Need a Load for coyotes before the first snow fall!!

[matt_3479]

I just picked up a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in a 243. win. Everyone i hunt with told me to get a 223. rem or even a 22-250 but everyone i hunt with wont shoot past 300 yards. I wanted a rifle that i could comfortably shoot past 300 yards without any issues of wind. Where i hunt theres shooting opportunities out to 850 yards in my first spot, 1300 yards in my second spot and 550-600 yards in the 3rd spot. Now i have no intentions of hunting past 500-600 yards. Target practice would be fun at 1000 yards but hunting no longer then 500-600 yards. All of the spots are open fields with nice bush around, or near it. My main target will be coyote, absolutely no whitetail.

I originally wanted the 55 grain Nosler Ballistic tip but the wind will come into effect. I then thought about the 70 grain ballistic tip and the 75 grain v-max. Then someone mentioned that the 87 grain V-Max would be a fantastic choose, .400 ballistic coefficient bullets, launched at around 3100 fps +. good for long range as well as heavy close range bullet. Im not worried about pelt.

The gun again is a Remington 700 SPS Varmint, 26" bull barrel, 1:9 1/4" twist. any suggestions.

 

[royinidaho]

Run the numbers on the bullets you mentioned against the 100gr + bergers and see which comes out in your favor for distance and wind.

May be a revealing.

Big and slow almost always out runs itty bitty and fast for some of the ranges you mention.

Don't get in too big of a hurry as you may pass up some great longrange opportunities.

Calculate first.. Shoot later.

 

[Gunpoor]

Since you are planning for shots out to 500+ yards I would recommend bullets of 100 grain weight. The lighter bullets won't be accurate for the longer shots, and your barrel won't stabilize any heavier with it's 1/10" twist rate. That is why the bench rest guys use heavy for caliber bullets to shoot to 1000 yds. If you are planning to use standard cup and core bullets I would suggest you try some IMR4350 powder in the +/- 40 grain range and see if you get the accuracy you need for those long shots.

 

[roninflag]

the coyote is a small target calling for all the accuracy you can get. my best groups from .243 are with varget and I-4064. if there is wind then the 88 berger, 95berger , or 87 horn or one of the 90,95 or 100 balistic tips. i would be sure to shoot at 500 after i got a really good group at 100.

 

[johnnyk]

matt,
I have loaded and shot alot of the various 85gn weight range in my Win70 HVB .243. It shoots all of these into sub 1/2" inch groups. I'm getting 3200fps from this weight range easily, sometimes up to 3300fps.
I recently found a good load with the 85gn GK (1530) and 37gn of IMR3031/BR2's. I'm averaging 3233fps and .381" @ 100yds. I have taken it to 500yds and it turns out 2-3" groups with regularity. I've even had a couple bullet holes touching in a couple of different groups. I never thought the GK would be this accurate.
Just this weekend I tried the 85gn Speer Boat Tail (1213) and the first initial group was .2725". This kind of accuracy gets my attention. I ran a couple of five shot groups through the chrono today and velocity ranged from 3202 to just over 3300fps with 43gn of IMR4831. I thought fouling may have been giving me erratic readings so I cleaned the barrel but veloctiy still varied alot. "Proof was in the pudding" at the 500yd gong, as the three shot group was over MOA. Still need more testing.
My longest accurate shot's with the .243 have been with the 90gn Ballistic Tip though. Roy is right about big and slow. We think of it as slow anyway but ain't no coyote ever outrun a .243 bullet. I loaded these ahead of VihtVa N560 (44.0gn) last year and devastated the local groundhog population where I lived in northern Va.
Another good, accurate bullet is the 75gn Hornady Spire HP (2420). I ran them at 3602fps using 42.0gn of IMR4895/BR2. They were quarter inch performers in my rifle also. I took doubles on crows at 300-400yds with this bullet several times last year. That makes them so mad!
Good luck with your .243. It is a great cartridge. JohnnyK.

 

[roninflag]

the higher bc bullets will be less affected by wind. the highest i would try is the 105 amax. reports on here are varied whether they will stabalize with anything less than an 8.5 or 8 twist. the 95 berger will stabalize in a 9 twist.

 

[Trickymissfit]

I just picked up a Remington 700 SPS Varmint in a 243. win. Everyone i hunt with told me to get a 223. rem or even a 22-250 but everyone i hunt with wont shoot past 300 yards. I wanted a rifle that i could comfortably shoot past 300 yards without any issues of wind. Where i hunt theres shooting opportunities out to 850 yards in my first spot, 1300 yards in my second spot and 550-600 yards in the 3rd spot. Now i have no intentions of hunting past 500-600 yards. Target practice would be fun at 1000 yards but hunting no longer then 500-600 yards. All of the spots are open fields with nice bush around, or near it. My main target will be coyote, absolutely no whitetail.

I originally wanted the 55 grain Nosler Ballistic tip but the wind will come into effect. I then thought about the 70 grain ballistic tip and the 75 grain v-max. Then someone mentioned that the 87 grain V-Max would be a fantastic choose, .400 ballistic coefficient bullets, launched at around 3100 fps +. good for long range as well as heavy close range bullet. Im not worried about pelt.

The gun again is a Remington 700 SPS Varmint, 26" bull barrel, 1:9 1/4" twist. any suggestions.

I use the Hornaday 55 grain Vmax driven at 3270 fps (mostly use BLc2 and H335 powders). I've shot twenty or more with this load at ranges from 75 yards to 300 yards. For the 243 I recommend the 80 grain Seirra Blitz. That bullet is particularly hard on big coyotes, and pelt damage is massive when shot out of a 6mm Remington. I've used the regular Hornaday 87 grain bullet as well, and it seems to buck cross winds slightly better. Yet day in and day out I prefer the 80 grain bullet over H414 powder at near max charges. The case capacity of the .243 and the 6mm are similar, but not still not exact. Another nice thing about the 80 grain Seirra is that they're cheap! In very cold weather I recommend using a Federal mag primer with the bullets seated about .005" off the lands.

You also might want to look at the heavier .223 bullets as you have you have a fast twist rate (I use a 1:14 twist). A sixty grain bullet would probably give you some more range, and a 64 grain bullet would be even better if you could drive it fast enough.
gary

 

[Trickymissfit]

the coyote is a small target calling for all the accuracy you can get. my best groups from .243 are with varget and I-4064. if there is wind then the 88 berger, 95berger , or 87 horn or one of the 90,95 or 100 balistic tips. i would be sure to shoot at 500 after i got a really good group at 100.

I had trouble with the Berger 88's out past 500 yards unless I used loads that were over max in the book with my 6mm. I got around that with a tip Bob Milek gave me once for about 125 fps greater velocity. The 88 takes a lot of spin to keep it stable. A regular 87 grain bullet will work well at 500 yards and be easier to stabalize. What I never tried was H1000 powder in the 6mm, and this seems to give a little more velocity in my 6mm/250AI. So this might be the ticket for driving Berger 88's.
gary