100-grain 243 Power-Shok bullets--Do they cut the mustard?

[Siskiyou]

During the past year I have purchased Federal Power-Shok ammunition on sale in .243 Winchester, .270 Winchester, and 30-30 Winchester.

I have fired some of the .270 on the range and it was okay.  But my big concern is how the 100-grain 243-bullet Power-Shok bullet performs on deer and bear.  I normally use my .243 as a varmint rifle but I do have concerns about calling in a bear or mountain lion.  It is common to see bear sign in the area I hunt coyotes, and on occasion Mt. Lion sign.  Of course if there were a close encounter I would stick with the 80-grain handloads.  Currently I carry a few 100-grain Remington C-L loads with me. 

I have not fired any .243 loads across my Chrony.  I compared the Remington C-L and the Power-Shok using my ballistics program.  Using the same muzzle velocity for the 100-grain Remington C-L and the 100-grain Power-Shok overlap each other until it comes to bucking the wind.  Then the C-L out performs the Power-Shok at extreme long range.

The 100-grain Remington C-L has a high following among .243 users.  And it is hard to beat their stories of continued success.  And I hear few stories of success with Federal low price Power-Shok ammunition.  Is it because Remington and Winchester are more widely distributed?  Are there performance issues with Power-Shok bullets, I have not heard of any?

A few of the reasons I have been stocking up on the Power-Shok ammunition are the continued increase in ammunition prices.  If on sale I buy it.  It is made in the United States.  And Federal brass is sought after by reloaders and the combination of sale price, loaded ammunition, and the ability to reload the brass make it attractive. 

Many years ago before I decided that I was going to dedicate the .243 to varmint hunting I purchased a few boxes of Speer 105 grain bullets.  In the comparison with the C-L and the Power-Shok it out performs them in all categories by a wide margin.

My varmint rifle is a Remington 788, so switching magazines can be done rather rapidly.

A couple of years ago my grandson and I were hiking in the area I like to coyote hunt.  We came across a very large bear track.  I have encounter bears in the area before but nothing big enough to make the track we found that day. 

It has been suggested that I hunt coyotes with 100-grain bullets and from a ballistic standpoint that is an outstanding suggestion.  I just feel obligated to shoot up all those bulk 80-grain bullets I bought.  I need some range time to see if the 80-grain bullets and the 100-grain bullets shoot into the same group.  The rifle currently is sighted in using the 80-grain bullets.  And the 80-grain bullets do a job on coyotes.


 

[ccoker]

I have shot whiteatails and hogs with a 243 with both 80 and 100g softpoints
my gun loves the Fed 80g which uses a speer hotcore bullet
my 10 year old son shot his 2nd deer on sat with it

[Siskiyou]

Were you able to recover the 80 grain and 100 grain bullets?  And if you did recover them would you please describe what you recovered?

Recently my Son-in-Law bought two boxes of 100-grain Power-Shok cartridges and I did the same.  They were on sale for $9.97 a box.

Not only am I interested in them as a back up round while coyote hunting, but I am considering rotating the .243 back into my deer hunting line-up next year.  The recent ammunition purchase has kindled my interest in the cartridge for deer hunting.  The last time I carried it deer hunting was in 1995.  I then purchased 1000 80-grain WW bullets and loaded them with H414.  The load was so successful on coyotes and jackrabbits that I have not switched back to a heavier bullet for deer hunting.  Based on the performance of a couple of WW80 grain bullets on deer when the .243 was first produced I always considered them varmint bullets.  I may have been mistaken.

A friend had two 80-grain WW bullets blow up on the ribs of mule deer, and the deer where killed by a hunting companion.  I now recall that a brother killed a few bucks with the 243 using 80-Speer bullets in handloads.  That was back in 1965.  I’ll have to give him a call and play twenty questions. 

The primary reason for switching the .243 over to varmint hunting was the accuracy the handloads and R-P factory loads provided, and I wanted to save the accuracy of my .270-barrel for larger game.  A third goal was to simulate the trajectory of the .270 on varmints using a round that produced less recoil, burn less powder, and is effective on varmints at long range. 

If the Power-Shok bullet has held up on pigs, and deer it should meet my expectations.  The praise of the 100-grain R-P CL is so high it is hard to ignore.  If the Power-Shok will perform in a similar manner I will be a happy hunter.

[ccoker]

while I personaly haven't shot a deer with the core lockts I have seen first hand the results from a 243 and a 270 as a buddy uses them.

my Tikka 308 liked the factory 150g round, one ragged hole at 100 yards and so I had it loaded up with them this weekend but didn't pull the trigger on anything, my son shot his deer and I got mine with a 44 mag

[Siskiyou]

Over the last fifty years the extended family and myself has had a lot of success with Remington C-L bullets in a number of different calibers and bullet weights.  But during that time there have only been two, 243 Winchesters in family.  A brother was hunting with one in 1965.  I believe that is the rifle he re-barreled to .257 Roberts.  Not that he was unhappy with the .243; in fact he now has a 6mm-06.

Interesting enough the bullet he was loading in the .243 was the 80-grain Speer.  The first buck he took at long range on opening day and he does not recall what the bullet did except kill the deer.  At first he sounded disappointed on the second kill, he was walking up on a down log when a buck jumped up at about 15 yards.  He hit the buck just under the spine and the bullet created a massive exit hole.

I told him that was a clearcut success with the 80-grain Speer at close range.  The bullet did not blow up on the surface but penetrated and exited, killing the deer in the process.  The neighbor who had two Winchester-Western 80-grain bullets from his .243 blow-up on deer re-barrelled his rifle to .308 Winchester.  In his case the problem was bullet selection because WW listed their 80-bullet as a varmint bullet.  Federal list the 80-grain Hot Core as a medium game bullet.

When my teenage brother was loading for the .243 he had some self induced problems.  His basic equipment was a Lee Loader.  But the real issue was caused by the resized 7.62 military cases and not turning the necks.  At the same time military surplus 4895 was all over the place.  While it is tough to remember back to 1965 he claimed that he was loading the maximum load in the Speer Manual of the day.  But the load he quoted me would have been excessive for the day.  I quess he was about 17 or 18 at that time.  Youthful mistakes.