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.243 AI build for groundhogs and deer

potatoe

Silver $$ Contributor
Hello All,

Well I'm a new guy on here and thought I'd do a post on my rifle build. Let me start off by saying I don't know a whole lot about customs most of my knowledge is spillage from my pops, I've owned a few customs which were given to me from my pop's who knows his way around customs, and is pretty much my guiding light on many details of the build. Not every piece of the gun is set in stone, but I have a pretty good idea on what I'll be getting. The gun will remain factory through this deer season, while I have the barrel and stock made and fitted so the finish product won't be till probably next spring. All comments and suggestions from you guys would be appreciated.

First off is the base of the build, which is a Rem. 700 varmint SPS .243 Win.(just bought it yesterday). The next item is going to be a barrel from Krieger, I am really liking the Rem. Varmint contour (thanks to a suggestion from a guy on a different forum) the slow taper and 4.5 Lb's seems to be a great choice for my application of this gun. Not sure on the twist just yet, probably going to be a 1:10 or 1:9, that's a question I hope some of you guys can help with from personal experience. I'm wanting to shoot 80-100 grain bullets and my choices of varmint bullets get to be slim >85 grains. While this gun will be used for deer, chances are that it will have 10 times the amount of groundhogs in its sights, so I'm trying to keep that in mind when chosing the twist, this is where getting 1 gun to do 2 applications limits it to some degree. The barrel is going to be chambered in .243 AI (Bruce Baer). I'll probably keep the factory trigger, maybe get the smith to take it down to 2 pounds.

Another thing on the list is the stock, I'm looking at the McMillan Rem Varmint stock, the checkering isn't a pretty sight (I might see if they can remove that) but it also might have some use while deer hunting in the late fall/winter. As far as color, thats still up in the air, maybe flat black or a marble look to it, not sure yet.

Last is the scope, (well actually thats going to be ordered first, I'm just dumb) There are a few in the runnings, but for now atleast I believe the Weaver Grand Slam 6-20 x 40 AO (varmint reticle probably) As with most of my choices for this rifle, pop's opinion on weaver is whats pushing me toward this and money plays a little part in it too :). He has two of their scopes and is very pleased with them holding zero, and many reviews say the same, so for now atleast thats probably going to be the one.

I really like threads that have a whole build on them, with progress and hope you guys do the same, so here's some pics of the first go around at the range yesterday with some federal 85 grain HP. And I'll post a pic of pop's 6mm BR group that he shot yesterday too. After getting it somewhat zeroed, the groups at first were what I expected really 1.5-2 inches (100 yds) as we went through the shoot/clean and the gun seemed to start settling in, it did show some promise but I'm not getting my hopes up thats why I'm having one built, I'll be shooting it again tomorrow and post some more pics

Here's the gun (the scope is off of my .17 HMR)

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Here's one of the first groups during the shoot/clean (and nevermind that death-to-squirrel .17 HMR group :))


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Here's another (shoot/clean)

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Here's the first consecutive 3 shot group
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Here's the last consecutive 3 shot group.

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And last is pop's not too shabby 5 shot group with his BR

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Looks like you've got a great project ahead of you, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses! Have you taken a look at the terrific article here on 6mmBR.com regarding the .243 & .243 AI yet? Excellent source of information on both the standard and "improved" version of the cartridge:

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

If you're set on the 85 grain bullet for 'chucks - so be it! That bullet weight works well. Perhaps not as explosive as some of the lighter bullets, it works very well in windy conditions, and can still dispatch a chuck with authority. I'm particularly fond of the 85 gr Sierra HPBT for that use.

For deer, seriously consider the 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. From my 6mm Rem, that little bullet has whacked 200 pound mule deer at 300 yards and they drop as instantly as with any bullet/cartridge I've ever used on them. I expect good expansion from a Ballistic Tip, but these are also tough enough that I have been unable to recover one - they expand and penetrate clear through, even shattering the fore-leg/shoulder on the way out. It's also a very accurate bullet.

For the very best in long-range performance, you're going to want to explore the 105 - 115 gr bullets. The Hornady A-Max, Berger VLD, etc, but for more normal ranges, the 95 - 100 grain bullets do very well.

Regards, Guy
 

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