6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

LoboinMS

FNG
Joined
Mar 8, 2023
Messages
3
I did not read all 75 pages so forgive me if this has been asked already.

What bullet would y’all use on whitetail deer that would be shot from 25-250 yards? Deer weight no more than 180 #’s in my area. Gun has 1/8 Krieger.

Thinking 95 grain Partitions or SST.
 
Joined
Dec 27, 2020
Messages
26
Didn’t really plan on posting these because 1. These tiny coastal island deer are hardly what I’d call big game 2. Not a bullet most have expressed interest in. 3. I didn’t take pics of wound channels, only entrance/exit. However, one of the deer was pretty interesting so I’ll share.

243 win factory hornady American whitetail (100 interlock btsp) suppressed from 20” barrel.

Deer 1 85ish yards neck/shoulder junction drt

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Deer 2 at 20 yards, quartering towards me. Tucked behind near side shoulder. Exit roughly the back of ribs. This was the interesting one. Exit hole was HUGE. At the shot the deer actually ran past me and died behind me. While it was running, I could see the entrails hanging on the other side. That was a first for me for sure. I wish I’d taken more pics of this one, but this hunt was a lot different than any I’d done before so I honestly just didn’t take the time.

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Pigs. Walked up on two together. First one shot quartered hard towards me. Shot on point of shoulder. Fell right there kicking. Second one ran at the shot, I ran the bolt and hit it running away in the left ham angling up into the opposite shoulder. That shot stopped her, I put a quick second shot through her high shoulder that finished her immediately. First pig was still kicking so I shot her again too. I think that one deflected on something, hit her ham.

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Like I said, definitely not one of the oft recommended optimized bullets, but my shots are rarely more than 100yds and I’ve never shot at any game over 220yds so while I am kinda itching to shoot something with a 95NBT or 90eldx, I feel like the benefit to those bullets may be mostly lost on me since I don’t need bc or low upset velo thresholds.
 

Gettincloser

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
249
Two white tail does killed this year with the 16” 6 ARC. Shooting 108 ELDM’s at 2500 FPS muzzle velocity. Wife’s doe was 150 yards and second doe was 230-240, exit wound pictured was the 240 yard shot, heart was from wife’s shot that impacted the bone just above the elbow. This gun continues to blow golfball or bigger sized exits out of whitetail at 200+ yards. Gives me all the confidence in the world in this bullet at bigger game.
What is the twist rate on your barrel? 1:7 or 1:8?
 

eric1115

WKR
Joined
Jun 26, 2018
Messages
839
I did not read all 75 pages so forgive me if this has been asked already.

What bullet would y’all use on whitetail deer that would be shot from 25-250 yards? Deer weight no more than 180 #’s in my area. Gun has 1/8 Krieger.

Thinking 95 grain Partitions or SST.

I've been absolutely impressed with the 108 ELDM. BC vs your choices is not needed for 250 yard max, but the terminal performance is outstanding.
 
Joined
Jun 9, 2024
Messages
66
I've killed a pronghorn buck and a whitetail doe. Both with 100 grain interlocks. Pronghorn dropped about where he was. Doe went 40-50 yards in a big circle and it took me a while to find her given almost no blood trail. They have a good layer of fat around here.

I wouldn't hesitate to use it for pronghorn again. Deer in the open I wouldn't mind. But anything else my .308 seems to do the job. Hard to see what the benefits of .243 are under 1-150 yards or in bear larger.
 

Formidilosus

Super Moderator
Shoot2HuntU
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
10,476
93gr Copper Rose, single feed. BC had to be corrected to .450 G1 to get hits past 500 yards using a Garmin Xero live per shot. .450 G1 worked from muzzle to 1,100 yards in two states.




First animal. Elk, 2,980fps impact. Stumbled approx 30 yards after hit. No blood at all in snow.



Entrance through scapula:

Shoulder pulled up-
IMG_4015.jpeg



Fascia removed-
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Entrance from Inside the rib cage- clear yawing
IMG_4018.jpeg





Onside lung- elongated wound:
IMG_4019.jpeg




Offside lung, elongated wound-
IMG_4020.jpeg





Exit through ribs with most of the bullet caught in the offside scapula, however a small piece did exit completely.

Exit ribs,
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Exit side, scapula pulled up. It’s hard to see, however the exit through the ribs was an elongated wound as well- it’s more visible in the wound in the shoulder.

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You can see the bullet diameter hole through the hide where a piece exited-
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Overall the bullet preformed well. It very clearly yawed immediately after impacting the scapula, and continued all the way through the chest. How much of the yaw is due to the high impact velocity and/or the bone impact are the questions.

The low BC is a hindrance, however if this bullet consistently behaves this way (short neck length and then yawing), it will be the most damaging monolithic I have seen.
 

Ajsomp

WKR
Classified Approved
Joined
Feb 12, 2021
Messages
533
I did not read all 75 pages so forgive me if this has been asked already.

What bullet would y’all use on whitetail deer that would be shot from 25-250 yards? Deer weight no more than 180 #’s in my area. Gun has 1/8 Krieger.

Thinking 95 grain Partitions or SST.

Is it a 243 or 6 creed? The 1/8 in a 243 will let you shoot the heavier bullets but you won’t find factory loading. If you want factory 243, 95 gr Winchester ballistic silver tip (uses the Nosler ballistic tip).

If it’s a 6 creed- 108 eldm.
 
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