Turning old .243 Rem 700 in to Hunter Class Silhouette Rifle

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Speedy gonzalez in your town

nice! thanks I'd never heard of him before!

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Speedy gonzalez in your town

hot damn. Speedy replied within an hour to my email. Going to have the master take a look at my barrel and see what kind of life is left in it next week.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

hot damn. Speedy replied within an hour to my email. Going to have the master take a look at my barrel and see what kind of life is left in it next week.

Dont tell him hes the master. He dont need any more of that

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

got it!

 

[Will Henry]

Its an accurate cartridge that does really well with a wide variety of bullet weights and powders. Shoot 120s for chickens and pigs, 140s for rurkeys and rams. 44g H4831 under any 130-140gr bullets will group nicely in any 260 I've ever shot. Of course you can fine tune it a little more, but it will be sub moa right from the start.

When using the 260, or the 6,5x55, I load 36-37 gr of Varget behind 108's (or 100's) for C,P,T, and just substitute a 139 for Rams. With the Creedmoor, I load a grain less with the same bullet choices. I have used the 123's for everything (got a good price on a bunch) but they are heavier than needed for the close targets and a little light for Rams if the wind is wrong. All three cartridges are easy to shoot and to load for. I've never seen any need to load a little faster for rams and, as long as accuracy is OK, I'm happy enough. I still insist on pulling the trigger when the dots not on the animal so it doesn't much matter what I shoot! WH

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Any "Known Loads" suggestions for .243?

I am going to test out 105's to see if the 1-10 will stabilize it, but I am also liking the look of the 90 grain Berger HPBT, these should stabilize no problem. I realize that with the lighter weight bullets I am going to leave some animals standing, I'm ok with that. I am more excited about being able to read the wind and work on my hold.

I still got a hit, offhand at distance. When the hits and no-falls really start to rile me up because there are so many of them I'll put together a .260 and know that my daddy's rifle got me there

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Any suggestions on lightweight scope rings to get a 6.5-20 EFR mounted on there without adding a scope rail? I'd like to save as much weight as possible.
Also any suggestions on replacing the slick plastic factory buttplate??

 

[Will Henry]

Weaver quad-lock rings. I would replace the slick buttplate with a piece of foam flooring. Just stick it on with Goop and grind to fit. It can also be ground to alter pitch if required. A friend uses 105 Speer bullets in a factory 243 for rams. His other 243, I rebarreled with an 8 twist and he shoots 105 Lapuas in it. It works just fine on rams. Usually! WH

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Weaver quad-lock rings. I would replace the slick buttplate with a piece of foam flooring. Just stick it on with Goop and grind to fit. It can also be ground to alter pitch if required. A friend uses 105 Speer bullets in a factory 243 for rams. His other 243, I rebarreled with an 8 twist and he shoots 105 Lapuas in it. It works just fine on rams. Usually! WH

i laugh because I know it has to work.
what twist is his factory 243 that he shoots speer with?
I'm excited that i've been potentially sitting on a great starter rifle that I hardly have to touch to get running.

 

[boltfluter]

The 90 Berger's are very good and print tiny groups. Good luck with your project.

 

[AlNyhus]

Any suggestions on lightweight scope rings to get a 6.5-20 EFR mounted on there without adding a scope rail? I'd like to save as much weight as possible.
Also any suggestions on replacing the slick plastic factory buttplate??

For rings, the Leupold Back Country one piece mounts are light weight and very heavy duty. They are milled from 6061 versus being extruded. Bedding them to the receiver and bedding the scope tube to fit the rings after they've been lapped will help it keep it's zero and track as well as possible. When you're at Speedy's for the bedding, ask him his thoughts about bedding the rings/bases and tube.

For bullets, treat yourself and the gun to some BIB 95 gr. flat bases. This bullet can offer some real advantages in a rig like yours. Give Randy a call @ (515) 438-4010.

