I'm a bowhunter but have a relative that asked me about ammo for his .243 to use in November for whitetails. He was considering Sierra Gameking BTHP vs. Core-Lokt 100 grain PSP. Pros and cons on each?

i know the core lokt's work. we use a 223, with the 55g, and my daughter drops em where they stand. shot placement is everything, so tell him no matter what he uses, he needs to put a box down range to make sure they shoot well with his rifle...some guns prefer certain types of ammo.

Short answer...

Inside of 250 yards you'll never know the difference, they both kill deer very well...Which does his gun group better???

Here is my longer version...I bought a Ruger M-77 in 1980, since then it has been my only center fire rifle...I've probably killed 300+ deer with this gun...I started with CoreLokts, sighted in 2 inches high at 100 yards and from 1980-1998 or so that's all I used...

Well, as we had more advances in bullets during that period and premium loadings came out by several companies me and 2 buddies who all shot .243s decided to try each loading on several deer to see what did the best job...

One of these loadings we tried was the Federal Premium 85gr Sierra GameKing BTHP...When told of this loading we thought it was a groundhog load, we were told it was for deer...In a nutshell, it is a deer bullet...

I killed 3-4 deer with it one week and had great success...I even called Sierra and talked with them...This is no average hollowpoint...The lead on the inside is harder than most and the jacket thicker so it has more controled expansion than that of other hollowpoints...I have killed 25 or so deer with it and my buddies have killed another 25 or so...It works well...

Now, this is the bullet for long range shooting with a .243...It's muzzle velicity is listed at 3330 fps...In my rifle, when sighted in 2 1/2-3 inches high at 100 yards it is about 3 inches low at 300 yards...

But, as mentioned at the beginning, I've killed deer out to 250+ with a plain old 100gr CoreLokts...So, if most shooting is done within that range they work fine as well and they are much cheaper...I still have some of those Federal loadings and use them from time to time...Back 10 years ago they ran about $18 a box and CoreLokts were $12 a box...

Federals are pushing $30 a box I can catch CoreLokts on sale for about $15 a box...

The GameKings by Sierra are great animal getters. I know with this next comment I am going to open a huge bucket of "My buddy this, my dad that, I did this" so here we go.
Just be careful to not get any loaded with MATCHKINGS. They DO NOT OPEN. They are designed to be used on paper and sniper work. The are designed to group very tight, stay streamlined and consistant. That is what we shoot in my agency for sniper work and what I have used for benchrest comp and IHMSA work.
I have traded over to Ballistic Tips and have great success with this load on hogs and 'yotes.

I am not a fan of either of the bullets you mention...I have seen several cor-lokts fail over the years in several calibers and I don't care for HPBT's for medium/large size game. My preferred bullet for deer in the 243 over the years has been the 100g Nosler Partition. I have always had very good luck with 100g and heavier bullets in the 243 all around.

Thats why I have gone to Nosler Ballistic Tips or Hornady SST's for all my game taking with rifles and my hot pistols.

Thanks for all the good info! I'm passing it on....he doesn't reload so whatever he gets will be store-bought.

I never smile. You want a smile, go rent a smile.

it has already been mentioned in this thread but id like to add that the extra small meplat (the very tip of the bullet) and also that the jacket of the bullet thins in this area of hollowpoint match bullets is what makes them a big no no for hunting. if the bullet is placed on soft tissue the bullet will expand properly and the deer will actually go down nicely. if the bullet is placed on hard bone there is a chance to colapse the nose of the bullet which will basically turn it into a fmj and only pencil hole through the deer. proper hollowpoint hunting bullets use larger meplats or in the case of some of the new vld style bullets (berger, wildcat, lutz moller, gc custom) they use harder jacket material or the nose area is otherwise reinforced.

obviously there are uses for bullets that expand rapidly or not expand at all, but who wants to shoot a bullet that will do both depending on shot placement? the key to any hunting bullet is repeatable results. if its a varmit bullet it should blow up inside a animal, if its a fmj it should pass through a animal if your finishing off a wounded deer.

I've used 100 gr CoreLokts, PowerPoints, and Hi-Shoks in .243 on deer and pronghorn for years without any issue. I can't remember any animal I've taken needing a follow-up shot, nor any of them traveling out of sight from where they were first hit.

My experience with SGKs has not been so positive. Every single one of them I've connected to an animal has shed its jacket, particularly the 165 gr in .308 (used in a moderate load in a .30-06), but also the 300 gr .375. It hasn't mattered whether they've hit bone, or whether they've gone through tissue, they've all lost their jackets. For that reason alone, I've discontinued using them at all in my hunting loads, and never did bother trying them out on deer or pronghorn in the .243.

Of course, your experiences are likely to vary. And, not to say I'm not a fan of Sierra. I use SMKs exclusively in many of my target and some of my varmint loads.

Generally speaking though, I prefer a "pointed-soft-point" over a "hollow-point" for any meat hunting I do, with the exception of the .22LR.