.243 ammo preference

[Lrhxr9]

I have recently acquired and put together a model 7 in 243. It has a 1-9.125 twist. I have always been a bonded, tougher designed bullet kind of guy. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts as to bullet choice here. I shoot accubonds in my 257 wby and have shot trophy bonded tips and accubonds in my 300 wby. The gun will mainly be used for whitetails here in missouri. I have not really ever been a fan of the ballistic tips, but not ruling them out here.

 

[Blevins1997]

I’ve had good luck with the Federal Fusion in 243 and I’m trying the Hornady GMX right now but haven’t been able to shoot anything with them.

 

[Addicting]

I have used Berger 95g classic hunters with impressive results. I didn’t care for how much meat I lost to blood shot. I switched to 90g Accubonds and it does really well with a 9.125 twist. For coyotes I use 55g Nosler ballistic tips with almost surgical accuracy.
I know that not all of that is available in factory offerings but they work well with that twist at sea level.

 

[Lrhxr9]

I have been moving more and more to a shoulder shot on deer so the bloodshot is of minimal concern here. Here in missouri some of the tracts we hunt are small. And believe it or not, not all neighbors are friendly. What are the different twists in the 6mm’s. I didnt know if i needed to be looking at a certain weight as well

 

[Tikka06]

My 7yr old son shoots the federal fusion 95gr out of his Ruger American. It’s the perfect load for him right now with a nice middle ground between recoil and performance. I’m planning on working up a 95gr partition handload for it this or next year depending on availability of components and time.

 

[mtmuley]

80 grain Hammers in mine. mtmuley

 

[Lrhxr9]

80 grain Hammers in mine. mtmuley

Yeah but ur also an ultra guy..... . Are you handloading those or are they factories? I havent bitten off the handloading yet.

 

[sigpros]

Factory Nosler 95 BT have accounted for 5 deer and 2 antelope out of the 243 I put together for my son. From 30 to 362 yards all one shot kills. I am going to work up a Barnes load for it just because I have a couple hundred of them

 

[mtmuley]

Yeah but ur also an ultra guy.....

Yep, love my RUM, but it's not the only rifle I use. I handload them. Have a box of 70 grain Hammers I'm gonna give a whirl also. Check Superior Ammo and Custom Cartridge for loaded ammo. mtmuley

 

[marksjeep]

I'm shooting a 95 grain Hornady SST from a Sako A7 10 twist. It's devastating on pronghorn, I would not hesitate to use it on whitetail. Meat loss will be a thing if you hit a shoulder bone.

 

[338RCM]

Second vote for the Nosler Factory 95gr Ballistic tips. Both of my boys had clean one shot Missouri whitetail kills this past season.

 

[D4570]

TTSX 80 gr Barnes.
With a fast twist like that, you could go to something in like 115 gr...

 

[Deleted member 16014]

The 95 BT was built tougher than average. John Barsness, the only gun writer I care for, has done some writing on the topic. My boy and friends borrowing our .243 killed some antelope with it this year, all pass through’s including one through both shoulder blades. I think it’s a great moderate range hunting bullet, in terms of a factory option in particular.

 

[jeff_gibbons]

I mostly reload for our 243 but found good success with the federal fusions and classic corelokts. Id bet the Hornady whitetails will also shoot well as they have for me in other cartridges.

 

[Don Fischer]

TTSX 80 gr Barnes.
With a fast twist like that, you could go to something in like 115 gr...

Who makes a 115gr 24 cal bullet? Guy's get all pumped up about fast twist barrels so they can shoot heavier bullet's! What you should do if you want a heavier bullet is go up a cal! Up to 120gr bullet's readily avaliable in 25 cal! Oh, and if you could find a 115gr bullet for the 24 cal, the 25 cal rifle will shoot it faster! My 25-06 shot 100gr bullet's right around 3300fps, can't do that with a 243 and 100gr bullet! Right now I use 117gr bullet's in that 25-06. Measured 3079fps, 115gr 24 cal bullet I doubt will get anywhere close to that.

 

[belshawelk]

I shoot Hornady Superformance 95Gr SST in mine.

 

[cahunter805]

Who makes a 115gr 24 cal bullet? Guy's get all pumped up about fast twist barrels so they can shoot heavier bullet's! What you should do if you want a heavier bullet is go up a cal! Up to 120gr bullet's readily avaliable in 25 cal! Oh, and if you could find a 115gr bullet for the 24 cal, the 25 cal rifle will shoot it faster! My 25-06 shot 100gr bullet's right around 3300fps, can't do that with a 243 and 100gr bullet! Right now I use 117gr bullet's in that 25-06. Measured 3079fps, 115gr 24 cal bullet I doubt will get anywhere close to that.

Berger makes 115grVLD Hunting 6mm bullets. A 6-06 will run a 115gr about 3050-3100 but you need a 7.5 or 7 twist.

 

[noharleyyet]

The 95 BT was built tougher than average. John Barsness, the only gun writer I care for, has done some writing on the topic. My boy and friends borrowing our .243 killed some antelope with it this year, all pass through’s including one through both shoulder blades. I think it’s a great moderate range hunting bullet, in terms of a factory option in particular.

Well explained...

 

[Don Fischer]

Berger makes 115grVLD Hunting 6mm bullets. A 6-06 will run a 115gr about 3050-3100 but you need a 7.5 or 7 twist.

Didn't know that. What can you get with it in a 243? My 25-06 runs 117gr bullet's 3079 fps with standard factory twist, what ever that is. Have heard up to 124gr custom but wouldn't care for it myself. Have a 6.5x06 that handles 140gr bullet's very well with 1-9 twist. Doesn't do to bad with 129gr bullet's either.

 

[Redman]

I have killed numerous whitetail and antelope with factory BT 95 gr. That being said I am switching to Barnes TTSX for non-lead preference.