I have a sample of one. I used a borrowed rifle that was zeroed with that load to take a buck that weighed close to 175 lbs. The range was right at 100 yds and a textbook broadside shot. The bullet centered the heart and did a reasonable amount of damage. I found the little slug balled up under the skin on the offside. The buck ran 40 yds or so and did not leave a blood trail.
"The world breaks everyone,and afterward, some are strong at the broken places" Hemingway
I've probably killed 100 whitetails with Federal 80 grain factory loads from a variety of 243s and 6MMs, much of it old red box ammo that we bought at a store closing for $4 or $5 per box of 20. They work fine when you can pick your shots and shot 'em broadside, where you don't need to get much penetration to get into the vitals.
I prefer shooting my deer with Partitions when using .224", .243", and .257" bore rifles, particularly if taking a wall-hanger might hinge on taking a shot that would require several inches of penetration.
I'm a lung shooter, so not a whole lot of penetration required, but wouldn't depend on the 80 grain Federal factory loads to be a deep penetrater or a bone breaker.
I didn,t know until I asked the question that it was Marginal at best ! I was just perusing the Federal Website and comparing loads Recomended for deer in the 243 Winchester and this one looked good enough to ask about. I shot some through a Remington 7600 that I have several years back and the combo would put 3 shots at a Hundred into an inch so I liked the accuracy ,Federal website showed good wind drift data, good bullet drop data and 3300 FPS velocity .Plus Federal recomends for deer. SO with that in mind it appeared to me the next logical step would be to ask for experience with the ammo. The Reason I asked specifically if it would break at least on shoulder and scrambel the vitals AFTER the initial reply that it was a little dicey on penetration is that in my experience a bullet that will shoot through the shoulder and turn the inside to soup kills deer just as well as one that gives through and through penetration,shot several with 30 06 150 grain that didn,t do anything but break one shoulder and scramble the insides but still dead deer. I dont put a lot of stock in blood trails as I have shot and seen shot plenty of deer that showed no evidence of a blood trail. Only blood found was when the deer was found then plenty of blood to see! Anyway thats why I asked !!
The 95 grain Partition is my preferred medium game bullet in my .243" bore rifles, but the 80 grain Federal factory loads have worked fine for me when I shot the deer through the ribs and into the pleural cavity. Lots of people shoot their deer with 223 and 22-250 factory loaded ammo that features bullets of equally "marginal" construction.
Federal's 95 grain Fusion load is also a good choice if you shoot factory loaded ammo.
The Marlin XS7 in 243 that I leave at my MIL's ranch is an easy MOA shooter with the 80 grain Federals, but it is used for shooting varmint, not deer.
Don't listen to the naysayers. The .243 is a wonder deer size game caliber. I've killed a number of 100-175 pound bucks, as well as a 400 pound cow elk using 100 grain Paritions bullets.
I dont put a lot of stock in blood trails as I have shot and seen shot plenty of deer that showed no evidence of a blood trail.
Your territory must be a lot more open than ours.
Around here if a deer goes 50 yds without a blood trail you may never find it
In some places 50 feet is too far
Try a 95 gr Ballistic Tip if you want a good 24 cal deer killer
Where I hunt In Arkansas I have areas that are open agri fields AND swamps and bayou,s. Perhaps I wasn,t clear enough about the subject. Just because a deer has an entrance and exit hole does not mean that you are going to have a blood trail. Often times all the blood is inside the chest cavity and the only blood found will be when the deer is found. Over the years I have found that often people assume they missed a deer because there was no blood trail and no deer laying there after the shot. Often times going to the last place the deer was seen and doing a search with ever widening circles the deer would be found. Ever tried to find a deer in water a foot deep? Dont be counting on a blood trail to help! Blood trails are nice when you can get them but deer dont always cooperate by leaving one ! There is also the thoughts that a bullet that shoots through and through an the deer hasn,t opened as widely and donr as much damage as one that gets inside and totally scrambles the vitals. I am in that camp after having used to stout bullets for whietail.(180 grain 30 06,hard cast Handgun bullets etc) Back in my youth we run dogs for deer and if a hunter was the one running the dogs a deer might jump from close underfoot and all that was presented was a butt shot . Then the 180 grainers out of an 06 gave good penetration. Now I dont hunt with dogs and I dont take buttshots (unless a deer is wounded and might get away) I take good chest shots and as long as the bullet is stougt enough to break a shoulder and still scramble the vitals its fine in my oppinion. Now if it wont break a shoulder and do that and is ONLY good enough for ribcage shots then I wont use it.
Sounds like the 80 grain Speer Hotcor used in the blue box ammo may be reliant on JUST using ribcage shots with the inability to bust a shoulder and then scramble the vitals. I am a shoulder shooter if at all possible. The more I can breakdown the running gear of a deer the better ! So from your recomendation and others I think I will try the 95 grain Ballistic tip in either Federal Factory form or Winchesters Ballistic Silvertip. Thanks Craig
Blood trails are nice when you can get them but deer dont always cooperate by leaving one !
Always putting two holes doubles your chances of getting a good blood trail It won't always guarantee one, but it's much better than just an entrance wound
In the swamps you look for muddy water, and blood on the trees
I've found that most 24 cal bullets less than 85 gr are too fragile for what I like them to do
Last edited by Snyper; 01/25/15.
One shot, one kill........ It saves a lot of ammo!
Blood trails are nice when you can get them but deer dont always cooperate by leaving one !
Always putting two holes doubles your chances of getting a good blood trail
It won't always guarantee one, but it's much better than just an entrance wound
In the swamps you look for muddy water, and blood on the trees
I've found that most 24 cal bullets less than 85 gr are too fragile for what I like them to do
Have found deer the way that you speak of, I have used the Barnes Vortex 80 grain ttsx to good effect on a few deer(Dropped within sight and within less than 50 yards)
There are extremes in penetration and expansion .I would much rather have a bullet that will penetrate a shoulder than one that will blow up on a shoulder and would rather have a bullet that will penetrate a shoulder and scramble the insides than one that will penetrate both shoulders every time but not do very much damage in between. If Penetration were the only goal then we could all just use FMJ or HARDCAST bullets and be done with it.
I think the goal we all have is to find a good compromise for penetration and tissue damage. In general the more vital tissue that can be damaged or destroyed inside the deer the less likely we are going to need a blood trail to find the deer !
For me as Long as the bullet is constructed stout enough so that it will break one shoulder and will get inside and scramble the vitals then I am fine with it. I am more concerned with finding the deer than having a blood trail . And by doing maximum tissue damage as opposed to a much smaller hole (and less tissue damage and destruction,even with a hole on each side of the deer)I feel I have a much better chance of finding the deer.
I am looking for that ideal compromise between tissue destruction and penetration( a compromise because we cant have both max destruction and Max Penetration out of the same bullet and load)
But how many thousands of deer would have to be shot Before a definitive answer could be arrived at ?
I have tried the Barnes,seen the Remington 100 grain Factory load used along with handloads using 87 grain Hornadys . They all dropped deer on the spot and they all allowed deer to run . The Remington had the best penetration (often through and through)sometimes a blood trail sometimes not.Not nearly as much internal damage as the 87 Grain. BUT Deer shot with the Remington load {with the best penetration} allowed deer to run much further on average than the loads that did the most internal damage.
I want to try the 95 grain Ballistic tip and see the results.
So many loads and so little time !! LOL
Anyway thanks to you and the others for sharing your experiences and results and differing oppinions.
