fox/deer bullet

sir-lamp-alot

Well-Known Member
anyone any ideas on a good ideas on a good bullet for foxes and deer (roe and the odd muntjac) in .243 im currently using fedral 75gr ballistic tips but im finding the meat damage a little bit on the heavy side, but the bullets are extremly acurate and reasonable flat shooting for foxes so i just wondered what you other chaps were using. and if anyone,s wondering no i dont really want to start head and neck shooting, my shooting is up to the job but there is just to much room for error for my liking
 
I use the Speer 85 grain spbt for these species. If you keep it around 3,100 fps m/v max, it is very consistent and with a properly placed shot, good for venison preservation.
Just over 3,000 fps is needed to achieve 1,700 ft/lbs m/e and that is easily attainable with a range of powders. I have used H Varget and Viht N160 in recent years but my pal uses Reloder 22 with this bullet. In working up the load for my Sako 75 .243 (20 inch barrel), I found that I could get 3,300 fps without any signs of high pressure, however I have never tried those loads on deer or fox.
 
sorry uncle norm im not re-loading to be honest i just got bloody sick of it so i decided to go back over to factory ammo but thanks for the advice
 
One of my friends using Remington plastic tips,think they're 75g too,he's used them for a long while now so I wouldn't expect too much mess with them,buy a 20 and try,I'm not sure,he shoots a lot of roe and fox with them
 
In my .243 I only use one bullet for everything and that's the Sierra 85gr HPBT (1530) , I have never had a fox get up after being hit or a deer run away this round does come in factory ammo .
 
I second the 85gr HPBT. Seems to rip foxes up pretty bad, and yet not too much damage on deer. Have shot some big fallow with them too, as long as you can shoot straight they are a good all rounder. I like them!
 
If I needed a factory round for my .243 for fox and deer up to fallow I'd go Fed 85g BTHP. If I wanted a 'do it all' including sika and reds, I'd go Norma 100g SP.

The zero is almost identical anyway, so you can use both and just have a quick re-zero when changing, or write down the turret adjustment between the two and have a 'control' shot before going out on live game with the 'other' round.
 
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