Advice please (.243 ammo)

Paul5466

New Member
Good morning all, I am new to deer stalking (but no to shooting) and have just purchased a Tikka T3 Lite in .243 with T8 moderator. I will use it to shoot foxes and all types of deer hopefully. Please can anyone give me advice on what rounds work well in this rifle? Say in 75gr plus 95gr loads? I have been told that this rifle does not like anything over 95gr load. Thanks in advance.
 
I asked a similar query recently and TBH the advice I was given was right - You just need to buy a variety of types and grain weights and see what your rifle likes.

I have a .308 so I tried Federal and Norma in 150gr and GECO in 170gr, and in the end it was the Federal that my S&L shot best with. Other people have found other ammo works for them.

See what your local RFD has in stock and pick up a packet of each. Gives you an excuse to spend some time on the range too, and get some practice in :)
 
All rifles are different Paul, because one t3 243 likes a certain bullet it doesn't necessarily mean another t3 243 will automatically like it. Best thing to do would be to get a few boxes of different ammo and give them a try to see what shoots best. Personally I got on well with the 90gr sako gameheads and also the cheap prvi ppu 90gr, I also like the 75gr hornady sst's but they were a little more expensive. I shot 100gr ammo as well which stabilised no probs.
 
I use 60gr (home loads) for fox with my .243 and I have tried quite a few different bullets before settling on this one as the best. Very consistent.
I also wanted to keep some heavier ammo in stock in case I ever get the chance to have a crack at something bigger than a fox. Couldn't justify working up a home load for such minimal usage. Tried quite a few factory rounds from 80gr to 100gr before settling on 100gn T-Mantel as the best for my requirement.

I was told that .243 with 1 in 10 twist has a "sweet spot" at around 85gr, but this hasn't been my experience. In fact, anything in the range 80 - 95gr was pretty poor - unstable in flight, and inconsistent grouping.
 
Sako 90g game head for deer
Winchester 58g Varmint X for foxes
I have shot foxes with the 90g game heads and they can run a long way especially with a mid point shot as the round goes straight through whereas a varmint round will do catastrophic damage and kill it within a few yards.
If you shot deer with a varmint round you tend to have to neck shoot them as the meat damage can be substantial as the round is designed to fragment.
Both rounds shoot very accurately through my T3 but experience tells me you need the 2 rounds.
bryn
 
A friends 243 Sako and my 243 T3 seem to love the Sako 70gr Balistic tip ammo. Out of my 20" barrel I get 3100 fps and under 1/2" accuracy.
edi
 
Hi
my advice to you would be to stick to 1 bullet weight.

I use 100gr Norma sp in my t3 and have shot a lot of deer and foxes with that combination.
1 inch high @ 100yards see a fox @ 250yards aim straight at it 1 dead fox!!!
 
I've got exact same set up t3 lite with t8 and have had this set up for over 10 years and have only ever used Remington accutips in 75 and 95 g both rounds work really well .
 
I too have a recently acquired Tikka T3 Lite, it shoots Hornady 100 gr. Whitetail hunter loads under an inch at 100 yards.
 
Good morning all, I am new to deer stalking (but no to shooting) and have just purchased a Tikka T3 Lite in .243 with T8 moderator. I will use it to shoot foxes and all types of deer hopefully. Please can anyone give me advice on what rounds work well in this rifle? Say in 75gr plus 95gr loads? I have been told that this rifle does not like anything over 95gr load. Thanks in advance.

Most .243 WIN rifles seem to shoot well with standard factory Federal 100Gr Power-shok. Good for all UK deer and fox. It would be nice if RFD's would offer a mixed pack of different amo of say 4-5 different brands and Grains, so you can try out some different bullets without having to purchase 20 of each type, but I have not come across any RFD yet who things that is a good idea.
 
I've got exact same set up t3 lite with t8 and have had this set up for over 10 years and have only ever used Remington accutips in 75 and 95 g both rounds work really well .

Same here, however the 95,s in a factory load are not available from the UK importer despite many phone calls to him and the US......

Only a few more left so I have brought 2 boxes of a different brand to replace what I have used for 5 years...

Tim.243
 
I used to shoot 95 grain factory federal nosler tips in my 243 tikka. Ideal on all deer and foxes, and one round to buy, use and learn about using. Keep it simple.
 
Most .243 WIN rifles seem to shoot well with standard factory Federal 100Gr Power-shok. Good for all UK deer and fox. It would be nice if RFD's would offer a mixed pack of different amo of say 4-5 different brands and Grains, so you can try out some different bullets without having to purchase 20 of each type, but I have not come across any RFD yet who things that is a good idea.

RWS I believe are doing boxes of mixed weight ammo , though I've yet to find a stockist and I hear Gecko works for some due to the bullet being short in relation to its weight.
 
75g vmax work very well from my t3 but all heads from 65g to 90g shoot under 1in never used 100g so cant comment on them as I use the 7mm rem mag for red deer but 75gto 90g for longer fox shots and roe deer work very well the t3 are very underated guns my t3 has over 5000home loads down the tube and still shoots under 1in gun shop told me 1500 round and buy another gun :eek: well tikka thanks for a gun that's still going strong and my go to gun mine is the super varmint cant recommend this gun enughf
 
Depends what type of deer you intend to shoot. The larger ones have a 100gr legal limit ;) now I know the smaller bullet weights will kill them, but if you get caught.......
 
I stick to 100gr for my .243. That way I have a legal round for any deer or vermin I may encounter. This also saves any messing about with different bullet weights and scope adjustments.
 
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