243 Win with 95gr and Reloder 26

Anyone run this combo? Alliant has load data for 100gr and 105gr bullets, no info for 95gr. Just curious. Playing with loads for a How's Chassis Rifle with 10" twist. Getting decent results right now with H414 and 95gr SMKs. But always wanting to push a little more speed/accuracy.

 

Since no one replied I ventured out on my own on this one.

So far I'm getting very good results with 49 grains RL-26 and 95gr Tipped Match Kings.

I looked at Alliant's web page where they had loads posted for 100 and 105 grain bullets and figured 47-49 grains would be a safe starting point.

My first test was a bit confusing. Once I got to 48 grains, my bolt was getting hard to open. There were no other obvious signs of over pressure. Primer was nice and rounded (not flattened out), no ejector/extractor marks. I had used PPU brass for this first test and decided to try something else. I got some Winchester brass, loaded it and tried again. This time, no issues with the bolt being hard to open, and no signs of being over pressured. Best group was at 49 grains, just under 1 MOA with one called flyer, right at .5 MOA exluding the flyer (rifle is a factory Howa 1500 HCR, best groups have been around .45 MOA). The group was horizontally dispersed, but very tight vertically. Chronie readings at 49 grs were between 3300 and 3350.

If you're looking to squeeze a bit more out of a 243 Win, RL-26 might be worth a shot!

 

if you're pushing 95 grain pills out that fast with a 243, I'm assuming your barrel life will be short too. I'll stick to H1000.

 

Honestly, I don't know enough about all the variables that go into barrel life, but I'm assuming just by burning this much powder and increasing the velocity, it will likely be shorter than my alternate load of 41.0 grs of H414 that runs around 3080 FPS. This is likely not an ideal load to maximize barrel life. That is not my intended purpose here. I'm just trying to push a the highest BC bullet I can stabilize out of a 10" twist 243 Win as fast as I can. By no means am I suggesting this is the BEST load for a 243, but rather an option for a bit more velocity.

Also, I'm not running this load in an expensive custom rig. This is an off-the-shelf Howa. I can replace the barreled action for less than what it costs to rebarrel anything but a Savage. I'm not a competitor, just a casual target shooter, so even with a lowered barrel life, it will likely take me several years to burn up this barrel.

 

The temp sensitivity goes way up around ~83F, but if you stay below that it's very stabile.

https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/temperature-sensitivity-of-alliant-reloder-26.187256/

 

Thanks for the update JaoeyP

Play with your seating depth to tighten the horizontal in your groups.

If you don't heat the crap out of the barrel (like I do) the 243win will last for quite a while.

 

In the 6.5 creed and the 6.5x55, R#26, we used the Fed 215's and SD and groups tightened way up, may help you on the 243, trial and error will reveal all.

In a Salvage package gun in 243 Win, my neighbor got exceptional accuracy with speed with the 95g Nosler combined tec bullet using an over book max load of IMR 4350. It was our guess that the coating decreased pressure, thus more powder needed. Velocity/accuracy was exceptional.

 

I have always used CCI's, but I do have some Fed 215's on hand. I'll give them a try, thanks for the recommendation!

 

The 95gn Sierra TMK is almost certainly only marginally stabilised in a 10-twist barrel - unless you're shooting at some enormous altitude. Sierra says 9-inch twist or faster needed.

In such cases, even if the bullet appears to perform OK producing round holes on the paper, inconsistent results are common, likewise an inability to 'finally get there' on groups. You will also lose some of the claimed BC.

Measure a couple of your bullet OALs, go onto Berger's Twist Calculator,

http://www.bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

select the bullet nearest yours and overwrite Berger's values with the TMK's (eg weight and length); input your altitude, temperature and MV and see what you're getting as an Sg (coefficient of stability). You want somewhere above 1.3 just to get reasonable groups and 1.5 or higher for full stability.

