Thoughts on the .243

[wilmsmeyer]

I am new to posting on the Varmint forum and really like woodchuck hunting.

As a youngster, I started out with a .22 Win pump Mod 1906, Stevens .22 hornet w/weaver 4X scope and eventually had a Ruger .223 w/ a 3 X 9. Handloaded for both and shot truckloads of chucks with these combo's. I gave it up for a while due to where I moved to. Then one day, I fell in love with a laminate stocked, 26 inch barreled, 1-10 twist, Rem model 700. I currently have a 4 X 12 Leupold 1/8th MOA crosshair scope mounted on it and I still handload. A harris bipod (the shorter one) is mounted on it too. No special trigger but I have gotten used to the factory one. It's OK.

Bullets I've tried have been, Barnes 58 & 72 blue Varmintor HP's, Nosler 55, 70, 95 gr BT's, Hornandy 75 gr V-Max, and 85 & 100 gr Partitions. Always thought I might slip in a deer hunt so I worked up a few loads for the heavier bullets. Never have had the chance to feild test them though, just targets. No rifles for deer where I live.

Powders I've used are IMR4350, Rel 22, H4895, H380 & H414.

My load of choice for speed and accuracy for woodchucks is 52g H414, a 55 g Nosler BT and a std Rem primer. Cases are neck sized only. I trim cases to .010 over std length. I seat my bullets to be .030 off rifling lands. This load gives me 4,075 in the summer. Groups rarely stray above 1 inch and have printed some beautiful cloverleaf 5 shot groups. Chucks love 'em, they turn very mushy inside!

Sighted in at 300 Yds, it is 1.75 high at 100, 2.5 high at 200, dead-on at 300, and 6 low at 400. Very flat.

I've done some 500 yd shooting with this load and have shot 3 1/2 inch 5 shot groups. My longest shot on a woodchuck is 425 yds. Many between 300-400. Anything inside 200 is usually in major trouble.

What a fun gun it has been for me. All projectiles I listed earlier seem to shoot very well with a taylored load, the only exception being the 75 gr V-Max....won't shoot better the about 1 1/4 inch no matter what I do. Anyway, I look forward to spring and the new targets emerging.

I plan on trying out my Savage 10ML-II this year with some speedy loadings that seem to shoot well enough. My challenge here will be getting into a comfortable feild position to absorb the recoil while still being rock solid steady. Usually I'm prone on chucks so this may be a challenge.

Look forward to the spring!

[RAF]

I have a 243 but use it for deer. Have thought about loading it for varmints but have a 22-250 for that, but still thinking about it. I noticed the other day that my supply of deer ammo is just about depleted so am in the process of making some. Seems I punch more holes in paper than deer with it.

[wilmsmeyer]

I'll bet the woodchucks in Sask grow racks!

[RAF]

Ever see a jack-a-lope. Friend had a mount in his business. Used to be lots of mounts around.

[E.T.]

RAF

The mention of a jack-a-lope mount brings back a memory of a time visiting a bar/restaurant in the northern regions of Ontario years ago. Beside the mentioned mount was another with a decent size brook trout with a fur-covered body. The caption underneath this one was “It gets so cold here our trout grow fur coats”. ;D

Ed

[RAF]

Looks like one members knows about a jack-a-lope ;D

[bubba]

I think that cabelas or equivalent use to sell them!

I always wanted one, but had to settle for the singing bass


-bubba

[ozark]

Never missed a Jackolope with my .243.

[herman]

I haven't tried the less weight bullets in my 243,but want to when I get a chance.The H414 is a very good powder for the 243.I use it for a 85 and 87 gr bullet.
Let one of my brothers use it this past year and he took 4 deer with it useing the 85 gr sierra.

[wilmsmeyer]

Wow! That takes a perfect load, a perfect gun, solid scope/mounting system, a calm day, perfect trigger squeezes, great rest....and a little luck. That's a beautiful thing!

The lighter (55 gr) bullets from Nosler have really surprised me. Back in the day, 75 grain bullets were light. These 55 grainers have a BC of .276 and when comparing the drop charts to actual shooting it seems correct.....at least out to 500 yds.

My only "problem" is seating them in the case. I like to keep them .030 off the lands but that entails a very small bearing surface being held by the case. Since I only load one shell in the gun at a time it has turned out to be a minor issue.

By the way, the 70 grainers shoot very well also and my best load, with 414, pushes them almost 3600 fps with 3/4" accuracy.

The only difference in these 2 loadings is that the 70 grain bullets seem to open the woodchucks up for the crows better. Inside 200 yds, the 55 grain rarely exits! However, the inside of these unlucky beasts are mush.

(A good pelt hunters loads)

[RAF]

I don't remember the powder or the weight of the charge but those 55 gr noslers can be pushed at over 4000 fps. That's getting to the quarry in a hurry .

[wilmsmeyer]

A few powders claim this possible. I do it with H414 and 52 grs as mentioned at the top of this thread. I Tried to do it with H380 and could only manage 3900+ before having to back off.

H4895 could also take us there and I have a very sweet new load this year that shoots great. However the chrony's battery was dead that day.

[jims]

To herman: I would be proud of that group at 100 yards, but at 300 yards, Wow.

