100 Grain rounds or lighter?

bod1st

Active Member
I use 100Gr rounds in my .243 Win, shooting at Roe up to 100yds on average and the odd fallow, plus the occasional fox. Will there be any merits in opting for a lighter grain round for less bang perhaps? Would I lose out on the flexibility i have at the moment or can i afford to drop to something smaller? Would be interested to hear experiences here.

Thanks.
 
you can drop back quite far in all honesty, I would say down to 85's such as the federal 85g gameking hollow points. very good for roe, great for fox.

100g for fox is fine, but something like the 85g HP might be a wee bit flatter, faster and less chance of pass through, etc. and it's also potentially a better stabilising bullet in a standard factory 1:10 twist barrel which is quite common for a .243.

mind you, I started out stalking with a .243 and a 100g Norma SP, and shot everything with it perfectly for a while, from vermin to red stags. had it not been for reloading, I would probably have stuck to that, or the 85g Fed HP gameking if I was shooting extended periods without going for red deer.
 
i use 100sp and 70ballistic tips. have used both for fox and deer. if they didnt shoot to the same point i would compromise and just use the 100 as it has a more predictable terminal effect on the deer. I have never tried a lighter sp bullet but that may be an option. If the 100s have been working for you I would just stick with them.
 
A 70grain bullet is more than capable of handling any of the above quarry, the only thing you have to be careful of is keeping yourself legal.

In order to be able to take fallow as well you "shouldnt" drop below 100grains.
 
Thanks Gents, i use federal 100 Gr Soft Points and to be fair they have always been a safe bet. Think I will hang fire for the moment as Pete says, and when they run out i may consider trying the 85 gr HP. Thanks.
 
It may be worth trying different bullet weights to find which ones your rifle shoots most accurately, e.g. my .243 gives optimum results with 90-95grn bullets, but you can only find out what is best in yours by trial & error.atb Tim
 
I used 85 grn bullets when I had my .243 and both roe and fox.
I found it to be the best weight for my particular rifle.
 
If you are only shooting at the ranges you mention I would not even consider changing the load, start to go light and you won't get a decent exit with a heavy fallow buck.
 
Agree with prometheus !

Although i use a differenc round ( 6.5 ) i stopped useing 100gr for Fallow. Killed them but over 95% failed to exit. Now i could say i am a great shot, but i would say i was just lucky that i did not have a badly placed shot when useing 100gr sp bullets.

Its all well and good saying 100gr ok, and most of the time it is but i for one have more respect for the Deer i shoot. And think they deserve to be found quickly with a good blood producing exit in the case of a non perfect shot.
 
Stick with the 100 grains it gives you the flexibility you might need one day, I have just gone back to using 100s in my 243

Atb

Dave
 
I have just got a .243 and have tried several flavours of Factory Ammo and I am getting great groups with Geco 105Gr. Yet to try them of Roe and Raynard yet.
 
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personally I think the 100gr minimum rule is not well thought out.
for 243 a 100gr is limited in MV
an 85/90 grain can deliver a significant increase in ME because you can push them a lot faster
 
an 85/90 grain can deliver a significant increase in ME because you can push them a lot faster

very true,,,as long as the design of the bullet lends itself positively towards being pushed faster in terms of penetration, expansion, permanent and temporary cavitation abilities of course...sometimes slower is better (as the wife says...:oops:)..he he he
 
Thanks Gents, i use federal 100 Gr Soft Points and to be fair they have always been a safe bet. Think I will hang fire for the moment as Pete says, and when they run out i may consider trying the 85 gr HP. Thanks.

I recomend this line of thinking as i had the same thougts late last year and tried 85gr. hpbt 90gr noslers and they both performed in accuracy but had some strange results on impact now only have 100s for deer! i shoot Fallow and Sika. That said I have used 95gr. nosler and SSTs with very good results!
 
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