RCBS 95-243 for Deer hunting ?

[RKJ]

Starmac, I didn't want to hijack your thread so I'm asking here. I was wondering if the RCBS 95-243 would be suitable for deer hunting. I like it for my Grandson and he shoots it well, but wonder if the shape would just slip through or would it do the trick? I've got Sierra Jacketed 100 Grain SP's and was thinking about Hornady Amax's. I'd like to keep the velocity down for him though as I don't want him to get gun shy.

[MT Gianni]

Way back in the shooters hosting days Carpetmans' grandson shot at a deer with what he thought was a sure shot from a rest with this bullet. No trace was ever found n a private ranch in Texas. He was sure it just penciled through. 7mm is my minimum diameter and I am cautious as to where I hunt with it when it comes to boolits.

[altheating]

No, not for deer.

[OnHoPr]

Just an idea, if you BruceB'ed the boolit with about 40gr of Pb in the nose you would definitely get expansion increasing the dia to about a 50 cal. But, I would still only shoot broadside rib shots. If you WQWW the shank you might be able to get a decent speed out of the boolit. I would not want to cast these all the time, but if you could find a good fast load for the WQWW boolit then put the BruceB soft point on it and if it still shot good, then there may be a possibility.

[jhalcott]

Possibly a Linotype base metal and a pure lead nose MIGHT work but I would go with a larger diameter or a Jacketed 6mm/.243 bullet. I have had good success with a heavy 7mm slug on a culling operation some years ago. Many shots were head shots at rather close range(under 50 yards). A few of the broad side shots did NOT drop the deer instantly! They ran as much as 100 yards with a hole thru both lungs and heart. Dropping with in 4 to 5 seconds.

[RKJ]

I did some reading after I posted this thread and afterwards feel the cast bullet is too much of a missile and would just zip through a deer. I looked at as many of the production jacketed bullets I could think of and believe I'll try the Hornady 105 Grain Amax. I'm going to load them at the minimum and see what kind of accuracy we get there and then work up. I'll also check Lyman's accuracy load, as it has always been right on the money in the past for me. I know the .243 isn't optimal for deer but it's what he's got and we'll make it work. Thanks for the replies all, and the help.

[quilbilly]

Before I realized that my 6mm Rem rifle did not like my cast boolit (my wife's 243 loves the same boolit), I did some terminal ballistics tests at 40 yards and an MV of 1950 fps. The boolit comes from an old Lyman mold for an 87 gr RNGC boolit of the Loverin style and the lead alloy is only moderately hard. I got excellent expansion and a fine wound channel that was 16-18" deep into compressed soaked phone books. If my rifle liked cast, I would have no trouble hunting deer with that load out to 150 yards and it would ruin a lot less meat than those hot jacketed 100 gr. loads I used to use in that rifle.

[oldblinddog]

I know the .243 isn't optimal for deer...

I don't know who told you that, but he was wrong! I've killed a boatload of deer with a .243. If you are going to go ahead and use a j-bullet use a 100 gr Speer Hot Cor or the 100 gr Hornady Interlock. The Amax is a match bullet and NOT meant for hunting.

[RKJ]

I don't know who told you that, but he was wrong! I've killed a boatload of deer with a .243. If you are going to go ahead and use a j-bullet use a 100 gr Speer Hot Cor or the 100 gr Hornady Interlock. The Amax is a match bullet and NOT meant for hunting.

OBD, I didn't say it wouldn't kill a deer any less than say a 30 or 7mm but it's a small round firing a small bullet. If he could handle a 30/06 or .308 that's what he'd have. I do trust the little .243, I like the round and the rifles (his makes 2 we've got, they're usually shorter, lighter and to me more manageable), I'm thinking of using mine this year instead of my 06). If I didn't trust the round, rifle or his ability to shoot it well I would get him something else, the last thing I want is for him to hit a deer and lose it. Thanks for the heads up on the Amax, I thought they were hunt bullets. I've used interlocks in the past and liked em, so I'll give them another look. Thanks again.

[jhalcott]

A friend and I culled a LOT of deer for a company some years ago. He used a .243 and I used a 6MM. WE found the deer ran after a hit with a 100 grain bullet. I started using the Sierra 85 grain HP and the running STOPPED! Deer hit with THAT bullet rarely went 30 yards, most dropped at the shot. He saw my results and switched to the Sierra 85 gr GK also.

[quilbilly]

I always get a kick out of these debates whether this caliber or that may be "optimal" for deer. I hunt deer with a 45 Cal patched round ball because I got tired of having to follow blood trails in heavy rain after shooting them with with a 50 cal conical that sailed on into the next county after passing through vitals. There are no degrees of dead and DRT is good. If you take your time to aim whatever is comfortable for you to shoot is fine by me and I will hold the legs while you dress the deer after high fives.

[RKJ]

I know the .243 will kill deer, my friend's son gets one every year with his. I'm not worried about the caliber of the rifle. I'm sure it can do it. I posted the thread because I was wondering about the RCBS 95-243 for hunting and after doing a little more reading (and thinking) I decided it wasn't the bullet for us. I load it pretty light for my 7 yo Grandson and I wanted him to feel comfortable with the round/rifle. But even at the low speed and short distances we usually get a shot here, I feel that it's not really designed for it. I've decided on a jacketed bullet (most likely Sierra or Hornady) and have gotten some good suggestions. Now I just need to do some more studying and make my decision. I appreciate every ones help and suggestions. I especially like the real world stories as they put some proof to the tales. Hopefully he'll get his 1st deer this year. I'll let y'all know how he does. Thanks again, Joe.

