Recommendations for whitetail?

I like the 243 Win 100 gr InterLock® BTSP American Whitetail®

It has always done a great job - you want a pass thru and most of the time you will get it unless you are hitting the shoulder.

I did have one that was lodged under the skin of the off hand shoulder of a quartering to me shot...the jacket was still on the bullet and had about 67 grains or 100 grains starting...

Another deer I shot was a 10 yard double lung at 10 yards - still got a pass thru.

Think their are lots of good bullets - you just want something that is bonded or locked together...

Red

edit to add - I buy it by the 10 box case - f that noise of not being able to find it during a panic.

I'd second the interlock whitetail if you're buying off the shelf.

I like the Speers if you're reloading.

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Or the Noslers.

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Something medium to heavy for caliber and bonded.  

243 at 'normal' hunting distances means fairly high impact velocities and relatively small bullets.  I've been on numerous 243 tracking jobs now and a lot of times these light non-bonded bullets blow up and don't penetrate far enough to get both lungs (Especially on quartering shots).  It's a LONG track on a whitetail with one lung especially if you push them and because the entry hole is tiny with a 243 and no exit...there's very little blood.  

I've been on enough shit 243 tracking jobs at this point that I've told my buddies if they shoot one with a non-bonded bullet, I'm not helping them track.  We've had enough experience at this point we know better.

Sure, if these light frangible bullets works perfectly, they sometimes drop in their tracks.  The problem is, that doesn't always happen.  When it doesn't happen, it's a disaster trying to find a deer that will absolutely be dead.  I sometimes get the feeling that some of these '243 is DRT every time I hit one' people just simply don't look if the deer doesn't drop...assuming they missed.  I don't like thinking that...but it wouldn't be the first or 10th time I've heard 'I shot at one but it ran away fine so I missed it'.

I'm not against small caliber deer hunting either.  My kids have killed a bunch with 223.  With, you guessed it, bonded bullets.  I get consistent pass throughs and good blood trails even with 223.  I don't see a reason not to use a bonded bullet on any light fast calibers at this point.

.243 is pretty speedy and copper bullets flourish in high impact velocities. They really solve the dilemma of lightly constructed bullets providing insufficient terminal results. I’d pick them over bonded bullets.

I’m not even a huge copper fan, but when you need penetration and weight retention, you got it.

There are two distinct types of 243 ammo.  These are varmint loads and deer loads...

Anything on the lighter side, meaning 60 to about 85 grains, usually is intended for coyotes and other smaller game.  In general, its light, very fast loads with rather fragile, rapidly expanding bullets.  These guidelines are kind of general, but overall, using one of these on deer is a big mistake..

Heavy for caliber tends to be loads more designed and intended for use on deer.  243 is a very capable deer cartridge BUT it absolutely must have the right bullet.  This usually means something in the 90-100 grain range.  Pure copper monolithic bullets like the Barnes TTSX sort of violate this rule and often run a little bit lighter, but that's because monolithic copper acts differently than jacketed lead...

A 6mm 243 diameter bullet isn't big.  If I fire a 180 grain .30 cal out of a 30-06 or 300 Mag at a deer, and I loose half the bullet weight, I've still got a 90 grain rear section that can keep driving through the deer, make a big exit and leave a generous blood trail if everything goes sideways.  There is room for error.   However, that 90 grain rear section, which is basically leftovers from a bullet failure, are still roughly the same size as the typical 243 bullet BEFORE it hits and expands.   And if you loose half a 80 grain out of a 243, you've only got 40 grains left (.22 LR anyone?) and a microscopic pinprick exit with little blood trailing.  My point?:  there isn't a large amount of 'extra capacity' or room for error with a 243.  

I'd deliberately be looking for a very very "good" bullet.  Top choices would be Nosler Partitions, Nosler Accubonds, Hornady Interbonds, Barnes TTSX, Federal Fusion, Federal Trophy Copper.  I'd be 1005 happy with any of those.  Take your pick.   If I'm launching a 90 grainer at a trophy buck, I want most or all of that bullet to remain intact and do the job.

