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Appropriate bullet weight help, please

Loading for a Remington model seven in 243 Win...9 1/4 twist and about an 18” barrel- this gun is off the shelf from 1984, I think, and is really a shooter. Purchased for my wife when she was 12, and has now been passed around among her 3 boys, and her 4 nephews. Now it’s mine to shoot and hunt with. Never failed to recover a whitetail, but I’d like to stretch it out a bit. I’ll shoot deer to about 250 yds, and I’m set up to shoot steel to 500. Please help with appropriate bullet wts and powder suggestions- thanks.
 
You might call Nosler to be SURE, as they have several good, 85-90's that, "might" work, personally I'd try, the 90 Ballistic tip for playing with, steel then, Hunt with the 90 AccuBond's. I'm NOT a Berger fanboy ( for Hunting Bullets !) but they also have an 87 grain, Hunting VLD ? You might try their Ballistic calculator with, that Bullet,.. your Twist, Elevation, Velocity expected, etc. The Sierra 85 grain Game King might be a good "all around" hunting and Steel Target Bullet,.. NEVER heard of a Rem that, couldn't "shoot" that one! Call Sierra, tho !
OR, you could nip that, Great Dane's lower leg 3-4 times,.. to get her down, some ! Good luck !
 
I have the SS version in a 20" barrel. The 85 Sierra BTHP is an ideal bullet for the Model 7 capable of taking varmints, predators and deer just avoid shoulders shots on a deer, go for a broad side behind the shoulder shot.

However I'm not sure about shooting deer at 250 yards only because I never shot one that far away with my 243. The 18" barrel is going to limit your velocity thus energy. For strictly deer the 90 Nosler BT or 100 grain Sierra Pro Hunter are good choices especially at the distance you mentioned.

Shooting steel at 500 yards with a 18 1/2 inch barrel 243 does not seem practical to me. For one thing, the Model 7 is designed to be a hunting rifle not target rifle. The thin barrel will heat quickly and adversely affect accuracy if shooting sustained strings of shots. The short barrel does not provide optimum velocity for long range target shooting.
 
Ever seen a Chihuahua dog sniffing a Great Dane bitch on heat?

Paints a comical picture. What he’s got in mind is probably a physical impossibility. However, what I’m proposing to do is highly likely. I can ring a 2 MOA plate at 500 yds with 10 consecutive shots, and I’m neither a great shot nor a great reloader... I’d just like to tighten that down to 1 MOA or less. A 243 win also will deliver the energy to ethically take a whitetail at 250 yds, which is about max range on my property. That said, if you’ve got nothing to contribute, please don’t feel like you’re obligated to respond.
 
@ k22,.. AGREED with, almost all you said,.. but he could "Dial" with a "good" Scope for the 400-500 yard shots, on the plates. Once, a good load is worked up and tested / verified, "dialing", "works". We have to remember that, not all shooters are "serious" Target shooters,.. some just want, to have fun and are not worried about a miss,.. once in a while. Good luck Jody,.. it's, all,.. DOABLE in my opinion !
 
I'd rather read about, a guy like Jody, who's fairly realistic and trying to do better with, His Rifle and load's than, all the Yo-Yo's on the Internet thinking that, they can kill, a Bull Elk with their "pop gun" 6.5 Creed's at, 1,000 to 1,200 Yards ! THAT kinda "Chit", make's me want to throw UP !!! Most of those Internet Cowboys haven't got a clue about, wind Drift and the power LOST with those, bullets !
Jody's way less likely, to cripple a Deer at 250 IMHO ! He sounds like a pretty good shot and,.. a "Sportsman" !
 
However I'm not sure about shooting deer at 250 yards...

K22, I stand corrected. I plugged my data into a calc, and came up with 1146 ft-lb at 200 yds and 977 at 300.... will rethink that shot at a deer at 250...
 
However I'm not sure about shooting deer at 250 yards...

K22, I stand corrected. I plugged my data into a calc, and came up with 1146 ft-lb at 200 yds and 977 at 300.... will rethink that shot at a deer at 250...
Practice your shot at 250 and throw that calculator away. if you can reliably hit a soda can from field position its almost guaranteed you will have enough energy. Hell arrows pass through.
 
Sierra says 9-twist for their 95 gr BTHP's but I'm shooting them in a 9.75 twist to 600 yds at 2860 fps to good effect in a 6X45. Those should work well for steel. Hornady has a pretty decent 87 gr BTHP for varmits and Sierra makes the great 85 gr Gameking for deer and hogs.
 
Jody, try the 90 gr. accubonds and see if it like'em.
If it does, 250 shouldn't be a problem at all.
That's what I shoot in my RUGER 77 ultra lite
and ain't had any problems.


Kermit
 

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