243 & Berger 115s

[long40shot]

So, I have been trying the Berger 115 hunting vld in my 243. They do shoot great, but i feel like i should be getting a bit more speed out of them. Right now i am running 41.2grn of H4350 in a Lapua case. I have been told that RL25 is the best choice for the 115s. Well, i am having a hard time finding any RL25 locally. I was hoping some of you have had success with something else, like H1000 or Retumbo, something along those lines. Right now my load velocity is around 2880.

Thanks
Matt

 

[MrMajestic]

2880 with a 115 in a straight .243 ain't bad at all, JMHO. What's your barrel length? What velocity are you hoping for?

 

[Dgd6mm]

You will get speed from RL25, but your throat and first few inches of barrel will suffer quickly. I borescoped a buddies .243 after the first 350 rounds, it was terrible. We cleaned his barrel and my 6mm Competition Match which had 1700 rounds down it. My barrel has been ran with nothing but H1000 in it. His barrel was cratered and gullied bad and mine was in good shape, minimal wear on the throat andramp area. I have shot Retumbo out of a straight .243 with a 105 A max out to 600 yards with exceptional accuracy.

 

[long40shot]

2880 with a 115 in a straight .243 ain't bad at all, JMHO. What's your barrel length? What velocity are you hoping for?

My barrel is 25". I'm kinda of hoping to find a accurate node around 3000 or better.

 

[long40shot]

You will get speed from RL25, but your throat and first few inches of barrel will suffer quickly. I borescoped a buddies .243 after the first 350 rounds, it was terrible. We cleaned his barrel and my 6mm Competition Match which had 1700 rounds down it. My barrel has been ran with nothing but H1000 in it. His barrel was cratered and gullied bad and mine was in good shape, minimal wear on the throat andramp area. I have shot Retumbo out of a straight .243 with a 105 A max out to 600 yards with exceptional accuracy.

That would be the down side of a hotter load, oh well. What was your Retumbo load with the 105s?

 

[Raythemanroe]

My .243 win has a Hart HV @27" 1-8 twist. My best group was with with H4350 with 41.7g and Federal LR Gold medal match primers and Norma brass.. Speed was only 2826fps.. I have used H1000 and got 3000fps easy with fair results, but I liked that smaller hole.. You should work up loads for your self and learn to establish a good node..


Ray

 

[jghoghunter]

I ran the 115 bergers in my 243 at 2950 in a 29" broughton bbl. with 42 grains of rl-22. No pressure signs at all. Accuracy was 2" five shot groups at 1k ten shot groups of 5-8" at 1k. If i did my part it would shoot in the 0's at a 100 yds.The bbl lasted for 1600 rnds. I'm not sure if your going to get 3000 out of a strait 243 with a 25" bbl.

 

[Dgd6mm]

You will get speed from RL25, but your throat and first few inches of barrel will suffer quickly. I borescoped a buddies .243 after the first 350 rounds, it was terrible. We cleaned his barrel and my 6mm Competition Match which had 1700 rounds down it. My barrel has been ran with nothing but H1000 in it. His barrel was cratered and gullied bad and mine was in good shape, minimal wear on the throat andramp area. I have shot Retumbo out of a straight .243 with a 105 A max out to 600 yards with exceptional accuracy.


49gr. If I remember correctly.

That would be the down side of a hotter load, oh well. What was your Retumbo load with the 105s?

 

[long40shot]

Another question, although a tired one. How much powder would i have to add going from a Lapua case to a Winchester case in your estimates?

 

[long40shot]

Well, after much local searching, i have not found any RL25. So i will be tweaking my H4350 load. 2880 is a respectable speed i suppose, but there is always room for improvement I hope to get out this weekend and shoot some groups. I report back then.

Matt