.243 95gr SST for Red?

[Kernow_Stalker]

Hi all,

Got a howa 1500 .243 currently using 95gr SST which I really like. However Ive just signed up my first bit of red land. I am fully aware that .243 is a touch on the small side in alot of peoples opinion for red however its what I have got at the minute and I also know that it frequently accounts for red deer and is a capable calibre for them so to that end I would appreciate it if we could just be objective about the question rather that saying, go and buy ... cal etc.

The worry that i have with SST is that i know they expand incredibly well and are highly regarded for their stopping power, however do they over expand too early for red? Would i be better for example getting some 100gr soft tips? I really like the SST and shoot to a good standard with it so ideally I would like to stick with it, however if it isnt really good for red then obviously being as humane as possibe would take priority.

Anyone who has first hand experience of using 95gr SST for larger deer I would be very grateful to hear from

thanks in advance

KS

 

[JMS906]

Hi all,

Got a howa 1500 .243 currently using 95gr SST which I really like. However Ive just signed up my first bit of red land. I am fully aware that .243 is a touch on the small side in alot of peoples opinion for red however its what I have got at the minute and I also know that it frequently accounts for red deer and is a capable calibre for them so to that end I would appreciate it if we could just be objective about the question rather that saying, go and buy ... cal etc.

The worry that i have with SST is that i know they expand incredibly well and are highly regarded for their stopping power, however do they over expand too early for red? Would i be better for example getting some 100gr soft tips? I really like the SST and shoot to a good standard with it so ideally I would like to stick with it, however if it isnt really good for red then obviously being as humane as possibe would take priority.
Anyone who has first hand experience of using 95gr SST for larger deer I would be very grateful to hear from
thanks in advance

KS

The .243 is perfectly suitable for hinds. If you avoid striking the foreleg, and go for heart/lung shots, you will have no problems. (You should avod the foreleg regardless what cartridge/bullet you're using.) I know a Scottish stalker who shot around 160 hinds p.a., and all he used was a 243 with Norma factory ammo. I have shot/seen shot red hinds with a variety of .243 and .30 bullets - they all work provided they are in the right place. We shot 16 hinds one week and in the larder, you couldn't determine which was shot with which calibre, not from the wounds. All the bullets produced similar wounds.

Bullet placement. A couple of years ago, I shot a warthog in the guts with a 270g .375H&H bullet. I shot it again in the hips just above the spine with a second bullet, producing a wound 8-10 inches long and two inches wide. That pig ran a full two kilometres before lying down. The lesson being that it doesn't matter that bullet or gun you use, a bullet in the wrong place is worthless.

I don't use a .243 on red stags, I use either a 7mm or .30-06. But I have the luxury of choice. If all I had was a .243, I would use it on stags but I'd probably go for a sturdy bullet (such as the Nosler Partition or the Hornady Interbond) and ensure I went for a behind the foreleg shot. In fact, in my .30-06, the 180g Hornady Interbond is what I use.

-JMS

 

[deerstalker.308]

As with the above, fine for hinds, and I know a lot depends on shot placement, but for my money, it's too small for the red stags in England, I watched a stag this year in the rut shot 4 times, each perfectly good kill shots, with a .308 150gr it was only the final 4th shot to the base of the skull which stopped that animal.....they are built of stern stuff and can take a lot of dropping when they are pumped full of testosterone and adrenaline.

 

[tackb]

strangely when I used to use a 243 I found the 95grain sst not to kill well contrary to my experience with most of hornadys products ?

a well placed 100grain soft point will kill reds fine , including the big ones but in my opinion if your ground holds really big reds then you would be well served by a slightly more powerful calibre.

 

[10.9]

243 95grn sst for red - not in scotland !

 

[Kernow_Stalker]

Hi all, thanks for the input. All usefull information which I will take on board. 10.9 indeed that is true, fortunately for me I only need to go about 4 miles further south and I am statistically as far from scotland as you can be while still being mainland UK

 

[Muir]

Two years ago my daughter nailed a whitetail doe with a 165 grain SST from a 30-06 and had to look for it til well into the dark. It was never found despite she and the guide staying out til almost midnight. Both swear the shot was high on the shoulder. Last fall my buddy shot a large mule deer buck with the same bullet. It dropped hard, then got up. I put it down with my 7-08 and a Sierra 120 grain. When we skinned it we found a large, crater-like wound behind the shoulder but nothing that would have done more than cripple. My nephew lost two deer to the 95 grain SST from a 243.

