.243 ammo for minimum pelt damage
 

Hey guys.

I went out this summer and bought a Tikka .243 mainly for deer and bigger game. Instead of spending extra money on a smaller caliber I would like to use this gun for coyotes aswell. My question is, when it comes to coyote hunting, what ammo do I buy for minimum pelt damage. I've been looking at some varmint x ammo, (55 and 58 grain) the thing is, there are so many diffrent bullet tips I'm kinda stuck at what would be the best. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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Not a fan of the lightweight bullets.
I'd stick with a heavier deer type one.

This is one of those situations where you likely will get as many different answers as the number of people you ask. I have tried many different bullets for coyotes and have settled on the v-max 58 gn Hornady. They are extremely accurate in my 243's and knock the coyotes down (most of the time) with acceptable damage. Of course there have been exceptions but this has become my go to bullet for coyotes.


For deer, I load heavier bonded bullets (>85 g).


I tried using the heavier bullets for both deer and coyotes, but got frustrated with pencil hole straight through holes on coyotes that were shot at close range. Tracking wounded coyotes in deep snow is not my thing.


I obviously adjust for POI when I switch bullets. It is surprisingly not a big change.
You could also just make the adjustment in the field if you get in a situation where you have to. This rarely happens, since I won't take a shot at a coyote if I'm shooting deer and vis versa.


Hope this helps.

Pretty much nothing you will shoot out a 243 will be fur friendly. Everyone goes to smaller bullets for fur but the smaller bullet goes faster than the deer load, usually with explosive results. There is no single cartridge that will be great on fur right from 0 to 700 yards. Some (204, 22 hornet) are great to 200 yards then others (22-250, 223) take over out to greater distances. Were i to use my 6mm Creed (very close to the 243 ballisticly) for coyotes it would be a 400 yard plus gun and then I'd be using the big (108 grain) high BC bullets to fight wind drift.

Shoot 100 grain PSP, stay very far away from all that plastic tip crap. Don't use fast ammo. Always shoot for the ribs regardless of calibre.

If you're buying, just shoot Federal Classic 100 gr PSP.

.243 with heavy, deep penetration ammo is awesome. Good long range calibre as it will still have energy to do the job if you ever want to join the long range shooting cult with its $1400 scopes!

Good gun!

Try 70 grain FMJ's small hole

i've had real good luck with a-max bullets out of my 22-250 and would surely try them if i had a 243. the varmint type bullets are designed to explode on impact and if you shoot on bone, will probably ruin good dogs.

my son brought his 243 this weekend and boy did it impress me. he hit the gong over and over @ 400 yards, but i don't know what terminal performance is like with 69 (i think thats what he said they were) bergers.

I’ve had really good luck with nosler 55grain ballistic tip. If you hit the spine or too high you can have a mess but that will be with any bullet. The best is facing you into the chest. No damage and hits like the hammer of Thor. If there is a chance you will encounter a wolf, this is a very good choice.

X2 i was using 90gr PSP when i hunted with a .243

Most of my shots were in/out, sometimes a toonie hole to sew

I’ve shot lots of elk moose and deer and one wolf with my .243 all of them using a 80gr GMX. Small entry hole and the exit was about to size of a dime.

Made up a load of speers 75gr JHP. Very accurate out of my rifle and 1" exit on broadside shots. Not the biggest BC bullet available but most of my coyote hunting is all calling or over bait.