Light load for 243Win

[chocky14u 4]

 

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

or Alternatively invest in a good quality riflescope with a good bullet drop compensator or rangefinder and mildot combo.

[HUnter_zero 58]

The topic header suggests that the OP requires a "light load". I think the OP may well be surprised that there are only a few possibilities out there.

Best I have come up with, which is a REAL load and not just out of a reloading manual is a 75 grain bullet for dual purpose situations, however I am having major issues sourcing a SP for deer. V-max is commonly available. Now I know that some people use V-max on deer, I don't because I do not believe that the bullets have sufficient ability to penetrate through bone.

You can not in REAL terms drive a 58 grain bullet to legal deer velocity in a .243", I have tried but in any case it is irrelevant because you can not get 58 grain bullets designed for deer shooting.

As another poster suggested, if it's a primary deer tool or even if you expect to shoot deer, then a bullet designed for deer should be used, because said bullet will also kill a fox. However the opposite may not be true of a purposely designed fox killing bullet. Having two different POI or two different loads is a recipe for disaster. If your rifle shoots odd grain bullets then that option is by far and wide the best IMHO.

 

John

[chocky14u 4]

At the end of the day...."it isnt velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy"

[HUnter_zero 58]

At the end of the day...."it isnt velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy"

 

 

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

Edited April 17, 2010 by HUnter_zero

[SNAP SHOT 194]

its not that hard to fire two different bullets and then write the adjustment down so you don't have to go to the range to re-zero....

 

 

i do it all the time... And do NOT see what the hassle is...

 

 

Snap.

[Deker 3,478]

its not that hard to fire two different bullets and then write the adjustment down so you don't have to go to the range to re-zero....

 

 

i do it all the time... And do NOT see what the hassle is...

 

 

Snap.

 

Totally agree, and sometimes you would be surprised just how close 2 seemingly very different bullets can be!

[Deker 3,478]

At the end of the day...."it isnt velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy"

 

 

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

 

 

Is this something I missed??

 

Enlighten me John, what law in England and Wales says anything about muzzle velocity??

 

Cheers

Edited April 17, 2010 by Deker

[paynts 0]

I shoot 75 grn Vmax in my .243 i shoot mainly foxes. In my opinion its a good compromise rnd. However my friend shoots only deer with his .243(works for the hunt ;-) and uses 100 grn factory and zeros at 150 both of us swear by our loads the 243 is just a very versatile rifle. but be aware when using a ballistic tip bullet on deer if you hit them wrong ive seen the mess you can make of the meat, fragments of the ballistic tip traveling lenght ways through the body cavity and shredding the fillet area of the saddle etc

dont worry about barrel twist the .243 will always shoot just over the 1 inch mark with vurtually any weight of bullet. I've used a parker hale, Remmie 700 and a Howa all have grouped well with both light and heavy bullets. its not a paper punching calibre but still accurate

[SNAP SHOT 194]

http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html

 

 

Well i shot mine to 530 yards last week and got 2 1/2 inch group.... 5 shots, three where inside a 1 1/2 inch v-bull.... in a good breeze...

 

i outshot a few .270's a sako trg22, and a few 22-250's and a .204....

 

Just my humble opinion that its a good calibre for all diciplines... given the right twist rate, build choice, etc.

 

Snap.

[HUnter_zero 58]

 

Is this something I missed??

 

Enlighten me John, what law in England and Wales says anything about muzzle velocity??

 

Cheers

 

 

1700 ft-lb requires a given muzzel velocity / bullet weight

[chocky14u 4]

At the end of the day...."it isnt velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy"

 

 

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

John you misunderstand my comment; what i am referring too is a typical 100grain sp factory round kicks out about 2960fps. The original post was referring to the flattest possible shooting bullet for the .243 owner who wanted to use a lighter bullet in addition to existing factory loads for foxes and deer rather than buy a seperate specialist calibre for foxes. Reference was made to a 50/55grain bullet offering high fps velocity.

 

I offered the argument that in my opinion chasing velocity is not necessary to effectively kill a fox, especially when it's possible to compromise with highly effective allrounders like the 85/87 grain variants which themselves offer 3000+fps which offered the advantage of 1 bullet for deer and foxes and can take kills at great distances.

