For deer shooting, (I don't own a "DEER RIFLE"-don't use factory loaded ammo, either), I have used, over the past50 years, the 6mm/284, the 6.5X55, the .270 Winchester, the 7X57mm Mauser, the 7mm Rem. Mag., the .30/40 Krag (loaded UP in a Ruger No. 3), the .308 Win. the .30/'06, .308 Norma Magnum (caribou) and the .358 Winchester in modern arms; plus, the .50 and .54 caliber in muzzleloaders with both conicals and round balls. Oops!! Forgot the 20 and 12-gauge shotguns!!

As you can well imagine, each of these calibers performs a little differently from one another, except for the 308/.30/'06, which are as alike as peas in a pod!!

With the Nosler Partition bullets, I have only found two inside an animal-one was in a black bear, and the other in a 250-pound mule deer. In both cases, these bullets went through A LOT of muscle and bone before stopping. All the others went completely through! Except for two mule deer I killed with Sierra bullets (one bullet per!), every game animal I ever shot was killed with a Nosler Partition bullet. This includes bear, deer & elk........ Today, there MAY be better bullets than the Nosler Partition. BUT I still use them, since they are GOOD ENOUGH for anything up to and including Cape Buffalo!

about to get a .243......surprised that most of your bullets were 100gr......no 95s or 90s......from my research I plan to mostly try to get a 95 to work.....also a 100 and 90, dpending on which shoots best.....

My .270 loves 130s.....i tried to find the perfec tload first......which grains shot the best......and go with it.

what did you like best for deer with yoru .243?

elkhunter...That's wild, I've been on here since '04 and you since '03 and all this time I just figured you lived out west somewhere...Glad to meet a "local"...

Statjunk...We raise corn, soybeans, wheat, peanuts and cotton, depending upon the rotation and the farm...I'm fortunate that Dad was a Deere dealer and was able to buy these farms in the 60's...My brothers and I realize how fortunate we are to not have to worry about a place to hunt...

Head...I agree on the family thing, sounded like I was complaining, but I love it...We all get together at the Outer Banks for the week of the 4th as well...One house, eight bed rooms, all my brothers and sisters, grandkids, mom, grandad and we have a ball...We always have a big fish fry from taking the kids out on the boats during the week...

Salukipv1...My rifle just didn't like the Winchester Supreme 95gr, I just remembered I also tried the Fusion by Federal, can't remember if it's a 90gr ora 95gr...But it wouldn't group them either...

Here is my reasoning...Nothing I have ever used will best the Federal Premium 85gr HPBT for a fast, flat shooting round...There is no advantage to shooting a 90 or a 95 gr at 3100fps (if I remember right), when you can shoot the 85gr at 3320fps...Some think this is a varmit bullet, I did as well...Until I saw what it could do...I also called Sierra, this is not your "normal" hollow point...It has harder lead inside and a thicker jacket outside so it penetrates better than you would expect it to...I have shot deer with this bullet in the shoulder at 50 yards and had them drop...I will come apart, no doubt, if you want an intact bullet, it's not the one, but neither are any of the 90-95grs either...

Probably 90 of the deer that I have killed with this gun were killed with the 100gr CoreLokt...Since Labor Day, I have bought 10 more boxes...I'm afraid these ammo prices are just going to keep going up...If a guy just doesn't care for the 85-95 gr bullets, it's hard to beat either the CoreLokts or the Hornady InterLock...One of my hunting buddies has taken 30 or so with those...

NC I seen where they offer an 85gr Partition for the 243. Have you ever thought bout trying that? Sounds like it could possibly give you the flat trajectory and the toughness for the closer shots.

As far as knowing my rifles I have killed deer with a pile of different guns and cartridges but the 270 with the plain ol cheap classic Fed 130's and the 7-08 with the 140 core lokts have worked about as good as anyone could ever ask for me. The 139 Hornady's and the 130 solid bases worked very very well in those 2 guns also....but Im too lazy to reload a lot So if the factory ammo works that well I just keep using it. Both of those favored loads have killed deer from point blank to a shade over 300 for me.

The only load I have ever tried that absolutely would not group in the 270 was the 150 Speers.....probably 10 inch patterns..lol. Everything else groups well and shoots fairly simillar POI if I get in a hard spot and have to change ammo. The 7-08 shoots most anything I've tried close to the same POI except the NP's and they are inline but around 3 or 4 inches higher at 100.


Have you ever had to re-barrel that 243? I have heard it said they are barrel burners but I dont think I've ever seen one shot out. I know after 25 years my 243 groups as well as it ever did. Prob 1500 or sorounds through it.

Doe...If I reloaded, I would probably try those 85gr Partitions...To be honest, my gun just loves the CoreLokts, can't seem to get away from them...Plus, as I get older, I'm less infatuated with trying those 300 yard shots as well, give me a nice 125-150 yarder and I'll drop them where they stand...

That Federal Premium 130 gr Sierra GameKing SPBT is a good loading, my youngest brother uses that in his 700 and his son's M-77...The only problem I see is dang, it sure tears them up if you don't put in in the lungs...When his son was about 15, him and my brother pulled up with 3 deer in the back of the truck...The kid had killed all 3 and a couple were hit twice, what a mess...

I have had this gun rebarreled, not positive that it needed it, but I shot a ton of groundhogs while I was in Virginia, in the late 70s and early 80s and the groups opened up to about13/4inches in the late 90s...But this gun does have a
24 inch Shilenbarrel, is pillar and glass bedded, free floated and has the trigger set at 2 1/2 pounds...It started with a Bushnell ScopeChief, which was $130 bucks in 1980, but a few years back I put a 3x9x40 VX-II on it and have since sent it to Leupold and had a Heavy Duplex installed...

This is a very true statement.. This bullet is wicked on deer.. I was discourage because it wouldn't pass thru (But never really needed it cause none of the deer ever went more than a couple of steps)So I changed and was not happy with other bullets..