fast twist .243 Win, heavy bullets

[memilanuk]

Hello,

Anybody here w/ experience w/ a .243 Win w/ a fast twist running 87-88gr on up to the 105/107gr bullets? Any significant degradation in barrel life from what's considered 'normal' for a .243... What would be a reasonable expectation of velocity from a 28" barrel? Any suggestions on starting loads? I'm looking primarily for long-range varminter, pushing 87 VMaxs and 88gr MEF's on up to whatever will still work on rockchucks and coyotes at extended distances.

Thanks,

Monte

 

[two4three]

milanuk
i shoot 87grn v max from my 24" barrel 243,
Fed210M
Lapua Case
44grn Vhit N160
5 Thou off
also use same load for 85grn sierras bthp

 

[Northman]

two4three: what kind of speeds are you getting?

 

[CdnHotshot]

Barrel life is largely dependant on barrel care and barrel quality. Hot handloads combined with quick repetitive shooting out of a store bought quality barrel on a hot day will probably increase barrel deteriation by 50%Higher quality stainless custom barrels using mild loads will usually perform better in the accuracy department. If you allow time for barrel cooling and exercise barrel cleaning then the barrel life will increase by 50%
Regarding bullet weights...there is a margin for guess-timating the best twist and bullet weights based on other shooters experiences.
My 1:10 twist will handle 75-90 grain bullets
I have been told that a 1:8 twist is ideal for for the 105 grainers.
Some guys are building 1:12 twists for 65 grainers
Just my 2 cents and appreciate being corrected anytime !Al

 

[two4three]

Northman sorry for not replying i have not been on here in a while,
im not to sure as to the speed as aso called friend shot up my crono,and he aint prepaired to replace it

 

[chuckw2]

Milanuk,
I have a new Pac-Nor three groove 8 twist with a .243 sami chamber.

The load that has been shooting well for me so far at 600 and 1000 is as follows.

Laupa case
CCI BR-2 primer
Sierra 107 Match Kings - Just off the lands
H4350 37.4 gns- RCBS Charge Master



I have shot two strings of 10 over the chrono.

1ST string Hi 2932, Low 2871, avg 2899, sd 17.86, es 61.20

2nd String Hi 2901, Low 2878, avg 2890, sd 7.21, es 23.43

I just received 1k Laupa 105 Scenars that I am going to test this next week.

Chuck

 

[jimm]

Milanuk,

Hey !!

long time no talk . Have missed your input as well. I have a .243AI with a really fast twist, 7.5 ) and I want to use the 115 dtacs, already have them)

So, do you mind if I post along with you? I am wanting info from those that are using the same combo.
I also have some of the 115s that I can send to whoever has a twist that will stabilize them, no charge .

Anyway, good to see you about, Jim

 

[memilanuk]

Jim,

Knock yourself out; both my Savage receivers got shipped to SSS for trueing/timing, and when they get back I'll probably send them off for either moly resin or Duracoat. It'll be a while now before I get too far into this particular project as far as actual loads.

Thanks,

Monte

 

[Hipshot]

Until 3 weeks ago I was shooting a Savage 12BVSS in .243; stainless one. Out of the box it was accurate; in my first 300 meter match I scored highest. After that it was all downhill. I was never able to repeat those results; beginners luck.....or, the rest of the club snookered me! I began to explore various loads, bullets and seating depth. Here's what I discovered:

The barrel was 1:9.25. It would stablize 105 Bergers at 300meters. Best accuracy was with N160 no matter which of several bullets I used: 90 gr Lapua Scenars,naked and moly), 105 Lapua, 90 Berger, 95 Berger, 88 Gr berger and the 105 Berger. Best accuracy was at MV 2850 plus or minus 50.

I did not continuously check throat depth, but at about 2000 rounds groups just didn't happen. I then measured the throat at 2300 rounds and decided that the erosion was too much to continue and sent the gun off to a local gunsmith for rebarreling in 6BR.

In using the barrel life excel spreadsheet, located elsewhere on this forum, my barrel life came out remarkably close to that predicted by the formula.

In talking with the club shooters, some of whom have competed nationally, they all told me early on that the .243 would eat a barrel in one season. It did!

While not as bad as a 22-250, the .243 has tooo much powder capacity for the bullet size/weight.

Now for some other news about the barrel; as a factory Savage it was good for the price, but it had chatter marks all through the rifling from day one. A smooth and polished barrel would have probably lasted me another 1000 rounds I suspect.

Sorry about the bad news.

Hipshot

 

[two4three]

Hipshot what were you loading the 90 lapua scenars with and oal ?
ive tried N160 44grn lapua case with fed 210m, 20thou off

 

[memilanuk]

No bad news there as far as I can see... had a similar run-in w/ the Savage factory barrel on my .308,chatter marks, they really need to learn how to run those dang things right). The .243 barrel life... well, that's one that seems to be subject to a fair amount of debate, in the form of joesr's claims for his 6mm CM,very slightly modified .243 Win) of 3000+ rds, with the right cool burning powders and specific cleaning,scrubbing w/ JB or Iosso bore paste regularly). Otherwise... I've heard of round counts far, far less than yours.

Kinda makes me want to get a .243 Win fast-twist barrel for the Savage when it gets back, just to see what does happen

Monte

 

[Hipshot]

Two4three,

My basic good load was 90 gr Lapua naked with 41.5 gr of N160 seated about .15 back off the lands. That produced the 2850 plus or minus velocity.

Hipshot

 

[Caver101]

First post! Sorry to bring a dead post back, but I am working on the same thing. I have a new rifle from GA Precision, M700 action, Rock barrel 1:7.75, 26" long. For break in loads I started with 4831SC in lapua brass, 210m primers. My COL is 2.870-2.880 so it will fit in my magazine. I have not got to run it over a crono yet. I want to know if anyone has tried N165, N160, H1000, RL25 or Retumbo with the 115 DTAC,nekid). My goal is as fast as I can get and still stay 1/2 MOA or better, barrel life is not a concern,I have heard as little as 800rnds should be expected at 3200fps!).

Thanks for any input! I am a LR Tactical shooter and a little F Class now and then. I have a match coming up that I need to get the flattest shooting round I can get, any suggestions??

 

[jb1000br]

First post! Sorry to bring a dead post back, but I am working on the same thing. I have a new rifle from GA Precision, M700 action, Rock barrel 1:7.75, 26" long. For break in loads I started with 4831SC in lapua brass, 210m primers. My COL is 2.870-2.880 so it will fit in my magazine. I have not got to run it over a crono yet. I want to know if anyone has tried N165, N160, H1000, RL25 or Retumbo with the 115 DTAC,nekid). My goal is as fast as I can get and still stay 1/2 MOA or better, barrel life is not a concern,I have heard as little as 800rnds should be expected at 3200fps!).

Thanks for any input! I am a LR Tactical shooter and a little F Class now and then. I have a match coming up that I need to get the flattest shooting round I can get, any suggestions??

Welcome Caver

Dont help him out too much guys...I gotta shoot against him soon

JB

 

[Caver101]

JB, you found me! Keep your mouth shut and don't tell George I am over here getting help from the Benchrester's!

Just got back from my local Gun Store with a LONG shopping list almost filled - the rest of the powder will be in on Friday. My powder collection is finaly starting to grow by leaps and bounds.