My father in law took a really nice buck Saturday morning witha 6MM-284, using the Sierra 85 gr. HPBT. This bullet continues to amaze me - on an animal this big, it blew a fist size hole through the ribs and one lung before coming completely apart in the other lung. Deer was on the ground in less than two seconds. At a muzzle velocity of about 3750, and 100 yard impact velocity had to be pretty high. This is the fourth buck we have taken with this bullet - all rib shots - all one shot kills.
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A man has got to know his limitations . . . . .
Roskoe...I switched to that bullet in my .243 a few years back...killed several deer with...this after shooting a .243 for 20 years or so...On one of the other internet hunting sites I posted a queation...??85gr Sierra HPBT for deer???
You can imagine the responses...I didn't let on that I had already tried...One camp said "You're crazy" "not ethical" "why use such a small bullet" "not enough energy"...You know the deal....The other side had actually used this bullet and had field experience with....Totally different responses....It seems that the more experienced a hunter was with a .243, the more likely he had heard of this bullet...I ran across very few that had actually tried it that didn't think it was the best of the lot for deer sized game....Fortunately in NC I can kill 6 deer a year...and owning farms I get extra doe permits....I also have 3 buddies that have switched from a 30-06 to a .243...2 of these are also using this bullet....We are over 30 deer being killed with this bullet in the last few years...Like you, I'm still impressed with the damage this little bullet does....I am amazed that you can push it up to 3750....thats smoking!!! No wonder you are getting a hole that big!!! Good Luck
You might. The other thing about this bullet is that, along with the 100 gr. Sierra Pro Hunter, it is one of the most consistently accurate bullets I have used. It seem like almost every 6MM shoots this bullet well.
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A man has got to know his limitations . . . . .
Based on nchawkeye's positive report on these bullets over on the Deerhunting forum, I went out last night to the local Sportsman's Warehouse and bought a box of these to loadfor my son's new .243 Ruger Compact.I'mhoping to load them up tonight, so my son can do some shooting this weekend in preparation for the Nov. 12th youth hunt here in Mississippi.I've already got some 85 gr. Barnes Triple Shocks loaded up and willsee how they shootalso. Of the three bullets we've got (also got some 100 grs. Nosler Partitions), I'm not sure right now what I'll end up letting him hunt with. I'm sort of leaning toward the TSXor Partition to start within case his aim is off a bit and large bones are encountered. Any comments?
If you hit big bones, you will want the Partition or the TSX. If you are hunting out of tree stand and have the opportunity to wait for a good angle, however, the lungs are a pretty good size target and the 85 Sierra will usually put them on the ground quickly. Partitions and TSX bullets, in the .243/6MM, don't generally kill very quickly on broadside rib shots. Fairly small wound channel. Great for shoulders, though, and can even penetrate a deer end-for-end if necessary.
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A man has got to know his limitations . . . . .
Well, if it was me doing the shooting, I would feel very confident in being able to place a shot in the ribs and would have no problem whatsoever using the Gameking.That's generally where I always aim regardless of what I'm using. But since this is my son's first opportunity to shoot a deer (at least I hope he gets the opportunity), I just don't know if he's going to get a case of the "fever" andbe unable to calmly place the shot where it needs to go. So with that in mind, I'm just sort of thinking a more substantial bullet might be a better option for the time being. He's a good shot when it comes topaper targets, but he's never shot at a live animal before. I mean, he may be cool as a cucumber, but then again, he may be shaking like a leaf.
Back in the 70's ishot a few white tails with thatbullet out ofmy .243 Win... Yes it kills deer on rib shots. BUT, i have to tell you it's the bullet that led me to the 100 grain Nosler partition and i NEVER looked back!!!
The NP worked so much better it was/is amazing! Once my father saw how much better the NP's worked, he also switched to them and never looked back...
The Amazing 85 gr. Sierra HPBT
