Ask a deer hunter which 243 Winchester load he shoots and the answer is usually a 100 grain soft point. This chart pulls together all the 100 grain factory loads in the stored data, 22 listings from 15 makers, and sets the 13 loads with full published charts side by side, one stat per cell from the muzzle out to 500 yards.
Loads that stop at the muzzle are not padded out with blanks. Five of them are listed separately with the only two figures their makers publish, and every number in this page is printed exactly as its factory releases it: speeds in feet per second, energy in foot pounds, path in inches, and the zero behind each trajectory row stated inside the row itself.
Table of Contents [Click to minimize]
243 Ballistics 100 Grain Chart
| Brand | Load | Product Line | SKU | BC (G1) | Test Barrel (in) | Traj. Zero (yd) | Velocity 0 yd (fps) | Velocity 100 yd (fps) | Velocity 200 yd (fps) | Velocity 300 yd (fps) | Velocity 400 yd (fps) | Velocity 500 yd (fps) | Energy 0 yd (ft-lb) | Energy 100 yd (ft-lb) | Energy 200 yd (ft-lb) | Energy 300 yd (ft-lb) | Energy 400 yd (ft-lb) | Energy 500 yd (ft-lb) | Trajectory 50 yd (in) | Trajectory 100 yd (in) | Trajectory 200 yd (in) | Trajectory 300 yd (in) | Trajectory 400 yd (in) | Trajectory 500 yd (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browning | 100 gr Plated Soft Point | Silver Series | B192602431 | 0.356 | – | 200 | 2960 | 2697 | 2449 | 2215 | 1993 | 1786 | 1945 | 1615 | 1332 | 1089 | 882 | 708 | – | 1.6 | 0 | -7.5 | -22 | -45.4 |
| Denel PMP | 100 gr SP | PMP Rifle Ammunition (Sporting) | – | – | 24 | 200 | 2953 | 2680 | 2424 | 2181 | – | – | 1937 | 1596 | 1305 | 1057 | – | – | 0.6 | 1.7 | 0 | -7.6 | – | – |
| Federal | 100 gr Jacketed Soft Point | Power-Shok | 243B | .355 | – | 200 | 2960 | 2697 | 2448 | 2213 | 1991 | 1783 | 1945 | 1615 | 1331 | 1087 | 880 | 706 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0 | -7.5 | -22.1 | -45.4 |
| Fiocchi | 100 gr Pointed Soft Point | Field Dynamics Big Game | 243SPD | .405 | – | 200 | 3050 | 2814 | 2589 | 2376 | 2173 | 1979 | 2065 | 1758 | 1489 | 1253 | 1048 | 870 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | -6.6 | -19.5 | -39.7 |
| Hornady | 100 gr InterLock BTSP | American Whitetail | 8047 | – | – | 200 | 2960 | 2729 | 2509 | 2300 | 2101 | 1912 | 1945 | 1653 | 1398 | 1175 | 980 | 812 | – | 1.6 | 0 | -7.1 | -20.9 | -42.5 |
| Norma | 100 gr Bonded SP | Norma Oryx | 20160332 | 0.261 | 24 | 192 | 2986 | 2630 | 2300 | 1994 | – | – | 1979 | 1536 | 1175 | 883 | – | – | 0.5 | 1.6 | -0.4 | -9 | – | – |
| Norma | 100 gr SP | Norma Whitetail | 20160462 | 0.257 | 24 | 191 | 2953 | 2587 | 2250 | 1939 | – | – | 1936 | 1486 | 1124 | 835 | – | – | 0.6 | 1.6 | -0.4 | -9.3 | – | – |
| Nosler | 100 gr Partition | Trophy Grade | 61046 | – | 24 | 200 | 2950 | 2708 | 2468 | 2246 | 2035 | 1837 | 1932 | 1622 | 1353 | 1120 | 920 | 749 | – | 1.6 | 0 | -7.4 | -21.6 | -44.3 |
| PPU | 100 gr SP | Standard Rifle Ammunition | PP2432 | 0.367 | – | 100 | 2960 | 2705 | 2465 | 2235 | – | – | 1945 | 1627 | 1348 | 1107 | – | – | – | 0 | -3.2 | -12.2 | – | – |
| Remington | 100 gr Pointed Soft Point Core Lokt | Core-Lokt | R27802 | .356 | – | 200 | 2960 | 2697 | 2449 | 2215 | 1994 | 1786 | 1945 | 1615 | 1332 | 1089 | 883 | 708 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 0 | -7.5 | -22.1 | -45.3 |
| Sellier & Bellot | 100 gr SP | Rifle Ammunition SP | SB243A | 0.315 | 23 1/2 | 100 | 2854 | 2561 | 2285 | 2027 | 1785 | – | 1809 | 1456 | 1159 | 912 | 707 | – | -0.4 | 0.0 | -3.3 | -13.3 | -31.9 | – |
| Winchester | 100 gr Bonded Rapid Expansion Protected Hollow Point | Power Max Bonded | X2432BP | 0.372 | – | 200 | 2960 | 2708 | 2470 | 2244 | 2031 | 1829 | 1945 | 1628 | 1355 | 1118 | 915 | 743 | – | 1.6 | 0 | -7.3 | -21.6 | -44.3 |
| Winchester | 100 gr Power-Point | Power-Point | X2432 | 0.356 | – | 200 | 2960 | 2697 | 2449 | 2215 | 1993 | 1786 | 1945 | 1615 | 1332 | 1089 | 882 | 708 | – | 1.9 | 0 | -7.8 | -22.6 | -46.3 |
Six loads from the chart are graphed above, speed, energy and flight path across their published ranges: Federal Power-Shok, Remington Core-Lokt, Winchester Power Max Bonded, Hornady American Whitetail, Nosler Trophy Grade and Fiocchi Field Dynamics.
