Light load for 243Win

[Sidelock 10]

Hello People,

 

Does anyone know of a 55 or 60g bullet thats useable in a 243Win. I want to try working up a light flat shooting 243, the idea being if i can load a 243 to give similar performance to a 222 or 223 i only need 3 rifle not 4..

 

My originaly idea was a .22lr, .17hmr and a 222rem,,,,,,,,,, then a good friend told of a patch of grass he has that has deer,,,, so meaning a forth rifle.

 

Any ideas would be most interesting. Thanks Tom

[dusty 0]

a 55 nosler with n140 powder with 43 / 44 g of powder

[Deker 3,478]

I know next to nothing about reloading but I am pretty sure you can get 50g, and certain you can get 55 and 58 in .243!

[HUnter_zero 58]

 

Does anyone know of a 55 or 60g bullet thats useable in a 243Win / a good friend told of a patch of grass he has that has deer,,,, so meaning a forth rifle.

 

Any ideas would be most interesting. Thanks Tom

 

 

Tom, you have two problems here. First is the twist rate of the .243" barrel, to duplicate .222 trajectories you will need a 1in12 twist to handle 58 grain V-max. Then you have to be 'deer' legal, 1700ft-lb muzzle energy. This can only really be achieved using 75 grain bullets, and there is a third problem there are not 75 grain bullet designed specifically for deer shooting, so and NOT that I recommend this, the only option would be to use a 75 grain V-max. This can be driven to deer legal velocities (3195 fps) but isn't ideal on anything bigger than Roe, and IMHO not good for Muntjac. A 75 grain bullet will not duplicate faster .222 bullets. In short as a compromise, you could use a 75 grain V-max load for fox & Roe (not that I believe V-max are legal for deer or ethical) but it would be a dual purpose load.

 

75 grain V-max / 43.5 grains of H380 will produce 3210 fps.

 

John

[IanB 0]

I've used 55gr up to 100gr in my .243 its a 1 in 10 twist, shoots them all great..

 

PS you start using 55gr or 58gr vmax in a .243 and they will give you some flat shooting... forget the .223 or .22-250's get the .243 best all round centrefire for the uk...just my opinion of course

[HUnter_zero 58]

I've used 55gr up to 100gr in my .243 its a 1 in 10 twist, shoots them all great..

 

 

 

My 1 in 12 pro-hunter will give one hole groups with 58 grain V-max, 100 grain SP's will produce 1 to 2" groups.

 

I had a range day today, testing my .243" in 75 grain V-max flavour which is a bit of a coincidence really, hence exact velocities.

 

In fact:

 

43 grains of H380 = 3158.75 fps

43.5 grains of H380 = 3210 fps

44 grains of H380 = 3256.25 fps

44.5 grains of H380 = 3336.6 fps

 

John

[Sidelock 10]

Thank you Gentlemen,

 

Some interesting stuff there, lots to think about,,, however the idea was to use the light bullet for fox and factory loads for deer.

 

The rate of twist isnt a problem at this point as i have not yet bought a rifle for either job, what started me thinking about this was that years ago, i used some Remington ( think they were called Exellorator) which were a 30-06 with plastic sabot around a ( i think .243 bullet), they seemed ok against paper,i just wondered if there was a way of loading a 243 to get the 2 option loads

 

Tom

[HUnter_zero 58]

just wondered if there was a way of loading a 243 to get the 2 option loads

 

Tom

 

 

You of course just buy a .243" of a suitable twist rate and stick to 100 grain bullets. The issues is you want laser flat trajectory and the legal ability to shoot deer. A difficult request. The .243" can do both better than any .22cf but not at the same time, so you have to make slight compromises and use a bullet weight that will give you a good trajectory out to about 250 yards but also enable you to take small deer. I'm experimenting with 75 grain V-max, just to see the results, then plan to swap to 75 SP with better ballistics for small deer.

The result should be an ideal small deer round, with suitable trajectories for long range fox control.

If I wanted specific requirements, then I would go for the .22-250 for a permanent fox rifle and .308 for a permanent deer rifle.

However I'm happy with my .308 on the deer but wanted something for fox and occasional Roe, hence my quest with 75 grain bullets in my .243"

 

John

[weejohn 3]

I use 65gr vmax over 41.7gr N140 giving MV of 3390 fps and 1659 ft/lbs from a 20" barrel.

From a 100yrd zero the bullet drops around 7.5" @ 300yds and retains a MV of 2387fps and 822 ft/lbs.

 

A 70gr nosler over 43 gr N140 gave 3500 fps and 1904 ft/lbs with a drop of 7" @ 300 yds from a 100yrd zero and retains 2536 fps 1000 ft/lbs .

 

Both these loads are far superior to federal 55gr 223 ammo.

From federal website MV of 3240 fps with 1282 ft/lbs dropping 11" @ 300yds from a 100yd zero and retains 2212 fps and only 597 ft/lbs.

 

I havnt shot anything with the noslers but the v-max is fantastic for fox and head/neck shooting of roe.

It also groups the best and have shot 1/2" (centre to centre) 250 yrd groups on a really still day.

Edited April 13, 2010 by weejohn

[Sidelock 10]

Thank you gentlemen,

Some very helpful info from you all. Gave me lots to work with, ill keep you informed on my progress.

