i am reloading some 243 cal 100 grain partison for deer hunting ,i also have some 80 grain nosler ballistic tip bullets i know the 100 grain bullets will take a deer down but will the 80 gr ballistic tips do the job if the bullet placement is right

Howdy There two types of Balistic tip bullets "Hunting" and "Varmint" I think the 80 grain in .243 is the Varmint so I doubt it would hold together on a shoulder shot. In my opinion the 100 grain partition would be hard to beat for deer.

Joe

The 80gr. is a varmint bullet !!!
The 90 and 95gr. B-Tips are deer bullets. As with any other B-Tip stay off the shoulder.
I prefer the B-Tip over the Partition for deer in the .243/6mm
I’ve watched and seen the results of many deer downed (Dad and his 6mm Rem.)with the 95gr.
All I can say is “you got to see it for yourself to believe it”

I've witnessed several solid bang flops with 6-284's and .243's using the 90 grain bullets by several manufacturer's including the nosler and speer and hornady. I often wished sierra made a bullet in 90g's as they are usually my go to brand.

Have you tried the Sierra 85gr. HPBT ??? You might be surprised !!!
It works good on large varmints and the smaller deer.

The 95 -100 gr bullets in a 243 are like thors hammer on white tail deer.

chambered221 wrote:

Have you tried the Sierra 85gr. HPBT ??? You might be surprised !!! It works good on large varmints and the smaller deer.

Since we can't hunt deer with centerfire rifles, the 85 gr sierra HPBT #1530(with 38.2 grains of Varget) is my 'yote load in my .243. Once I get a chance to hunt deer outside of Ohio, I'll use it for deer (and hopefully pronghorn someday).

Is the .243 adequate for elk?

Upfront, I'll admit there are far better choices, however, when my grandson got his first elk tag, his weight and height didn't accomodate the larger calibers. The answer was the 85gr TSX and the results were good. Very good.

His first bull was a nice 5X5 taken at 90 yards. The bullet hit the right front shoulder, exited behind the left front shoulder and did the needed damage to lungs. The bull collapsed within 30 yards.

The following year, Grandson #2, took his spike elk with the same rifle and bullet combination. 110 yards.

The point is bullet construction. Heavy jacketed or monolithic bullets can do an exceptional job with well placed shots. Practice, as always, is the key.

We have had excellent results with .220 Swifts and the Barnes 53gr TSX on mule and whitetail deer. In fact, several of us prefer the Swift to other cartridges.

FWIW: Arizona allows centerfire .22 or larger on all big game.

Handloader wrote:

Is the .243 adequate for elk? Upfront, I'll admit there are far better choices, however, when my grandson got his first elk tag, his weight and height didn't accomodate the larger calibers. The answer was the 85gr TSX and the results were good. Very good. His first bull was a nice 5X5 taken at 90 yards. The bullet hit the right front shoulder, exited behind the left front shoulder and did the needed damage to lungs. The bull collapsed within 30 yards. The following year, Grandson #2, took his spike elk with the same rifle and bullet combination. 110 yards. The point is bullet construction. Heavy jacketed or monolithic bullets can do an exceptional job with well placed shots. Practice, as always, is the key.

Handloader,

It wasn't all that long ago that I was chastised for suggesting that the .243 might be used (under the correct circumstances) for elk. I've not been elk hunting, and wouldn't make it my first choice, but I've seen the damage it can inflict on deer at "reasonable" ranges. If pressed into service, I would use it for an elk hunt, again, given the right circumstances.

you talkin' bout' barnes bullets being used in that 243 that took the elk.. i use barnes in the 308winchester for deer hunting and i do get good results.with proper placed shots i get one shot kills. now i've heard that the shoulde shots if aimed high on the shoulder will take deer,elk,even bear when using the solid bullets like barnes or e-tips. that's with a 243 too! so i know the 308 will takem' all down

Cant hunt deer in South Central lower Michigan either. But I drive a few hours north and the way is clear for deer hunting.

I use 95 Gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, very good deer load.

Handloader speaks wisdom. What was the caliber of the back up gun(s)?

My son in law's father gets his elk every year, using a 6mm, which is about the same as a .243.

I watched him do it one year. He shoots them lots of times till the little bullets hit something vital. Personally, I don't favor that tactic, but you can't argue with success.

I think "marginal" is the operative word here, and if you do plink an elk or other large ungulate with the .243/6mm, shot placement and penetration should be the main factors, as in practice, practice, practice and the heaviest premium bullets you can load or buy. That would be 105 gr., If I remember correctly.

Heavy premium bullets, heavy construction, like Barnes TSX, or Nosler Partitions probably would result in humane kills, again with proper placement.

AND, Also very important, you shoot best with what kicks you least. Guaranteed. That's why I am developing a good deer load for my 257 Roberts using the Sierra 90 gr. Hpbt.

sniper wrote:

Heavy premium bullets, heavy construction, like Barnes TSX, or Nosler Partitions

My hunting experience has also lead me to the conclusion that bullet selection is the most critical.

The deer in TX are not that big and its thick brush where I hunt. I initially hunted with a .308 but I usually lost the shoulder meat on the other side so I started hunting with my .243 using 100 gr Sierra Game King and 100 gr Nosler Partition (I've heard lots of positive comments about the NP). However, my experience with both these bullets have been inconsistent and disappointing. I usually shoot just behind the shoulder, center of the chest cavity. The last 5 deer I shoot were center of the lungs bullet impacts, just above the heart. Two dropped in their tracks (one SGK, one NP). The last three ran after being knocked down. One about 60 yards before coming to rest in thick brush (SGK). I don't like having to track down a deer so I took the NPs with me on the next hunt. Got the shot off, knocked the deer down, but didn't see which direction it ran off. I never was able to pick up the blood trail after the initial splatter (NP). I searched for a couple of hours. The next day I shot another (NP) right through the lungs. My heart sunk as it wasn't on the ground after the dust settled. I finally found the faint blood trail after searching for an hour and found the deer in thick brush 80 yards away. The deer was only 100 lbs. That did it for me. Sold the .243 to someone that wanted it for his Grandson. Picked up a .270 Win to replace it. I'm using Barnes TTSX or TSX from now on.

Hornady has a 105gr that I would give a try, if I had a .243. I would use it on everything but bear and moose, unless that's all I had. For them I'd use a 7mm Rem. mag.

I don't know why everybody wants to "aim at the shoulder" when the heart is a long way from there. Yeah, I know all of the so called "professionals" say thats where to aim. Hitting a deer, elk, hog or whatever in the shoulder, you stand a good chance at bullet deflection away from anything vital. Plus, all you're doing is destroying a lot of good meat.

As far as Barnes bullets goes, I used them on one deer and will never use them again. I shot a deer at approximately 150 yards. The shot was close to the heart hitting a rib on the way in. There was no exit wound except on the same side as the entry wound. That bullet had fragmented and a major piece of it came back at me. Needless to say that was a scary find. I made up my mind right then that I refuse to ever use them again.