My dad recently shot a big mule deer with .243 100 grain moly coated nosler partition premier Federal ammunition the buck was on

[weavto]

My dad recently shot a big mule deer with .243 100 grain moly coated nosler partition premier Federal ammunition the buck was only about 150 yds and the shot only penetrated one lung the buck ran about 50yds and was shot again with the same result.Why didnt the bullets penetrate?What .243 ammo would you recommend?

[herbie57_57]

Look for something a little heavier. I use winchester super x and several types of fedaral with soft points about 140 gr that do a good job of penetrating.

[steve182]

If that light bullet hit the shoulder, it's not heavy enough to punch through and still take out both lungs.

[pumakitchen]

I shoot a .243 with 100 grain bullets and i have never had that problem. I wonder if he might have hit the near shoulder blade,that would likely stop the bullet from passing through, at any rate a lung shot is still going to kill the deer.

[Sportsman Matt]

a 100 grain Bullet isn't enough to take down an animal with 1 shot, unless it's a head shot or a perfect heart shot. I would say go with the 150 grain, and you'll see a difference in the knock down.

[Sportsman Matt]

a 100 grain Bullet isn't enough to take down an animal with 1 shot, unless it's a head shot or a perfect heart shot. I would say go with the 150 grain, and you'll see a difference in the knock down.

[tourneyking734]

i say to just amp it up and use a 270 or 308

[elkslayer]

the .243 is enough gun for deer and the 100 grain bullet does the job perfectlyy. Having killed large mule deer and whitetails out to 150 yds I know this to be true. I can't explain why you bullet didn't penetrate because my shots have always passed through the deer.

[platte river rat]

My wife has killed almost 50 mule deer with a 243 handload with a Speer 105 grain bullet---none of them went over 5 yards .

[Jim in Mo]

Who said the bullet didn't penetrate? Maybe the angle of the shot made it impossible for both lungs to be hit.
Did your father moly coat the bullets himself, I haven't heard of that coating in a while especially from Nosler?

[buddyboy564]

some people think that a .243 wont do the job for deer but I dont think that is true. a better grain would be a 150 grain.

[streack]

Jim in Mo: If he was shooting Winchester Balistic Silver Tips, those are moly coated Nosler bullet. If thats the case, those bullets are designed for rapid expansion, if he hit the heavey bones in the shoulder there probably was not enough energy to allow the bullet to travel much further in the body cavity; thus only making its way to one lung.

[Jim in Mo]

streak,
Winchester never did moly coat their bullets. They had a proprietary coating that did not foul the barrel like the moly did, which is why the Barnes moly coated bullet is no longer on the market. It messed up your barrel and you couldn't get it off without work and expense.
I do agree if he was shooting Ballistic Tips it may have expanded to soon, which is why I stay away from them, but I've heard other extol their virtues.

[Jim in Mo]

P.S. But he said Partition.

[Ed J]

I think he hit the shoulder blade or some other leg bone. I think a 243 is the smallest caliber for deer, but then I have killed them with a 25-20 in a 92 Win. I know lots of guys who use the .243 with no problems.