Looking for opinions/experience with #1510 Sierra .243 75gr HP for coyotes/deer.

Our deer are pretty small around here running 90-130 lbs. Averaging closer to the light end. Are these 75gr. HP too fragile for smallish deer? When shooting coyotes with these, do they usually exit and keep going or do they break apart?

Shooting 243 Win.

They are listed as a varmint bullet. One reviewer said they usually don’t exit in a coyote. Even with smaller deer I’d look to the 85 grain gameking.

I’ve not used them, but lots of info with a net search.

Sierra 85 gameking if you want to shoot deer.

Have never shot a coyote with the 85s, but they are [beeep] on deer. They are all I use in my .243. They also make a mess of armadillos, possums, coons, and woodchucks.

Not saying the 75s will not kill a deer, but they are listed as a varmint bullet.

ymmv

Ive used 70 gr nosler BTs with success on deer. A few years back I was culling does out of the crops and shot many at 400 yds and they just dropped. Longest was just under 600 but it was a runner. The long shots were to keep them out of the fields so the bones would not hurt tires or machinery.

Never shot a deer with one but probably close to 100 coyotes with it.this is my goto bullet in my 6x45.it flattens yotes at any angle.

Wildflights, I too haven’t used that bullet in a .243, but I have taken several coyotes, bobcats, hogs and two deer with it in my 20” 6x45 AR. It has worked very well from the 6x45. The bullets exit coyotes and bobcats, but generally no gaping wound.

I have a feeling (without really knowing) that the bullet may be a little more fragile at .243 velocities, but at slower 6x45 velocity it works like a tougher constructed bullet. It is very accurate in my 6x45.

The only thing varmint bullets are made to do is turn animals into confetti, best used for gophers and rabbits.

I havent shot 243 so I can only speculate but when choosing bullets for fox, coyote and bobcat with 223 I ended up loving the 65 SGK over the other multiple varmint loads I tried first.

I'm comparing small fox and big coyotes with 223 vs. coyote and small deer with 243 so I'm guessing. My problem with 223 and varmint bullets was if I had a good strong load that would perform well on coyotes then smaller fox size animals would be destroyed with huge exits, and the varmint bullets would fail on coyote shoulders if you made quartered shoulder shots. So I would expect a 243 Win varmint bullet loaded for deer to explode a coyote, maybe that wont happen but I would expect that bullet to completely ruin a quartered deer shoulder and likely not lethal. A 85gr SGK on coyote from 243win sounds pretty mean too but the performance of the 65SGK on even young small foxes is impressive, most exit wounds are hard to find.

But the Sierra Game Kings are very frangible explosive bullets on their own, the 65gr SGK from 223 even fails FBIs 16" minimum penetration in gel tests from short or long barrel because they are so explosive.

In the long run, hunting vs. Varmint if tested in a variety of targets and conditions my opinion is that the varmint bullets will be a handicap, the hunting bullets will always be more versatile and reliable... except if youre measuring prairie dog mist.

Played with those 75gr bullets over the weekend. Loading over WW760, they are very accurate and not sensitive to powder drops. Between 42-44 grains of 760/H414 they were shooting bugholes with no discernable difference in accuracy. Started flattening primers at 44 grains. Really an outstanding shooter. Loaded up a batch @ 43.5 gr. which should be moving around 3,200 fps.

Shooting into 1/2 gallon cardboard milk cartons. The 75gr Sierra consistently penetrated into the fourth carton. What was left of the jacket and core were found separated there after denting the back of that carton. I have no doubt at this point that they'd punch a deer tag.

If you intend to use those bullets I would approach that as if I were bowhunting. Restrict yourself to good angles and stay away from bone. A head on shot won't leave a pin drop of blood on the ground if the deer runs off. The lightest bullet I shoot deer with in the .243 Winchester/6mm Remington is 85 gr. There are so many good bullets in the caliber that I don't need to use anything that is possibly going to leave me with a bad result.

I agree. If you are hunting private property where you know you will get numerous opportunities you can be selective and pick your shot angle. I hunt public land in Oregon and often need to take advantage of a single opportunity that presents itself and the perfect shot angle might not be available. For that reason I like the following in my 243s:

Savage 243: 90g Nosler AB for deer, 90g Nosler BT for coyote. On this particular rifle both bullets shoot to virtually the same place on the paper which means I do not need to adjust my scope between bullets.

Tikka 243: - 85g Barnes TSX for deer. I also have loaded the 85g Nosler Partition and it shoots good, but not quite as tight of a group.

I have found that Ramshot Hunter gives good accuracy and good velocity on all these bullets, but other powders such as Varget, I4350, I4064, and H414 all work too. Hard to find a powder that doesn't work in the 80g-90g class for the 243. I am currently using I4350 in my Savage and the Ramshot in my Tikka.

Gosh I love the 243. I reload for several other cartridges ranging from the 222 Rem all the way up to the 300 Win Mag, but for me the 243 is an obsession. Some day I would like to have a 6mm Rem barrel built. I have dreamed of owning one for years. I just need to think of a way to convince my wife that I need another gun. lol

Gale Root spent a lot of development with Nosler just for the .243 Winchester. He really liked the 243.The 90 and 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips are designed from the get-go to be effective and efficient on WT deer> Why handicap yourself?
Semper Fidelis.
Soup

I would opt for the 90 grain bt's .The wet side don't play if you get one that runs 50 yards it can be a tracking nightmare!

I have shot coyotes and deer with Sierra 85 HPBT with the 243. Overkill on coyotes, like magic on deer. Well that's my opinion.