What 243 ammo gets you the best blood trail? I've tried Federal, Hornady and Remington all soft point all 100 grains , if bullet hits a little high on the shoulder I don't get much blood. I've been able to find all deer but had to look really hard for a couple. Any suggestions. Thanks.

I used to have the same problem with my .243. I tried lots of different bullets and solved the problem by getting a .270.

I've hunted a 7mm for 30+ years but I'm getting a little older now and went with a more recoil friendly rifle.

I moved from a 243 for that same reason 40+ years ago, it was like stabbing them with an ice pick for behind the shoulder and little to no blood trail. I moved up into the shoulder as well. I've been hunting with a 7mm rem mag since 1979 as my go to gun besides a 22-250 for does. Just got a new rifle that I am in the process of getting dialed in to reduce the recoil of my 7mm RM, moving to a 7mm-08 for my main deer/hog gun in Texas.

I shot a deer with a 243 polymer tip and a pretty good blood trail.

I don't think any .243 bullet is going to be your answer. Stop shooting them in the shoulder, shoot behind so your exit-percentage greatly increases. Or shoot them in the high-shoulder, so they drop on the spot. That said, I've had pretty good results with the Fed Fusion 95gr. You might also see if somebody loads the Nosler Partition in .243.

^^^ If you are going to shoot a 243, you've got to hit the off switch IMO. i.e. high shoulder shot. Not saying that you can't kill deer with a .243. You have already proven that you can. It isn't the best choice IMO. Lots of calibers are recoil friendly compared to the 7mm mag. .308, 7mm08, 260, 6.5cm, etc. All short action. All soft recoil. Heck, even the .270 and .280 are softer than 7mm mag (I assume that is the 7mm that you are trying to get away from)

edit: to add, look at these. https://limbsaver.com/products/classic-precision-fit-recoil-pad They are as soft as a woman's breast, and pre-fit to many popular rifles. You can make a soft recoiling rifle even softer that way. Another recoil reducer is a semiauto rifle. I have a .270 BAR that is softer shooting than my 6.5 or my .308 because of the semiauto action.

thanks, ill look into that if it leaves a good blood trail

Move to .308, 165 gr. SST bullet. Never had one take more than one step, most are dead on their feet and drop. No recoil to speak of.

If you're stuck on .243, I still recommend Hornady, SST. A blood trail is a crutch for a bad shot and wrong bullet selection, IMO.

A belt and suspenders insurance policy is probably a kinder description.

If you're shooting and hitting the pump house, you
shouldn't have any running away and getting lost.
I've killed deer with 30/30's, arrows, patched round
balls from black powder muzzleloaders, and a good
many things that people say are "obsolete "
A cousin used a 223 for years when he was hunting,
and ranchers where I've hunted used 22-250's exclusively
with success.
If you shoot too high and don't break the shoulders,
all the blood fills the cavity and you won't get a blood
trail. Shoot the pump house/heart-lungs with an in/out
shot, and if it runs it'll look like someone poured a
five gallon bucket of blood everywhere. Deer can't go
anywhere without blood to the brain just like every
other animal. Shoot lower to drain it or high shoulder
to break it down and you'll succeed
Good Luck

As others have said, if you shoot for a blood trail and .243 likely won’t give you that.

However my .243 is my favorite gun to shoot texas whitetail with if I’m inside 200yds. I can’t think of a deer that’s gone more than 50yds on it and the vast majority of deer shot drop right there.

After I switched off from my trusty old 270, I got a 260. I’ve killed a bunch of deer with the 100 gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. My point is that a 243 with a good 100 gr bullet should do fine. As folks say, put it in the heart/lung area. You should get an exit. Try the old faithful Remington CoreLokt if you don’t reload.

It's my preferred load for summertime pig hunting. IMO, some folks tend to overlook the fact the .243 Winchester is a necked-down .308, which seems to find wide acceptance as a load sufficient for deer and hogs.

Recommend 'High Shoulder Shot' with the .243



I recognize that limits your shot angles....but it will drop them right there if done properly.

OR....move up to 7mm-08

The biggest factor in getting a blood trail with a 243 is to get a exit. Nothing wrong with your softpoints at all. Just shoot right behind the shoulder on a broadside shot fairly low in the chest cavity and you should get your exit and your blood trail. Have shot many many deer and hogs with a 243 and just about all left good blood trails with that shot placement. I only shoot for the shoulder if I am trying to anchor them right there. If I am trying to do that I probably wont take the 243 with me to begin with. For what its worth I just use the Federal 100gr soft points that are in the blue box (at least they use to be). Think its called Power Shok.

In a Win .243, I use 85 grain Sierra BTHP's and after many many deer killed, they never took a step to leave a blood trail.

The question that I have, why would you not want to anchor them right there every single time?

Never needed a blood trail with the 243, usually drop on the spot or make it a few feet.

Its not that I dont want to do that, its that those types of shots usually involve meat loss. You break their shoulders you will anchor them on the spot nearly every time. You will also lose meat nearly every time. For that reason I will almost always go for a behind the shoulder shot unless I am hunting near a fence line or super thick cover where recovery might be an issue. If I am shooting at a true trophy buck I will also sacrifice some meat to blow out the shoulders so I dont have to track him as well. Double lung behind the shoulder is always my favorite shot on deer. Right through the front shoulders is always my favorite shot on a pig though unless I plan to eat it.

I’ll gladly sacrifice 2 lbs of meat loss for a deer that dies in its tracks.

A partition or accubond is a good bullet for shoulder shooting as is the federal fusion.

You don’t need a blood trail if you shoot them in the neck.

I load 100 grain partitions in 243 for my brothers boys. The took 2 200 plus pound bucks last year, exits and blood. Great bullets.

Hornady Whitetail does the trick for us. That little bullet flying that fast does work!

i have been hunting with my .243 for over 43 years now and plan to keep hunting with it. I have been shooting South Texas bucks with it during these years. I have always used Remington Core Lokt bullets in the 100 grain. Almost all my shots at big bucks are usually around 75 yards out to 200 yards. I always aim right behind the front shoulder about half way down and get them right through the lungs. The bullet goes right through but the deer won't run more than 30 yards before going down if they don't fall right on the spot. But you are correct, there is very little blood, if at all from their sprint to death. A bigger caliber bullet with a heavier grain will get you a bigger hole for blood tracking.