243 bullet weight

[welshwarrior]

Sako have a good reputation a mate in Australia love them in 80 grain want some Sako brass to reload for his Sako a2

[tjm160]

Ahh sorry Daf, just traded my Sako brass with my deer mentor. Also just had a very interesting conversation with him around bullet weight's. Have been warned off the large exit's (and corresponding meat damage) with SST's at short distances and am now thinking I should be going heavier to hit harder and reduce likelihood of running far.

[welshwarrior]

That been one of my concerns I'm a big fan of soft points over ballistic tips. But large lead moving slowly does work well in my experiences, so I'm not sure about this 243 idea but willing to try it.

 

In my mind I'm thinking an 80 grain soft point will be good option.

 

If this all goes tits up I'll either sell the rifle or fit a spare 204 barrel I have.

[Graham M]

I prefer to use 100grn soft points because of the better penetration.

I have heard of some horror stories concerning ballistic-tipped bullets where the bullet has blown up as it has hit the deer's rib cage and caused a massive injury on the surface, and the deer has run off never to be seen again; alive or dead.

 

I do realise there is a lot of anecdotal evidence of these things, but V-max etc were made for vermin and are not really a deer round.

 

No doubt there will be many who will disagree, but it's the same with 17hmr for fox; some swear by them whilst others (myself included) have found them very unsatisfactory.

And yes I do know that you have to put them in the right place, and one straight through the noggin SHOULD have been the right place................but it still thrashed about like a banshee on speed.

 

G.M.

[kent]

Daf - thanks and sure, I was just sharing my limited experience with the Sako Gamehead .243 and thinking behind next steps of round choice. You're in another galaxy to me with your .308 and general rifle experience

 

Kent - when using different bullet weights from the same gun, do you "aim off" or re-adjust the sights for the respective rounds? I'm sincerely hoping that a move to Hornady will present solely elevation difference between the 95g SST's and 58g V-MAX.

I record the changes to dial in from one to another. Foxing I zero at 200-220 depending on the round chosen (55 grn Nosler or 87 Hornaday at present) in which case I know the dial in for a correct MPBR zero change. If I switch to deer I prefer to re-zero fully at 100 yards, in my experience a more distant zero with the heavier slower 95-100 grn bullet leads to misses over the top on "certain placements" at shorter ranges. I don't tend to dial with the .243 unless its for wind and drop at further than say 300. Even with the slower 87 grain round I am just less than 6" low at 300, about 2" low at 250 off the top of my head. I tell which load I am zeroed for by looking at the side of the gun before I go out as this is were the dope data sheet lies on the side of the stock.

If I wanted to change to the 55 grain load say a quick check on the dial in adjust and affix the new data, 5 mins work (and the benefit of a good scope with 100% tracking)

[kent]

That been one of my concerns I'm a big fan of soft points over ballistic tips. But large lead moving slowly does work well in my experiences, so I'm not sure about this 243 idea but willing to try it.

 

In my mind I'm thinking an 80 grain soft point will be good option.

 

If this all goes tits up I'll either sell the rifle or fit a spare 204 barrel I have.

Forget bullet looks not all soft points or ballistic tips have the same design criteria. Forget the weight as much as possible for like reasons (its no more than a rough guide). Bear in mind the .243 is a .308 spitting out a far lighter 6mm bullet, it gives little leeway for bad bullet selection. Send to fragile a bullet too fast and it makes a mess on deer, too tough a bullet too slow into a fox and you will get pencilling, not all the time but enough to put you off the gun

.204 in practical terms is quite similar in the air (meaning dope) as the .243 as regards vermin and fox and "more normal ranges" but it cannot be made deer legal. Obviously the only gain in the smaller is in recoil, gun weight and powder burnt. Learn bullet selection well and the .243 will do all this and a lot more besides. I spent a time cursing the .243 win until I finally got my head round it fully

[tjm160]

Thanks Kent and Graham, some most helpful guidance there, much to mull over.

