Lead free bullets for the .243 Winchester

The .243 Winchester is the most widely owned deer rifle in Britain and the entry point to deer stalking for a great many people. It fires a .243 inch (6mm) bullet, and Fox makes two Classic Hunter weights at that diameter: 80 and 100 grain.

Which weight

For most .243 owners the answer is the 80 grain. It is short at 27.2mm, so it stabilises in any twist rate you are likely to meet, it leaves plenty of case capacity, and it shoots very flat. Its published G1 ballistic coefficient is 0.293.

The 100 grain at 30.1mm is a long bullet for a 6mm case. It is the choice if you have a fast-twist barrel and want more mass for larger deer, but it demands more of both the twist rate and the case.

Twist rate

This is the one thing to check before you buy. Older .243 Winchester rifles are frequently 1:10, which was ample for the light lead bullets the cartridge was designed around but is marginal for a 30.1mm monolithic. Newer rifles are often 1:8 or 1:9 and have no such difficulty.

• 1:8 or faster — both weights should be fine.
• 1:9 — the 80 grain comfortably; test the 100 grain.
• 1:10 or slower — stay with the 80 grain.

Quarry

The .243 is a roe, muntjac and Chinese water deer cartridge above all, and the 80 grain Fox is well matched to all three. It is legal for the larger species in England and Wales provided the energy requirement is met, and in Scotland the 80 grain sits exactly at the minimum bullet weight for red, sika and fallow — but a larger calibre is a better match for those species.