Best Bullet .243 for all UK deer

[J_Bar94]

As the title says from personal experience which is the best bullet in .243 for taking UK deer whilst not destroying the carcass.

This is assuming heart/ lung shots

Thanks in advance

JB

 

[ashray]

the most accurate one in your rifle ! in my 243win the sierra 85gr game king followed by the sierra pro hunter were the best. you have to damage the carcus to kill it with chest shots

 

[Camdig]

RWS 100g soft point

 

[VSS]

The best general-purpose .243 round for deer that I have found is the RWS T-Mantel 100grain soft point.

 

[Acm]

80grn hornady outfitter CX

 

[Jagged77]

Anyone tried the 90gr Hornady ELD-X? I’ve just loaded some up to try on my next outing. Previous to that I’ve used 87gr V-Max which did the job.

 

[wytonpjs]

80gr Barnes’s TTSX in home loads Only species I’ve not shot with them are reds, but I’m sure someone will be along shortly to add that one too

 

[alun1960]

Geko 105 were fine 95sst were a bit messy but accurate , reloads are 100 prohunter in the field and 87 vmax park culls .

 

[J@son]

The best general-purpose .243 round for deer that I have found is the RWS T-Mantel 100grain soft point.

Another vote for RWS T-Mantel. Not the cheapest. And can be hard to source. But it's very accurate.

 

[RJD]

Sako blade 80gr

 

[J_Bar94]

Fantastic thanks all! Keep them coming I was thinking about loading some SST so it’s nice to see them get mentioned!

 

[njc110381]

I never found a bullet I liked for deer in .243. Looking back, I wish I'd tried Barnes TSX/TTSX and Nosler Accubonds as they're both pretty robust.

 

[Hatch]

Sako blade 80gr

Genuine question, does the 80gr give you enough stopping power?

 

[Donkey Basher]

Genuine question, does the 80gr give you enough stopping power?

Yes - just put it in the right place, even a bullet half that weight will do the job…

 

[wytonpjs]

Yes - just put it in the right place, even a bullet half that weight will do the job…

Exactly this ^^^^^^

 

[Dickie]

You don’t say whether you want factory ammo or you’re reloading.

 

[Heym SR20]

I used to use the RWS T Mantel soft point. They were very accurate, but a bit soft. Very effective if you were behind the shoulder. Would blow up on the shoulder. RWS the changed the loading, seating the bullet a bit shorter and I couldn’t get on with it.

I have other 7mm rifles and they worked very well with monolithic bullets.

I have finally got round to loading up some 80gn Fox and I am very confident that they will happily deal effectively with any Deer in the UK.

 

[tusker]

the most accurate one in your rifle ! in my 243win the sierra 85gr game king followed by the sierra pro hunter were the best. you have to damage the carcus to kill it with chest shots

Same as this. I have used this bullet for years on all UK deer except Sika and CWD. I even took Oryx and Warthog in Africa.
Tusker

 

[Ginc]

80gr Barnes’s TTSX in home loads Only species I’ve not shot with them are reds, but I’m sure someone will be along shortly to add that one too

Barnes 80gr put down this red deer doe. Even after slightly misplaced front chest shot.

 

[Bowland blades]

I never found a bullet I liked for deer in .243. Looking back, I wish I'd tried Barnes TSX/TTSX and Nosler Accubonds as they're both pretty robust.

surprising ! i am thinks what did you try ? The 243 does need thought to application to purpose and species , its not a one bullet for everything . Now the laws have been changed as to weight i am going to re-add one , because of its versatility the TTSX should work perfectly sub 100 grain following the amount of big stags i have dropped with the 100 grain 6.5mm broadside shots and decent exits at good ranges