Need a 243 win bullet for white tail at 150 to 250 yards

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ACES&8S

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Got a young female friend with several deer kills in the past few years using a Ruger
American in 243 win with FUSION 95 grain factory ammo with shots from 150 to 250 yards.
None of them go down right there & are hard to track due to small entrance & exit holes.
She can't get any closer due to the wind in this place so distance has been lucky considering
she could see them as far out as 350 yards.
She wants to know if I can find & make a bullet that will function better & exit for better blood
trails, they did find one to LATE last year that was hit good but the trail faded.
I know it is a difficult question but, What are friends for?
I have loaded lots of calibers however.
I have never loaded for a 243 but have everything I need for it, even some bullets I have from
buying out other guys stuff, like Speer 105 gr rn, Sierra 100 gr spitzer bt, Sierra 85 gr hp bt.And
maybe some others.
I have some other bullets in mind but if you have a devastating load, throw it in here.
No better way to find out than to ask experienced loaders.
 
I think the real question is what speed is the bullet doing at that distance and can you find a bullet that is designed to expand at that velocity? I'd be tempted to try 100 grain partitions. Nosler says they will expand at 1800 FPS or better, and they should be doing that way past 250 yards.

Either that, or she needs a heavier cartridge with a bigger bullet.
 
For decades, my first choice is the Sierra 100gr BtSpt aka GameKing.
However, you’ll likely find the 95gr Nosler Ballistic tip to work well.

Expect either to over expand at close range.
I’ve found 41.5gr of IMR4350 to be superlative. Either of these bullets will likely shoot under 1” in most rifles.

I must ask what kind of rifle? Accuracy is crucial with the .243, as too, is shot placement . Some rifles, such as a New England Firearms break action.243 I had wouldn’t shoot 5” groups consistently. Strung shots horribly.
CNS hits (spine or brain) are the only way to get instant kills. Lung/liver hits mean long tracks.
I shot this buck a month ago with a .270 and Speer 130gr HotCor. Lung shot it as it took a step as I pulled the trigger. Not a drop of blood trail. Ran 75yds after being knocked down. Range was 95yds. Notice exit wound behind shoulder.
 

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Got a young female friend with several deer kills in the past few years using a Ruger
American in 243 win with FUSION 95 grain factory ammo with shots from 150 to 250 yards.
None of them go down right there & are hard to track due to small entrance & exit holes.
She can't get any closer due to the wind in this place so distance has been lucky considering
she could see them as far out as 350 yards.
She wants to know if I can find & make a bullet that will function better & exit for better blood
trails, they did find one to LATE last year that was hit good but the trail faded.
I know it is a difficult question but, What are friends for?
I have loaded lots of calibers however.
I have never loaded for a 243 but have everything I need for it, even some bullets I have from
buying out other guys stuff, like Speer 105 gr rn, Sierra 100 gr spitzer bt, Sierra 85 gr hp bt.And
maybe some others.
I have some other bullets in mind but if you have a devastating load, throw it in here.
No better way to find out than to ask experienced loaders.

Both of my sons shoot .243's for deer and we have had great luck with Barnes 80 gr TTSX loads. (I use 4350 or Superformance). They have taken many deer with this bullet, with no issues whatsoever, and many have dropped within 5 yards or DRT. A couple have run off, but recovered a short distance away with good blood trails. They have both also taken numerous African game animals with the same setup - again with no issues. (All plains game, nothing bigger). We have recovered a couple of these bullets from african game shot quartering towards (found bullets on opposite side leg or under the hide ) - they both looked like a Barnes advertisement - 4 perfect petals. I can only give you my experiences, but they shoot well for us. Both rifles sub MOA. (One Ruger, and one Win. 70 Feather/Compact).
 
NAB’s and 95 or 100 Partitions are great killers in 243win. I like having a “fail safe” bullet for a fast round like 243win, it can run into something REALLY hard and still penetrate, but also will expand a long ways across the field too. The Partition and Accubond will offer better lower speed expansion than the monometal TTSX’s, but all will work.
 
In most of my part of the country, 200yds is considered a long shot, so I can't say much about 250-350. At the distances I've seen deer shot with .243's, I haven't seen the problems mentioned here with lung shots. There's a thread in the hunting forum here dealing with shot placement with .243's. That said, I'm wondering about the rifle being dealt with... velocity and accuracy with a given load. I'm thinking a SP bullet of 100-105grs should do if it flies flat enough and groups tight enough from the particular barrel to be placed right.
 
I think the real question is what speed is the bullet doing at that distance and can you find a bullet that is designed to expand at that velocity?
The info non Fusion says it is going 2,730 fps at 100 yards ------ 2,493 fps at 200 yards so I am sure, like you are, that the velocity is there
but evidently the expansion is in question, at least in her opinion.
And yes the Partition came to my mind as well, having used it in factory Weatherby ammo.
 
