can a 55 grain bullet kill a deer?

Not the best choice but it would work. A little heavier bullet like the 75 gr AMAX sounds a lot better to me. Usually the heavier bullets have a higher balistic coefficient and retain more energy at distance so they perform better for long range.
 
I wanted one bullet I could use for coyotes, antelope and deer and I went with the Sierra 85 grain bthp. It's a pretty good bullet. I also have some barnes 85gr bullets for hunting bigger deer and hunting in the no lead zone.
 
Yes. I killed a nice spike this season with my .22-250 shooting 55 grain soft points

shot placement is important

~Bryan
 
I have killed 2 deer with my .243 with 55 grain, with no problems as mentioned previously keep it away from bones and it will work.

I will also through out the suggestion to buy a couple boxes of different factory loads and shoot them and see. This year I shot Winchester 55 grn silvertips, Hornady 58 grn Vmax, Hornady 95 grn SST and Winchester 100 grn. Some grouped better than the others but the heaver bullets were right in line. The Hornady 95 grn actually shot a ½ inch higher than the other loads.

Bottom line for me is if I am deer hunting I will use a heavier bullet and not worry about readjusting the scope.
 
You'd be better off using a tougher bullet out of a .243. There will always be success stories with these type of questions but the bottom line is, no. You have much better options with this cartridge.
 
I have kiled a countless amount of deer with a 22-250 using a 52 gr. bullet. They go down like you turned of a light switch.
 
I have killed 2 deer with a 22 magnum. Bullet weight doesn't have much to do with killing if the shot placement is perfect. We've got a lot of deer in AL, and a very liberal season until last year, when the state limited us to 3 bucks, but we can (not that anyone would want to) still legally kill 145 does each year. I've killed quite a few deer, most of them with a 7mm Rem mag. I recovered every deer I shot with the 7 mag, that I hit properly. The ones I didn't hit right, lost 80% of them. You can gut shoot a deer with a 300 Win Mag, and more times than not you won't find it. A 243 is a fine deer cartridge, but I don't understand why you would want to limit yourself to one weight bullet. Use a heavier built bullet during deer season, then switch over to a lighter bullet to shoot varmints.

And as someone else already stated a .224 55 grain bullet is a much different beast than a .243 55 grain bullet.
 
Originally Posted By: MTurboCountless amounts?....honestly?

Countless may have been over kill, but it has been enough that I cant remember to count.I have had a 250 for the past 21 years and consider it one of the best whitetail cartridges designed.
 
I shot 1 deer broadside at 45 yards with the 55 grain NBT in my 243. Bullet exploded on a rib. I was lucky enough to get a small piece of shrapnel in the heart. No exit wound, no bloodtrail, Little, to no damage done to the lungs either.
The 55 gain 243 is possibly the worst choice you could make for whitetail.
I'll take a 22-250 with the 55 grain every day over the 243 55 gr.
OTF
 
Shot a doe in the neck yesterday with my R-15 using Hornady 55 gr sp. Small entry hole, golf ball sized exit wound. She never took another step, broke her neck and severed the spinal cord...DRT. Shot was 150 yards through thick timber.
 
Originally Posted By: On the fenceI shot 1 deer broadside at 45 yards with the 55 grain NBT in my 243. Bullet exploded on a rib. I was lucky enough to get a small piece of shrapnel in the heart. No exit wound, no bloodtrail, Little, to no damage done to the lungs either.
The 55 gain 243 is possibly the worst choice you could make for whitetail.
I'll take a 22-250 with the 55 grain every day over the 243 55 gr.
OTF


To the OP, here's the answer you've been looking for. Someone who shot a deer with a 55 grain bullet in 243. I'd shoot one with a 22-250 or 223 and 55 grain bullet too, but that's comparing apples and oranges. It's really none of my business what you shoot, but I doubt your going to be consistently happy with the results of that size 243 bullet on deer.
 
Like I have said, there are those with experience and those without. We have shot several deer with 55s out of a 243 and it doesn't explode on impact. We have never had a problem as of yet and we have been doing it for over 5yrs. My son and daughter have both shot deer with the 243 using 55gr Bts, both dead deer. My brother in law would be laughing his ars off if he were reading this as that has been his bullet for yrs. The rifles are our calling rifles and deer rifles so we don't see any need to change. If you have troubles putting the bullet where it needs too be then you shouldn't be shooting in the first place. HAPPY HUNTING
 
I have killed several deer with my 22-250 with 55gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaws, but that is a whole different deal than trying to shoot them with 55gr varmint bullets.
 
My father-in-law has a friend and his son which is only five years old shoots a .223 and he's killed three deer so for. You just have to make a good shot on them; there is no room for error...
 
Sounds like a bunch of people forget how small deer really are, even the big ones.

The whole deer rib thing has to be a joke. Eith that oor that deer was wearing a bullet proof vest.
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