Deer and Coyote bullets?

I shot two deer this year with 139 grain SST's out of a 280 Remington.
80 yards and 130 yards IIRC.
one was frontal, the other broadside.
Both bullets exited with massive internal damage.
I originally loaded these bullets and set th rifle up for shooting at longer ranges.
As far as meat damge goes, I didn't see much more in these two deer than most other cup and core bullets.
I normally shot .311, 150 grin TSX's because they kill excellently and are very accurate.
Cat
 
We use either 55 or 58gr bullets for coyotes in our 243. Both work well. Nosler or Hornady . Both work well and have been accurate. For deer we use 100gr speer or partitions. Thats what I have. I didn't like the SSTs.
 
You could always just pick one deer bullet and use it for both. When I explored this previously a lot of people were suggesting deer bullets for coyotes in 243, the lighter stuff kills good but makes a mess. I know you said you don't care about the hides, just giving you options.

I shoot the 100gr Hornady interlock btsp in my 243, and I've got speer 100gr btsp but i haven't played with them yet. Personally I've seen too many reports of SSTs performing poorly to have much interest in trying them.
 
DFarmer said:
We use either 55 or 58gr bullets for coyotes in our 243. Both work well. Nosler or Hornady . Both work well and have been accurate. For deer we use 100gr speer or partitions. Thats what I have. I didn't like the SSTs.
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One of the other fellas mention that the 55s/58s were tricky to seat in the case. Have you found that to be an issue as well?

I’ll be honest: 51% of my desire to use the 55/58 instead of the 78 is to flirt with that 4000fps mark. It’s intriguing to a guy who’s mostly played with 30 cals.
 
I usually run Nosler Partitions for deer in my 243. Years back, they were unobtanium here so I went with 95 gr Ballistic tips for my deer loads.
Took my biggest deer to date with that little bullet ! It was a 140 yd shot...he slowly zig zagged 45 yards and rolled over. Mass chaos inside the vital cavity ! Amazed me ! I used Nosler Ballistic tips for a lot of yrs in 270, 308, 300WSM and the 7mmRM. Always dead critters with severe damage ton the vitals !
You can expect the same kind of terminal performance and damage out of the SST's !
**Stay off the shoulders tho...with any of the frangible bullets !
 
I know it's not a .243 but a superior predecessor IMO.The Sierra Pro -Hunter is a good bullet I use them in a Rem 700 Classic in .250 Savage and they almost always exit on broadside deer from the muzzle to 400 yards.Any I've actually recovered were in the 60-70% retention weight. Another economical gun show find is the old dull red/white boxed Hornady 100 gr SP. Hornady has changed their jackets but won't fess up as I've had several cores slip their jackets on impact, something that never happened in the 80's.
 
kodiakjack said:
Picked up a 243 Savage 100 recently, and want to start playing with some loads for it. This is my first time with a 243 so still need the dies, etc.

But in the mean time, I’d appreciate your input on preferred (modest budget) bullets for both deer and coyotes.

For deer, I was thinking 95gr SSTs. I’ve used them in 308 and 303 in the past with success, and they don’t break the bank.

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For coyotes, I thought maybe something fun like the super light 55gr varmageddon. I’ve never pushed anything over 4000fps before, but might be able to with these. I’ve used them in 223 with success. View attachment 856957

Also considering the varmint grenade and v-max.


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Any thoughts or considerations?
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While I have never owned a .243, I have had experience with Hornady bullets and to be honest, have never been impressed with their accuracy. While affordable, I have found Sierra bullets to be superior for accuracy in every rifle caliber I have ever loaded for. If you are planning on keeping the fir off of your coyotes, don't use rapid expanding varmint bullets. We loaded FMJ for fox and coyote in our .222s, .223s, .22-250 and 6.5 x 55. For Deer, load a good heavy bullet with moderate expansion; jacketed SP. Maybe 100 gr. Sierra are very economical to use, accurate and will work well for what you want.
 
