Bought a new gun yesterday. It is a Remington 700 SPS 243. Got it at walmart for $430 and it came with a scope that will be junked or tossed on a old .22 or something. I'll shoot this gun until the barrel goes south then start a build but for now its a simi budget/ long range fun/medium game gun. Anyway after I get a scope put on it I would like to take it out and see what it'll do. My question is what are some good factory ammo that won't be too expensive and shoot simi decent but that I can also use to hunt with. Probably won't go as big as deer with this gun but might pop sone coyotes at long range or if I can find some hogs on a local strip job that would be cool. Anyway I wanna stretch this gun out on some steel and maybe do some light hunting. Whats a good factory load to try? Its a 24 inch barrel with 1-9&1/8 twist. That being said if I did load for this gun what size bullet would be my max to stabilize?
243 bullet size
- Thread starter dawg4life
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Federal Power Shok are as cheap as comprable Remington or Winchester and will out shoot both of them in my Remington 243, 9 1/8 twist barrel. My VLS will shoot the 100 grainers just over .5" @ 100 yards. I don't know how big your whitetail are up there, but with a good vitals or neck shot you will amazed at what the 243 will do to an animal. I'm talking utter internal devistation with a pass through or most of the frags pile up in the rib cage on the opposite side. I've shot 140# FL wt's at 600 yards and they didn't go more than 50 yrds.
Of course you can buy more expensive bullets in the Federal line that will shoot an even better group and their premium loads are as good as you can buy in my opinion. I've been shooting 243's for 30+ years and have yet to fail a recovered deer.
I reload and shoot a lot of 243's in a 5 Model 700's and a Model 7. If you're going to shoot steel you might be as well or better off to buy you a basic starter set and load your own. Two years of shooting will pay for it.
Good luck with your new toy,
B
I do plan on reloading in the near future just gotta save up a little money and buy a good starter kit and some accessories. I chose to buy a new gun over buying loading equipment (just couldn't say no) anyway I think I will try some 100 grain bullets to start out just depends on what I can get my hands on considering the current condition of ammo in my area. I know the 243 is capable of killing deer in my area (full grown bucks rarely reach 170+ lbs) but I have plenty of deer guns. 300 win, couple 30-06's and we have a fairly short rifle season anyway. Can't wait to get my scope and try this thing out!
westcliffe01
Well-Known Member
With that twist rate you might try the Hornady Superformance 95gr SST's. That was as heavy as I could go in a high BC type bullet. Those shot nicely out my Savage model 12 with a 9.25 twist 26" length barrel.
If you reload then try the 87gr Match Grade VLD hunting bullet from Berger. See Hunting Bullets | Berger Bullets Its the bullet at the very top of the list. Reloading with the Bergers is cheaper than factory ammo, thats for sure...
Be aware that you will most likely have to relieve the barrel channel in the fore end of that stock to prevent intermittent contact with the barrel which will play havoc with grouping. Then bed the action and recoil lug, which are not too well located in that stock. Unfortunately, that particular stock is too much plastic and too little glass and is pretty rubbery. My 223 SPS the fore end was warped and was putting pressure on one side of the barrel. Because of the flexing, I had to remove nearly 1/8" of material so that it would not touch, even when loaded against the bipod. If you do the $ bill test it will still touch when you actually use it. Using a playing card is closer to the mark with that stock.
Or get one of these
They are currently $140 at Stockys stocks http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-502/*NEW!*-Bobby-Hart-Long/Detail
Having a Remington is both a blessing and a curse. Great for getting all sorts of aftermarket parts. A curse because many times, you NEED those parts since what you got from the factory was a piece of junk. If you have a good trigger on your gun, be GLAD, because a replacement trigger can run quite a bit of money. The least expensive "decent" trigger I found is the one sold by the barrel maker Shilen Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc. Prices here Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.
I had 2 different experiences with Remington. The first a limited edition 700 "classic" in 8x57 which was terrible in every way. It had an over 8lb trigger, bad inletting and a finicky sporter barrel. I paid pretty handsomely for it too, over $700. I tried everything and it took fitting the Shilen trigger and one of the Stockys stocks before it became any good at all. But the sporter barrel was still a limitation.
The second was a 700 SPS in 223 which I bought used with a cheap chinese scope on it with an even cheaper aluminum optics rail. I put on a steel Warne Maxima rail ($125), a Nikon 4-16x50 Monarch in Maxima steel rings. The trigger on that one was fine, it didn't need anything. But it couldn't do better than a 3" group at 100 yards and it did not take me long to find the issue with the fore end. Once I did the "generous" free float job on it, it grouped 1/2" every time out. The barrel quality of that 223 was vastly better than the 8mm also. It had a really nice bore finish and hardly fouled at all. But it was a 12 twist, so I could not shoot heavier than 55gr and the wind was killing me on my coyote hunting. So I sold that and got the Savage 10 which is my current 223. The Savage shoots 75gr match bullets to 1/2 moa very reliably. My SPS had a 26" heavy barrel and in combination with the light plastic stock is was a bit awkward to carry and handle since it was too barrel heavy. A 20" would have been far better balanced, or else it needed a heavier stock. Anyway, as you can see, for me my 223 was a success story except for the barrel twist rate, but for what it was, it was an accurate weapon once I got the stock issues sorted out.
