Which 243 ammo

[kier]

I need to buy some .243 ammo for deer 100/250m  all I know is have to be soft point but what load 

and make  and possible cost

[Gameking]

I assume this is for Deer, many estates do not allow ballistic tips ? As ever the right factory round differs in all makes and models of rifles but as a good starter ,  try these, Federal Power Shok 100grain soft point

[scarecrow243]

you may find your rifle will hold better groups with certain brands  i found rws 100grn soft point were very good the the mrd is 212 yards zero its on the inside of the box

[oowee]

3 hours ago, Gameking said:

I assume this is for Deer, many estates do not allow ballistic tips ? As ever the right factory round differs in all makes and models of rifles but as a good starter ,  try these, Federal Power Shok 100grain soft point

^^^^^ These work so well in my Mauser and they are relatively cheap and very effective on Roe and Munty. I am struggling to match them with my first lot of home loads. I think the last lot cost me £25 a box.

[old man]

6 hours ago, kier said:

I need to buy some .243 ammo for deer 100/250m  all I know is have to be soft point but what load 

and make  and possible cost

Please don't take this the wrong way but.........

Not wishing to rain on your parade but......all you know is they have to be soft points and you are looking 100/250 mtrs?

I think the deer deserve a bit more respect and a bit more practice first?

Maybe I get this the wrong way, if so I apologise.

[team tractor]

2 hours ago, oowee said:

^^^^^ These work so well in my Mauser and they are relatively cheap and very effective on Roe and Munty. I am struggling to match them with my first lot of home loads. I think the last lot cost me £25 a box.

I find my home loads amazing compared to factory but after 150-200 yards. 100 yards is the same 1/4” group .

 

7 hours ago, kier said:

I need to buy some .243 ammo for deer 100/250m  all I know is have to be soft point but what load 

and make  and possible cost

When I used factory loads I only used Winchester and they were brilliant but that’s my gun and not everyone else’s. 

Edited June 19, 2019 by team tractor

[kier]

3 hours ago, old man said:

Please don't take this the wrong way but.........

Not wishing to rain on your parade but......all you know is they have to be soft points and you are looking 100/250 mtrs?

I think the deer deserve a bit more respect and a bit more practice first?

Maybe I get this the wrong way, if so I apologise.

the point of asking is to try to use the best , most accurate ammo to hone my skills for a tight pattern before I use this new gun for its purpose 

I have been" practicing "  with guns  50+ years 

[Lloyd90]

59 minutes ago, kier said:

the point of asking is to try to use the best , most accurate ammo to hone my skills for a tight pattern before I use this new gun for its purpose 

I have been" practicing "  with guns  50+ years 

The best most accurate ammo in my gun might be the worst least accurate ammo in your gun. 

Go buy a box of 3-4 brands of 90-100gr 243 soft points, shoot them at 100-250 yards and compare them for what you want them to do 👍🏻. 

[toontastic]

7 hours ago, Lloyd90 said:

The best most accurate ammo in my gun might be the worst least accurate ammo in your gun. 

Go buy a box of 3-4 brands of 90-100gr 243 soft points, shoot them at 100-250 yards and compare them for what you want them to do 👍🏻. 

Good answer, took me 4 brands before I found sako gamehead best suited my tikka.

[Vince Green]

It also depends on whats available to buy in your locality. Dealers don't usually keep much of a selection.

[kier]

I will have to try different brands 

maybe I should have asked , any recommended ammo for a Steyr  ssg  08   

[243deer]

start with the cheapest, making sure that sufficient stock is available if it turns out OK (I like to buy in batches of 100 once I have found a good one) then work your way up in price if needed - there are no short cuts - you have to put in the time, money and effort yourself to find the best for your barrel

Edited June 20, 2019 by 243deer
edit batches comment

[kier]

3 minutes ago, 243deer said:

start with the cheapest, making sure that sufficient stock is available if it turns out OK (I like to buy in batches of 100 once I have found a good one) then work your way up in price if needed - there are no short cuts - you have to put in the time, money and effort yourself to find the best for your barrel

sounds about right. thanks everyone for the input

[Vince Green]

PPU is the benchmark, and also possibly the most widely available over all. Some people love it some people hate it

Edited June 20, 2019 by Vince Green

[mick miller]

6 hours ago, toontastic said:

Good answer, took me 4 brands before I found sako gamehead best suited my tikka.

Second the 90gr. gamekings. Perfect in my very fussy x-bolt.

[ShootingEgg]

I found Norma 100gr so worked well in my M12, also Winchester have done well.. And have a box of rws as my local shop seems to have moved to them. So that will be a suck it and see when I get to the box 

[PPP]

I’d start with Game head in 90 gr, mid priced and good performance.  80gr Federal or Winchester cloverleaf but also create a fair amount of meat loss..

[kenholland]

with all these  rounds to try what is the minimum sample's gun shops will sell to people ? .

