hey everyone. i went to pick up my more nosler partitions for my 243 yesterday. all the store had in 243 where core lokts and 100 gr. federal premium sierra soft points. i grabed 2 boxes of the federals and took them to the range. they shot very well through my gun but i was wondering if they are going to mushroom when they hit a deer or fragment? shots will be anywhere from 10 to 100 yards.

i won't use this bullet unless i know it is going to mushroom and do a good job. i tired to look up some info on the round and couldn't find much.


thanks!!

Sierra bullets are my second choice to the Noslers. I have used them in my 243 Win with good results so far. I would not hesitate to use them again. If they shoot good in your gun then take them to the woods with confidence.

I am not a fan of the 243 , just not enough bullet weight to cover the margin of error that can happen when hunting IMO . That said the Fed load will work good on deer out to 200 yds.
Please take broad side shots ,the 243 dose not penatrate well enough for3/4 away or texas heart shots and will not brake big bones and still exit .

So a 100gr bullet is not heavy enough to use on a 200lb to 300lb deer.So just what bullet weight would you suggest to use on a 1200lb moose(4 times the weight and much heavier bones)?
For the record I have killed deer in excess of 300lbs using the 243win and the nosler partition.Penetration was excellent and I would not hesitate to use this cartridge out to 300 yards on our large bodied canadian deer.

I am not saying the 243 will not kill deer , it just dose not have enough energy/penertation for the poor shots that some "hunter" are willing to take. If you pass up the marginal shots it will do good but if you try to penertrate to the lungs from a ass shot you may lose the deer . I know the 243 will kill deer even moose but the 243 is ill suited for moose if you have to break bones,I use a 257 Roberts AI on deer and the 7-08 or larger is what I would use on moose.
My distaste for the the 243 came from tracking 2 deer that were wounded with the 243 ,1 was a shot square on the shoulder joint broke the shoulder but failed to penerate worng bullet ? maybe
The othe was a texas heart shot that failed to penerate to the lungs .
Also a 243 bullet hole has failed to leave a good blood trail several times on a fat deer if there is no exit hole.

Don't blame the cartridge for poor shot selection. Shouldn't be shooting deer in the ass anyways. The only problem I ever had with a 243 Win was with a Remington Corelokt that pretty much disintegrated halfway through the deer. Even so the deer only went 40 yards. I started reloading 100 grain Sierra GameKings and Nosler Partitions and haven't had a problem since.

i agree. the 243 is a great round for deer. i have taken nosler partitions from one end to the other "neck shot that exited on the back end" but i don't have any laying around this year and i don't feel like ordering them or makeing a special run if the sierra's will work well and my shots aren't long. but i need a bullet that will at least go through the deer at 30 yards and not disenigrate (sp)

Your problem was poor choice of bullets,not an inadequate cartridge.If a 243 does not have enough energy for deer,the 7mm-08 certainly does not have enough energy for a moose weighing four times as much.

Killer...The Federal Premium 100gr BTSP will do fine on deer...they are one of my favorites...I've used my .243 since 1980...used Core Lokts for about 15 yrs...Have been trying other factory loads since then...If you like the penetration of the Partitions, you might want to also try the Hornady 100 gr Interbond and the 100gr Grand Slams (Federal also loads them)....But, I killed about a dozen deer with the Federal Premium 100gr BTSP...didn't loose any...so it will work...On lung shots I never had a deer go over 50-60 yards with that bullet...Shoulder shots dropped them on the spot...As a matter of fact...I found that the Federal BTSP actually dropped deer quicker than the Partitions...on lung shots...Good Luck

Ive never had or hear if penetration issues using any .243 bullet.

I think story's like these are exaggerated, like big hogs having plates on their sides that bullets can barely penetrate. ya right . This guy was telling me one time that he shao a big hog with a .270 and it barely noticed it was hit, ran a little ways and started rubbing and scratching its side on a tree and left the area. He got up and went over to the tree and he found his bullet there on the bark. The hog had scratched it off, no penetration. I LMFAO on that story.
The bullets you mentioned will have no problem getting the job done, however I do feel theres better bullets though. I use the .243 also, I use hornady factory ammo and have no issues with penetration, Complete pass throughs on very large hogs at 200yds . Seen it go through both shoulder bones on a buck at 200 yds (sons buck ) my gun. I wouldnt hesitate using the bullets mentioned but I would lean more towards the federal.
I have had the core lock not pass through on 2 occasions but still dropped them deader than elvis. I took an axis buck at around 300 yds with the core lock and had a complete pass through leaving a blood trail a blind man could follow for 40 yds. Why one failed to pass through and then the next not, guess your guess as good as mine. However my Hornady's have never failed to pass through bone and tissue.