Many years ago I bought 500 Hornady 6mm .243 Diameter 100 Grain Boat Tail Spire Point With Cannelure at a Estate Sale.  I have loaded then over IMR 4064 and they have performed well on my Remington .243 BDL.

In today's world the bullet selection for 6mm is vast.  If I did not have such a large supply I would opt for a Barnes 80 grain Tipped TSX bullet.

I use 100 grain Remington soft points that I stocked up with 20+ years ago. Shots from 30 to 90 yards in East Tennessee woods. No complaints.

My choice would be the heaviest Ballistic Tip I could find.

Looks like you are in FL. Deer ain’t that big there compared to a Midwest whitetail.

Honestly a 100 gr Corelokt or really any cup and core bullet will be fine.

If you are hunting bigger deer elsewhere either something bonded, a Partition or use a bigger rifle.

Any of the big game loads will work just fine to 300 yards or so. You don’t need bonded bullets or anything else to kill a deer with a 243. 100gr Corelokt, powershock, powerpoint and American whitetail will all work fine and have been working for decades. If you want to push the range a little further something like the Berger 95gr classic hunter (there’s a couple factory loads) or Hornady Precision Hunter works well.

If you’re somewhere that the deer are small even the varmint loads will work. I would avoid quartering shots with them though.

For smaller southern deer this choice really isn't thst critical. For bigger northern bucks I'd use the heaviest bullet the rifle shoots well that stays together well. Even then, the choice is not as critical as some make it out to be. Good shot placement, however is absolutely vital (pun intended).

FWIW  the last two bucks I've killed were taken with a 10.5" AR in 5.56 with 77gr TMK handloads. Both mature, cornfed northern bucks and proper shot placement did the trick quickly. They're not that hard to kill but it must be in the right spot.

I’ve dropped a couple dozen deer over the years with cheap grey box Winchester 100gr soft point ammo. Don’t over think it.

This is my thoughts.   Even back in the old days, with a .243 winchester you may or may not get penetration but the bullet to work then was the Nosler partition because even after the nose peeled off you still had a solid shank to penetrate.

These days I say go bonded or at least a locked jacket style.  and I don’t mean Core-lokt.  Core-lokts are better in bigger calibers in my opinion.

Nosler 95gr balistic tips is what my wife shoots.  The extent of my tracking has been 30yds, most are DRT.   All under 150-200yds max.

A 243 has been my primary hunting rifle for 15+ years now. I've tried other calibers, but always come back to this rifle. I'm a huge fan of Hornady 95 grain SST's. Although I do handload mine over 40.3 grains of IMR4831. I have killed a lot of deer with this combo. While I've also used the SST factory load with success, I only killed one before I switched to my handloads. They do massive damage upon impact and I get a pass through the large majority of the time. The times I don't it's usually because I shot it at an angle that no bullet would pass through. If the deer doesn't drop right there, there is usually a massive blood trail going to it.

I haven't tried the Nosler BT's on game, because my rifle doesn't shoot the as well as the SST's, so I can't comment on those despite them looking similar. My 243 is also amazingly accurate with the SST's.

100gr Fed Power shok has killed every mule deer and antelope my ex and I shot with it just dandy. They are fairly cheap and very accurate in my rifle out to 400Yds.

Brother and his wife load the 90gr Nosler Partition.

Father loads a ballistic tip I'm not sure on the weight.

The 243 is a great for deer sized game with the proper bullets. Don't use varmint bullets.

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This lot of bullets was given to me by a buddy when he was moving.
The 90 grain Noslers with IMR4350 has proven to be the most accurate and effective in a Remington 700 for me.

This is what I used for many years And, I shoot the shoulder if I want them dead right there. Unless you hit something solid it’s very easy for a 243 just to poke a tiny hole.