85 grain 243

mike s 243

New member

hi to all
been working up loads for the 243 mainly for fox but one i can use on the smaller deer types. came down to using speer 85 grain sp went out yestaday to give them a go. came across a roe doe about 100 meters away gave it a shot behind the shoulder it never moved and droped on the spot out with the knife and what a mess the heart and part of the lungs came out like soup never had that much internal damage before but the exit wound was only about 1" small for that amount of damage. just finished on the deer when i saw a fox working his way along the wood about 150 yards away so got down and gave it a round in the front of its chest it just dropped. the bullet exit wound was just by its back leg
i just cannot think how much damage that bullet had done on the inside.
 
I, too, am really going around to the 243 as a more then capable deer round. I see it as the best "cross over" varmint/deer round.
 
I'm a big fan of the 85 gr. weight in the .243. With proper construction that is a very versatile and accurate bullet weight.
 
I have had great groups with the Sierra 85g hpbt. Hunting Antelope in Wy it worked well if you could close the distance to under 200 yds for me. Today that is my only load for my .243.
Jim
 
Hunted pronhorn in Montana this year, and can say that a 243 with a 85g barnes tsx will absolutely tank an antelope.
 
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Originally Posted By: bowhunt32Hunted pronhorn in Montana this year, and can say that a 243 with a 85g barnes tsx will absolutely tank an antelope.

I had an interesting phone conversation with the tech guy on the help line at Barnes a few weeks ago. He used the 80g TTSX in his 243 on a mature 4x4 Mule deer last year and claims that it penetrated both shoulders and still exited. He said the Mulie was DRT without taking another step. I am not necessarily a Barnes fan, but I must admit that is impressive.
 
I have shot the 243 starting in 1974 and have never been without one.It is a good round but I think one reason so many people do well with it is because it is easy to shoot well.
 
I've had a .243 since 1965, (my first rifle). With an 85 gr bullet I have taken many a deer and coyote. Never have I ever felt, "undergunned" when using it properly. My best shot was at 325 yards with an 85 gr. Nosler Zipedo. Frontal shot through the chest. Bullet went in deflected to the right and hit a rib. Bounced to the left took out part of the heart. Exited the ribcage and buried itself in the front leg just under the hide. Found the bullet at home as I was skinning it out. Still have the bullet. Perfect mushroom. I believe the Zipedo was the Partition's daddy.
 
Originally Posted By: CalCoyoteOriginally Posted By: bowhunt32Hunted pronhorn in Montana this year, and can say that a 243 with a 85g barnes tsx will absolutely tank an antelope.

I had an interesting phone conversation with the tech guy on the help line at Barnes a few weeks ago. He used the 80g TTSX in his 243 on a mature 4x4 Mule deer last year and claims that it penetrated both shoulders and still exited. He said the Mulie was DRT without taking another step. I am not necessarily a Barnes fan, but I must admit that is impressive.

Yep, Nice thing about TSX & TTSX is you can run a lighter bullet fast ,and plain knock the snot out of stuff !
 
hi did try some 80 grain speer very tight groups but advised against using them on deer may try to get sone 80 grain barnes.but to be honest im very happy with the speers.
 
I have my wife 243AI running the Speer 85HPBT. It was lights out on the muley ant antelope she took in WY this fall.

I love 243AI and it's parent case 243Win. I have never sent her out feeling undergunned for any medium sized North American game.
 
85 grain Sierra Gamekings. This is a five shot group from my Remington 700 BDL sporter with a tuned factory trigger and 3-9x40 Nikon. Shoots with a MV of approx 3300 fps. using Varget.
1118111550.jpg

1.15 inch group. Bottem right is cold clean bore, then the next 4 went into a .5" at 100 yards
 
My daughter shot a big Doe with a 6mm Remington and the Barnes 85 grain TSX at 195 yards complete penetration. Did not hit shoulders though. Right through both lungs. Deer went about 35 yards downhill toward us and piled up.
 
My guess is that you will rarely recover a Barnes on a broadside shot no matter where you hit him. A friend of mine shot an Az Coues in the back ham with one at about 200 yards or so and it went full length of the deer. If you are going to shoot light bullets, they are a good choice.
 
hi before i found the joy of the 85 grain speer in 243 always used 100 grain bullets and always a bit off a let down had more than a few runners even with good shot placement just dont get runners with the 85 grain .
 
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