Favorite 6mm/243 Bullet 1:10

[drew23]

What's your favorite bullet and weight for a 243 with a 1:10 twist for a general purpose or all around usage? Whitetail, Coyote, punching paper (just shooting not competition)?

Are there any that you think fit all 3?

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[Dirtbag]

I really like 58 grain v-maxes and 70 grain sierra matchkings for all of the above. My rifle doesn't really like longer bullets as you get up past 85 grains or so. Will be getting a faster twist for my next barrel.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I hunt mono bullets so no, I certainly practice with monos to confirm drops, etc. but for general fundamentals I'll shoot other bullets. Just generally speaking. I'm prepping brass currently to work up a load for a 80gr barnes ttsx for the kids to hunt with, TBD how well that flys from a 10:1 which is what I'm working with also.

BUT whenever ammo comes back into stock a serious bang for the buck for paper punching was at midwayusa they had 150rd packs of "dogtown" ammo, which all reports are is made by nosler with the 70gr varmint bullet. I bought 450rds on sale once for I think around $0.55/rd! Lotta cheap plinking ammo there and a pile of decent brass to reload until the barrel is roasted out.

 

[tt_johnsclist]

I have gone round and round with a variety of 6mm bullets and keep coming back to Nosler Ballistic Tips. I mostly use Partitons for deer hunting, but the BT’s for deer and other game and they also group best for me after trying many.

 

[drew23]

Thanks everyone.

I bought some Starline brass last month. Loading Sierra 85gr Gamekings now was kinda curious about everyone else.

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[drew23]

I hunt mono bullets so no, I certainly practice with monos to confirm drops, etc. but for general fundamentals I'll shoot other bullets. Just generally speaking. I'm prepping brass currently to work up a load for a 80gr barnes ttsx for the kids to hunt with, TBD how well that flys from a 10:1 which is what I'm working with also.

BUT whenever ammo comes back into stock a serious bang for the buck for paper punching was at midwayusa they had 150rd packs of "dogtown" ammo, which all reports are is made by nosler with the 70gr varmint bullet. I bought 450rds on sale once for I think around $0.55/rd! Lotta cheap plinking ammo there and a pile of decent brass to reload until the barrel is roasted out.

Love to find a bulk deal like that. I'm sure they will eventually roll back around. I hope anyway.

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[Lawnboi]

90 eldx killed 7 deer the year I used a 243. If I was stuck with a 10 twist I’d use it again.

 

[drew23]

Anyone ever used Peterson brass? Thoughts?

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[Harvey_NW]

Anyone ever used Peterson brass? Thoughts?

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I'm on my first firing of Peterson in my 6 Creed right now and it's great. Thicker than the original lot of Hornady I was using and had a little less case capacity. A quick ladder and seating depth test tuned right into sub MOA.

 

[drew23]

I'm on my first firing of Peterson in my 6 Creed right now and it's great. Thicker than the original lot of Hornady I was using and had a little less case capacity. A quick ladder and seating depth test tuned right into sub MOA.

Nice.

Small or Large primer?

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[Harvey_NW]

Nice.

Small or Large primer?

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I prefer large because I hunt with it. Never tested but read an article about small being more consistent ignition and possibly better suited for match, large delivers more spark which can help in severe cold weather situations or with loads that don't have optimum density. Seems logical and I haven't had any issue getting low ES.

 

[Ozarkansas]

I’ve had phenomenal performance with 95 grain partitions for hunting. They’ll get adequate penetration and damage on any medium game without blowing up varmints, and they’re very accurate in my .243. That said they’re pricey to just shoot at paper.

95 grain ballistic tips, 85 grain gameking, 85 grain TSX, and 87 grain soft points have all done really well in the various 6mms and .243s in my family.

 

[SouthPaw]

Good thread, thanks! Just got my wife a compact .243win. We're going to shoot through a few boxes of factory ammo to get the barrel going and then reload that brass with 70g hammers for CA deer.

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[DRP]

That 85g seirra gameking has been a great bullet for me, my daughter shoots it out of a marlin youth model 243 with a 1:10 twist. She has killed a cow elk, 2 mule deer bucks, and a whitetail buck with it. All one shot kills from 90 yards to 280 yards. The negative I found was on the cow elk at 230 yards, it missed all bone and was a pencil hole in and out. Cow stood there like it wasn’t hit for about 20 seconds and then fell over dead. Bullet entered behind the shoulder and right in between the rib bones and exited between the rib bone. Bullet wasn’t carrying enough energy at that distance to expand without hitting bone. Still went through both lungs and killed it but we learned at longer distances to aim for the shoulder (not behind). She shot a mule deer buck at 280 yards right in the shoulder and the bullet penetrated the scapula and fragmented in the vitals. Lungs were destroyed.

