Need advice for reloading a .243

[tim1457]

Hey guys, I could use some advice on bullet/powder selection for reloading a .243. I just bought my son a Browning Mountain Ti in .243 with a 1 in 10 twist. I've read so many forums that say 100 grain bullets are OK or no an 87 grain is max for that twist. It's overwhelming!! I plan to use it to take my son (now 12) whitetail hunting. Any advice on bullet weight, powder loads? Anything will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance, Tim






"Accuracy is not something you buy, it's gained by long hours at the range."

 

[backwoods83]

An 80grn Nosler BT with 46-47grns imr4350 works well as will a 95grn Hornady SST with 46-47grns H4831sc.

 

[EXTRMHNTR]

I had my best luck with 37gr IMR4064, Win Primers, and 100gr Sierra Game King's. I can't get the velocity much past 2850 FPS as I have a short 22" barrel. RL22 also worked well but same scenario on the velocity. Good luck.

 

[roninflag]

you do not say where you are. whitetails vary from the 60 pounders here to 350 in alberta. the .243 deer bullets generally are the ones 85 grains and up . i have used the 85 sierra bthp, 95 partition, 100 partition, 100 horn, 100 grain sierra btsp. for accuracy I4064 and varget. for a little more velocity H/I4350 or re-17 . my most common load is 42.0 of I4350 and a 100.

 

[tim1457]

Thanks to all of you for your advice. I live in South Carolina and deer wt. can range from 70lb. does up to 200+ for bucks, but around 140-170 are average. Wanted to get some loads ready to find my sweet spot for my rifle before it gets too hot here....and deer season does start August 15th. It'll be here before you know it....thank goodness!!!!

 

[lamiglas]

The faster the twist, typically the heavier bullet you can/may need to shoot.
for example, berger recomends the following twist rates for these bullets:

95 vld 1/9 twist
105 vld 1/8 twist
115 vld 1/7 twist

I have a 1/9.25 twist ( a little faster than the 1/10) and it loves the 95 berger vld hunting with 41.5 grains of H-4350. it is very picky with the oal, but once that was dialed in, it shoots them great. I didnt try the 105 berger,but did try some other bullets in the 100- 105 grain range and couldnt get them to shoot well.

with all of that in mind, i would say your gun will likely favor something in the 90-95 range. I am not saying this is the gospel, but if it were me, i would start in that area. actually because of th luck i have had with the berger 95 vld hunting and h-4350, if i was doing another 243, thats exactly where i would start.

good luck

 

[boomtube]

"I've read so many forums that say 100 grain bullets are OK or no an 87 grain is max for that (conventional 1:10) twist."

Well, sadly, that kind of BS is a great part of 'web guru' advice. Fact is, a .243 in 1:10 twist works well for any common bullet weights from 100 down to 60 gr.; if there's an accuracy problem it's NOT because of the twist.

I've had excellant deer killing service on SC/GA deep woods deer with a .243 for years using common 100 gr. cup and core bullets loaded around 2600 fps, think I like Hornady's round nose best and any one of the 4350 powders does a good job. The accuracy and penatration has been well within need out to as much as 150 yards and the recoil is quite mild.

 

[lamiglas]

Boom tube- if you know it for a fact with the 243 then I am sure you are correct. But are you saying that twist rate has nothing to do with bullet wieght or are you just saying that a 10 twist is very versatile and will handle that whole range of bullets?

 

[tim1457]

Wanted to let you know I got back some info from 3 bullet manufactorers. For my rifle and the 1 in 10 twist (22" barrel), berger reccomended the 87 gr. VLD. Nosler reccomends the 95 or 100 gr. partition, and Sierra reccomended the 85 gr. HPBT Gameking. Didn't contact Barnes, but I believe all they offer for the 6mm/.243 is the 85gr. TSX bullet. just wanted to pass info I received from the manufactorers. Any advice appreciated.

 

[CogburnR]

The Sierra 85g HPBT is pretty tough to beat for whitetails.

It makes a big hole.

 

[roninflag]

Boom tube- if you know it for a fact with the 243 then I am sure you are correct. But are you saying that twist rate has nothing to do with bullet wieght or are you just saying that a 10 twist is very versatile and will handle that whole range of bullets?

LAM- the twist rate has to do with the length of the bullet. that is why a 10 twist is great with a 100 grain btsp sierra; but a 9 twist may or may not be fast enough for a 95 berger.

 

[roninflag]

TIM- I have killed a lot of deer with the .243 . it is deadly. my favorites for over 125 pounders is the 95 partition or one of the 100 grainers like a sierra btsp. i have not shot any big deer with the 85 sierra bthp but is it awesome and probably the most accurate bullet you can buy without going to a custom bullet like a berger. i have shot 88 bergers in matches from 500 to 1000 yards. i have not shot the 87 bergers yet.

 

[lamiglas]

roninflag-

Thanks for the explanation. I had always associated the twist rate with the wieght and not with length of the bullet.

bullet mfg's list the bullet by weight and typically if a bullet in the same caliber is heavier, it would usually be longer so i had never thought about the actual reason before, but what you said makes sense to me.

have a good day gentlemen, and good luck finding the right load!