# What is the best 243 bullet for whitetail deer



## smoke&arrow

Just bought a Encore 243 and was wondering what ammo to buy for deer hunting. Has anyone had any luck with Hornady SST?


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## kracker

smoke&arrow said:


> Just bought a Encore 243 and was wondering what ammo to buy for deer hunting. Has anyone had any luck with Hornady SST?



I haven't used the SST, but years ago I killed a lot of deer with the old Hornady Interlock bullet in a 243. 

I love Hornady ammo.


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## Gunplumber Mike

I've had great results with a Remington 600 and Speer 105's.


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## Old Coach

Sierra 85grn BTHP really does the job.
For factory can't beat the Rem Core-Loc 100s.

Coach


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## Dustin Pate

I shoot any of the factory 100 grains. They haven't let me down yet.


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## chuckdog

The SST works great on Ga. whitetail. Shot placements the key with any of them. If your rifle likes em' and you put em' where they need to be, they'll do there part.


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## smoke&arrow

thanks for all the replies I appreciate it.


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## Buzz

I don't think there is any such thing as the "best bullet" but there sure are lots of people singing the praises of the Barnes 85g TSX bullets in the .243 Winchester of late.    My personal favorite is the 100g Nosler Partition.


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## germag

Buzz is right. I think any 80-100gr bullet designed for hunting deer-sized game will work just about as well as any other. The fact is that when a 100 grain bullet goes through the heart/lungs, spine, or brain of a deer, what you have on your hands is a dead deer....it doesn't matter what the brand of the bullet was.

Go find the hunting bullet that shoots best in your gun (best 100 yard groups) and use it.


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## FritzMichaels

germag said:


> The fact is that when a 100 grain bullet goes through the heart/lungs, spine, or brain of a deer, what you have on your hands is a dead deer...



what about a shoulder shot? i heard a shoulder is a good shot, but is the .243 too small for shoulders?


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## germag

FritzMichaels said:


> what about a shoulder shot? i heard a shoulder is a good shot, but is the .243 too small for shoulders?



No, a .243 isn't too small for a shoulder shot. It will work just fine.


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## Buzz

FritzMichaels said:


> what about a shoulder shot? i heard a shoulder is a good shot, but is the .243 too small for shoulders?



I've put 100g partitions into five deer and four were shoulder shots. All of the shoulder shots broke both shoulders and planted the deer where they stood.     I have a lot of confidence with this bullet and whitetail deer.    The .243 Win is just fine for shoulder shots with appropriate bullets.


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## FritzMichaels

Buzz said:


> I've put 100g partitions into five deer and four were shoulder shots. All of the shoulder shots broke both shoulders and planted the deer where they stood.     I have a lot of confidence with this bullet and whitetail deer.    The .243 Win is just fine for shoulder shots with appropriate bullets.



whats the diff between a partition and core lokt?


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## DS7418

If you use factory ammo,, then a Remington Cor-Lok 100gr is good,, but if you roll your own like I do, then step up to the Nosler Partition bullets or Barnes Triple Shock. Any of the above will work on a high shoulder shot just fine. The biggest buck I ever took was with a Browning 243 and a 95gr Nosler Ballistic tip, neck shot. It was a 211 lb. 9 pt buck from Oconee WMA.


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## work2play

back when i used to rifle hunt i killed a bunch using Hornady Light Maganums-never lost a one


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## Jameshenry

Just make sure whatever bullet you buy that it is a bonded bullet!!!!!beleive me it will make a world of difference!!don't make the mistake many have made including myself!!!good luck .


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## DS7418

In my opinion,, the Hornady factory ammo is probably the best you can buy. The SST is a great bullet,, I use it in 30-06 and never had any problems with it. I do know it is the best bullet in 7mm-08 that you can use.


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## FritzMichaels

DS7418 said:


> I do know it is the best bullet in 7mm-08 that you can use.



that good to know, right there... i just got my new 08 in...  sweet.


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## DS7418

yeah,, a 139gr SST is the standard for a 7-08. I reload a 154gr in my Encore 7-08 to defiy wind drift. My reloades will hold in a 5in circle at 400yrds all day..


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## smoke&arrow

I shot the hornady sst 95 grain and remington corelok 100 grain the hornady grouped better but the remington come in a close second. With that smaller bullet I just wanted a bullet that would do well if I wasn't exactly on my mark. I heard fusion was a good one also.