Products

The following items constitute our standard products: though even these standard items are made to order – CUSTOM MADE – occasionally, we will have a few bullets of one or more items on hand; it ne…

bibullets.com

For a easy, no-slip butt pad replacement, I pick up a pair of cheap flip flops at one of the 'Mart' stores and use that as a replacement....known as a 'Flip-Flop pad'. If the thickness gets the LOP a bit long for you, the black or grey non-slip adhesive strip material works great.

Good shootin' -Al

 

[drover]

Any "Known Loads" suggestions for .243?

I am going to test out 105's to see if the 1-10 will stabilize it, but I am also liking the look of the 90 grain Berger HPBT, these should stabilize no problem. I realize that with the lighter weight bullets I am going to leave some animals standing, I'm ok with that. I am more excited about being able to read the wind and work on my hold.

I still got a hit, offhand at distance. When the hits and no-falls really start to rile me up because there are so many of them I'll put together a .260 and know that my daddy's rifle got me there

I used factory 243 Rem 1-10 barrel, for Rams I used the Hornady A-Max 105 gr and drove it as fast as possible ( near 3000 fps) and rarely lost rams with it. If I did lose them it was usually at a range that had loose rails or where the target setter did not pay attention and set the rams at the front of the rail rather than at the back, muddy feet on the rams can also cause a problem. Depending on the range I liked to use any decent 95 gr bullet on the chickens, pigs, and turkeys. If the pigs were giving a problem then I would use 105's on them also If you can hold good enough to shoot the rams in rear 1/3 then they usually always go over.

One advantage to using the factory 243 is that they can often be found as "new take-offs" for $50 - $75 dollars and in my experience they will generally headspace properly without further work, although the letter my be out of line but that doesn't affect anything except cosmetics.

Rings - don't laugh at this because it works. You want as high a ring as possible so that you can have a comfortable upright head position. I used Weaver bases and a set of see-through rings (the ones that are designed for use with both open sights and scopes), they are as ugly as sin but they work well without going to custom rings, they give a good cheekweld and also allow an upright head position.

I can't recall my load but I will try to find my notes for it.

Enjoy yourself, you will find that it is a very addictive discipline.

drover

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

I used factory 243 Rem 1-10 barrel, for Rams I used the Hornady A-Max 105 gr and drove it as fast as possible ( near 3000 fps) and rarely lost rams with it. If I did lose them it was usually at a range that had loose rails or where the target setter did not pay attention and set the rams at the front of the rail rather than at the back, muddy feet on the rams can also cause a problem. Depending on the range I liked to use any decent 95 gr bullet on the chickens, pigs, and turkeys. If the pigs were giving a problem then I would use 105's on them also If you can hold good enough to shoot the rams in rear 1/3 then they usually always go over.

One advantage to using the factory 243 is that they can often be found as "new take-offs" for $50 - $75 dollars and in my experience they will generally headspace properly without further work, although the letter my be out of line but that doesn't affect anything except cosmetics.

Rings - don't laugh at this because it works. You want as high a ring as possible so that you can have a comfortable upright head position. I used Weaver bases and a set of see-through rings (the ones that are designed for use with both open sights and scopes), they are as ugly as sin but they work well without going to custom rings, they give a good cheekweld and also allow an upright head position.

I can't recall my load but I will try to find my notes for it.

Enjoy yourself, you will find that it is a very addictive discipline.

drover

I refuse to laught at something that works.
I realized fully what high rings meant when is hot my first match.
Here’s Mark Pharr’s current smallbore rifle rig. I was amazed at the fiberglass stock and long ass barrel, knowing it somehow made 8.5 weight limit.