 

maby you will listen to Laurie,,,,he is saying what happens in the real world,,,,I have had .243's since the dinosaurs roamed the Ohio valley and know what shoots "good" in them,,,,,you will hear someone say that a certain bullet shoots the best groups he has ever shot with a particular gun ,,,,and the groups are 1-1/2 moa!!!???/.....I have shot just about every bullet made in 14 twist and 8 twist proven "B"enchrest rifles and many factory guns that I have sorted thru to find a "good-un" and with a factory 9-1/4 twist (which is even better than a 10 twist ),,,,my personal results are with factory bbls "best"accuracy is with bullets with BC of less than .430 and no longer than 1.090".......of cours this is just "me" saying this,,,Roger

 

Laurie, Roger, thank you for the input regarding stability and twist rate. I'm fully aware the 95gr TMK is marginally stable in this set up according to Berger's calculator. If I factor in the the additional velocity I've managed with RL-26, and use the JBM calculator, their numbers show as stable. I bought the Howa intentionally knowing it had a slow twist rate. I was inspired by Mark and Sam (check them out on youtube!) to take what many view as ordinary, and see if I could get it to perform extraordinarily. Finding my way with success and failures is the most enjoyable part of this project for me.

I know 10" twist is not ideal for the 95gr TMK. I specifically used the TMK to test, because it had not been grouping as well with H414 (95gr SMK had been shooting beautifully). I have a 9 1/8" twist 243 as well, I am tinkering with the Howa and 95gr bullets for the sake of it. Again, keep in mind, this is NOT a bench rest rifle and I am not a bench rest shooter. 1/2 MOA out of a factory barreled action is in my opinion superb.

I started this thread because I wanted to see if I could get more velocity with RL-26, as others have with other bullet weights and calibers, and maintain the accuracy I had achieved thus far. To that end, I believe I have!

 

Very interesting re Max and Sam and the Howa. I'd not come across their videos before. I have a s/h Howa 1500 Varmint in the early (metal) Knoxx Axiom stock in 243 in apparently mint condition which I'll be doing a fair bit of experimenting with next year. Like M&S's rifle, it has a trigger upgrade and the bottom metal DBM conversion.

The aim is to see how the rifle / cartridge stack up as a budget short to mid-range F-Class rifle for club shooters. 243 is very common in the UK as light / medium deer plus fox number so there are lots of sporting shooters around who may fancy a bit of target work and competition but without the expense of buying a proper range gun.

I've long held the Howa in much higher regard than most people here give it. It'll be interesting to see how it does.

 

I had a few minutes to play with this load today. Shot a 3 shot group, plus rang some steel and busted some milk jugs at 355 yards. 3 shot group at 355 measured 2.1" edge to edge. This was prone with a bipod and rear bag. So far, I'm pretty happy with the results.

 

If you're gonna be shooting mostly inside of 500yds, you might could try the 87 VLD? Perhaps with some 4350, if your 414 won't play nice? RL26 is gonna be slow, though. Regardless of powder, an 87 would surely be a better match for your 1:10...

Beyond that, the 87's lighter weight and shorter bearing surface will yield a higher MV, which will improve short range ballistics. If this is a killin' rig, you'll enjoy extended point blank range dividends...

Run some #s at the ranges you'll likely be shooting. Ya might just find that an 87 pushed faster is a better mousetrap than a marginally stable 95...

Have fun!

 

I've shot 87 gr VMax's with this rifle with IMR 4064 and they do group a little tighter than ANY of the 95 gr bullets I've shot. Haven't tried the 87 gr VLD's yet, might do that down the road. If I use this rifle to kill anything it will be a backup coyote rig and I'll likely stick with the VMax for that task.

Currently, I'm limited to 500 yards at my friend's property. I am on a wait list to join a local club that has a 600 yard range and slowly working on building a 1000/1200 yard range.

Truthfully, I don't think I'm 1000/1200 yard capable yet, but I would like to take some courses and get there. When I do, I have some other rigs that are better suited than my 10" twist 243!