243 win 1:10 twist recommended bullet weight

[sfsmedic]

Hi everyone

been reading this forum along time but never posted. I have a new Howa in 243win with a heavy barrel,1:10), B&C stock and Nikon Monarch scope. I plan on mostly plinking with it and maybe some varminting when im out in the desert. I am looking for some advice on good bullet weight to get started with for my reloading.

Mostly after accuracy up to 250yds right now, wont be going beyond that for along time. Any loads that you guys have had success with in this or a similar rifle would be appreciated. I hate starting from scratch.

 

[j_22250]

most people have better luck with 75-90 gr. bullets in a 1-10' twist. sierra 85gr. BTHP would be a good choice.

 

[JCinCalif]

75 gr.Vmax works great for me.

 

[CPorter]

1:10 twist is good to 100gr provided the bullet is a lead/copper bullet with conventional spitzer or round nose shape. Very low drag bullets or copper alloy bullets that wind up being longer for the same weight require a faster twist.

That said I think you will find that the 70 & 80 gr Nosler ballistic tips, Sierra 70gr Blitzking, 85gr Gameking or the 75 & 87gr Hornady Vmax will work well in premium bullets.

 

[1000yardstare]

The 80 gr Sierra spbt is dynamite in my .243.

 

[sfsmedic]

I picked up some 85gr HPBT Gamekings, Ill give that a try to start with. Thanks for the advice. Anyone have any experience with the Hodgdon v100 yet? I am curious how it is since its advertised as being specifically good choice in the 243win. That and its really difficult to get IMR4350 at the moment.

 

[Ozzyshooter]

Any of the above mentioned bullets will work, I have had great success with 87g Hornady V-Max out to 400m with my Tikka T3. It's not until you start getting into the heavier long range match bullets,90g and up) that you start to strike problems with stability

 

[Jeff Peinhardt]

Hybrid 100V awesome in the 243! Use it...my pet load is the 88gr High BC FB Berger with 44gr of 100V with a CCI BR primer,Lapua or Win brass). That load is 3425fps using a 28.5' barrel. Accuracy is awesome.....great out to 600yds.

 

[paulT]

The 90g Lapua scenar or 95g berger VLD works well in my 1 in 10 twist 243 barrel.

 

[Gman]

My 1 in 10" twist Sako .243 loves the 90 gr Lapua Scenars, but it will NOT stabilize the 95 gr Berger VLD's.

 

[Ozzyshooter]

I had troubles with the 90g Scenars out of my 1:10, they looked good at 100m but when shot at 600m it was a different story.

 

[jdavis62]

l like 85gr.Sierra H.P.B.T. my friend likes 90gr.
Speer's. We both shoot same load.37.5 gr.
lmr 4895 this is a great load for 243.
Jon D.

 

[DazzH]

My Sako Finnlight 243 10 twist shoots the Berger 95 VLD's very well with 45gr N160. Also 87gr V-Max are outstanding on deer.

 

[nelson34]

hornady 87 grn BTHP w/ h4350 powder.

 

[Ackman]

For plinking and a bit of desert varmint shooting, you DON'T need to be using Lapua or Berger or any kind of expensive low drag bullets. Desert varmints will be coyote at the largest, very likely rabbits and maybe groundsquirrels depending on where you are. At 250yds you sure's hell don't need low drag bullets or anything heavier than 70grains. I've shot a whole ton of Sierra 60HP's and Speer 70TNT's through .243 cased rounds.....they're very accurate and much less expensive than plastic tipped bullets. At 250yds or less they'll destroy any varmint you find in the desert. The bullet manufacturers all make less expensive lead tipped bullets that aren't so much in style anymore but still just as accurate as ever.

For me, the best powder with mid-weight to light bullets in a .243 has always been W760. Very accurate and also very fast.

 

[Yellow11]

Your answer is in the maths... apply Don Miller's formula and your choice will become crystal clear.

Firstly, you need to seek a gyroscopic stablility factor of 1.4 or higher. Below that reading you might have a kind barrel but the math at least removes the guest work.

Assuming your velocity of around 28,000 fps, then 100g tips (Speer's Grand Slam) that measure no more than 1.04" will give you a GS factor of 1.49. 105g tips (*Hot-Cor) that measure 1.084 will also pass the GS test.

Stay clear of boat tails, simply because they make the bullet longer for any given weight. Thus the 87g V-Max will give you a GS of 1.31... not ideal, but it might work.

A tip that weighs say 85g would need a maximium length of 1.010" to give you a 1.4 GS factor... whereas the V-max measure 1.038!

Hope that helps.

 

[cliffy]

Speer 100 grain Grand Slam has emerged as my favorite deer-sized hunting bullet via exhaustive testing at the range. 43.4 grains of H4350 is the magic formula, although I'm pushing it to 43.8 grains currently in my Reminton 700. .243 Winnie Poohs have been BASHED enough regarding proper deer hunting fare. 2075 ft/lbs of muzzle energy equates to 1275 ft/lbs of retained energy at 350 yards approximately. With a proper bullet (Speer Grand Slam, for instance), 1200 ft/lbs of energy is proper deer medicine at any range with a proper bullet. Choose wisely . . . bulletwise. Shooting beyond 300 yards at any animal creates too many variables to be worth learning the science of mathematics to attempt this feat, for the average hunter. THREE HUNDRED YARDS is a FAR DISTANCE AWAY from your rifle's muzzle, DOUBT NOT. Many variables take place within those .4 of a second of flight time. cliffy