need a long range 243 bullet

[.243hunter]

I am lookjing for sugestions on a good 243 bullet that will be accurate for the farther shots and still have what it takes to get the job done. I was thinking about maybe the barnes X in 95 grain. Any help that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I used factory loaded balistic silvertips but had poor groups

[Cal Sibley]

What do you plan on shooting with it; long range target, deer, varmint? It makes quite a diffeence. For long range target I'd recommend the Sierra 70gr. HPBT bullet pushed along by WW748 38.1grs. I get good accuracy with this combo at 3300fps. For varmint I'd switch to the Noslet 70gr. Bal. Tip and IMR4064 39.0grs. That one will zip along at 3400fps. and also very accurate. Both of these loads group at slightly under .5" (5 at 100yds) in my Savage 110 sporter. For deer I've been using the Hornady 95gr. SST in front of IMR4831 42.0grs. It's a pretty hard hitting load for deer. Of course this is in my rifle, the results in your may differ somewhgat. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[.243hunter]

I'm slipping i forgot to say that i'd be shooting deer

[Freebore]

I agree with Cal on that 70 gr Nosler Bal Tip for varmit. I use the 95 Nosler Bal Tip (almost identical to the SST) for deer over N160. VV powder gave me the best accuracy and velocity which I use exclusively in my Swift for varmit.
I had used the 85 gr. Sierra game king on deer over IMR4350 with good results and accuracy. I went to the bit slower but heavier bullet for retained energy/velocity.
All the above gave less than .5 MOA at 100 in a Sako
The 243 is a great cartridge to reload for! You do need the slower powders for the heavy bullets to get the performance.

[Lone Star]

I preferred the Nosler 95 Partition for deer with the .243 myself. But, I see that the old wives' tale about the 70-grain bullet being the "best" long range bullet for varmints has raised its ugly head yet again!

Bullet.....muzzzle fps......400 yd drop......400 yd drift
55 BTip......4000............. -9.9"..................14.0"
70 BTip......3400.............-13.5".................15.0"

The 55-grain BTip has what it takes at long range, and really improves the performance of the .243 on varmints. Less recoil too.

Disclaimer: if the 55 BTip doesn't shoot accurately in your .243, it makes no sense to use it at long range.

[chapster1]

Hi i use 100grn Interlocks for deer and 85grn BTHP & 87grn VMax
for varmints
the 85s and 87s do work well on roe deer here in uk ive taken them upto 350yds maybe not long range for some people, but its pretty long for me/here,

all 3 been pushed with Vhit N160, Fed210m , Lapua cases
1 in 10, CZ.243

[Rocky Raab]

Here's that old "best bullet" thing again.

The "best" bullet in the 243 for long range is clearly the Hornady 105 AMax.

But it is NOT a game bullet. It's a paper target bullet. It might (maybe, sometimes) suffice for varmints, but for a game animal, I cannot recommend it - and neither does Hornady.

A decent 100 to 105 grain softpoint will do the job, as will the 95 Partition. Sierra makes a fine game bullet, as does Hornady, Speer and Nosler. I'd reach for a box of Hornady Interlocks first if it were my gun.

[L. Cooper]

One of the key elements necessary for long range shooting at large game animals is the ability to retain as much energy as possible and expand at that range. Be sure to include those factors in your decision.

As a generalization, heavy for caliber bullets with good Ballistic coefficients will usually have more energy at long range than the initially faster, lighter for caliber bullets. Do not be seduced by muzzle velocity. Look at the actual long range numbers for the bullets you are considering.

I load for 2 .243's and occasionally a 6 mm Rem. Nosler 100 grain Partitions, if they shoot well for you, cannot be beaten as a deer bullet in those calibers for short or long range. At long range, any of the heavier bullets already mentioned will do well too for deer.

[Lone Star]

A very important factor in long range bullet performance - on game or varmints - is bullet velocity on impact. All bullets require a minimum velocity to expand properly, and it does little good to have a heavier bullet land on target with more "energy" but fail to expand. A faster bullet with less energy may kill better. Ballistic program junkies should remember that energy doesn't kill - damage caused by the bullet does. Heavy, tough bullets may be the ticket at closer ranges, but as the range increases bullet impact velocity is a deciding factor, or should be.

Also, depending one where you hunt varmints, a heavy tough bullet will ricochet badly and increase the risk of property or life damage. A lightly-constructed bullet will usually come apart and/or not ricochet far, making it a safer bullet to use.

[L. Cooper]

There are lots of heavy for caliber bullets designed for the .243 that will expand well at long range and slower velocities.

This discussion is about deer hunting according to the OP.

Choosing a bullet for big game hunting on the basis that it will come apart as soon as it hits anything with the argument that it will not ricochet, is not a good idea. Why would you choose a bullet for hunting based on the assumption that you will miss?

[Cal Sibley]

What about the Hornady 95gr. SST? I hear a lot about the Nosler 95gr. Partition, but very little about this newer Hornady offering. Has anyone here used it for game yet? I'm quite satisfied with its accuracy. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Lone Star]

There are lots of heavy for caliber bullets designed for the .243 that will expand well at long range and slower velocities.

Actually, inadequate expansion in 6mms has been a problem since the .243/6mm were introduced. Today's plastic tipped bullets have done a lot to improve this issue, but the wise deer hunter will still choose a proven long range bullet rather than just any "heavy" one.

This discussion is about deer hunting according to the OP.

True, but like most threads it can evolve. I was responding to previous comments made by the second poster above.

Choosing a bullet for big game hunting on the basis that it will come apart as soon as it hits anything with the argument that it will not ricochet, is not a good idea. Why would you choose a bullet for hunting based on the assumption that you will miss?

Why would you choose to read my post so superficially and base your arguments on poor reading? Those comments were clearly about shooting varmints:

"...depending on where you hunt varmints, a heavy tough bullet will ricochet badly and increase the risk of property or life damage..."

If you have done any varmint hunting, you would know that you will miss....and pass-throughs with tough bullets will ricochet. I'm sorry that you didn't like my comments about long range varmint shooting on a long range hunting thread.

[L. Cooper]

I can assure everyone I have missed as many varmints as anyone I know.

The third post in this thread indicates the topic (according to my ability to read, which is at least as good as my ability to miss varmints).

[Cossack]

85 grain Barnes TSX, Varget powder. Will give you velocity and terminal performance when it gets there...and work well without worrying about barrel twist rate of most standard barrels.