was even more of a good thing and a real show stopper.

What was the range? I'm thinking this bullet would be like my go-round with the SST, where it turned out to be wrong for my application, which tends to be up-close shots.

I shot a smallish Whitetail at 30-40 yards with a raking shot that went in under the last rib on the right side, aiming for the off-shoulder area. MV was 2934 fps. The bullet didn't make it out, and as far as I could tell, really didn't make it to the off-side shoulder.

The deer ran about 80 yards, left no blood trail, and there was no readily visible signs of it having been shot, which meant it didn't blow up on impact, as was the case with the SST (.308 at 2800 fps, 3 different instances at 20 to 40 yards), so that was an improvement.

A lot of the deer I kill will be within 40 yards, so the application may be wrong. Like the SST, I have no doubt it would have behaved very properly at a longer range/more reduced velocity.

I am presently using the 85 grain TSX, but having only owned this rifle for two seasons, I still am on the search for the best bullet for my use. The 95 grain Partition is the next one I want to try, but field testing may have to wait till next year as I don't have any here and haven't worked up a load with them.

Thanks for relating your experience, it confirms my suspicion that the Sierra is a good bullet, I may just be stressing it at the range I tend to use it.

My distances were mostly 100-300 yards, sometimes a bit more or less. I don't know if they even make the semi-pointed 100 anymore or not, nor do I know if it used the same core alloy as the spitzer version.