[herman]

jims,there was a good bit of luck with that group,I shoot from one to three days a week,but that is the best group that I have gotten so far.That was with a out of the box factory rem classic. Got another group that was close with the same rifle using 100 gr bullets.And you can see the same load with the 85 on the bottom that wasn't to close but a very good group at 300.
Have a savage .223 heavy barrel and have shot several one holers with it but not as tight as the one with the 243.Several weeks ago I put the first 2 shots in the same hole but wouldn't shoot the third,I knew I would pull it with a savage muzzleloader.My shooting buddie still teases me about it.
Getting to the age where my eye sight is slowly leaveing me but I love to shoot and have more fun now than I did when I was much younger.

[wilmsmeyer]

Herman,

Great shooting for older eyes!!

I get very excited when testing loads for my .243 at 200-300 yds that fall in the 1-2 inch range.

During the same chuck hunt I wrote about last week, where I used my Savage, I drilled 3 others with my .243 at 260, 265 and 280 yds. Missed 2 others at just over 400 yds but they sure knew something very bad was going on! And it was very windy!
This was done with 44.5 gr H4895 and 55 Nosler BT's. This load is shooting itty bitty 3/8th inch triangles at 100 yds on 3 separate range sessions. Supposed to be going around 4000 fps but I have yet to chrony it for sure.

My Savage ML shot at 192 yds just happen to be directly into the wind and I did not have to play it. With a crosswind....I don't know.....the .243 would probably have come out!!

Great shooting.

[wilmsmeyer]

Good time of year to revisit this post. Saw a woodchuck hit in the road last week and that's good.

This year, I'm putting a 6.5 X 20 X 40 Leupold with taper dot on the .243. The 4 X 12 will go on my friends 22-250 for the chuck season.

That h4895 load finally got chrono'ed. MV of about 3,975. It's the best load I've ever developed for this gun. It's shot a bunch of one-holers at 100 yds since the last post. I've got 120 rds of my old load left over. They hit within 1/2 inch of each other at 100 yds so that's good.

Wanted to Coyote hunt this winter but haven't yet. The snow is extremely deep in the woods and getting around is tough.

Will also be using the Savage ML on chuck hunts this year.....when-ever possible! Got a few with it last year. This year I've got a real light load so that I can shoot more places with it. A 185 gr XTP going 1,500 fps. Sounds like a .223. Shoots just under 3 inch groups at 100. Plan on only shooting this load out to that range or closer. The good thing is that at 100 yds, it shoots exactly to the same point as my full throttle 250 TMZ load.

Would love to score at 300+ yds with the Savage and I'll try whenever I can. Only in places far away from roads and cows! LOUD!

[herman]

I finally got some 55 gr.BT and tried them in my 243.Think they were pretty fast out of my 22 in barrel.Only shot one 3 shot group each with three different powders All were pretty darn accruate at 100 yds.Going to try some more with the H380 when I get around to it.

H414-50 grs-wlr pri.-3696-68/35-1/2 in group @100 yds

H380-51 grs-wlr -3818fps-5/3 -1/4 in group

IMR4895-44.5 grs-3599fps-77/39-1/4 in group

I got these loads off Steves Pages the IMR 4895 ,44.5 grs was his max but the H414 and H380 were under max.

[mistered]

herman said:

I haven't tried the less weight bullets in my 243,but want to when I get a chance.The H414 is a very good powder for the 243.I use it for a 85 and 87 gr bullet.
Let one of my brothers use it this past year and he took 4 deer with it useing the 85 gr sierra.

No fair stopping at 3 shots. Just kidding. Nice shooting rifle!!
-ED

[Rifleman]

Herman, you are a shooter, that's all there is to it.

[encoreguy]

If your gun is a Remington, it is probably a 1 in 9 1/4 twist. I love the 87 v-max for its accuracy and high b.c. 4350, 4831SC work very good for over 85 grain bullets. 90 grain Laupa's, 88 and 90 grain bergers are also good. With that twist the 95 grain VLD's would be a awsome high b.c coyote and larger bullet that would buck the wind great! I love the .243 and think it is a overlooked caliber.

[Rifleman]

Kyle, How does the VLD perform on impact?

[encoreguy]

rifleman said:

Kyle, How does the VLD perform on impact?

It is a tough bullet and on a coyote, unless you hit solid bone it will go through. I don't worry about pelt damage and I shoot high shoulder shots and they hit the dirt right there. On deer it is outstanding. Berger highly recommends their VLD's for hunting and one thing I have learned is that they are right on on their recommendations. Check out their web site for more info.

[jeremylong]

Wow..... 300yrds.

I would call bluff but I have seen too many of your posts. That is awesome.

[DannoBoone]

rifleman said:

Kyle, How does the VLD perform on impact?

One of the hunting mags did an article on them and did some pretty
extensive testing for that article. Berger attempted to make a
regular hunting bullet with the same shape as the target VLD, but
could never get it to perform in accuracy to their satisfaction and
gave up on the idea.

But hunters later began reporting on how great the VLD's worked
on soft tissue (lung) shots. It seems that due to their extreme point
they do not open up for the first couple inches, but when they do,
it's like a miniature hand grenade going off. They are not for those
who want a bullet to through bone, several inches of tissue, or
through shots for blood tracking. However, from the sound of it
most end up DRT.

I have some for an Encore .25-06 barrel which could never get
better groups than 3/4", but the 115gr VLD's group at 1/4". Never
shot anything but paper so far with them, but am totally tickled
with their accuracy. ;D