If you do go with the stock from stockys, it will really transform that rifle.
My 8mm is now with McGowan getting a heavy varmint profile stainless barrel, so in truth I paid $700 for a donor action.... Can't wait to see how it will shoot those 200gr bullets when I get back. They have a BC that is close to 0.6....
http://www.bergerbullets.com/products/hunting-bullets/
If you reload then try the 87gr Match Grade VLD hunting bullet from Berger. See Hunting Bullets | Berger Bullets Its the bullet at the very top of the list. Reloading with the Bergers is cheaper than factory ammo, thats for sure...
Be aware that you will most likely have to relieve the barrel channel in the fore end of that stock to prevent intermittent contact with the barrel which will play havoc with grouping. Then bed the action and recoil lug, which are not too well located in that stock. Unfortunately, that particular stock is too much plastic and too little glass and is pretty rubbery. My 223 SPS the fore end was warped and was putting pressure on one side of the barrel. Because of the flexing, I had to remove nearly 1/8" of material so that it would not touch, even when loaded against the bipod. If you do the $ bill test it will still touch when you actually use it. Using a playing card is closer to the mark with that stock.
Or get one of these
They are currently $140 at Stockys stocks http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-502/*NEW!*-Bobby-Hart-Long/Detail
Having a Remington is both a blessing and a curse. Great for getting all sorts of aftermarket parts. A curse because many times, you NEED those parts since what you got from the factory was a piece of junk. If you have a good trigger on your gun, be GLAD, because a replacement trigger can run quite a bit of money. The least expensive "decent" trigger I found is the one sold by the barrel maker Shilen Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc. Prices here Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.
I had 2 different experiences with Remington. The first a limited edition 700 "classic" in 8x57 which was terrible in every way. It had an over 8lb trigger, bad inletting and a finicky sporter barrel. I paid pretty handsomely for it too, over $700. I tried everything and it took fitting the Shilen trigger and one of the Stockys stocks before it became any good at all. But the sporter barrel was still a limitation.
The second was a 700 SPS in 223 which I bought used with a cheap chinese scope on it with an even cheaper aluminum optics rail. I put on a steel Warne Maxima rail ($125), a Nikon 4-16x50 Monarch in Maxima steel rings. The trigger on that one was fine, it didn't need anything. But it couldn't do better than a 3" group at 100 yards and it did not take me long to find the issue with the fore end. Once I did the "generous" free float job on it, it grouped 1/2" every time out. The barrel quality of that 223 was vastly better than the 8mm also. It had a really nice bore finish and hardly fouled at all. But it was a 12 twist, so I could not shoot heavier than 55gr and the wind was killing me on my coyote hunting. So I sold that and got the Savage 10 which is my current 223. The Savage shoots 75gr match bullets to 1/2 moa very reliably. My SPS had a 26" heavy barrel and in combination with the light plastic stock is was a bit awkward to carry and handle since it was too barrel heavy. A 20" would have been far better balanced, or else it needed a heavier stock. Anyway, as you can see, for me my 223 was a success story except for the barrel twist rate, but for what it was, it was an accurate weapon once I got the stock issues sorted out.
If you do go with the stock from stockys, it will really transform that rifle.
My 8mm is now with McGowan getting a heavy varmint profile stainless barrel, so in truth I paid $700 for a donor action.... Can't wait to see how it will shoot those 200gr bullets when I get back. They have a BC that is close to 0.6....
http://www.bergerbullets.com/products/hunting-bullets/
Thanks thats alot of great info. I guess I got lucky on the trigger cause it is LIGHT AND SMOOTH with no creep at all. As for the stock well it sucks.......really bad. I originally am a savage guy but I guess since I own 3 Remington rifles and only one savage......Maybe I'm a Remington guy haha. Anyway I don't like the stock but for now I'm stuck with it.....Scope comes first. I do like that stock there but I'm not a wood stock kinda guy, don't get me wrong the right ones can be beautiful but the places I hunt/shoot are so hard on a stock that I just can''t bring myself to ruin a good wood stock. I will invest in a stock pretty soon but after a scope. I want to shoot the highest BC bullets I can but I know I'm limited by my barrel twist. For now I have to stick with factory loads because loading my own isn't a option. Can't wait to sretch this gun out a little bit.