 

Its easier to see the disadvantages of the very lightest bullets than the advantages but at the end of the day like everything it comes down to personal preference.

 

To further clarify upon my previous post the following extract was taken from the BASC website Re. Legislation/Deer Law England and Wales:

 

"For Muntjac and Chinese Water deer only- a rifle with a minimum calibre of not less than .220 inches and muzzle energy of not less than 1000 foot pounds and a bullet weight of not less than 50 grains may be used.

 

For all deer of any species - a minimum calibre of .240 and minimum muzzle energy of 1,700 foot pounds is the legal requirement."

 

No mention is made for velocity only muzzle energy.

 

Hope this clears up any confusion.

Edited April 18, 2010 by chocky14u

[Deker 3,478]

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

 

 

 

 

Is this something I missed??

 

Enlighten me John, what law in England and Wales says anything about muzzle velocity??

 

Cheers

 

 

1700 ft-lb requires a given muzzel velocity / bullet weight

 

The law states NOTHING about any Muzzle velocity, only energy in England/Wales!

Edited April 17, 2010 by Deker

[chocky14u 4]

Scotland however does stipulate velocity, energy and bullet weight when referring to legislation; Extract taken from BASC Website:

 

"For roe deer, where the bullet must weigh at least 50 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,000 foot pounds may be used.

 

For all deer of any species - the bullet must weigh at least 100 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,750 foot pounds.

 

It must be stressed that all these figures are the minimum legal requirement"

[HUnter_zero 58]

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

 

 

The law states NOTHING about any Muzzle velocity, only energy in England/Wales!

 

 

I am more than sure you know that I know exactly what is written in law.

To achieve 1700 ft-lb muzzle energy, you will have to achieve a given muzzle velocity but here you go again, the semantics of a situation.

My comment may well have been flippant whilst replying to "it isn't velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy".

With all your experience, I am sure if or when you start to work a load up for deer, you calculate what muzzle velocity will be required for your chosen bullet to achieve the 1700 ft-lb. In essence, the law may not state the muzzle velocity because it will change for different calibres and bullet weights. The bottom line is that as we are governed by a min. muzzle energy, we are also governed by a min. muzzle velocity dependant on calibre and bullet weight.

 

For example :

"For roe deer, where the bullet must weigh at least 50 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,000 foot pounds may be used.

 

The minimum muzzle velocity for a 50 grain bullet to achieve a muzzle energy of 1000 ft-lb is 3001 fps ans so again we have a prescribed min. MV for a given bullet. My reply may have been badly worded but it was flippant.

 

Hope that makes my comment clear.

 

John

Edited April 18, 2010 by HUnter_zero

[Deker 3,478]

At the end of the day, it matters not because the LAW states what MUZZLE VELOCITY is required.

 

John

 

 

The law states NOTHING about any Muzzle velocity, only energy in England/Wales!

 

 

I am more than sure you know that I know exactly what is written in law.

To achieve 1700 ft-lb muzzle energy, you will have to achieve a given muzzle velocity but here you go again, the semantics of a situation.

My comment may well have been flippant whilst replying to "it isn't velocity that kills your quarry...its the impact energy and accuracy".

With all your experience, I am sure if or when you start to work a load up for deer, you calculate what muzzle velocity will be required for your chosen bullet to achieve the 1700 ft-lb. In essence, the law may not state the muzzle velocity because it will change for different calibres and bullet weights. The bottom line is that as we are governed by a min. muzzle energy, we are also governed by a min. muzzle velocity dependant on calibre and bullet weight.

 

For example :

"For roe deer, where the bullet must weigh at least 50 grains AND have a minimum muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second AND a minimum muzzle energy of 1,000 foot pounds may be used.

 

The minimum muzzle velocity for a 50 grain bullet to achieve a muzzle energy of 1000 ft-lb is 3001 fps ans so again we have a prescribed min. MV for a given bullet. My reply may have been badly worded but it was flippant.

 

Hope that makes my comment clear.

 

John

 

No arguement about the speeds required to make certain bullet weights deer legal, but just pointing out that there is no legal minimum speed for bullets in law!... not semantics, accuracy! There are legal minimum requirements for energy, etc, how you achieve that is down to you!