Need help with bullet choice

[rooiwillie]

I was wondering if someone could help. I need to know what the highest bc hunting bullets are i can shoot from my .243 howa with 1 in 10 twist. It has a 22 inch barrel. Also my .243 savage lrp with standard barrel. Im from south africa so bullet choices are limited to berger, hornady, nosler sierra and barnes. Thanx in advance for your help.

 

[MudRunner2005]

I like Berger VLD's and Nosler AccuBonds. Barnes TSX's have always done good for me for whitetail sized game, too.

As far as caliber and bullet weight, I can't help you there, I've never owned a 243.

 

[liltank]

100grn Sierra SPBT, Hornady 95grn SST, Berger 95grn Classic Hunter VLD, or Nosler 95grn Hunting BT.

 

[rooiwillie]

Thanx for the response. You guys dont think the 105gr amax may stabilise in the lrp?

 

[vatackdriver]

A-maxes should shoot fine in your rifle.

 

[PowellSixO]

I have the exact rifle that you have, and I might add that Howa makes one hell of a rilfe. I absolutely love my Howa .243. That being said, I've shot 95 grain bullets with MOA accuracy up to 500 yards. I don't have any experience with anything heavier than that though. On Bergers website they suggest a 1:9.5 twist for their 95er's. They recommend 1:10 twist for the 87's. These suggestions probably only pertain to their bullets however. Other heavier bullets may shoot great out of them with the 1:10 twist. Before I got into reloading I loved to shoot the 95gr Win Supreme Silver Ballistictip ammo. I always had good accuracy, but poor performance on game. Once I started reloading I bought the Berger VLD 95's originally but never actually loaded a round with one. I sold them and got the 87's per Bergers recomendation. I will tell you that I have only taken the rifle out to 500 yards, but those 87's flat out shoot!!!! 1/2 MOA at all ranges out to 500. Plus they are screaming out of the barrel at about 3200 fps. Any ways, good luck with your rifle and finding a good load. One more thing I will suggest is adjusting your trigger if you haven't already. There is a good video on youtube that explains the whole process. It's very easy and will help with your accuracy. Out of all of the factory triggers I have shot Howa wins hands down. I've been messing with an Accutrigger on my Savage, and I have given up with that piece of junk. I'm ordering a new trigger this weekend for it, but that's another story.

 

[JaseinMT]

Speer lists a bc of .430 I believe for their 100 btsp, which is the highest in that style that I've seen. Not a truly long-range bullet, but cheap and effective.

 

[reeldawg]

95 gn. Bergers and 100 gn Hornady BTSPs work very well on Florida deer and hogs

 

[rooiwillie]

Thanx for your advice guys. I settled on 87gr vmax for the howa as they were all i could find. They have a bc of .4 which isint bad. I loaded them at 3050 fps which is a node i calculated using quickload. I get sub moa groups at 500yds and took a egyptian geese today at 501yds so they work quite well. Also took a vervet monkey at 350. Id say 500 is about max distance for the standard howa. What do you guys think?

 

[JaseinMT]

I think that if you're hitting and killing at the ranges you want then the bullet is a perfect choice! I have had great to exceptional accuracy with v-max in a few guns and calibers. My favorite 'varmint' bullet by far, given my results and the lower cost.

 

[FEENIX]

I was wondering if someone could help. I need to know what the highest bc hunting bullets are i can shoot from my .243 howa with 1 in 10 twist. It has a 22 inch barrel. Also my .243 savage lrp with standard barrel. Im from south africa so bullet choices are limited to berger, hornady, nosler sierra and barnes. Thanx in advance for your help.

Have you checked out GS custom bullets (GS Custom Bullets - Designed in South Africa - Proven on the toughest game on the planet.)?

 

[rooiwillie]

Ive been using gs custom bullets for quite a while. They punch way past their weight class. Ive taken everything from kudu to duiker using the 69gr HV at 3500fps. The reason i was looking for an alternative bullet is because the GS are a bit expensive, cost almost twice as much as the vmax im using now, which is alright for hunting but when shooting paper it gets a bit expensive.