 

[drew23]

That 85g seirra gameking has been a great bullet for me, my daughter shoots it out of a marlin youth model 243 with a 1:10 twist. She has killed a cow elk, 2 mule deer bucks, and a whitetail buck with it. All one shot kills from 90 yards to 280 yards. The negative I found was on the cow elk at 230 yards, it missed all bone and was a pencil hole in and out. Cow stood there like it wasn’t hit for about 20 seconds and then fell over dead. Bullet entered behind the shoulder and right in between the rib bones and exited between the rib bone. Bullet wasn’t carrying enough energy at that distance to expand without hitting bone. Still went through both lungs and killed it but we learned at longer distances to aim for the shoulder (not behind). She shot a mule deer buck at 280 yards right in the shoulder and the bullet penetrated the scapula and fragmented in the vitals. Lungs were destroyed.

Dang. Sounds looked the SGK is a winner for you all. I know it's really popular, or seems to be anyway.

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[Jim1187]

I have currently moved away from 6mm cartridges, I can't hunt with any caliber .230 or larger(exception for muzzle loaders) outside of a medium/big game season locally. I can use my centerfire .22's year round.

The 85 Gameking has been universally easy to develop an accurate load for, but every now and then does something weird on game. Either pencils or over expands/disintegrates and fails to penetrate adequately for medium game, still like it for coyotes either way although it is sometimes hard on pelts.

95 Grain NBT is very good for on game performance and accuracy.

I haven't seen it as a component option up here but as a factory load the 95 grain federal Fusion has impressed me enough I'd probably get myself another 6mm cartridge if I could load it.

Hornady SST is harder on coyote hides, kills deer very well but rarely gives good exits I'd avoid the shoulder with them. At .243 Win velocities.

 

[Rich M]

I really, really like the Sierra Pro Hunter in 100 gr. Shoots very tight in my rifle. This is what I'd use if travel hunting out west. Also use the 150 gr version in 30-06. These are 1 to 1.25 inch bullets at 250 yards for both guns.

100 gr Nosler Partitions are an okay load. Also have some 95 gr versions that shoot a little faster but not as tight. These are 1.25 to 1.5 inch bullets at 100 yds, closer to 3 inches at 225 yards. Ran out of supplies before could work the loads very much - stuck with that for now.

Factory SSTs shoot pretty good for me. I wouldn't feel undergunned with these. 2-2.5 inch bullets at 225 yards.

Federal blue box 100 gr power shok shoots great but not a lot of penetration over 200 yards. Shoulder shot a 300# muley 1 inch from spine and he staggered but stayed on his feet, second shot went in ribs and out paunch, dropped him. Bullet under skin on off side. Love the consistency of the factory bullet but not crazy about the performance. Win Power points have the same performance on whitetails (1 hole kind of stuff). 1 inch at 100 yards, 2-3 inches at 250 yards.

I've mostly been reloading the brass from factory ammo. Not sure if I ever bought brass for 243.

 

[mcseal2]

Those 85gr Sierra's have been really good to me on deer and coyotes. As others have said it has been an easy bullet to find accuracy with in several rifles. If a gun won't shoot that bullet well, there's a good chance it won't shoot any bullet well in my experience.

That said my favorite has become the 90gr Accubond. It's just enough higher BC to make a difference in the wind and has performed great on coyotes and deer also. It also offers a little more insurance on good terminal performance being bonded.

I'd trust either for anything I'd use a 243 for.

 

[KSTiger]

Bringing this thread back to life as I am currently exploring a bullet and load combo for a 10 twist Sako 75. @drew23 how was the development with the 85 gr gameking? @pods8 how was the 80 gr ttsx? What powder did both of you choose?

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Bringing this thread back to life as I am currently exploring a bullet and load combo for a 10 twist Sako 75. @drew23 how was the development with the 85 gr gameking? @pods8 how was the 80 gr ttsx? What powder did both of you choose?

Need to work on them more, haven't hunted the round yet, son can pull tags this year though.