243 reloading

[skipglo]

I have my reloading setup finally complete as of 7 AM this morning, ive only ever reloaded for handguns this will be my first time reloading for a rifle, anyone have any final videos I should watch or should I just jump right in? Anyone use Hornady ELD's before? I got a hundred of them from Midway and want to test them out in my remington 700 i'm going to be using this year for coyote hunting theyre 108 grain with a G1 of 0.536

Eldx Eldm both very good choices...jump in and go....." LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOC- O- LATES"

 

[skipglo]

I am from the south originally and hunted white tails and hogs since I was a kid.
My go to load was 41 grs of IMR 4350 and 90 gr Nosler Partition.
Killed nearly everything I shot at.
I know there are better powders but op only has Imr 4350.
I later switched to Hornady 100 gr Interlocks and 40.0 grs of Imr 4350.
Hodgen Hybred 100V would be the powder when you can find some.Until then Imr 4350 will do just fine.
In my latest Hornady manual it shows 108 gr ELD Match and IMR 4350 powder,starting load 35.3 grs to 41.9 grs max!
I would start at 38.0 grs and work up to find the best accuracy node for your rifle.
I could not get any accuracy with anything over 100 grs in my rifle but every rifle is different.Enjoy the rabbit hole

Well done Brother...OP.....good advice starting here....no video necessary!

 

[emp1953]

I have my reloading setup finally complete as of 7 AM this morning, ive only ever reloaded for handguns this will be my first time reloading for a rifle, anyone have any final videos I should watch or should I just jump right in? Anyone use Hornady ELD's before? I got a hundred of them from Midway and want to test them out in my remington 700 i'm going to be using this year for coyote hunting theyre 108 grain with a G1 of 0.536

I had grouping problems with every load I created in my Remington Model Seven in .243win. Someone on this site suggested I go to i4350 or h4350. I did and that fixed every load. Every combination of brass, primers and bullets then gave me great groups, consistently dime size at 100yds

 

[APDDSN0864]

think I remember that bullet weight needing 1:7

I have 3 .243's with 1:8" twist barrels and they all stabilize those quite well. YMMV.

I'll echo the need for a different powder to do those bullets justice. Best wishes at finding more powder...

Ed

 

[Rflshootr]

I think you'll find IMR4350 will give you good accuracy at the upper end, even though you'll lack some speed. Remember, accuracy trumps everything else.

 

[Citified]

Just out of curiosity, is your 700 a rebarrel to get 1:8 twist? Mine is 1:10 factory and won't stabilize VLDs or 100+ grainers.
The rifle shoots well up to 95s and I can ring steel out to at least 450yds. When I rebarrel, I will definitely go 1:8

 

[ColoradoElkHunter]

I just finished working up a load for 243 using staball excellent velocity and groups. It would likely get you at least 100fps faster load with that 108gr bullet maybe 150.

What bullet(s) did you use with your StaBALL load? I have had good success using this powder for 30-06 & 6.5CM loads. It's also been much easier to find i.e. compared to Varget, H4350, etc.

 

[mdmiller]

I know what it is, its a G1 Aimpoint I just need ideas of how to get it mounted on to an AR retro build i'm going to make lol most of the ones i've found unfortunately are fakes https://www.primerpeak.com/the-aimpoint-electronic-the-first-red-dot-2021/ this is the most i've read up on it since yesterday. I don't know if I can just cut the rivets off and rig it up that way? Or what I really don't want to ruin it or anything but I really want to build it into something cool for decoration mostly

OK, find a good machinist, 1 pair of tall alum. rings.
Cut rings off flush, might have to mill bottom of sight and to make flat.
Drill and tap ring bases and mount scope on after you drill holes in scope base to match rings.

 

[john k]

there are more than a few great newer powders out there that I have and load with my .243, 7-08, and .280AI. There will always be IMR 4350 on my shelf! Does not produce best speed but it sure is consistent and when hunting season nears and I start overthinking which load for what area, I can always pull a load with IMR 4350 and fully feel confident it will deliver.

 

[Hugnot]

Knowing your rifles twist rate is good. Going to the JBM bullet length site and looking up bullet lengths will avoid stability problems, like buying bullets that won't stabilize. The JBM sites have stability calculators.

I have been using Ram-Shot Hunter & Win StaBall in my .243W with variety of bullets.

 

[coop2564]

What bullet(s) did you use with your StaBALL load? I have had good success using this powder for 30-06 & 6.5CM loads. It's also been much easier to find i.e. compared to Varget, H4350, etc.

90gr Accubonds, cci 200 primers.

 

[ColoradoElkHunter]

90gr Accubonds, cci 200 primers.

Thanks. I have both and will try building a load next.

Of course Nosler shows nothing for StaBALL for any of their bullets and Hodgdon shows a max load of 45 grains. My experience has been that all of my loads shot best near or even slightly over Hodgdon's max load data regardless of which powder used. Did you find something similar with your final load? I always start low and build up. Just interested in the ball park of the final load to not waste too many components due to starting to low.

I usually start 2-2.5 grains below Hodgdon max but always find myself ending up near or slightly above their max in every caliber I load. But, better safe than sorry.

 

[coop2564]

Agree, staball was looking bad at low loads erratic velocity but when I started getting within 2.5 gr of max load man it shot great with really good ES and grouped one hole. I tested to 46 gr with slightly flat primers, stopped. But best accuracy was at 44.5gr 2.655col 3208 avg

 

[ColoradoElkHunter]

Agree, staball was looking bad at low loads erratic velocity but when I started getting within 2.5 gr of max load man it shot great with really good ES and grouped one hole. I tested to 46 gr with slightly flat primers, stopped. But best accuracy was at 44.5gr 2.655col 3208 avg

Looks like a similar experience to mine in 30-06 & 6.5CM loads with StaBALL. Thanks for the info!