.243 load development

[ajridgedell]

Im trying to develope an accurate load for my 700 vtr .243 using berger 95 vlds. Been using imr 4831 and 4350, better luck with the 4831. The best group at 100yrd has been about .75 in. Just ran out of primer and I'm wanting to know if another powder will likely give better results like wise will lapua brass give better results than my winchester or hornady left over factory ammo brass. been using br2 primers. Is .25 group too much to ask for with this gun?
I'm new to reloading and any help would be appreciated.

 

[backwoods83]

How far do you have the bullet seated off the lands, winchester brass is fine, BR-2s are fine, and Imr 4350 works best for me but you can try RE19 or H414.

 

[ajridgedell]

well i don't know exactly how far off the lands. I got the hornady oal guage, but apparently i'm not able to get accurate readings with it for some reason. When i measured with that guage my oal on the lands was like 2.850 I believe so i seated the bullet about .005 off, and was getting a really large group like 2-3 inches, soon realized i was forcing the bullet into the land at that oal and eventually brought it down to 2.832 where i'm now grouping .75. i still want better though. It also seems to me that i'm getting some inconsistancey in velocity in my groups because each group is usually taller than wide which is why i ask about maybe an inconsistancy in powder but i also need to get an o-give thing for my caliper, that may be part of the problem if im not getting an accurate measurement of oal.

 

[backwoods83]

You should put them in the lands .003-.005", I think you have a neck tension issue, or they are to hot, thats usually where you get the vertical. If your running them over 3100fps thats really to much for the accuracy your asking.

 

[ajridgedell]

what is neck tension? and i dont have a chronograph either, but i havn't exceeded any of the max loads that berger gave me. should i be satified with what i've been able to get thus far? i was kinda hoping to "clover leaf" but idk.

 

[backwoods83]

Neck tension in the amount of force in pounds it takes to seat the bullets in the case, it can be reduced by polishing the inside of the necks and or using a bushing type neck sizer, and 3/4 moa is ok for a factory remington.

 

[ajridgedell]

thanks for the help, i may try a few different things without buying a bunch of different powers. now i'm anxiouse for my viper pst to come in so i can finally try out my 300 rum, and start making some loads for that, seems like there is more info on that cartrige on here.

 

[yote doctor]

45 grains of 4831SC. Try in the lands. Think I was right at 3075 fps. Using Rem brass and BR-2s. OAL shown in pic. Factory savage predator max 1 rifle.

 

[luke]

Something that i tried with a buddy's 243 with the 95gr berger was simply moving out to 200 yards. The groups we were getting were about the same .75 of an inch at one hundred. After calling berger to ask about a different issue I was having with some loads I asked about the 243 and how to get better groups. He told me to work loads at 200 rather than 100 because the bullets dont fully stablize at 100. After shooting a 5 shoot group at 200 and getting the measurements it was just under a half inch. Hope this will help.

 

[kdvarmint]

well i don't know exactly how far off the lands. I got the hornady oal guage, but apparently i'm not able to get accurate readings with it for some reason. When i measured with that guage my oal on the lands was like 2.850 I believe so i seated the bullet about .005 off, and was getting a really large group like 2-3 inches, soon realized i was forcing the bullet into the land at that oal and eventually brought it down to 2.832 where i'm now grouping .75. i still want better though. It also seems to me that i'm getting some inconsistancey in velocity in my groups because each group is usually taller than wide which is why i ask about maybe an inconsistancy in powder but i also need to get an o-give thing for my caliper, that may be part of the problem if im not getting an accurate measurement of oal.

O-give "thing" is a must. Get one. Until then, Make sure your chamber and barrel are clean before you use your overall length gauge. Measure your bullets with your calipers, get 3 or 4 exactly the same. Use these bullets with your OAL gauge, and to set up your seating die. Everyone has opinions about seating and lands. A well known gun smith recommends starting loads at beginning charge and seating bullets just touching lands. From there you can work up. After you find what works best, you can fine tune by backing seating off or seating into lands by .003 to .005 until you find what "your" gun likes. Just remember start low and work up. Good luck.

 

[ajridgedell]

thanks for all the info guys, where do yall do most of your online shopping for reloading tools and components, i live like 1.5hr from cabelas and they don't always have what i'm looking for. is there a better place than midway, it looks like they have a lot of back orders on things.

 

[kdvarmint]

thanks for all the info guys, where do yall do most of your online shopping for reloading tools and components, i live like 1.5hr from cabelas and they don't always have what i'm looking for. is there a better place than midway, it looks like they have a lot of back orders on things.

I use midway quite a bit. Other than that I use local gun shops. Google products you're looking for and you might be surprised how many online places you can get stuff. It's all out there, you"ll find it if you spend a little time looking. If your looking for something specific, post it here, surely someone has already found what you want.

 

[Mikiedem]

95 VLD's, H414, .010 off lands, 3361fps, cut holes at 100. I love this load in Rem VLS.

 

[roninflag]

i ususally use I=4064 or varget for good groups in my .243 rem 700. lapua brass, br-2 or 210m primers . hart 12 twist barrel.