BEST POWDER FOR 243 WIN and 105 VLD

I have the 26 inch barrel 243 and a 22 inch that collects dust. I don't believe the 22 or less inch can effectively shoot 100 and above with the super slow powders.

I've chronoed R-25 and R-26 100, 105, 107's to get right on the 3100 fps mark and then went to work on seating depth etc to dial them in. One of the best additional items I found for accuracy was the RCBS case trimmer. I bought the inside/outside neck turning attachments to center the bullet to the bore. I've play with case throat length and diameter. I've also got into converting 308 Lake city brass into 243. Much thicker brass which looses up to 3 or so grains of powder compared to a 243 win case. Much thicker and more efficient.. I clean in a wet tumbler with stainless steel rod shot, resize to 260 rem without the expander ball and then on to my foster Pres. dies. I trim to right at the Saami max length spec. I feel that it has more hold on the loaded bullet. Then I do the turning to where the loaded bullet case has 2-3 thou. chamber clearance.

Over the years I've tried them all R-22, 7828, h1000, magPro. One of the powders that has promise in the 87 - 100 gr. is Superformance loading started right in the H4831 data

http://rcbs.com/Products/Case-Preparation/Case-Trimming/Universal-Case-Prep-Center.aspx

I see that nobody has mentioned H 4895 works great for me in 100 grain bullets and 87 .Work up to max slowly as it does build pressure quickly.I have also had great results with R 22 and H 4831 in the 105 Hornady and Berger's

You might want to rethink using H4895. with a 100 gr you are loosing about 300 fps

Without a chrono people often think that they have some great load.

Hodgdon Hybrid 100V .243" 2.650" 40.0 2,868 45,400 CUP 43.7C 3,100 51,700 CUP
Hodgdon H4895 .243" 2.650" 31.0 2,683 44,900 CUP 33.0 2,818 50,100 CUP

Hornhunter32 said:

H4350 will easily get you to 3000 if you can find some.

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I have 20 lbs and every store in town has some

Retumbo worked very well for me.

TacBlade said:

I have 20 lbs and every store in town has some

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Where do you live?

I try and let my rifle tell me what it likes. Bullets, powders, OAL, jump, etc. It's easier to pick a bullet than any of the other components, at least for me. So once I decide on a bullet, one of the first things I do is compare powders. I'll have 4 or 5 powders on hand at any given time. If you don't, go to the next post. (lol)
So I load cleaned, trimmed, sized, primered brass with the different powders . . . 5 rounds each. Same O.A.L. and such. I access as many different load data as I can and calculate a powder charge for each that will produce the same muzzle velocity. In this case, 2800 fps. (i.e. 33.8gr RL15, 41.2 gr RL19, 42gr H4831SC, etc.)
Then I shoot each at 100 yards and see if one (or more) powder produces a more accurate spread than another. After doing this in my .243 just days ago, I went with RL 19!
Now I go and shoot a ladder to determine most accurate charge and at what MV. Then I play with jump. Then I go hunting knowing that when I miss . . . it ain't the gun!

game4lunch said:

I try and let my rifle tell me what it likes. Bullets, powders, OAL, jump, etc. It's easier to pick a bullet than any of the other components, at least for me. So once I decide on a bullet, one of the first things I do is compare powders. I'll have 4 or 5 powders on hand at any given time. If you don't, go to the next post. (lol)
So I load cleaned, trimmed, sized, primered brass with the different powders . . . 5 rounds each. Same O.A.L. and such. I access as many different load data as I can and calculate a powder charge for each that will produce the same muzzle velocity. In this case, 2800 fps. (i.e. 33.8gr RL15, 41.2 gr RL19, 42gr H4831SC, etc.)
Then I shoot each at 100 yards and see if one (or more) powder produces a more accurate spread than another. After doing this in my .243 just days ago, I went with RL 19!
Now I go and shoot a ladder to determine most accurate charge and at what MV. Then I play with jump. Then I go hunting knowing that when I miss . . . it ain't the gun!

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I hate to come off like a jerk, but if you've chosen RL19....you have chosen poorly(Indiana Jones reference). This is a long range hunting forum after all. There are so many great powders out there these days....there is no need to put up with the velocity swings of those older powders. By FAR....there are at least 4 other powders that will smoke RL19 in regards to stability. H4350, H4831sc, H1000, Retumbo, R23, RL26, even RL16 which I am currently toying with....and then there are the IMR powders...

Then there's RL22!!!!! Great accuracy with 105 AMax in a 243. RL22 works across a broad selection of cartridges from 243 to 300 WM. It is probably one of the most accurate ones too. Sierra uses it a lot for their accuracy loads. If you just want to push a 105 outta a 243 with accuracy use RL22!

I use Re22. I'll probably transition to Re23 when this barrel is gone. H1000 I don't use but agree is a good option. Re26 is great if it meets your needs, I do get highest velocity with it.

desertcj said:

I hate to come off like a jerk, but if you've chosen RL19....you have chosen poorly(Indiana Jones reference). This is a long range hunting forum after all. There are so many great powders out there these days....there is no need to put up with the velocity swings of those older powders. By FAR....there are at least 4 other powders that will smoke RL19 in regards to stability. H4350, H4831sc, H1000, Retumbo, R23, RL26, even RL16 which I am currently toying with....and then there are the IMR powders...

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It's funny you should mention the IMR (Dupont) powders. I'll throw in the old ball powders too. They're a bit out of fashion these days but some of those old standbys can really bring a gun to life. I could never get a 338 Win Mag to shoot till I tried H-414. I just may try it in the 243. I bet it's awesome.

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Mike 338 said:

It's funny you should mention the IMR (Dupont) powders. I'll throw in the old ball powders too. They're a bit out of fashion these days but some of those old standbys can really bring a gun to life. I could never get a 338 Win Mag to shoot till I tried H-414. I just may try it in the 243. I bet it's awesome.

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I was specifically referring to the new enduron IMR powders. In this case IMR 7977 would be the most applicable. RL22 is about a horrible choice IMO. Yeah, it will make the rifle go boom, but the temp swings and lot to lot variance is laughable in comparison to A LOT of other powders.

desertcj said:

I

I was specifically referring to the new enduron IMR powders. In this case IMR 7977 would be the most applicable. RL22 is about a horrible choice IMO. Yeah, it will make the rifle go boom, but the temp swings and lot to lot variance is laughable in comparison to A LOT of other powders.

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You obviously haven't used it or you wouldn't be making those comments. Have used it for a long time in 243, 25-06, 7RM and 300 WSM. It is also has as good a lot to lot consistency as other powders. You just need to know how to use it. Has a lot of myths associated with it, but I wouldn't believe everything you read about it on the net either. It's a very good powder.

desertcj said:

I was specifically referring to the new enduron IMR powders. In this case IMR 7977 would be the most applicable. RL22 is about a horrible choice IMO. Yeah, it will make the rifle go boom, but the temp swings and lot to lot variance is laughable in comparison to A LOT of other powders.

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Yup, I haven't tried the Enduron powders yet but I've used numerous "temperature stable powders". The only way to know is to try them. In reference to performance and temp swings, I wouldn't be overly trusting of manufacturers claims. We get the full range of temp swings where I live. A person might be surprised how well and predictable those bullets fly with "unstable" powder.