243 deer load

[cracker]

While I can get more and faster answers on other boards, I truly feel that this site and the good members on it are more knowledgeable and less B.S. than other sites. With that said I am looking for a load for the grandsons 243. He shoots a 700 adl with youth stock; I like his gun as much as he does. We are looking for a good deer load, which bullet would you use, I would like to use H4895 powder. His gun has a 1 in 9.25 twist. (Where the .25 comes from I haven’t a clue). I would like for him to shoot yotes with me and I am not concerned about the hides as our Wisconsin dogs are very rarely worth keeping. I hope I gave you enough info to help us out. Oh shots for the little guy would never be past 150 yards, he handles recoil well so reduced loads are not needed.
Sportingly
Cracker

[Rick in Oregon]

cracker: As you haven't got much action on this one yet, I'll offer my .02 worth.

First off, I don't use any of my .243's for deer, so this "advice" will be subjective at best. You don't say if you want to use the same bullet for both deer and yotes, but we all know that any bullet that will anchor a deer will certainly kill a coyote DRT.

So, as I shoot primarily coyotes, squirrels, rock chucks and PD's with my .243 and .243AI, my bullet of choice for this task is almost always the Nosler 70gr BT. It is a pure varmint bullet though, and gives spectacular terminal results on varmints at .243 velocities.

For a dual-purpose bullet, giving good 'deer-performance', and coyote killing ability no worries, keeping recoil to a minimum for the lad, I'd look at either the Barnes 85 or 90 gr TSX (tipped or not), or the Nosler 90gr BT or 85 or 95gr Partition. These are all fairly mid-range weight-wise for caliber, will all perform very well on deer sized critters, and will keep recoil managable for your grandson. All bullets suggested will work well with the H4895 powder you wish to use, and are suitable for his twist rate too.

Good for you helping him out with this....he'll have memories of his first hunts with his new rifle that will last a lifetime.

[cracker]

Rick
Thanks for chiming in I should have known you'd have some info on the 243. As stated in my first post about this site there is a lot of knowledge here. Hope your recovery is going good, time heals.
I to like the coyote hunting above all others but the grandson being 12 wants to do it all. dont know what its like out in the woods or feilds but we have about 14 inches of snow on the ground and another 5-7 on the way tonight, then some more on monday. I am getting to old for the walks thru the deep snow to chase any critters. I have some good spots that are close to the road and if I can call worth a bean I let them come to me.
Take care get well and have a great holiday season.
Sportingly
Cracker

[Jersey Hunter]

We have used the Nosler 100 gr partition for around 20 years with great success (knock on wood) With IMR4350 near max from several different rifles. Sierra 100 gr Game Kings might do a job for you also.

[Sagebrush Burns]

For deer (and antelope) hunting with the 243 I have had better success using the Hornady 100 grain BTSP than I have with the Nosler Partition. I'm using a max charge of H450 which is no longer available, but 4831 (both Hodgden and IMR) work equally well.