Meroh said:
While I have never owned a .243, I have had experience with Hornady bullets and to be honest, have never been impressed with their accuracy. While affordable, I have found Sierra bullets to be superior for accuracy in every rifle caliber I have ever loaded for. If you are planning on keeping the fir off of your coyotes, don't use rapid expanding varmint bullets. We loaded FMJ for fox and coyote in our .222s, .223s, .22-250 and 6.5 x 55. For Deer, load a good heavy bullet with moderate expansion; jacketed SP. Maybe 100 gr. Sierra are very economical to use, accurate and will work well for what you want.
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I’ll take your advice on the sierra accuracy, but I won’t use fmj on any critters. My own personal limitation.
 
kodiakjack said:
I’ll take your advice on the sierra accuracy, but I won’t use fmj on any critters. My own personal limitation.
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I understand where you are coming from; and I doubt anyone is very concerned about fur, considering what it is worth today, and the amount of preparation before you can sell them. I remember when a nice Coyote hide would bring $150. a nice fox for $80-120, and raccoons as much as $70 Those were 1970s-80s dollars too.

BTW, the Sierra 6.5 mm 85 gr flat base, jacketed hollow point makes ground hogs out to and past 200 yards just cease to be. LOL.
 
Id be using the same bullet you would for deer, get to know the ballistics in all conditions. Your confidence shooting will improve and when that monster 200" whitetail crosses your path you will have no doubt on your holds and skill. Coyote pelts are worthless right now but the practice on a live target is priceless. Master one caliber, one load, one gun
 
Thunderhog said:
Hornady bullets like you already stated do not break the bank.
You can’t go wrong with the Hornady 58 grain Varmint V-Max bullet.
I bet it will be the most accurate, the least expensive and the most deadly. Keeping in mind at the speed it’s travelling you won’t be selling any coyote, bobcat or fox hides. This little 58 grain bullet will blow a hole the size of your fist in a coyote sized predator. Marmots, gophers, possums will almost vaporize upon contact!…:)
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Ive shot several coyotes with Hornady 58gr Vmax superformance in 243 at 200 yards. Dropped where they were hit no exit wound, humane fast accurate and hide friendly.
 
Here's one more vote for the 58 grain V-Max as a varmint bullet. While I seldom have to chase coyotes shot with any bullet, I've *never* had to chase one shot with a .243 using that bullet. As for a deer bullet, I'm a fan of the 100 grain Nosler Partition in the .243. Effective? Yes. Expensive? Absolutely But how many rounds of deer ammo so you shoot in a year? If by some chance you want a deer round that you can also use for regular use at the range, then I'd go with a 100 grain Hornady Interlock. While I dearly love the monolithic copper bullets in larger calibre when it comes to big game hunting, my limited experience with those in the .243 is that the limited bullet diameter results in overall narrower wound channels -- and this, if anything, is the .243's relative weakness. This is one cartridge where conventional lead bullets hold an advantage.
 
Neo said:
Here's one more vote for the 58 grain V-Max as a varmint bullet. While I seldom have to chase coyotes shot with any bullet, I've *never* had to chase one shot with a .243 using that bullet. As for a deer bullet, I'm a fan of the 100 grain Nosler Partition in the .243. Effective? Yes. Expensive? Absolutely But how many rounds of deer ammo so you shoot in a year? If by some chance you want a deer round that you can also use for regular use at the range, then I'd go with a 100 grain Hornady Interlock. While I dearly love the monolithic copper bullets in larger calibre when it comes to big game hunting, my limited experience with those in the .243 is that the limited bullet diameter results in overall narrower wound channels -- and this, if anything, is the .243's relative weakness. This is one cartridge where conventional lead bullets hold an advantage.
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Where does one find partitions these days? I’m not seeing any in stock at my usual haunts.
 
Got a benelli r1 270mwsm on my second box and I can’t get the gun to group ….velocity is low and gives me 1.1/4 inch groups..the harder I push the bullet the worse the group is …I’m not even close to factory ammo
Had to buy factory ammo for the hunt …copper impact Winchester…so so
 
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