nchawkeye

All this talk about bullets and cartridges kinda has me thinking...We have 13-15 guests a year that come to our farms to hunt whitetails...I've decided that most hunters really don't know what their gun is capable of, or what bullets are most effective on whitetails...I'm hoping most guys on here are a little more knowledgeable....

With my .243 I've tested and killed deer with the following:
100gr Remington CoreLokt
100gr Remington Premium SPBT
100gr Federal Premium Nosler Partition
100gr Federal Premium Sierra GameKing SPBT
85gr Federal Premium Sierra GameKing HPBT
100gr Federal Classic HotCore
100gr Nitrex Grand Slam
100gr Winchester Power Point
100gr Winchesterr Supreme Power Point
100gr Hornady Custom InterLock

I also tried the 100gr Hornady Light Mags and the 95gr Winchester Supreme SilverTips, neither grouped well in my gun....The rest were pretty good, with the exception of the Hornadys, they were 1 1/2 to 2 inches at 100 yards...

My requirements for a good deer round is for it to give reliable expansion and exit wounds on lung shot deer...On high shoulder shots, I expect to find it under the hide on the off side, if it goes through both shoulder blades and the spine...

I did notice quite a bit of difference in size of exit holes and internal damage...In addition, on lung shot deer the 100gr Federal Premium Sierra GamKing SPBT and the 85gr Federal Premium HPBT would drop the deer a little closer to the shot than the other loadings...All of these bullets had enough penetration to use on high shoulder shots, even inside 50 yards...

I have also shot all of these loads with my current scope setting to see where each one hit...The 85gr Federal loadng hits 3 inches high and dead on left to right, the 100gr CoreLokts hit 2 inches high and dead on left to right, the 100gr Federal Premium Nosler Partitions hit one inch high and dead on left to right...The rest would shoot anywhere from one to three inches left or right...I have decided to use these 3 loadings in the future as my primary loadings...The Federal Noslar Partition and CoreLokts in close range woods/swamp settings and the Federal Premium 85gr loading over open fields...

One other point...I have also tried different loadings at longer ranges...Using the 100gr bullets and sighting in 2 inches high at 100, I then shot 3 shots at 250...I was suprised to see that some bullets were 2-3 inches low, but others were as much as 8 inches low...Point is, don't trust the loading data until you have tried that round in your gun...

oldelkhunter

Sounds like your the 243 Expert and really have researched it well. I don't hold onto guns long enough to know them that intimately. BTW where in NC are you located and do you offer hunts?

nchawkeye

I live near Greensboro, but our family farms are down east, near Elizabeth City...Mom and Dad had 6 kids and we have 17 grand kids and 2 great grand kids...Between brothers, cousins, nieces, nephews and just good old boys that we know we kill about 40-50 deer a year on the 3 farms that we own...When I go down I usually have 5-6 others to get in the stand, actually makes it a chore keeping up with everyone...We have plenty helping at this time, if this changes, I'll let you know...

I'm different on my guns, only own the .243, in a centerfire, have owned it since 1980...The brothers have others and I have used them, just never saw much difference...My true love are flintlock rifles really makes a kill special when you are successful with them...

oldelkhunter

Kernersville

statjunk

NC,

I wish I had your deer problem!

What kind of farming do you and your family do?

Just as an incase thing, put me on the list too. LOL

Tom

cjwink

That 85 Grain BTHP is a wicked little bullet.. Usually makes mush out of the vitals.

Paul L Mohr

I don't give any concern to where one brand of bullet impacts in relationship to another. I am only worried about which one groups the best at the ranges I want to use it. Then I just adjust the sights for that particular load. I don't switch loads a lot, and if I did I would just re-sight the gun in before each outing. For instance I have a .243 that will be used for varmint hunting. If I ever decide to go up north deer hunting with it I will get a few brands of popular ammo suited that use and go to the range to see which I like better. Then I will zero the gun in for that ammo. Before varmint season starts I will re zero it for that ammo again. Sounds like a good excuse to shoot more to me.

I'm not overly concerned with the performance on game either since most of what I use is pretty much proven designs, I just pay attention that I pick a bullet designed for the game I am using. Obviously if I discover that it doesn't perform well on game I will try something else.

What gets me is people that don't know the weapon they are using in regards to how it functions or how to break it down and clean it. Or that they don't know what it is actually capable of with the ammo they are using. All they know is that it is zeroed at 100 yards (3 years ago or more probably) and that it groups 1 inch at that distance. Probably actually 2 inches at 100 yards, but they have lied about it for so long to everyone else they actually believe it themselves.

Yet they are perfectly willing to take a crack at an animal 3 or 4 yards away in the wind without knowing how far to hold over or what the wind drift will be. Or how it will group at that distance. Or if the gun is even still zeroed correctly.

Paul

HEAD0001

Having a lot of hunter's on your property can be a bit of a pain from time to time. But being able to hunt with your family for an entire life time is priceless. Watching the kids grow up and then hunting with their kids is priceless as far as I am concerned. A lot of my family has moved out of state, so the first week of deer season is a real tradition for us. I would not have it any other way. Too many family's splitting up these days. Hunting is a great way to keep them together. I lost my dad three years ago(he was 84). We built him a small deer cabin(8X14) with a pot belly stove inside. It was his favorite place in the world. He would always take the youngest kids with him. He did not care if he shot a deer or not. He just wanted to take the kids out. No one has hunted his cabin since he passed. But I am thinking about taking some kids hunting in his cabin this year. I think this is what he would want. Tom.

oldelkhunter

+1 some people will live a lifetime and not know what hunting with a family means

whitetaildreamer

To the posted question of do I know my gun?....even though I have 2 safes full The first gun that I reach for is the same one I've been reaching for for over twenty years. I also have been loading the rounds for this same firearm for over 20 years. When I shoulder mySavage 7 mm mag I know exactly what it will do. The only change was to upgrade the scope 4 years ago. Even though I have fancierguns when I shoulder this piece it is as it is an extension of myself.I'm in no way saying this is the best gun out there or that the 7 mm mag is the best cal., just responding to the question of"How well do you know your deer rifle?" Please don't ask me why I've bought so many other rifles. I've already had to come up with something for my wife and that was tough enough.