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## HandgunHTR

FritzMichaels said:


> that good to know, right there... i just got my new 08 in...  sweet.



Anytime you want to work up some reloads for that new 7-08, just let me know.


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## Apex Predator

Just make sure you aren't shooting a varmit bullet at a deers shoulder.


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## Craig Knight

plain old silver box 100 grain power points never failed me had the gun since 92 when I graduated. Lots of dead animals to its credit. The Partitions are bad news also, just not worth the extra $$ to me when the less costly one have never failed.


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## Buzz

I don't mind paying $0.52 a bullet for a dead deer .     I might feel different if I had to buy ridiculously overpriced factory ammo though, but in general ammo seems to by far be the cheapest piece of the hunting puzzle.


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## badger

FritzMichaels said:


> what about a shoulder shot? i heard a shoulder is a good shot, but is the .243 too small for shoulders?



I've had complete penetration through both shoulders with a 53 gn Barnes TSX in 223 caliber........


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## tcward

smoke&arrow said:


> Just bought a Encore 243 and was wondering what ammo to buy for deer hunting. Has anyone had any luck with Hornady SST?



Can't go wrong with the Hornady!


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## Andy Parker

I got a older Remington 788 I use Remington Cor-Lok 100 grain . I have killed lots of deer and a couple of bears and never had one get away. " Knock On Wood "


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## Craig Knight

Buzz said:


> I don't mind paying $0.52 a bullet for a dead deer .     I might feel different if I had to buy ridiculously overpriced factory ammo though, but in general ammo seems to by far be the cheapest piece of the hunting puzzle.



No I'd pay 52 cents a round for handloading my own partitions also, but the last box of 100 gr Partitions I bought was $26.50 .The last time I looked for them (over a year ago) the same ones from Federal were $39.95 for 20. Thats more than ridiculous. But theres alot of people that will pay it , but not me. Btw Buzz I told ya you'd love that little caliber.


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## Jasper

A lot of people swear by Core Lokts, but I haven't had the best luck with them. My boys have shot 6 deer with 100 grain factory loads that didn't penetrate well. These were broadside, behind the shoulder shots that didn't pass through and left tough to follow blood trails. We found all the deer, however, but considering the shot placement it shouldn't have been that tough. After I switched to Federal partitions they have gotten pass throughs and excellent blood trails on similarly placed shots. Just my .02.........


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## Petro_58

For all the years I've hunted, I've shot and Killed many Ga White Tails with my Model 70 .243, all with the 100gr Core Lokts. I've NEVER had one move more than 10ft from where I shot them, from 50yrds to approx 260yrds. 1 shot 1 KILL!! I don't care if you shoot them with a 7mm, 30/30, 30.06, .270 or anything else, If you just blow holes through them, or don't get a Kill Shot on them they'll run off.


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## Bernard goldsmith

Speer 100gr Grand Slams. My grandaughter says, put them where they belong an you will not have any trouble!! 243 Ruger.


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## hoghunter1974

Dont matter what bullet you use. I buy the cheap federals from Wal-Mart. $13 bucks a box. If you put it where it needs to be it makes no difference and plus they dont mess up alot of meat either like ballistic tips and the other high priced ammo.


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## Buzz

Craig Knight said:


> No I'd pay 52 cents a round for handloading my own partitions also, but the last box of 100 gr Partitions I bought was $26.50 .The last time I looked for them (over a year ago) the same ones from Federal were $39.95 for 20. Thats more than ridiculous. But theres alot of people that will pay it , but not me. Btw Buzz I told ya you'd love that little caliber.



Hey Craig - figured you'd want to see this.    Partitions with a healthy charge of RL-17.   Hopefully some of these will get used this fall!


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## captainhook

I have an Encore in 243 with a 1 in 10 twist. I have shot many loads through it and killed a good many deer with it. I have never lost a deer with this rifle. My rifle shoots the Federal Fusions and the Hornady SP's into tiny little groups, .5 MOA. I have only shot one deer with the Fusions and it blew right through her and she went about 30 yds. I shot 3 deer last year with XP3's from 40 yds to right at 300. All but one ran about 30 yds and died. One ran about 70 yds on an excellent hit. The XP3s group MOA at 100.  
I have killed quite a few with TSXs and they blow right through. They also foul my barrel very quickly at which point the accuracy degrades. 
The 243 Encore has become my favorite deer rifle and I seldom carry my WSMs any more. As a matter of fact I sold my Browning 300 WSM and I am going to sell my Browning M1000 Eclipse in 270 WSM.  
I like a 243 bullet that is stout enough to leave an exit wound at all distances so I have blood to follow but I like that in any caliber.


