I am from the school of a little more bullet weight for caliber is a good investment. And I have followed
cwlongshot theory that bullets over 90-grains are better when hunting big game. I backed this thinking in investing money, and time in loading the Speer 105-grain Hot-Cor Splitzer deer. A key reason is the bullet is designed for medium game, and combined with a higher B.C. then most 100 grain bullets. The 105-grain Speer has a ballistic coefficient of 0.443; most 100-grain .243 diameter bullets have a B.C. plus or minus 0.350.
I have always had a question mark regarding the 87-grain .243 diameter Hornady SP when it comes to deer and antelope. Dating back to the introduction of the .244 Remington which had a 1:12 twist (A.K.A. the 6MM Remington name plate came along with a 1:9 Twist) and the reputation that it would not stabilize 100-grair Splitzer bullets. I was under the impression the 87-grain Hornady was intended for the .244 Remington deer hunter.
Cwlongshot is correct in that Remington produced a 90-grain .244 CL load back in the dark ages.
A quick check of two different Hornady Manuals shows that Hornady recommends their 87-grain bullet for varmints and medium size game. Hornady recommends its lighter .243 bullets for target and varmints.
The kicker from the Hornady Manual that hammers my theory in paragraph one is they recommend there 100-grain round nose for the .244 barrels with 1:12 twist. And I must cover myself because I believe some late production Remington .244 rifles had 1:9 twist.
Speer has dropped a lot of its Hot Cor line up with Deep Curl bullets.
Deep Curl line-up.
http://www.speer-bullets.com/whatsnew/newproducts.aspx.243/6MM Deep Curl bullets. http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics/default.aspx?caliber=2&usage=0&brand=0&firearm=1
There has been a lot of pro and con discussion regarding the 1000 pounds of energy number considered suitable for deer. I use that as a rule of thumb because nobody has offered anything better. Based on my testing at the range firing for accuracy and at the same time gathering data from the Chrony, and then running the number using Sierra Six infinity software the 105 grain Speer Hot Cor out performs the 100-grain crowd. After 300-yards the 80-grain crowd drops like bricks.
The day is coming when I will be out of the 105 grain bullets and I will have to accept something else. The new bullet might weight only 80-grains, I am thinking about the 80-85 non lead bullets that are produced by Barnes, Hornady, and Nosler. I am looking forward to reading feed results on these bullets in the .243 Winchester. Another option I am considering is the 87-grain Hornady if I impacts close to the WW 80-grain that I load for varmints. The WW 80-grain proofed rather explosive on a mule deer’s ribs from a friends rifle.
ronbob your whole hunt was a success, my hat is off to you. Without a doubt a high scoring hunt with your granddaughter. Wow, that alone makes for a great day. Scoring a far better than average buck with your handload. A .243 case stuff with full of 4350 gives a muzzle velocity around 3000fps. Two exits on a buck shot at 80-yards indicate the bullet is of good construction.
