What is a good long range .243 bullet for a 1:9.25 twist

[Seeking_Coyotes]

105 Amax will not stabalize. Not a fan of Berger's for killing power. Open to all other suggestions. My gun is very fussy unfortunately. ???

 

[fredhorace77]

depends on what you call long range. long range for me is anything over 200 yards. 87 vmax is good. so is noslers BT's

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Sorry...I am looking for a bullet to kill deer from 1 to 500 yards. Killed deer with the Nosler Ballistic Tip and was impressed. Just afraid this bullet will splash on a shoulder bone.

 

[fredhorace77]

from my expirence bullets tend to perform different at different velocities...if a bullet does perform well at 100...alot times it doesn't perform so well at 500. finding one bullet to react the same on a given target from 1 yard to 500 yards is asking alot.

I recommend you decide on what distance will be your most common shot and decide where your most likely to put that shot at on the animal and go from there...a bullet that works good in the lung area may not be suited for a shoulder(bone) shot. If you have trouble hitting lung only or shoulder only...you need more practice.

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Guess I was thinking of a bullet with a fair ballistic coeffient, heavy, and something with the ability to penetrate enough if I hit a shoulder at 300 yards. 90% of shots will be 30-300 yards. All shots will be on deer.

Killed deer in the .243 with a couple different bullets and felt a Nosler Ballistic Tip was very good. However, I am afraid it would only splash way out there...especially on a bone. On the other extreme might be a partition. Not sure if my thinking is right but would an SST be in the middle?

 

[Erik Cortina]

I recommended you try the 85 gr. Interbond, have you considered it?

 

[fredhorace77]

if i had to choose one bullet for those distances on deer with a fairly good BC id personaly pick the 85gr. Barnes Triple Shock. Seeing as the bullet is solid copper it would have the demisions of a heavier bullet...your still shooting an 85gr. bullet with the dimensions of ...lets say a 90gr. bullet. other great choices would have to be the GameKing line of bullets from Sierra IMO

 

[fredhorace77]

I recommended you try the 85 gr. Interbond, have you considered it?

+1 ...another very good choice...one of the nicest things about 6mm...is that the bullet selection is almost endless

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Erik, I have seriously kicked around the idea of the Interbond for the .243 with what I am looking to do. Shoot deer from 1-500 yards. Looking at the Nosler Web site they only seem to b e offered in 90 grain in the 6mm. What makes you recommend this particular bullet?

 

[Taildrag15X]

depends on what you call long range. long range for me is anything over 200 yards. 87 vmax is good. so is noslers BT's

+1 for Hornady 87gr. VMax for deer, I've used 4350, R-15 and Varget.

 

[fredhorace77]

Erik, I have seriously kicked around the idea of the Interbond for the .243 with what I am looking to do. Shoot deer from 1-500 yards. Looking at the Nosler Web site they only seem to b e offered in 90 grain in the 6mm. What makes you recommend this particular bullet?

I think you've got those two different bullets mixed. hornady makes the internond and noslers makes the accubond. IMSMC

 

[Erik Cortina]

Erik, I have seriously kicked around the idea of the Interbond for the .243 with what I am looking to do. Shoot deer from 1-500 yards. Looking at the Nosler Web site they only seem to b e offered in 90 grain in the 6mm. What makes you recommend this particular bullet?

I think you've got those two different bullets mixed. hornady makes the internond and noslers makes the accubond. IMSMC

Correct.

 

[expiper]

deer seeking,,,,Im amazed that no one has mentioned Sierra 100 gr SBT (1560),,,its seems to be lost among a forest of hpyer/mono/duo/extra/platnum/etc bullets.(forget the speer BC they just arent as accurate!!)...this one has killed deer since the .243 was invented,,it is readily available/cheep (haha)/good BC (mid 400's),,,,,,if it doesnt do the job,,,you hit em in the butt,,if your rifle wont shoot these it aint "fussy",,it just wont shoot!!!,,,,Roger

 

[Raythemanroe]

I have shot a lot of deer with a 95g ballistic tip, I have tried 70g hollow's and 90g bullets and feel the 95g have just enough to put them down! I haven't used anything lighter then 105g in my 1-8 twist Hart though..

 

[WyleWD]

Having shot a fair number of deer with a 243 over the years I have 2 favorites. #1 by far and away is the 85gr Sierra HPBT. It is consistent, accurate, and I've never had one ruin a lot of meat. #2 would be the 95gr Hornady SST. I haven't shot as many deer with it as the Sierra, but it too is accurate and does a good job. I did have one ruin a few more pounds of meat than I'd like, but also didn't have to track him more than 5 yds either.

As far as 500yds, well, you're on your own there. Personally I think that is too far for a 243 and about 99% of shooters/ hunters.... but.....again that is just my humble opinion. :-\ WD

 

[treeman]

barnes tsx 85 grain will expand reliably down to 1600 fps which would be past 600 yrds. any thing past 400 yrds is an awful long shot on the kill zone of deer... practice, practice, practice!!!

 

[Seeking_Coyotes]

Thank you for everyone responding to this thread. The more I read the more confused I get. That is what happens with the brain the size of an acorn. ;D

My bad...I was thinking of the Nosler bullet because it was running through my head as another possibility to try. Hornady also makes a 100 grain type...why the 85 grain? I just am biased against those cannule marks in the bullet. Like em smooth for no logical reason. Does the cannule crimp affect anything if you don't COAL to the crimp?

I have been reading everything and it seems the hands down favorite deer bullet for the .243 is by far the Sierra 85 grain. Just can't bite because of the very low ballistic coeffient. Barnes seem second but folks have told me they are not a long range bullet so I have been hesitant to pull the trigger on those too.

I like the idea of the Sierra 100 grain bullet but like the Speer 100 grain bullet with the amazing BC, I just don't hear enough input on them.

I have tried about five bullets so far and nothing has been a consistent sub 1 MOA five shot bullet. As I mentioned, my gun is unfortunately strangely fussy. Must be a female. Well it does have two holes.

 

[fredhorace77]

might be a good time to look into the rifle/ scope. has the gun been properly bedded. has trigger been adjusted. what type of scope and bases/mounts are u using. I have several Remington's and all get the standard treatment right out of the box. I bedded all of them, fully free float the barrel and adjust trigger to appox. 2.5lbs. beware of parallax and the problems it can cause. you can get Remington's to shoot but it often takes a little work.

 

[Erik Cortina]

Seeking, I guess I'm the one that has to say it.

Based on what you have told us about your gun, you don't have to worry about finding a bullet that will take deer at 500 yards since your gun isn't even close to accurate enough for long range hunting.

500 yard hunting is no joke, I suggest you rebarrel your gun with a 1:8" twist barrel to shoot the heavier bullets. Or even better, rebarrel to a 6.5 mm.

Also, I've been reading your threads, and you have a lot to learn about bullets and ballistics. I read somewhere that you are afraid that a bullet will splatter "way out there", well, bullets are more prone to splatter on a deer up close than further away.

Why the 85 grain Interbond, because Hornady doesn't make a 100 grain Interbond. Also, your barrel twist limits bullet weight.

Also, BC doesn't kill, accurate bullets that hit their mark with enough energy do.

One last thing, I would have given up on that barrel a long time ago, barrels are cheap, components are not.

I hope you take this as the advise that it is meant to be, and not like I'm attacking you in any way.

 

[its only light]

I like the 90gr swift sirocco. Take a look