.243 100g

[gubby_uk]

Hello everybody. I'm after some advice. I want to load some 100g ballistic .243 for deer stalking. I have the kit and have done .270 several years ago so am quite happy with the making as it were. What I would like are some ideas of bullet and powder combinations. Is there a particular powder that you would recommend or a good bullet. I would like something that is hard hitting but clean burning. My old Parker Hale likes a clean round, bless it. I've been using Federal V shock and would like to make my own version.

 

Cheers

[stevethevanman]

whats wrong with factory, and arent 100g ballistics hard to get in 243?

 

Steve

[gubby_uk]

Nosler do a 100g tip in .243. Same as they use in Federal. Where's the fun in factory rounds? It is far more satisfying to load your own and watch something fall over. You know that you've taken your prey at 300 yards and it's all your own work. I like the V shocks but I want to make my own.

[v-max]

I liked the speer 100g spbt with H380 but that was years ago & there is better powders for this bullet weight ie H414/H4831/H4350/Vit N160 are all good powders & Varget is very good in 243.

[Guest RemmySPS]

I use 100grn Sierra GameKings in my .243 ……40grns H414

Just as an aside Peter Lawman is selling new PPU brass for .243 for £25 per 100. this stuff is made on Lapua machinery and is really good stuff. I have a box of Lapua brass and when you stand it alongside the PPU brass it is hard to tell the difference. It really is top quality stuff.

Edited April 29, 2009 by RemmySPS

[henry d]

Ballistics for deer, are you sure ?

 

Why not SP ?

[shottyscotty]

im not sure ballistick tips are a good idea and i would use rws 100g as they seem pretty good

Edited April 30, 2009 by shottyscotty

[v-max]

Nosler do both HUNTING & VARMINT bullets & the HUNTING is for deer etc thats how they have been designed i only thought 243 nosler BT-hunting was 95g & 243 cal is a purple tip as they are colour coded for diffrent cals. Nosler to me are too pricie & you could £30 for 50 bullets & i dont really like them.

[Guest RemmySPS]

I used to use 100grn Nosler Partitions until the last time I tried to buy some. For some inexplicable reason they had gone up in price to.........£85 per 100

I bought 100 Sierra Gamekings instead - £13 per 100, and they are pretty good bullets.

[gubby_uk]

Cheers guys. I like the look of those Gamekings. I reckon I will give them a try. Thanks for the help.

[celtic invader]

I load Nosler BT in 95gr for fallow locally (head and neck shots only) and highly recommend them for these shots, but when on the hill in Scotland my stalker will not allow them (he insists on H&L for all shots and BT's are too messy) so I load 100gr speer boat tails. Both are charged with varget and cci mag primers. Unfortunately, I have to re-zero between trips as they shoot 6 inches apart and although I have varied the powder weights, I cannot get them to zero the same.

[Lloyd90]

Privi Partisan does 90gr soft points that are good for deer There cheap like £12 for 20! Better than £22 for 20 with the remington's

[DaveK]

Privi Partisan does 90gr soft points that are good for deer There cheap like £12 for 20! Better than £22 for 20 with the remington's

 

They also do 100gn SP's. Difficult to do homeloads as cheaply and you can recycle the brass for nowt. Work well in my P/H pro stalker.

[v-max]

I load Nosler BT in 95gr for fallow locally (head and neck shots only) and highly recommend them for these shots, but when on the hill in Scotland my stalker will not allow them (he insists on H&L for all shots and BT's are too messy) so I load 100gr speer boat tails. Both are charged with varget and cci mag primers. Unfortunately, I have to re-zero between trips as they shoot 6 inches apart and although I have varied the powder weights, I cannot get them to zero the same.

Hi it sounds like you have yet another insicure stalker that thinks if it aint a 270cal its no use. The 243 is a more than capable cal for hill reds even stags on rut. I helped on a place for a few years were we shot around 150 stag with guests & 500-600 hinds a year plus roe shot by us with odd guests. 90% of the hinds was shot with 243 & prince charles shoots a 243 at stags.

The sierra gameking SPBT is a good bullet & like i said before nosler are good but they cost a fortune now & i think there is better cheaper bullet heads on the market to the reloader.

[celtic invader]

No its not that V-max - the stalker shoots a .243 himself, its the ballistic tips that he doesn't like due to the meat damage caused with shots in the engine room. I always head or neck mine with tips so its not normally a problem, but this guy doesn't like head or neck shots because he has had to chase all over the hill after wounded deer if the Rifle was not competent. Although I have shot with him for many years, he still insists on heart and lung with all the Rifles he takes out.

 

He has been the stalker on this estate for many many years and will not change his mind on this. I must say I probably agree with him on this point, for when you are responsible for ensuring that the animal is taken as quickly as possible there is less room for error with a H & L shot compared to head or neck.

 

As far as the capability of a .243 is concerned, I load from 58gr to 100gr, dependant on quarry species, and I am just as confident with big reds at 200+ as I am with Fox. A good all round calibre if you could only ever have the one.