Help on .243 reloads

[Reload Newbie]

Brand new to reloading but enjoying the research and looking forward to more shooting. I have a new 6.5 Creedmore and .243 Sako. Working on target and hunting loads for both and ran into the following issues. Both of these issues are on .243.
1- in loading a Hornady 95 gr SST I noticed it has a cannelure. I was seating the bullets to match the Max OAL of 2.710 and the case did not reach the cannelure. Is that OK or do I need to seat it all the way to the cannelure?
2- I later moved to loading some Berger
115 gr hunting bullets. This has a very long ogive. To get this much weight in a .243 these bullets are very long. To get the OAL of 2.710 I have to seat the bullet so deep that the ogive(sloped part of bullet) is below the mouth of the case so it leaves a very slight gap. Should I trim the case just a touch so it removes the gap. Also with a bullet seated so deep will it cause an over pressure situation?
Hopefully I have clearly stated my issues.
Thanks for your expertise!!

 

[Adam in WI]

1. Ignore the cannelure. It means little to nothing for a hand loader. It's meant to be an area for the case mouth to grip while crimping. If you're not crimping-it's useless, but also not a measurable detriment.

2. To my knowledge, Sako uses the standard 1-10" twist for .243 and there's no way it'll shoot those 115 grain bullets with any acceptable accuracy. (Might hit the target sideways, if they hit at all)

 

[pdhntr]

Adam has given you some solid information.

May I add......I would suggest you research the methods of finding the cartridge overall length (COL) for your particular rifles using the bullets you choose to load.

Further, the relationship between the twist of your barrel and the weight/length of the bullets you wish to reload.

Jim

 

[Bill Norris]

Agree cannulure means nothing. 115 willl not stabilize in a 1 10 Tw barrel.

 

[Bojo]

If you can find any look for
Sierra 85gr. HPBT for that 243 for up to deer sized game.
For yotes and woodchucks the Hornady 87gr. Vmax.

those 115s are waaaaaay toooo long and heavy.

 

[lb-ft]

.243 Win + .243 AI Cartridge Guide

Shooter's Guide for .243 Winchester and 6mm .243 Win shooting, reloading, and accuracy. Bullets, powder, brass, accurate loads. Rifles and gear reveiws from champions. .243 ammo and ammunition reveiws. AccurateShooter.com is the best guide for precision shooting, with FAQ, Shooter Message...

www.6mmbr.com

The above is a superb read for the .243 Winchester.

You're looking in a very good direction with 85/87 grain bullet class. My favorite powder fir this combination is IMR4064.

An older-style 105 BTHP such as the Hornady bullet might work out in your 1:10 twist. Look to powders in the RL19 / 4831 / RL16 / 4350 classes. Also, you'll likely have good luck working up a 100gr BTSP hunting load with same powders.

Best of luck. Read, read, read. Question everything. And enjoy.

 

[dgeesaman]

If you don’t have a puller for those 115s, double check the load before firing. Yes you can fire a bullet that lacks stability, and it won’t be accurate, but you’re right to consider if the extra bullet volume matters. It will increase pressure, all other things being equal. I would only fire it if I had that exact bullet, powder, and powder charge in the loading manual to have some assurance it will be a safe pressure.

 

[wkdickinson]

If you are loading hunting ammo another OAL consideration is magazine length. Magazine length will likely make "jump" a moot point.

 

[wbm]

Sierra 85gr. HPBT for that 243 for up to deer sized game.

Never used anything else in years of deer hunting with 243 only. Never needed anything else.

 

[expiper]

the .243 is a great cal,,,I have shot and reloaded several since the 60's,,,,,if your bbl. has a 9-1/4 or 10 twist (factory bbls.) dont waste your time "trying" any bullet longer than 1.100" or with a BC higher than .430 (G1),,,you can shoot bullets that are longer and better BC but they will not give optimum performance and will de-stabilize at long range,,,I have used "every" powder on the market and there are several that work great ,,,,I use faster powder with the 80 gr and under bullets ,,,I like Rx-15 for light bullets and Rx-16 (or their equal) in most instances,,,I always "touch" the lands with a small sq. mark and use near max loads,,,Roger

 

[AckleymanII]

95g SST is one heck of a deer bullet, never look back. IMR 4350, H4350 all work well at top end powder charges. R#26 will add 150-200 fps over the IMR 4350 loads....if you need it.

 

[TheOtherZilla]

Been shootin a 243 since the early 70's. Ours is a Savage 99. No idee on the twist. 95 Nosler Partition has got er done since the git go.

 

[RegionRat]

You can (and should) play with this online calculator for free.

If you know the specs on a non-Berger bullet you plug them in and go, or use one of the ones in the drop down menu as a guide and go from there.

You will start to get an educated opinion on the marginal examples with enough study and experience of your own. Remember that density altitude is also important when selecting your bullet/twist combinations. Things that might work above 5k feet may not at sea level for example.

Concepts like gyroscopic bullet stability, when bullets blow up from rifling and over-spin, when is a bullet too heavy for caliber, etc., are not a beginner's topic. So until you have a chance to digest the stuff you can read about it is probably best to hold off on going into the grey zones where the technology and math estimates are not black and white.

Stay in the happy zones unless you are intentionally going to start experimenting with bullet stability and ready for the consequences of selecting a bbl twist, action lengths, magazine lengths, etc., and all the issues with the lengths of bullets. Most folks go a whole lifetime without worrying about playing with over or under stabilized bullets.

The 243 is a great cartridge, but like any other one, keeping the issues in balance will help avoid frustration and wasted effort.

https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/

 

[Reload Newbie]

FOR SALE!!!
115 gr Berger bullets
CHEAP!!!

 

[MikeWhy]

If that's a serious offer to sell, I will be happy to buy. Are these the Berger VLD Hunting 24530 .243 115gr? How many?

I'm a complete newbie on this forum too, and don't know how to arrange a private message.

 

[Reload Newbie]

MikeWhy, It appears the overwhelming consensus is I can’t use them so they are officially for sell. That is the correct part # and I have 2 boxes of 100 less the 3 bullets I used last night. I also have 2 boxes of Sierra Matchking 110 gr part #1575 that I probably can’t use(also .243).

it has been so hard for me to purchase bullets and powder that I have had to pick 2 powders and then get various bullets as I stumble on them.
I have H4350 that I purchased on the black market for twice the going price and Winchester Staball 6.5 that I stumbled on from a local retailer not price gouging!
I have the following bullets
Hornady 100 gr BTSP interlock
Hornady 90 gr ELD-X
Hornady 95 gr SST
Hornady 87gr V-Max( yotes and varmints )
Nosler 95 gr ballistic tips
Nosler 100 gr Partition
Berger 108 gr elite hunter match grade
What do you guys think are the best hog and deer loads with any of these powder/bullet combos? My barrel is a 1/10 twist.

 

[Bill Norris]

Nosler 95 gr. Ballistic Tips with a good dose of H-4350 will do well on deer.

 

[Adam in WI]

100 grain Partition will handle both

 

[Reload Newbie]

I worked up 3 of ea in the 95 gr Ballistic tip per the nosler book and Hodgdon info starting at min loads and going to Max loads by 1gr ea step.(ladder?). In both H4350 and Staball. Will work on the others tomorrow night and take and shoot this weekend.
Thanks for your input.

 

[PigButtons]

Maybe it's just me but 1gr steps seem too large. 0.5gr steps would be more likely to get you close to something usable without jumping past a good fit. Then you can go either way by 0.2gr to fine tune it. Then by 0.1gr to get the best groups.