Edited April 12, 2014 by tjm160

[welshwarrior]

Graham the only time I've used a 243 was with a 105 grain soft point Graco it worked very well. If my rifle when it turns up works with them I'll see that as a huge plus, and look for a 60-80 varmint bullet but I don't think I'm that lucky.

[kent]

Graham the only time I've used a 243 was with a 105 grain soft point Graco it worked very well. If my rifle when it turns up works with them I'll see that as a huge plus, and look for a 60-80 varmint bullet but I don't think I'm that lucky.

I totally guarantee you that an off the peg factory .243 win will shoot bullets from 55 grn to 100 grn very capably. It might have preferences but that another matter. five gains is meaningless on stabilisation which depends on length and bearing surface, if you look at 5 grains of lead its easy to understand the why- you can get that extra 5 grain via a blunter nose.

 

The best shooting 100 grain deer bullets from a stock std .243 win tend to be the flat base, single core type. If you have any issues try the likes of a sierra pro-hunter. reason shorter length for weight, maximum bearing surface and good even balance.

 

heavy bullets that often don't work so good at the heavy end in the std .243 are long low drag types and twin core types

[pestcontrol1]

Seirra game king and pro hunter are good bullets in 243 you dont get alot of meat damage but i find that you need to get them moving quick to work well. But the only problem with them is ( in my rifle and a pals ) that you can"t seat them out very far with them been a short stubby nose and the ogive is alot coser to the end of the bullet so i end up with most of the bullet in the case thats one of the reasons that i went onto 80-90gn both work well on roe and foxes

[kent]

Not a fan of bullets popping out the end of cases the seating depth can only be too shallow in a hunting bullet IMO once usable velocity is reached with regards powder fill capacity. Run at what is legal and out to whatever range we shoot deer at these bullets work well. at higher impact speeds on big deer I go to a twin core bullet in the .243 out of preference, this means reds in woodland were the range might be short as the .243 can only push a 100 grn bullet so fast and its basically always top end ish to be legal. High impact speeds from a close range shot on a heavy deer and you tend to get too much break up and meat spoilage on the opposite flank with single cored bullets like the pro hunter in my experience

[welshwarrior]

Kent understand 5 grains is neither here nor there but only use a 243 for 5 rounds zeroing and then carried whilst looking for fallow.

 

Looking forward to playing with different loads hope to have my hands on the rifle tomorrow then work out scope mounting before I test fire it.

 

Varmint and muntie round first.

[kent]

Kent understand 5 grains is neither here nor there but only use a 243 for 5 rounds zeroing and then carried whilst looking for fallow.

 

Looking forward to playing with different loads hope to have my hands on the rifle tomorrow then work out scope mounting before I test fire it.

 

Varmint and muntie round first.

 

Never shot a muntie, had loads of fallow. Big bucks at short range and opposite flank can get blood shot at times, use a twin core if required or go for placement

[al4x]

Kent understand 5 grains is neither here nor there but only use a 243 for 5 rounds zeroing and then carried whilst looking for fallow.

 

Looking forward to playing with different loads hope to have my hands on the rifle tomorrow then work out scope mounting before I test fire it.

 

Varmint and muntie round first.

You don't want a varmint round to include muntie's you might be surprised how tough they are. A decent soft point 80 grains plus will do fine if you take out the front end you don't loose much meat as there isn't much on the front shoulders. Stoked up a little My 85's with a 200 yard zero are an inch and a bit high at 100 yards and even on fox cubs at 20 yards the other day they aren't explosive, and when the only shot on the dog was through rabbit wire it gave me more confidence it would do the job. I had a roe at 15 yards a year ago and that wasn't excessively damaged and you won't shoot much closer than that

[welshwarrior]

You don't want a varmint round to include muntie's you might be surprised how tough they are. A decent soft point 80 grains plus will do fine if you take out the front end you don't loose much meat as there isn't much on the front shoulders. Stoked up a little My 85's with a 200 yard zero are an inch and a bit high at 100 yards and even on fox cubs at 20 yards the other day they aren't explosive, and when the only shot on the dog was through rabbit wire it gave me more confidence it would do the job. I had a roe at 15 yards a year ago and that wasn't excessively damaged and you won't shoot much closer than that

Sorry my "varmint" bullet meant fox and small deer 70-80 grain soft point is want I want the rifle to shoot well.

