HuntingNet.com Forums - .243 Question?

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ORIGINAL: Colorado Luckydog

I recently aquired a Remington BDL .243, nice gun, I love it. I got it for my coyote gun, but have decided to use it for antelope also. I started off shooting some 80 grain federals that were shooting pretty good. My buddy gave me some 55 grain Winchester Supreme Ballistic Silvertips. I can't believe how accurate they are shooting from my gun. My question to you guys is...Is that grain big enough for antelope? I'm one of the guys that prefer a little over kill, but I got to believe that they would be fine. When I find a round that shoots that good, I hate to give it up. What's your thoughts?

Thanks Bryan

Bryan, I have never shot an Antelope but I can definitely agree with you on always wanting a little overkill! I will relate my story about a buck I shot 2 years ago with my .243 and you can draw your own conclusions. My dad gave me an old Parker&Hale .243 right before he passed and it was a beautiful gun and shot well and I wanted to shoot a deer with it. It shot 100 grain core lokts pretty well (1 1/2-2 inches at 100 yards) and although not stellar is decent. I double lunged a nice East Texas eight point with it at 60 yards and it ran about 80 yards and was still alive by the time I could lower my climbing tree stand and walk over there. I still plan to hunt with this rifle but want a hotter load. Maybe a different bullet? Hope this helps your decision. Maybe I can learn from this thread also.