Tom

[SNAP SHOT 194]

hi mate.....

 

 

if your looking for a fast flat round for fox try 58g v-max loaded with n160 will give you about 3450fps outta the 22" barrel

 

and varget will give you a velocity of, round 3700fps with the 58's and both will shott 1/2 moa or less if you do your job at the trigger end...

 

col. standard 2.600"

[Sidelock 10]

Spoke to my member of the plod today and as he is a shooting man himself so understood what i was after ,,,, he seemed happy with the 243 whatever i shove through the tube, so looks like its gona be a 243 with the 58Vmax as that seems to get the vote amongst you lads

[danebrewer10 6]

Hello People,

 

Does anyone know of a 55 or 60g bullet thats useable in a 243Win. I want to try working up a light flat shooting 243, the idea being if i can load a 243 to give similar performance to a 222 or 223 i only need 3 rifle not 4..

 

My originaly idea was a .22lr, .17hmr and a 222rem,,,,,,,,,, then a good friend told of a patch of grass he has that has deer,,,, so meaning a forth rifle.

 

Any ideas would be most interesting. Thanks Tom

 

 

such light bullets tend to be designed for foxing, so extreemly frangible and will seriously mess the carcass up, the lightest deer bullets seem to be around 75 grains I think hornady do an interlock and tipped SST in this weight, as well as nosler ballistic tip hunting and a partition in 75 grains as well, personally I wouldn't go lighter than this as although you may achieve deer legal energy, the mess inside will be massive- go with deer bullets that offer more controlled expansion.

[chocky14u 4]

Hello People,

 

Does anyone know of a 55 or 60g bullet thats useable in a 243Win. I want to try working up a light flat shooting 243, the idea being if i can load a 243 to give similar performance to a 222 or 223 i only need 3 rifle not 4..

 

My originaly idea was a .22lr, .17hmr and a 222rem,,,,,,,,,, then a good friend told of a patch of grass he has that has deer,,,, so meaning a forth rifle.

 

Any ideas would be most interesting. Thanks Tom

 

 

such light bullets tend to be designed for foxing, so extreemly frangible and will seriously mess the carcass up, the lightest deer bullets seem to be around 75 grains I think hornady do an interlock and tipped SST in this weight, as well as nosler ballistic tip hunting and a partition in 75 grains as well, personally I wouldn't go lighter than this as although you may achieve deer legal energy, the mess inside will be massive- go with deer bullets that offer more controlled expansion.

If you have to compromise on the rifles that you are holding then why not compromise on the bullets you are using too?

 

Using two sets of ammunition causes enough problems itself; one of which is the need to re zero your rifle every time you decide to go out for a deer/fox. Additionally there will come the time when you are out foxing and you will see the deer that you have been stalking for weeks and you will not be in a position to take the shot. The worse case scenario is you may not be able to risk temptation and take that shot with the lightweight ammunition.

 

The .243/6mm rifle is a formidable fox killer at all ranges. I have fox kills at 230yds+ with a 100gr SP bullet from Speer with .243, my father has kills at 400yds with 100gr Nosler Partition on foxes with a 6mm Ack. The same bullets/gun combinations have accounted for plenty of roe deer too at distances up to 300yards.

 

The compromise that i am talking about is to use an 85/87 grain bullet which would be perfect bullet for the .243 a good all rounder with plenty of stopping power should that elusive roe appear.

Edited April 17, 2010 by chocky14u

[danebrewer10 6]

 

If you have to compromise on the rifles that you are holding then why not compromise on the bullets you are using too?

 

Using two sets of ammunition causes enough problems itself; one of which is the need to re zero your rifle every time you decide to go out for a deer/fox. Additionally there will come the time when you are out foxing and you will see the deer that you have been stalking for weeks and you will not be in a position to take the shot. The worse case scenario is you may not be able to risk temptation and take that shot with the lightweight ammunition.

 

The .243/6mm rifle is a formidable fox killer at all ranges. I have fox kills at 230yds+ with a 100gr SP bullet from Speer with .243, my father has kills at 400yds with 100gr Nosler Partition on foxes with a 6mm Ack. The same bullets/gun combinations have accounted for plenty of roe deer too at distances up to 300yards.

 

The compromise that i am talking about is to use an 85/87 grain bullet which would be perfect bullet for the .243 a good all rounder with plenty of stopping power should that elusive roe appear.

 

I would agree, but what I'm talking about is not compromising on the rifle or the bullet, but choosing an unsuitable bullet for he species intended, if you are going to use 1 rifle for all purposes, then I think your bullet should err on the deer side of things to minimise on carcass damage, so choosing a bullet that will kill deer without the damage to the carcass whilst choosing something that will also do for charlie. Speer, nosler, and hornady all do a bullet or two that fit in, or are just outside of the weight parameters you give, I think that whatever bullet you chose if you shoot a fox in the engine room and it's a good accurate shot, (that we should all be trying to make) it's lights out.so in that case, perhaps a non bonded soft point or ballistic tip would be a good choice?

 

Cheers

DB

 

or, I just had a thought, find two bullets close in BC and weight, perhaps 2 tipped bullets like the Hornady interbond and V-max, and load them up so they duplicate each other in trajectory, then you'd have no problems, but the best of both, bullets designed for the intended quarry

Edited April 17, 2010 by danebrewer10