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## smoke&arrow

Thanks for the info. I went and shot Encore 243 today and it grouped very well with Hornady BTSP 100 grain. That bullet might be the one I need to use. The Hornady SST superformance ammo grouped almost as well also and shot about 1 inch higher at 100 yds.


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## Craig Knight

Buzz said:


> Hey Craig - figured you'd want to see this.    Partitions with a healthy charge of RL-17.   Hopefully some of these will get used this fall!



yes sir thats a whole box full of sweets. Christmas aint too far away and I could use some of those too ya know!


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## captainhook

smoke&arrow said:


> Thanks for the info. I went and shot Encore 243 today and it grouped very well with Hornady BTSP 100 grain. That bullet might be the one I need to use. The Hornady SST superformance ammo grouped almost as well also and shot about 1 inch higher at 100 yds.



What kind of group did the superformance SST's do? One inch, half inch?

I have been thinking about trying some of those. I really want to see what the GMX Superformance is like. Those should be awesome deer bullets. 

Thanks

Brian


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## smoke&arrow

The hornady superformance sst 243 bullet in my gun was about 1 to 1 1/2 groups at 100 yds. The hornady btsp was 1/2 to touching at 100 yds . I was wondering which bullet would be the most lethal if I didn't hit exactly where I wanted too. The gmx bullet I think are 85 grain so thats why I thought I'd be better with a bigger bullet. Im probably just thinking to much.


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## mr4shootin

I just bought some 95 gr. fusions, but have not had a chance to try them in my Sako yet.


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## hoghunter1974

Dang near anything shoots good in a Sako.


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## BAMBIDEER

the hornady sst 95 gr bullet is good but i like the remington 95 gr accutip boat tail a little better but any of them will kill deer if shot in the head or heart


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## danlnga

Federal - 100 gr Gameking.  It is a Sierra bullet....soft point-boattail. Excellent accuracy and good shock / penetration.


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## Old Coach

I have used the 87grn V-Max for does with ag. permits.
I don't get a pass thru til it gets past 125 with the high shoulder shot. Inside 125yds the lungs are totally mush.
The exit wounds are usually golfball size if past 125.

Coach


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## sniper725

*Caution with the Superformance 95 grn SST*

Hornandy shipped a case of this stuff to me and I let my 8 year old son use it to deer hunt with the last two seasons.  He shot  2 nice 8pts and a doe with it.  All ran 80-100 yards and died in the thicket...not a drop of blood from any of the aforementioned deer.  Two had been heart shot  and the other through the shoulder, none with an exit. If those weren't morning hunts, we would have not recovered any of the deer in the dark.  With the increased fps from the Superformance bullets, the SSTs are acting like A-Maxs/TAPs and blowing up after impact.  Its hard to believe but we were only getting 5-7 inches of penetration.  We went back to the Barnes TTSX 80 grn.  The Barnes are magical.


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## badger

Barnes 85 gn TSX or TTSX, Hornady 105 A-Max or 100 Partitions. All are great choices. My own experience with SST's was less than good. Jacket separation and second shots were necessary on more than one animal so I quit using them.


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## hobbs27

danlnga said:


> Federal - 100 gr Gameking.  It is a Sierra bullet....soft point-boattail. Excellent accuracy and good shock / penetration.



This ^^^ Its the bullet I started out with in the .243 and I continue to be amazed with it. I tried the 85 gr barnes bullets last year, shot three deer with it, all on a state park hunt. Lost one and had to track a little on the other two, one of those required another shot. The wound channels were nothing like I was used to with the sierra gamekings.


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## frankwright

For about 20 years a Ruger 77 in .243 was my primary hunting rifle. I reloaded with nothing but the Hornady 100gr Spire point bullet.

I never lost a deer and 95% went down within 10-15 yards with a high shoulder shot.
I rarely got a pass through but never needed it.

I always waited for the right shot and put the bullet where it needed to go, that is the big "secret" to the .243.


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## denbow

Barnes Vortex triple shock you won't be disappointed.


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