Muzzle Figures Only: The Compact Listing
The five loads below never received a published flight table from their makers, so a full row in the chart would be mostly empty. What they do print is a muzzle speed and a muzzle energy apiece. The Aguila entry goes one step further and also publishes 100 yard numbers, 2,729 fps and 1,653 ft-lb, but still no path figures.
| Brand | Load | SKU | Muzzle Velocity (fps) | Muzzle Energy (ft-lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguila | 100 gr Boat Tail Soft Point | 8047AG | 2960 | 1945 |
| Buffalo Bore | 100 gr Sierra Spitzer Flat Base | 43F/20 | 3150 | 2203 |
| Buffalo Bore | 100 gr Nosler Partition | 43G/20 | 3150 | 2203 |
| Grizzly | 100 gr Soft Point | GC243W3 | 3000 | 1998 |
| HSM | 100 gr Spitzer Boat Tail GameKing | HSM-243-17-N | 3100 | 2134 |
Reading a Row From Left to Right
Start with the bullet and the stock number, then the coefficient and the zero, because those two explain the rest of the row. Speed and energy follow in hundred yard steps to 500, and the path block closes the row on the same steps from 50 yards. A hyphen never means zero; it marks a figure the factory simply does not release for that load.
Speed: Bunched at the Muzzle, Spread by 500 Yards
At the muzzle the charted loads are hard to separate: seven of them are printed at 2,960 fps, and only the Sellier and Bellot at 2,854 fps and the Fiocchi at 3,050 fps stray far from the pack. Distance sorts them out. By 500 yards the Fiocchi leads on 1,979 fps while the Federal Power-Shok has fallen to 1,783 fps, a spread of nearly 200 fps.
Energy and the Long End of the Chart
Eight loads are still being charted at 500 yards, and there the energy spread is 706 to 870 ft-lb. The Fiocchi owns both ends of that comparison, quickest and strongest at every distance it prints. Below it, the Hornady InterLock keeps 812 ft-lb at 500 yards, the best return from any of the seven loads that leave the muzzle at 2,960 fps.
The Zero Changes the Path, Not the Bullet
Nine rows are drawn on a 200 yard zero and sit about an inch and a half high at 100 yards before crossing back at 200. Two rows, the PPU and the Sellier and Bellot, are drawn on a 100 yard zero and never rise above the line of sight at all. Norma splits the difference with recommended zeros of 192 and 191 yards on its two rows, which is why their 200 yard figures read slightly low at minus 0.4 inches.
Coefficients, Barrels and the Gaps in Print
A G1 coefficient is printed for nine of the thirteen rows and peaks with the Fiocchi at .405; the two Norma bullets sit at the bottom, 0.261 and 0.257, and their charts also end earliest, at 300 yards. Test barrels are rarer still: four rows say 24 inches, one says 23 1/2 inches, and the other eight rows name no barrel at all.
What the Stored Data Does Not Hold
Two Nosler listings at this weight, a factory seconds box and the Whitetail Country Solid Base load, are stored with attributes only and no chart behind them. A SIG Sauer Venari 100 grain load exists in the stored data through a retailer listing that prints no ballistics whatsoever. Sellier and Bellot’s home market chart for this bullet is metric, so nothing from it is converted here; its US chart supplies the row in the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many brands make a 100 grain 243 load in this data?
Fifteen brands appear across the 22 stored listings. Eleven of them have a load in the main chart, and Aguila, Buffalo Bore, Grizzly and HSM appear in the muzzle only listing.
Which 100 grain load hits hardest at the muzzle?
The Buffalo Bore pair, at 2,203 ft-lb apiece from their printed 3,150 fps. Inside the main chart, the Fiocchi load leads with 2,065 ft-lb.
What does a 100 grain 243 carry at 300 yards?
On the charted loads, speed at 300 yards runs from 1,939 fps for the Norma Whitetail to 2,376 fps for the Fiocchi, and energy from 835 to 1,253 ft-lb across the same two loads.
Why does the same bullet weight show different drops?
Because the path depends on muzzle speed, coefficient and the zero the maker chose. The Fiocchi falls 39.7 inches by 500 yards on its 200 yard zero, while the slower Winchester Power-Point, on the same zero, falls 46.3 inches.
Are the Federal and Remington loads identical?
Nearly. Both start at 2,960 fps with near matching bullets, and from 200 yards on, the Remington prints hold 1 to 3 fps more speed and 1 to 3 ft-lb more energy than the Federal prints. Their 500 yard paths differ by a tenth of an inch.
Which load should a long range shooter look at first?
On printed figures alone, the Fiocchi: the highest coefficient in the chart at .405, the highest muzzle speed of any charted load, and the flattest 500 yard path at 39.7 inches of drop.
What is the slowest load in the chart?
The Sellier and Bellot soft point, printed at 2,854 fps from a 23 1/2 inch barrel. Its chart also stops at 400 yards rather than 500.
Does any load here publish figures past 500 yards?
Yes. The stored Nosler Trophy Grade chart for the 100 grain Partition runs to 800 yards, ending at 1,334 fps and 395 ft-lb, although this page’s table stops at 500 to match the other rows.
Why do two rows show a zero of 191 or 192 yards?
Those are the Norma rows. Norma prints its path on the most recommended distance for each load rather than a round number zero, 192 yards for the Oryx and 191 yards for the Whitetail.
Is the 100 grain load a varmint or a deer load?
In this data it is sold as a deer load through and through: soft points, bonded bullets and one Partition, in lines named Big Game, Trophy Grade and Whitetail. The makers aim the lighter 55 to 95 grain 243 loads at varmints instead.