Savage axis likes this ammo - Hornady American Whitetail .243 Winchester 100 Grain InterLock Boat-Tail SP Centerfire Rifle Ammunition

This year was my son's first Deer Hunt where he got to shoot. He took the online course, the Field Day with the DNR, and he was ready to go. As a youngster, he's 10, he was able to participate in the Youth Hunt in early October. From our stand on the hill in the pines, he took a big doe at about 60 yds. or so. The bullet absolutely hammered her. It mushroomed substantially, but did not fragment at all to the naked eye. The tip was smooth, flat and polished, like the business end of a hammer. The deer ran less than 100 yds, and was easy to recover, although with the smaller caliber size of the .243 there was no exit wound or blood trail to follow. Great double lung shot, maybe close enough to effect the heart cavity. Since it was his first one, I gutted it while he watched.

During regular Gun Season, we were sitting in the blind when some of the other members of the hunting party pushed a doe to the edge of a corn field about 225 yds. from us. She was limping like she had already taken one to the leg, and the other hunters don't have a visual in that direction. I wouldn't have let him take that long of a shot, but I figured she was already hit, and if and when he missed, it would push back to the other hunters and we'd harvest the doe. To my surprise, the boy let her come to a stand still, took aim and put one just a little behind, and little below a perfect heart shot. She stumbled about 10 yds and went down in heap. I couldn't believe he made that shot - I'll never hear the end of it, I'm sure. While he was dressing her out, I told the group that his shot went just under the deer, but likely gave her a heart attack, that's how we got her. he did not appreciate the humor. We did not recover the bullet so I cannot say much about the expansion or fragmentation at the longer distance.