[kier]

to fill in the rest of the story ,  I had some ammo come with the gun but it was not connected  to the gun , the guy was a part time dealer and threw some ammo in to sweeten the deal anyway this is what I have been using and not getting anywhere, no consistence at all , having read about various things affecting accuracy I decided to take the new mod off, just in case and guess what seemed like things were looking better the last 3 shots of 17 were all within 1/2 inch  at 150yds centre of my cross

the ammo that came with the gun was GECO 105grm and now I have to see what the local shop stocks and see where that leads , see if any of the makes  mentioned are stocked

[Harry136]

I've found Lapua or Hornady work best with my .243 AB3

[PPP]

11 minutes ago, kier said:

to fill in the rest of the story ,  I had some ammo come with the gun but it was not connected  to the gun , the guy was a part time dealer and threw some ammo in to sweeten the deal anyway this is what I have been using and not getting anywhere, no consistence at all , having read about various things affecting accuracy I decided to take the new mod off, just in case and guess what seemed like things were looking better the last 3 shots of 17 were all within 1/2 inch  at 150yds centre of my cross

the ammo that came with the gun was GECO 105grm and now I have to see what the local shop stocks and see where that leads , see if any of the makes  mentioned are stocked

Some 243, and certainly my Howa, struggles with rounds heavier than 90 or 95gr

[Jason_ox]

Not sure what the Steyr twist rate is, most .243 are I believe 1 in 10, bullet weight between 60-90 I think works best. Some are indeed capable of stabilising 100g+, it’s  horses for courses though. You can read as much into it until you’re more confused than you’re now! Trust me I’ve done it. Like others have said, you’re best bet is to try a selection of weights/makes that your RFD keeps a good stock of. I’ve just bought a tikka t3x in .243 and I’m told that from factory it should be shooting MOA or they don’t let it go out the door. So with that in mind I am trying a selection of Sako ammo, just tried their 70g BTSP varmint round. It likes them! Will be getting hold of some 90g Soft points tomorrow to try, fingers crossed. Hope you find something soon! 

[kier]

1 hour ago, Jason_ox said:

Not sure what the Steyr twist rate is, most .243 are I believe 1 in 10, bullet weight between 60-90 I think works best. Some are indeed capable of stabilising 100g+, it’s  horses for courses though. You can read as much into it until you’re more confused than you’re now! Trust me I’ve done it. Like others have said, you’re best bet is to try a selection of weights/makes that your RFD keeps a good stock of. I’ve just bought a tikka t3x in .243 and I’m told that from factory it should be shooting MOA or they don’t let it go out the door. So with that in mind I am trying a selection of Sako ammo, just tried their 70g BTSP varmint round. It likes them! Will be getting hold of some 90g Soft points tomorrow to try, fingers crossed. Hope you find something soon! 

thanks for that

[kier]

got some sako and federal now to try

took the mod back and got a refund , this was the last of a bad batch  which had come back , but why  was it sold to me in the first place

[Jonno243]

The perceived stabilization issue with the .243WIN / 100gr combination is a misconception in that the mass of the bullet is somewhat secondary to the dimensions of the bullet.

Heavy for caliber bullets tend to boat-tailed and much longer, giving a much greater bearing surface. To ensure good stability with such a construction one has to increase the velocity in a "standard" 1-10" barrel, however in .243 it is often not possible to drive them fast enough  due to pressure constraints. The way around this is to use a shorter, flat-based bullet like the Sierra Prohunter (to my mind the benchmark .243 100gr bullet). My pet load uses a Prohunter over N160 in Sako brass and, assuming that I do my part properly, will print <0.5MOA with boring regularity (factory standard Steyr Luxus with a 1-10" twist). 100gr factory options from Sako, Federal and RWS will hover between 0.5-1MOA, slightly looser for Winchester and Norma. 105gr Geco will sit ever so slightly above the 1MOA mark. Against my better judgment I tried to develop a load using 103gr ELD-X / N160 last year and when initial testing returned a best grouping of 6MOA (no, not a typo unfortunately!) I came over all petulant and launched the remainder of the box into a drawer to gather dust.

If you feel that you NEED a longer, boat-tail for the improved BC they deliver (and trust me on this, at the ranges you quoted, you do not!) then your only option is to drop the weight below 90gr and drive them faster, otherwise try out the 100gr options from Sako, RWS and Federal (based on my experiences) and see how you get on.

As an aside, I have recently read that factory barrels on US production rifles, particularly Remington and Savage, have a slight faster twist-rate; hence why Sierra offer two 100gr standard-hunting options, Prohunter (short and flat) for "standard" twist and Gameking (longer, boat-tailed) for faster twist.

As a secondary aside, I note with interest that you say the grouping improved significantly once the moderator was removed? This would imply to me that the ammunition / barrel is not to blame, but rather the moderator or (more likely) the threading is to blame...