The SST aren't all they are cracked up to be. I have weighed hundreds of them and believe me, if you are trickling your charges to an exactitude, the SST's weight variances will negate your efforts.

I know guys who swear by them but I've lost my faith in SSTs. I don't see them a quality bullet. I'm not a fan of 243 but add the thought of an SST into the picture? Makes me shudder. JMHO. ~Muir

 

[Hereford]

100g SP Sako Gamehead - has never let me down and there's been a few big-uns

 

[sharkey]

One of the greatest messes I've ever seen was a big Yugo X German stag (320 kg plus) first hit in the shoulder with a 225grn SST from a 338win & then requiring several more. IMO they are a terrible projectile in any caliber. I still have several hundred of these in 338 (they were basically giving them away about a decade ago, $10 per box of 100) & I am slowly trying to use them up on pigs & goats. It seems a bit over gunned using a 338 on these but I have zero faith in these projectiles for game normally requiring a 338. Almost all of the bullet failures I've witnessed from different calibers have been with SST's. Ballistic tips are a wee bit harder IMO, but I have still had failures hitting the shoulder of fallow bucks with 150 grn in these from a 270WBY. I generally just use heavy for caliber Woodliegh's now as my "soft" hunting projectiles in most chamberings & Barnes X or my hoarded stash of failsafes for harder expanding pills if needed.

Not a fan of SST's at all. Who can predict before the hunt the angle that the shot is going to be taking through an animal? Who can afford the luxury of being able to wait for a text book broadside shot? Even on paddock deer I'd pass on using SST's.


Sharkey

 

[Muir]

Sharkey,
Interesting to hear that your experiences mirror my own. I also have many boxes of 6.5 and 30 cal SST's that I got cheap. To date I have never seen a deer killed cleanly with an SST. I had thought I loaded SST's for a friend's daughter last fall - a hunt during which she killed a very large whitetail buck- but my notes say it was the soft point 150 grain Interlock that did the damage. One shot from a 308 at (a father and daughter, oft debated) 150 yards. For deer, and this fall,elk, I like the Sierra Game Kings. I've never had anything go anywhere but down after a well placed hit with one of these.~Muir

 

[Canadian1]

The .243 is perfectly suitable for hinds. If you avoid striking the foreleg, and go for heart/lung shots, you will have no problems. (You should avod the foreleg regardless what cartridge/bullet you're using.) I know a Scottish stalker who shot around 160 hinds p.a., and all he used was a 243 with Norma factory ammo. I have shot/seen shot red hinds with a variety of .243 and .30 bullets - they all work provided they are in the right place. We shot 16 hinds one week and in the larder, you couldn't determine which was shot with which calibre, not from the wounds. All the bullets produced similar wounds.

Bullet placement. A couple of years ago, I shot a warthog in the guts with a 270g .375H&H bullet. I shot it again in the hips just above the spine with a second bullet, producing a wound 8-10 inches long and two inches wide. That pig ran a full two kilometres before lying down. The lesson being that it doesn't matter that bullet or gun you use, a bullet in the wrong place is worthless.

I don't use a .243 on red stags, I use either a 7mm or .30-06. But I have the luxury of choice. If all I had was a .243, I would use it on stags but I'd probably go for a sturdy bullet (such as the Nosler Partition or the Hornady Interbond) and ensure I went for a behind the foreleg shot. In fact, in my .30-06, the 180g Hornady Interbond is what I use.

-JMS

Great advice.

OP, also consider Sharkey and Muirs concerns with the SST. I personally don't have a lot of experience with them.

 

[NigelM]

Illegal perhaps in Scotland, but that's not going to effect you, I would take a look at an 80 grain Barnes TTSX. In a .243 you will be able to get an MV of 3300/3350 fps and the bullet is more than capable of breaking through bone if it needs to and is pretty flat shooting. Take a look at this study:

GS CUSTOM BULLETS - The 22x64 Experiment.

