.243 bullets for 1 in 10 twist?

[encoreguy]

I am new to reloading the .243 and I am going shopping for bullets for my 1 in 10 twist Encore. I prefer the higher b.c bullets and will be using it for longer range coyotes and paper shooting. What bullets would you recommend I try?

Thanks!

 

[benjamin199]

For the 10 twist I would recommend that you try the Hornady 87gr V-max, It has a BC of .400

 

[AckleymanII]

Encoreguy, your needs may be different for each choice, one for shooting paper and the other for coyotes. For shooting coyotes, you need a bullet that will expand and penetrate. Coyotes can take a lot of killing, and I have killed more than my share of them. Many, many bullets will open up well on coyotes up to 200 yards, but when you get out to 400-500 yards, often a bullet will fail you.

One bullet that is extremely accurate and will still open up at the longer ranges is the 80g Sierra Blitz boat tail. In the 243's that I have had if you will start off at 39.0g of IMR 4064 and work your way up to 42.0g stopping at pressure signs, WLR primer, seat the bullet touching, Rem brass, you will probably be in the 3500-3600 depending on the barrel range with accuracy. I have shot this load in 6-8 factory and custom 243's and after firing I usually bump the shoulder back with a Bonanza/Forester Neck sizer for 4 firings, then full lenght size. You should expect groups at 200 to be less than an inch on a calm day, and it is not uncommon for me to shoot 2" groups at 300 with a 700 sporter. If you have a bull barrel, you are in another accuracy league altogether compared to my sporters. My custom light varmint taper 243 with a 26" barrel shot this load at 3600 shooting clover leaf groups at 100 and 1 1/2" at 300.

When you hit a yote with the 80g Blitz, it sounds like you have shot a brick wall the POP is so loud, and it kills humanely also.

The 80g Blitz also has the added feature of not having a lot of bearing surface which translates into less copper in the barrel=less cleaning frequencies.

95% of your coyotes will be shot in the range of 40 yards-350 yards and even in the Western Plains, the load that I gave you above is great to 500 and that is as far as I have ever had to kill one.

I shot a bunch of yotes with this load in Az. I caught the yotes out in plowed fields that was being irrigated. The coyotes were trying to catch gophers that were up on the plowed rows trying to get away from the water. I was also using a custom 22/250 AI with the 55's at 4050 fps and the 243 with the 80g Blitz dumped the yotes a lot harder than the 22/250 AI, no comparison. When you are shooting at an animal that is as hard to kill as a coyote, bullet construction is of a critical importance at ranges of 300 and beyond.

The 87g V Max is a tough bullet, and it may not give you the terminal performance that you are looking for. The additional speed of this 4064 load makes up for some BC no doubt, and since your shots will almost always be under 500 yards there is a critical balance between speed and BC that you must watch.

The 22/250 AI used to be my favorite yote gun, but the standard factory 700 243 sporter loaded with this IMR load is so accurate and hits so hard way out there, I fell in love with the combo.

Hope this helps!

 

[encoreguy]

Thanks for the replies so far, great information!