[Screwbolts]

Joe, others have offered/given their opinions and I will as well. Joe, because of short distance of shot, I believe your 7 yo grandson will do fine with the 95-243. Shot placement is king. Many here are quick to jump on the question and give an opinion without knowing any of the details. Not knowing the terrain and ground cover of the intended location of this hunt any opinionated answer is without merit. Again this is my OPINION. And can be without merit because of previously stated lack of info. I know it is my somewhat less that humble opinion.

In all reality will it matter what projectile your 7yo GS is about to unleash on his first ever deer when he is shaking like a leaf on the local vegetation in a hurricane or tornado, from excitement.

If you chose to use a condom wrapped bullet verses a Boolit, I would lean heavily to your already in house Sierras. I have taken several deer with them loaded with the starting load of IMR4831SC using a 6mm case to hold the components together. 26" barreled custom Arisaka.

What will it matter if the shot placement is not good. It is far better to put that RCBS right threw the area were the pump station is than to put the latest, High Testosterone marketed projectile right threw thew the paunch.

Calm the tyke down and only let him aply pressure to the trigger if all is perfect. In other words try to teach a 7yo to have patience. shot placement, shot placement.

Just my opinion, as others have posted theirs,
Ken

[white eagle]

RCBS 95-243 for Deer hunting ?Nope,not a chance

[MarkP]

My 10 yr old daughter shot a deer last year with an 87 gr V-max loaded at 2,400 ish fps. The 80 gr Hornady GMX was highly recommended to me for use at a lower initial velocity.
We used the RCBS 244-95 and NOE 245-75 for practice on water filled pop bottles at various ranges and positions.

[9.3X62AL]

Might as well throw my hat into the ring here.......I've fired about 2,000 of the RCBS 6mm-95-SP through a couple 243s, and the bullets shoot with wonderful accuracy well past 200 yards ON SMALL TO MEDIUM VARMINTS when run from 1700 to 2000 FPS. From the wound tracks and reactions seen in larger critters (coyotes), the round so loaded is marginal past 200 yards on song dogs and (I believe) marginal at any range on deer. If you wish to use the 243 on deer and reduce recoil, choose a premium hunting-type bullet and prompt it at a 10%-15% velocity reduction.......say, 2550-2700 FPS. Give him some practice with those loads from hunting positions using paper plates to assess his ability to place shots at given ranges. Be prepared for positive surprises--if kids aren't scared by idiots exposing them to 300 Win Mag rifles or 44 Magnum handguns, they can REALLY shoot with a system that doesn't pound them. Use IMR 4320, IMR 4350, or WW-760 for these slightly-reduced loads.

Another GREAT bullet/caliber for kid usage is the 223 Rem with Nosler Partition 60 grainers on board. Run these in something other than a 16.5" M-4gery barrel, though......a 22" bolter is MUCH quieter.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Sorta surprised that there have not been any comments yet about the NOE 243-105 gr. boolet in either .243 or the 6mm.Robert

[nekshot]

might as well pile it on!! For the kids I take the 85 gr Barnes and loaded around 2800 fps is deadly on deer. My son took a huge deer at 247 yards with a broadside shot and the bullet clipped some shoulder bone , took out the heart and out the other side taking a rib out on the way. What can I say it works. For me the 7mm is my cut off diameter for cast and deer.

[RKJ]

Thank you everyone. I'm hoping he gets a shot this season. If he does I don't want him to hit it and it run off, so I want him to feel comfortable with the rifle and load. I want him to be a good shooter and an ethical hunter. I'm the only one who takes him shooting so he won't get thrown to the (recoil) wolves (not while I'm around). :) I was thinking a 100 grain but if you guys are having good results with those 85 and 87 grain ones I'm going to have to look at those. Thanks again you guys, I appreciate the advice.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Back in `81 I was hunting with a guy and his wife out by Casper Wy.. She was using a Rem. 700 in .243 with 105 gr. handloads with Speer bullets. Both took fine antelope with that rifle and loads. His buck was out at a measured 275 yds. and fell at the shot.Robert

[Smoke4320]

I would have no issue with a 243 or 6MM with Sierra GK or Nosler 87gr Ballistic tips running 2600-2800 FPS .. Killed a many deer this way.. but a 95 gr all lead probably running 1800 to 2000 FPS not so much confidence ..

[9.3X62AL]

There are just some passages from the angling world concerning "light tackle on big game species" that don't translate well or fully to the hunting venues. At a certain point, a few of these practices move from the "sporting" classification into the world of stunt work.......and the game fields are no place for stunts. All of us who hunt or fish have a responsibility for stewardship of these quarry species, including reasonable take methods that assure humane harvesting. A cast .244" bullet weighing 1/5 oz. at 2000 FPS/muzzle is inadequate for deer, esp. for those examples in our northern tier of states or the Canadian provinces.

[white eagle]

well said 9.3
I have used a 243 win.I have also used a 220 swift.
Both instances game shot were unobstructed shots in open
I have since only used either cals one time,not saying it won't work but there are better choices to be had