243 Winchester bullet choice

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


clarencefortner
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2020 4:42 pm
Facebook: George Guenther
Status: Offline

243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby clarencefortner » Wed Aug 26, 2020 8:34 pm

Looking at taking the boy deer hunting this year. He seems to be interested and I thought I would try to keep him interested. I have a Remington 700 in 243 sitting in the safe. Anyone have a preference in Bullets and weight. Thinking something in the 90 gr range to mitigate recoil. Will be shooting no further than 400 yards in the future, but this first year it will be 200 yards and in.
What do you guys suggest.


Prairie Sasquatch
500 Club
Posts: 526
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 4:20 am
Status: Online

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Prairie Sasquatch » Thu Aug 27, 2020 2:45 am

My daughter shoots a .243 for deer. We’ve had good results with 100 grain interlock for whitetails. Recoil between 90-100 grains is so negligible he won’t notice. My daughter weighs about 105 lbs and recoil is a non issue.

Shoot them just behind the shoulder and they will be down within 50 yards with good blood trails.
User avatar
backstraps
Moderator
Posts: 10109
Joined: Sun Jun 24, 2012 4:44 pm
Location: Tennessee
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby backstraps » Thu Aug 27, 2020 3:10 am

Shooting the longer ranges the Federal Fusion 95gr and the Hornady 90gr are pretty good for shelf ammo


Great round for deer, shot placement is key
Best of luck this fall
User avatar
Brad
500 Club
Posts: 643
Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 2:06 pm
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Brad » Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:17 am

my .243 likes 87 grain berger hunting VLD bullets. my rem 700 has a twist rate that won't let me shoot the heavier bullets, but its anabsute tack driver with those burgers. I use H4831sc powder.
A5BLASTER
500 Club
Posts: 945
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2018 1:12 am
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby A5BLASTER » Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:28 am

Pick the lightest weight copper or bonded bullet they make and teach him to take high shoulder/spine shots and take out the cns and drop the deer in its tracks.

Teaching him to take those kind of shots will be better for his metal state when he shoots the deer. For a young new deer hunter it can be very stressful to watch their deer run off. But if it drops in its tracks it does wonders for their mental state about the kill and about hunting.
User avatar
Tufrthnails
500 Club
Posts: 3128
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:40 pm
Location: Knee deep in FL Muck!
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Thu Aug 27, 2020 5:48 am

My son has two bucks and my nephew one buck taken with 100gr Hornady Interlocks I loaded. All clean kills sub 50 yard death runs to pile up.
Tuf- The below average hunting beast
User avatar
Thesouthpaw
500 Club
Posts: 793
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2017 11:44 pm
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Thesouthpaw » Thu Aug 27, 2020 7:04 am

Nosler Partitions, or Accubonds are both really good bullets. I would go somewhere in the 90-100 grain range.
Anything worth doing, is worth over doing.
User avatar
Csradeerhunter
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:13 pm
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/cody.blackmon.5?ref=bookmarks
Location: Harlem , Georgia
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Csradeerhunter » Thu Aug 27, 2020 8:57 am

Shoot either a bonded bullet or try not to shoot them in the shoulder .
SEMObowhunter
Posts: 418
Joined: Fri Aug 21, 2015 11:47 pm
Location: SE MO
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby SEMObowhunter » Thu Aug 27, 2020 12:25 pm

Where I hunt, 100 yards is a long shot, and I have witnessed my son shoot deer with a .243 for five years now with Remington 80 grain psp’s and 100 grain core lokts. They all die and all within sight. Deer aren’t armor plated and at reasonable ranges less than 200 yards, any bullet will work. I have hunted with a 22-250 and 55 grain psp’s for 18 years and have never had a deer move out of its tracks. I shoot them right through the front shoulders. That bullet will break the shoulders and be under the hide on the far side. Hogs the same. My brother, dad, and I have killed numerous hogs with that caliber and bullet and they all die like shot with a .50 caliber. Shot placement is what matters. My grandpa always told me to put the bullet where they live and they have no choice but die.
User avatar
Brad
500 Club
Posts: 643
Joined: Tue May 26, 2020 2:06 pm
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Brad » Thu Aug 27, 2020 1:46 pm

Do you know the twist rate of your .243's barrel? if not, that is the first thing you need to know. Mine wouldn't stabilize bullets over about 90 grains because it's a Rem 700 "varmint" rifle barrel. Because of the shape the bullet my rifle would stabilize the sierra gameking 100 grains, but my rifle wouldn't consistently shoot better than 1.5" at 100 yds. When I switched to the berger hunting vld 87 grains it will consistently shoot 1/2 to 3/4 " groups at 100 yds. If you are shooting out to 400 yds that matters. So I recommend find out what bullets your barrel can stabilize (by knowing twist rate). Then pick a few bullets designed for hunting, like nosler accubonds, hornady SST, berger VLD hunters, sierra gamekings... whatever really, they'll all work perferctly, and see which bullet your rifle will shoot best. I bet you find some it "likes" and some it don't.
FHlzr
Posts: 32
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2019 3:54 pm
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby FHlzr » Fri Aug 28, 2020 3:38 pm

Not recommending hornady specifically, more so the light recoil loads that should be available by many of the current manufacturers. I personally reloaded 90 grain Nosler accubonds down to 3000fps for my son when he first started, he's shooting full power loads now out of same savage at 15.

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifl ... om-lite#!/
User avatar
UntouchableNess
500 Club
Posts: 2070
Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:28 am
Location: Eastern Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby UntouchableNess » Sat Aug 29, 2020 1:12 am

I picked up a Weatherby Vanguard in .243 as a coyote gun, then found out it shot 100 grain bullets the best. :lol:
User avatar
Billdogge
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2017 1:23 pm
Location: Upstate NY
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Billdogge » Thu Sep 03, 2020 7:23 am

I've have had good results with Federal Trophy Copper or Fusion.
Just get in the woods and HUNT!
VAmobile22
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2020 8:36 am
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby VAmobile22 » Thu Sep 03, 2020 11:20 am

I regularly hunt with the .243 my grandfather gave my dad when he was a boy, which was then given to me. I've had great results with the 100 gr interlock. Its a tack driver. My 12 year old brother-in-law will hopefully be taking his first deer with it this fall.
Rich M
500 Club
Posts: 3980
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:29 pm
Location: Sunny Florida
Status: Offline

Re: 243 Winchester bullet choice

Unread postby Rich M » Thu Sep 03, 2020 12:40 pm

A great shooting factory load is federal blue box power shock 100 gr. Keep it behind the shoulder and you'll find the dead deer.

Shoot em in the shoulder and you'll be tracking and searching.

400 is a long poke. 200 is a long ways too.


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Boogieman1, Prairie Sasquatch and 97 guests