They are a bit extreme in their choice of calibre, but light and fast using a well constructed bullet is a good combination. I have shot a lot of Red Stags and Hinds with a 6mm Swift Scirocco 90 grain with an MV of 3300 fps (6mm06AI) and had very good results, better than I do currently with a 6.5 Lapua and a 120 grain bullet.

 

[bewsher500]

Personally I think the energy, bullet calibre and construction combination requires a level or accuracy and knowledge of anatomy that most can't replicate in the field.

A rear lung shot avoiding legs is my shot of choice for a clean carcase with no bruising.
The thought of having taking that shot with less than premium 6mm 95gr projectile on a Stag that may be running 130-160kg makes me wonder how long that animal is going to live before it expires.
Wound channel and energy are the things that kill quickly

Energy of the 95gr drops away to 16-1700 and 14-1500ftlbs at 100 and 200yds

To put that into perspective a 150gr .308 is still punching 22-2400 and 1900-2100fps at the same ranges depending on load


Legal? yes.
accurate and capable? possibly in the right hands and conditions
but if your circumstances are anything other than ideal having some margin of error is ALWAYS an advantage

follow up shots should the worst case scenario not an expectation

 

[sauer]

Have some 117grn SST in .25 cal & using them up but not the greatest as said .
Sierra game kings as Muir said great results .... Nosler partion good results & I'm a big fan of Speer ...100grn hot core both accurate & they seem to give less runners & more on the spot drops in a beast ... For me...
Privi is ok ... Accurate enough but find them wee bit hard & don't expand as well as others , had a few more runners with them , but if budget a big concern they are good value

Paul

 

[Kernow_Stalker]

Hi all,

some very interesting views on the sst here. Looks like I shall be moving away from these bullets. To be fair I am looking at putting in a variation for a 7mm rem mag, but in the mean time I was hoping to stick with sst. At the very least I think I will move to a more appropriate bullet in .243 calibre, or I may put in for a variation and get a .270 for a while.

Thanks for the input

 

[Hales Smut]

100 Grain Nosler Partition , Barnes TTSX , Sako Deerhead , ...... Good strong bullets.
I just bought a box of Federal Fusion 95 grain ammo. Just to try how they group in my rifle. Might be a good deer bullet/round. 28 euro/20 and I can use the cases to reload.

 

[User00014]

Hi all,

some very interesting views on the sst here. Looks like I shall be moving away from these bullets. To be fair I am looking at putting in a variation for a 7mm rem mag, but in the mean time I was hoping to stick with sst. At the very least I think I will move to a more appropriate bullet in .243 calibre, or I may put in for a variation and get a .270 for a while.

Thanks for the input

.270 win is the maid of all deer work and prob the most common calibre in the world a long with its big sister the 30-06 , i own and shoot both , but to be honest the 270 in my "go to" rifle no matter what im going after , infact i dont think there is anything i wouldnt shoot at and kill with a 270 and a barnes bullet!

 

[Hales Smut]

.270 win is the maid of all deer work and prob the most common calibre in the world a long with its big sister the 30-06 , i own and shoot both , but to be honest the 270 in my "go to" rifle no matter what im going after , infact i dont think there is anything i wouldnt shoot at and kill with a 270 and a barnes bullet!

+1

 

[Double four]

I prefer a .30 for reds but saying that I have shot plenty with my .243, partitions are the kiddy I have shot quite a few big lowland reds with these.

 

[JMS906]

.270 win is the maid of all deer work and prob the most common calibre in the world a long with its big sister the 30-06

Really? More .270 rifles than .22LR rifles?

, i own and shoot both , but to be honest the 270 in my "go to" rifle no matter what im going after , infact i dont think there is anything i wouldnt shoot at and kill with a 270 and a barnes bullet!

Again, really? What about hippo, I know you don't have them in Norfolk (well, some of the girls down there might qualify) but you didn't say "anything in Norfolk I wouldn't shoot", you said aynthing. What about cape buffalo, rhino, elephant. You think your sub-7mm is up to the task?

-JMS