I must ask what kind of rifle? Accuracy is crucial with the .243, as too, is shot placement . Some rifles, such as a New England Firearms break action.243 I had wouldn’t shoot 5” groups consistently. Strung shots horribly.
The rifle is Ruger American with a 22" barrel & the groups she showed me at 50 yards are perfect.
Never been hunting with her but her Father says she tries to keep off the shoulder, to avoid bones due to what she
has heard about 243 not doing to well on them at long ranges. He also says she is calm & waits for broadside shots.
 
I hunted with 243 for a while when I was a kid. We didn't reload back then but the best ammo I used was Winchester Supremes. I believe they use the Nosler silver tip ballistic tip. I had a lot of the same issues as your lady friend with other ammo but not the Supremes
 
Id go with the 100gr sierra over a max load of slowish powder. I used them at 2800ish to good effect, but found that the closer you can get to 3K the better.
Did you use FIREFORMED cases or F/L resized or NEW cases?
I have all those options plus powder options as well.
 
Got a young female friend with several deer kills in the past few years using a Ruger
American in 243 win with FUSION 95 grain factory ammo with shots from 150 to 250 yards.
None of them go down right there & are hard to track due to small entrance & exit holes.
She can't get any closer due to the wind in this place so distance has been lucky considering
she could see them as far out as 350 yards.
She wants to know if I can find & make a bullet that will function better & exit for better blood
trails, they did find one to LATE last year that was hit good but the trail faded.
I know it is a difficult question but, What are friends for?
I have loaded lots of calibers however.
I have never loaded for a 243 but have everything I need for it, even some bullets I have from
buying out other guys stuff, like Speer 105 gr rn, Sierra 100 gr spitzer bt, Sierra 85 gr hp bt.And
maybe some others.
I have some other bullets in mind but if you have a devastating load, throw it in here.
No better way to find out than to ask experienced loaders.
You've described typical fusion performance, right up until you said wind, I was leaning towards sst. Not knowing barrel twist, I'll lean on 100 game kings and 95 btips, followed with 90 gr accubonds. If the twist rate would support it, I'd throw in the 103 eld. I can attest to large exits out to 500 with the 95 btips with max loads of 2 different powders, but under 75 yards I'd not look for an exit, they MAY hold together, but I use em specifically because they're soft, and 100+yds shouldn't be a problem.
Eta saw your Ruger response, that barrel should handle the 103.
 
I have had good results with the 90gr Accubond and the 95gr Ballistic SilverTip, but I haven't had a shot much over 100 yards. I like the Partition but the bullet base left after expansion went through and out the side leaving a small exit hole. Internal damage was good and most didn't go far. Not impressed with the blood trails though.
 
Did you use FIREFORMED cases or F/L resized or NEW cases?
I have all those options plus powder options as well.
I generally prefer to start with brass from that guns chamber on load work ups, and generally neck size till I have trouble chambering. T
I'll bump the shoulder back slightly. As often as not I'll loose my cases before they become difficult to chamber.

The last .243 I used those loads in was so tight I had to shave my shell holder to get the shoulder far enough back, brand new cases JUST barely chambered without resistance.
The .243 I have now is only shot every few years, so I just buy a box of ammo for it here and there.
Thus Its been a while since I did the whole routine with a .243
 
I generally prefer to start with brass from that guns chamber on load work ups, and generally neck size till I have trouble chambering. T
I'll bump the shoulder back slightly. As often as not I'll loose my cases before they become difficult to chamber.

The last .243 I used those loads in was so tight I had to shave my shell holder to get the shoulder far enough back, brand new cases JUST barely chambered without resistance.
The .243 I have now is only shot every few years, so I just buy a box of ammo for it here and there.
Thus Its been a while since I did the whole routine with a .243
I have only one 243 and its a old new England firearms single shot rifle and it shoots very well with my reloads its a fun gun to hunt,target shoot etc! plus to add I have a Nikon buckmasters 3-9-40 scope on it and with this scope its super deadly on game and paper! ;)
 
if she can shoot real good I recommend neck up only shots plus I reload 100gr sierra #1540 on the box with 37.6gr Winchester 760 powder works great for me!
I have a box of Sierra 100 grain #1560 /// And yes she can shoot well here on the range & he Dad says she is calm
enough to wait on broadside shots but she may need to practice with determination for neck shot placement.
Usually if you just get anywhere near the spinal cord they go down & if you just hit the side of the neck then
you have 4 options of serious blood loss for easy trailing.
 
First I am no pro on bullet building but I AGREE with you per the design pics I have seen of the Fusion, they have
a lot of base brass before the core starts. Just my observation.
They were made to be the cheap tuff bullet, and they absolutely are, I think (based on conversation with swift) that the lead core is even a higher bhn, which absolutely increases penetration.....as in almost Barnes worthy. The Scirocco2 shouldn't be left out of consideration, they're pricy too, but they perform.
 
They were made to be the cheap tuff bullet, and they absolutely are, I think (based on conversation with swift) that the lead core is even a higher bhn, which absolutely increases penetration.....as in almost Barnes worthy. The Scirocco2 shouldn't be left out of consideration, they're pricy too, but they perform.
Wanna shoot fusions? break bones lol
 
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