243 drops another!

[Stevenvalleyky]

.243 is an awesome deer round provided you use the correct bullet for the job and put it in the right spot. My kids and I have killed 8 whitetails the last 2 years with a .243. These 2 were killed about 30 minutes apart.

 

[Olympus]

The cz would not be a deer rifle then, it would be a backup med game rifle! I don't have a model 7 but my rem shot so beautiful with that 85 I really only went up in weight to extend distance..........and maybe I just can't help chasing the next load......

Oh don't tell me that about the CZ! My property is all wooden with probably a maximum shot distance of 125 yards. It's a perfect setup for a CZ 762x39.

My Model 7 shot those 85gr Sierras a lot tighter on paper than it did the SSTs. But my Ruger No.1 will shoot those SSTs dang near in the same hole at 100 yards. I haven't tried it with the Sierras yet.

 

[Olympus]

.243 is an awesome deer round provided you use the correct bullet for the job and put it in the right spot. My kids and I have killed 8 whitetails the last 2 years with a .243. These 2 were killed about 30 minutes apart.

That's a good buck right there! And 8 kills in 2 years with a 243 is a dang good track record.

 

[Stevenvalleyky]

That's a good buck right there! And 8 kills in 2 years with a 243 is a dang good track record.

Thank you. I am however blessed to live in a state that is very well managed for deer. Some areas have unlimited doe harvests and I do know people that routinely kill 10 plus deer most years. I dont kill more than we will eat.

 

[Hookeye]

Winchester 100gr factory load. Rifle is so cute
Have a synth stocked 700 in .243 as a yote/chuck rifle.
Pops has .308, .30-06 and .44 mag stuff I can borrow.
But this little rig is just cool. Not a fan of the RSI, wanted an A.....but not seen much so ups the cool factor. I did notice the blast when I shot him. Not bad but odd to notice it.
Was not near a big tree for any bounceback

View attachment 227819

 

[Hookeye]

Can see small hole from the boolit.



View attachment 227820

 

[Hookeye]

My .35 rem didn't drop 'em either, but they didn't go far and it made bigger holes.
Since the guy rejected my offer on his old blackwidow recurve, that means I have that amount to put on a rifle.............

 

[horsey300]

Oh don't tell me that about the CZ! My property is all wooden with probably a maximum shot distance of 125 yards. It's a perfect setup for a CZ 762x39.

My Model 7 shot those 85gr Sierras a lot tighter on paper than it did the SSTs. But my Ruger No.1 will shoot those SSTs dang near in the same hole at 100 yards. I haven't tried it with the Sierras yet.

Then it's a money saver too, loading it is almost half the powder charge and I think the brass can be found for cheaper than .243.......... ruger twist is 1:9 I think vs rem twist 1:9.125 theoretically, that would explain your results with sst and ruger...also helps that (in my own opinion) the ruger is built a little nicer all around than the model 7 and should balance gorgeous, never handled one in .243 but the others were so natural fitting it was uncanny.

 

[Olympus]

Winchester 100gr factory load. Rifle is so cute
Have a synth stocked 700 in .243 as a yote/chuck rifle.
Pops has .308, .30-06 and .44 mag stuff I can borrow.
But this little rig is just cool. Not a fan of the RSI, wanted an A.....but not seen much so ups the cool factor. I did notice the blast when I shot him. Not bad but odd to notice it.
Was not near a big tree for any bounceback

View attachment 227819

I LOVE that gun! Turns out our 243s are different. I have the 1B in 243, but I have that same 1 RSI in 257 Roberts. Short, handy, light, beautiful, and certainly unique! I think we've both got good taste in rifles.

 

[Olympus]

Then it's a money saver too, loading it is almost half the powder charge and I think the brass can be found for cheaper than .243.......... ruger twist is 1:9 I think vs rem twist 1:9.125 theoretically, that would explain your results with sst and ruger...also helps that (in my own opinion) the ruger is built a little nicer all around than the model 7 and should balance gorgeous, never handled one in .243 but the others were so natural fitting it was uncanny.

I've been going around and around between the CZ and a Ruger 300 Blackout. I already have a 300BO AR. I already have brass, bullets, 16lbs of powder, bullets, and primers. I can reload the 300BO for $0.30/round using SST bullets.

I'd have to buy all the reloading components and dies to reload for 7.62x39. The factory Hornady steel cased ammo with the 123gr SST would be $0.60/round.

The CZ would end up being about $800 after a scope and would cost about twice as much per round to shoot than the 300. I can get the Ruger Ranch Rifle in 300BO with a scope and rings for about $500 and shoot it for half the price. When I get ready to buy the CZ, I always talk myself out of it.

 

[Hookeye]

I had a #1B in .243 back in high school.
Used gun, shot it for years............killed lots of varmints.
Pops has a 1st version B in .22-250 (plus a NIB stainless V model).
He can't hunt anymore, so whenever he hands me the beater twofiddy I'll haul it to Penrod Precision and get it swapped to an A model, in .35 Rem. That way dad's rig gets to blast more critters.
Only option might be to rebarrel it in .243 in..............make it my chucker.
Yotes it's through thickets, snow, bashing around in trucks...............my 700 ADL synth .243 is for that job.

 

[Rickt300]

Not supposed to be but often acts like one.

This unrecognizable 135gr blob is all that's left of a 225gr SST out of a .338RCM into SIMTEST. It didn't even penetrate as deep as a 100gr Barnes out of the .250. Would it have resulted in a dead elk? Maybe. Maybe not. A bullet that maintains its integrity is cheap insurance. We've seen similar results from their 150gr .30-06 on deer. It's why I don't use ballistic tip type bullets on big game and having had failures with their XTP handgun bullets along with the 300gr .405 bullet, I'm wondering why I bother with Hornady at all.

That "Blob" looks pretty much like any good expanding bullet should. I have taken a lot of game with bullets that came out looking just like that one.

 

[CraigC]

A 225gr .338 big game bullet shouldn't do that. Some folks are satisfied with that, I'm not and wouldn't use that bullet for anything bigger than deer. I want a bullet that stays together, retains most of its weight and penetrates.

 

[Rickt300]

That bullet looks like it expanded and held onto at least 60% of it's weight. I bet that is what Hornady expected it to do. What distance did you "simtest" it? Looks like point blank. But then fine if you wouldn't use it on elk but I can't see how it would do an elk any good if put in the right place. A problem I see with a lot of bullet performance opinions is that bullets like the SST are designed for longer range impacts (lower velocities at impact) and somewhat over expand up close on dense materials like shoulders. Shoot for ribs and necks up close and you will like the result. Using a bullet within it's performance window is the wise thing to do. If you like slamming shoulders then maybe a Partition would better suit your style.