I took note of Acronins post last November and bought Sierra 55 grain BlitzKings for the 243. I think I'm at 16 coyotes with them. Stay off bone and most of them look like they were killed by lightening. Lots of bang flops. Easy on fur. Great bullet, great advice!
Originally Posted By: AcroninGreat topic. I don't want to ever consider myself an expert, but my favorite cartridge of all time is the .243 and before I could afford to buy other rifles that are supposedly more effective on coyotes and deer I used the .243 for everything. Turns out, I still do despite a plethora of other rifles in different chamberings.
I've tried no less than 8 bullets in my .243 1:10" for coyotes. The best hands down no fur damage and 100% kills is the 55gr Sierra Blitzking. I've tried the Nosler BT's and they are fine, but left exits most the time. I haven't tried the 55gr Nosler Varms on coyotes, but have on Praire Dogs. I think they'd be fine, but I'd go with the HP's rather than the BT's because they don't fragment as much in my experience. But I could be wrong. The 58gr Vmaxes are great, but quartering shots they are awful on fur. Sierra 60gr HP's are fine and probably my second best choice, but i haven't tried the 62 gr Barnes VG's. Nosler 70 BT's shoot awesome and people have good luck with those, but again, can get messy on coyotes. A healthy dose of H380 is what I use with my 55gr SBK's.
No, without a doubt, my experiementation ended when I shot 5 coyotes with the 55 SBK's on one stand ranging from 30 yds to 250 and not an exit in any of them and they were all dead. My skinner couldn't believe that I used a .243 on them.
Also, in terms of big game the 1:10. Don't let the 100 gr discourage you. there are plenty of 100 gr bullets that shoot really well out of it. Hornady 100 BTSP and SPFB both work great, 95gr SST's are awesome, but my new favorite is the 100gr SPEER BTSP. they accounted for an antelope at 420yds, and two deer this past year. If you want to go less than 100gr, the 85gr Sierra Game King is a lot of peoples favorite.
The .243 is an amazing cross-over caliber that hasn't met its match, in my opinion, in versatility. With the vast amount of bullet selection and construction its my top choice from prairie dogs to Mule deer. And do the job very well for all of them.