Went shooting saturday and had 2 hits at 625 with a Savage Axis 22-250! little to far for that caliber when I backed down to 500 I was hitting every shot!
Went shooting saturday and had 2 hits at 625 with a Savage Axis 22-250! little to far for that caliber when I backed down to 500 I was hitting every shot!
westcliffe01
Well-Known Member
This was what I was getting with the superformance 95gr SST's out of my 9.25 twist barrel. And they kill the coyotes DRT.
matt_3479
Well-Known Member
a couple years back i bought a remington 700 sps varmint in a 243. win with a 26" bull barrel. For 599 dollars or so i thought it was pretty good looking and a great platform. I threw a vortex viper on it and picked up the cheapest box of ammo i could find. 80 grain soft point federal premium ammunition. I was amazed with the accuracy! first round (the low one was to see where it was hitting at 104 yards, brought it up 1 moa and fired 3 shot group.
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I also had a chance to shoot a big whitetail doe in Montana 2 years ago and it only went about 40 yards before barreling over.
I haven't had too much experience with it at anything over 300 yards but here are a few groups. I only had limited bullets so i shot a few 2 shot groups and a few 3 shot groups.
2 shot group at 200
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2 shot group at 300 yards
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3 shot group at 400 yards
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Now i thought these groups were pretty good for factory gun and factory ammunition. I would really like to take this gun and make it better but not sure where to start with the customizing.
I also had a chance to shoot a big whitetail doe in Montana 2 years ago and it only went about 40 yards before barreling over.
I haven't had too much experience with it at anything over 300 yards but here are a few groups. I only had limited bullets so i shot a few 2 shot groups and a few 3 shot groups.
2 shot group at 200
2 shot group at 300 yards
3 shot group at 400 yards
Now i thought these groups were pretty good for factory gun and factory ammunition. I would really like to take this gun and make it better but not sure where to start with the customizing.
I have the same gun, but I hand load for it. The best luck that I have had with mine in factory ammo was the federal premium ammunition loaded with 100 gr. Sierra Gameking's. Those shot well, 3/4 to 1 inch groups at 100 yards, and they put the hammer down on deer. Best of luck to you whatever you try!
westcliffe01
Well-Known Member
I suspect that you will find it hard to do better than the 95gr SST's for long range. Most heavier bullets you will be able to shoot will have a much lower BC and will shed energy fast. Data below directly from Hornady. You have to consider how much energy you need to kill a specific species, for example, at 500 yards 802ftlb is more than enough to kill a coyote, perhaps a deer but probably not an Elk...
The 100gr hunting bullets will be better at close range.
0 100 200 300 400 500 Yards
3185 2908 2648 2402 2169 1950 Velocity
2139 1784 1478 1217 992 802 Energy
The 100gr hunting bullets will be better at close range.
0 100 200 300 400 500 Yards
3185 2908 2648 2402 2169 1950 Velocity
2139 1784 1478 1217 992 802 Energy
Here's a 3 shot group using Hornady 105 AMAX's. Top left bullet was ranging and low right is 3 shot group at 305 yards. Just for comparisom, my info shows the Berger 95 VLD has a BC of .486 and that Hornady's 105 AMAX has a BC of .500, 105 Match is .530 and Sierra's 107 Match King with BC of .527. Info ws obtained from respective web sites.
Attachments
Those are some good groups. I think I will try out some federals and some hornandy's and see how they group in my gun. Does anybody know of any websites that arn't wipped out of ammo? Midway doesn't have much in stock and my local stores arn't looking good either. Hopefully I can get some ammo and get out to the range and soon! That new gun smell is a killer!
westcliffe01
Well-Known Member
You should have no problem with getting 243 ammo. There are few AR type rifles shooting that cartridge....
I don't know at what altitude you will be shooting, but most 9 twist barrels will not stabilize 105gr Amax or 95gr+ VLD bullets (except maybe in summer). If you know the dimension of the bullets, go to the bergerbullets.com website and use their stability calculator to see what the stability looks like in your barrel.
It would help if the posters above would list their barrel twist rate along with the other info. I just recently went to a 1:8 twist Shilen barrel because of the fact that the 1:9.25 twist of my Savage was limiting the weight of the bullets that I could shoot in winter conditions.
I don't know at what altitude you will be shooting, but most 9 twist barrels will not stabilize 105gr Amax or 95gr+ VLD bullets (except maybe in summer). If you know the dimension of the bullets, go to the bergerbullets.com website and use their stability calculator to see what the stability looks like in your barrel.
It would help if the posters above would list their barrel twist rate along with the other info. I just recently went to a 1:8 twist Shilen barrel because of the fact that the 1:9.25 twist of my Savage was limiting the weight of the bullets that I could shoot in winter conditions.