[kent]

Sorry my "varmint" bullet meant fox and small deer 70-80 grain soft point is want I want the rifle to shoot well.

 

Pro-hunters at 100 grain will and have produced screamers on the range for me, there is a lot of BS talked about how a std twist wont shoot 100 grains - don't you believe such talk (it will and is one of the main reasons the .243 win in standard form is one of the most popular guns wherever deer exist)

[welshwarrior]

Well I rang around the local shops not much luck 58 or 100 grain only. Anyone have any suggestions where to buy ammo near Lichfield.

 

Or I'll have order it in or home load.

[Redgum]

 

Pro-hunters at 100 grain will and have produced screamers on the range for me, there is a lot of BS talked about how a std twist wont shoot 100 grains - don't you believe such talk (it will and is one of the main reasons the .243 win in standard form is one of the most popular guns wherever deer exist)

 

You may already know this kent but a bit of interesting info I read on Sierras's website was that the 100gr Pro hunter had better penetration than the same in Gameking as the jacket was slightly thicker. I used pro hunters due to the fact that they are meant to be more accurate sub 200yd but to be honest ( though never shot out past 200yd) didn't find any difference in accuracy between the two.

[kent]

Federal with the 70 grn b/tip are quite available usually. Factory ammo is a pain even in the popular calibres like .243 win it can be hard to get what you want

[welshwarrior]

Well I thought with 3 shops I should be able to get something, no looks like I'll have travel then order a big batch of what I want, at least I can get it posted to me ;-)

[kent]

 

You may already know this kent but a bit of interesting info I read on Sierras's website was that the 100gr Pro hunter had better penetration than the same in Gameking as the jacket was slightly thicker. I used pro hunters due to the fact that they are meant to be more accurate sub 200yd but to be honest ( though never shot out past 200yd) didn't find any difference in accuracy between the two.

 

Boat tails need more than 300 yards to come into any gains often further still. As regards accuracy it depends on weakest link and also how much it matters 1/4 moa is very tangible to some but means very little to the stalker at 200 yards at like 1/2" tighter group, who cares even if you gained 1/2 MOA its still not going to make a bad shot good at a heart

[Redgum]

 

Boat tails need more than 300 yards to come into any gains often further still. As regards accuracy it depends on weakest link and also how much it matters 1/4 moa is very tangible to some but means very little to the stalker at 200 yards at like 1/2" tighter group, who cares even if you gained 1/2 MOA its still not going to make a bad shot good at a heart

 

Yep I know that, the point I was making was about jacket thickness, I had no idea the prohunters had thicker jackets until recently, would give them the edge on larger deer.

[welshwarrior]

Kent

 

Had a look at the Lee kit on Henry Krank for reloading looks like I'd only need to add a set of dies, so reloading is possible if I can find someone to show me how.

 

It's looking like my only option unless I find a different shop near by.

[kent]

Kent

 

Had a look at the Lee kit on Henry Krank for reloading looks like I'd only need to add a set of dies, so reloading is possible if I can find someone to show me how.

 

It's looking like my only option unless I find a different shop near by.

 

You might find the RCBS better value into the future as regards the scales and quality of parts like the press, Hornady do one also. The Lee kit will do a job but I suspect you will want to upgrade most of it in time. If you were buying the Lee Kit I suggest e-bay for a second hand one at the lowest possible cost. Lichfield to North Lancashire is a bit of a treck mind but I am sure you will find someone good locally. You never stop learning stuff in the reloading room

[welshwarrior]

Ok I think my rifle like the Federal 100grain Power Shocks this a normal group from today at the PW rifle meet.

Looks like I'll be starting to reload when I've enough brass Thanks Mark and Fruity you where meant to tell me it was a terrible idea.