Good varmint/coyote loads with a .243?
- Thread starter stinnett1981
- Start date
A good load in my .243 Win. is the 87gr. Vmax on top of 42.9gr. of H4350 jumped about .010"! Shoots sub .5moa out to 200 yds. Not a hot load so don't be afraid to try it. Another good load I have is the Speer 70gr. TNT on top of 46.0gr. of H414 jumped about .010" too. Shoots consisten .25moa at 100 and will hold sub moa at 300! This is a max load per Hodgdon so I would approach cautiously!! The 70gr. TNT measures very consistently, accurate, fair priced and explosive on critters!
Mike
Mike
Bad thing about H414 is its very temp. sensitive. A load developed in the fall or winter will blow primers in the summer heat and a load developed in the summer heat will really fall off in the cold of winter.
I loved it for my 243imp but had to quit using it because of the inconsistancy in our temp extremes out here. I also found it to carbon foul.
I loved it for my 243imp but had to quit using it because of the inconsistancy in our temp extremes out here. I also found it to carbon foul.
smoooth
Gold $$ Contributor
I have great success with.243 Federal brass and Federal Match primers H-414 and 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips in my Remington Model 7. Load is 46.7gr ***!!(over max in the Hodgdon book!!) but I have never had a pressure sign even in the hot summer. THIS WORKS IN MY RIFLE- CAUTION*
I load them as long as the magazine will reliably allow. Shoots like a dream, frequently 1/4 moa. The 70gr. BT will tear up coyotes, period. Fist size holes on the exit - love 'em.
107 SMK's do a great job as well.
Good luck!
I load them as long as the magazine will reliably allow. Shoots like a dream, frequently 1/4 moa. The 70gr. BT will tear up coyotes, period. Fist size holes on the exit - love 'em.
107 SMK's do a great job as well.
Good luck!
Well I tried out some 70g Noslers B tips with Varget and it shot pretty good. Sub moa. Plenty good to kill a critter. I shot some 95g SMK's with H4350 and they shot sub moa too. Just alittle tighter than the Noslers. Over all im happy with the rifle. I havent experimented enough with it yet. I hope I can get some .5 groups with it in the future. Gonna get IMR4350 and see if it helps out.
Well, if you want to blow them up - go 70NBT or even that 80 Sierra SBT/Blitz bullet that someone was recommending earlier. So far in my 243, the 70NBT's with Reloader 19 and CCI BR-2's @ 2.620" have been the most accurate of anything I've tried. Start about 47.5 and work your way up to say 48 or 48.5. This is not a hot load at all, in fact I've heard of people pressing it all the way to 49.0 of RL19, but for me the sweet spot was 48.1 and I had a full case and didn't want to go compressed. 3,250 fps or right around there is where I was with 48.1 when I chrono'd this load long, long ago.
I've shot the 80 SBT HOT HOT HOT! 40.7 of IMR-4064 @ 2.695 using Fed210GM match primers. 48.5 of Reloader 19. 45.2 of H414.
I shot the 75 V-MAX HOT too, at 42.3 (or maybe it was 43.2 ?) of Reloader 15.
All of the above 80 loads, and that 75 V-MAX recipe, will get you up over 3,400fps. But I can tell you with certainty, the 75 V-MAX doesn't explode anywhere near as bad as the 80 SBT, and I don't think it makes as big a mess as even the 70NBT does driven considerably slower.
So I'm going back to try and work up a load with the 80 SBT again using IMR-4350 this time around. So far though, I'm having a hard time finding load data. I've seen people using everything from 42.0, all the way up to 47 and one fella even pushing it to 48.0 !! 42.2 with an 85HPBT was "MAX LOAD" in one of the manuals I looked at for IMR-4350, so I'll probably start about 42 and just take my time. RL17 is pretty close to IMR-4350 and Nosler's reloading site says 44.4 with an 80, so I'm hoping to find something good in the 43-44.5 range. I definitely want to get back up over 3,400fps again with this bullet though. And if this works, I'll probably try IMR-4350 with the 70's this year too (70 TNT, 70BK, and 70NBT), where I want to get back up to 3500 or so with these, like I had been with Varget initially shooting about 42.7 or 42.8 with a 70NBT and CCI-BR2's.
New guns are great. Just start well below "book max" and work up. I usually don't go in more than .2 or .3 grain increments, going to .1's if I really think I'm pushing it. Better to push 'em in high heat & humidity too to avoid any nasty surprises.
70-80gr is ideal though I think for the 243. Better wind resistence, still fast & flat, and plenty of energy when the package arrives!!
Stephen
I've shot the 80 SBT HOT HOT HOT! 40.7 of IMR-4064 @ 2.695 using Fed210GM match primers. 48.5 of Reloader 19. 45.2 of H414.
I shot the 75 V-MAX HOT too, at 42.3 (or maybe it was 43.2 ?) of Reloader 15.
All of the above 80 loads, and that 75 V-MAX recipe, will get you up over 3,400fps. But I can tell you with certainty, the 75 V-MAX doesn't explode anywhere near as bad as the 80 SBT, and I don't think it makes as big a mess as even the 70NBT does driven considerably slower.
So I'm going back to try and work up a load with the 80 SBT again using IMR-4350 this time around. So far though, I'm having a hard time finding load data. I've seen people using everything from 42.0, all the way up to 47 and one fella even pushing it to 48.0 !! 42.2 with an 85HPBT was "MAX LOAD" in one of the manuals I looked at for IMR-4350, so I'll probably start about 42 and just take my time. RL17 is pretty close to IMR-4350 and Nosler's reloading site says 44.4 with an 80, so I'm hoping to find something good in the 43-44.5 range. I definitely want to get back up over 3,400fps again with this bullet though. And if this works, I'll probably try IMR-4350 with the 70's this year too (70 TNT, 70BK, and 70NBT), where I want to get back up to 3500 or so with these, like I had been with Varget initially shooting about 42.7 or 42.8 with a 70NBT and CCI-BR2's.
New guns are great. Just start well below "book max" and work up. I usually don't go in more than .2 or .3 grain increments, going to .1's if I really think I'm pushing it. Better to push 'em in high heat & humidity too to avoid any nasty surprises.
70-80gr is ideal though I think for the 243. Better wind resistence, still fast & flat, and plenty of energy when the package arrives!!
Stephen
Thanks GrocMax, I had heard something similar before on the TNT's. Mine is a 1 in 10 twist so I'm hoping I can go a little higher than 3300, but I am concerned about this. Maybe these will be a better candidate for Reloader 19 where you get a full case there well before ever getting to a point where you are stressing the bullet or the rifle. Very accurate powder for me with the 70NBT's, then maybe let the NBT's and BK's rip with 4350... on up to 3500+. We'll see. Thanks for the heads-up though. Nobody needs BOOM without the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzsplat! at the end (bullets disentegrating on you).
I have the same Rem700 SPS gun in .243 with the 26" varmint barrel.
I have recently replaced the stock with a H-S Precision thumbhole and installed a Jewell trigger.
The 9.125 twist barrel seems to prefer the heavier bullets and so far have had the best luck with the 105 gr. Amax with 32grns of 2015 Accurate smokeless.
I have recently replaced the stock with a H-S Precision thumbhole and installed a Jewell trigger.
The 9.125 twist barrel seems to prefer the heavier bullets and so far have had the best luck with the 105 gr. Amax with 32grns of 2015 Accurate smokeless.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.