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

I used factory 243 Rem 1-10 barrel, for Rams I used the Hornady A-Max 105 gr and drove it as fast as possible ( near 3000 fps) and rarely lost rams with it. If I did lose them it was usually at a range that had loose rails or where the target setter did not pay attention and set the rams at the front of the rail rather than at the back, muddy feet on the rams can also cause a problem. Depending on the range I liked to use any decent 95 gr bullet on the chickens, pigs, and turkeys. If the pigs were giving a problem then I would use 105's on them also If you can hold good enough to shoot the rams in rear 1/3 then they usually always go over.

One advantage to using the factory 243 is that they can often be found as "new take-offs" for $50 - $75 dollars and in my experience they will generally headspace properly without further work, although the letter my be out of line but that doesn't affect anything except cosmetics.

Rings - don't laugh at this because it works. You want as high a ring as possible so that you can have a comfortable upright head position. I used Weaver bases and a set of see-through rings (the ones that are designed for use with both open sights and scopes), they are as ugly as sin but they work well without going to custom rings, they give a good cheekweld and also allow an upright head position.

I can't recall my load but I will try to find my notes for it.

Enjoy yourself, you will find that it is a very addictive discipline.

drover

Did you find the take off barrels shot well too when fed your quality handloads?
My only hesitation to sticking with .243 long term is their short barrel life compared to something like .260. If I can just use the take off barrels that would be so nice.

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

I’m guessing this sport is less likely to have known loads like HP Service Rifle, since everyone is not shooting the same cartridge in very similar barrels.
For Service Rifle the go to load is somewhere around 24gr of Varget with a 77 SMK, bump to 24.5 for an 80 SMK at long line.
Everyone is shooting a 1:7,1:7.5, or 1:8 twist 20 inch barrel chambered in .223 Wylde or a tighter CLE chambering. Very few exceptions to that.

What powders will have the proper burn rate for these 90-105 bullets that people use for silhouette?

 

[drover]

Did you find the take off barrels shot well too when fed your quality handloads?
My only hesitation to sticking with .243 long term is their short barrel life compared to something like .260. If I can just use the take off barrels that would be so nice.

I used the 260 for a couple of years and in my experience with it there was very little if any difference in barrel life between it and the 243. They both seem to give around 1500 rounds of barrel life. When you consider that the barrel is being shot 5 times in 2-1/2 minutes, then only has a minute to cool before shooting another 10 rounds in 2-1/2 minutes that is hard on the barrel.

My last 243 barrel had over 2000 rounds down it and still had good accuracy but I started loosing rams, when I checked velocity it was down to 2700 fps - it just didn't have enough power to push them over at that speed.

As far as finding new take-off barrels I would find them on the classifieds here or at 6mmbr.com

I haven't had time to look for my old load data but practically every powder manufacturer has an on-line site so take a look for a powder that will give you the fastest speed with the least amount of powder and try that one for accuracy. I do recall that I used more than one powder with the 105's and they all worked well.

I can tell you that I tried numerous powders trying to get the Sierra 107's to group in the factory barrel but was never able to accomplish it - they definitely require a faster twist rate.

Mark Pharr has been at this game a long time and if you can pick his mind he would be a valuable resource.

drover

drover

 

[drover]

Some folks question the 243 as being enough rifle for HP silhouette but back when the Hunter Rifle rules required that the rifle be "offered for sale to the general public" it had to be a cataloged off the shelf rifle, no barrel changes, stock changes, etc. about all that was allowed was a bedding job and trigger job. David Tubb used a factory Rem 700 in 243 to set a High Power Hunter Rifle record - 39 out 40, I believe that record still stands.
Now admittedly Tubb is a great shot but it still requires a capable cartridge and the 243 worked for him. I know that at some clubs there are folks who are now being succesful using the 6mm BR - once again illustrating that the less powder burned the less recoil and less recoil makes it easier to focus on the shot.

Regardless of whatever way you go here is the best advice I can give - shoot at a spot on the animal, not at the whole animal. It will force you to concentrate better.

Aim small - Miss small

drover

 

[CoolArrowMarksman]

Some folks question the 243 as being enough rifle for HP silhouette but back when the Hunter Rifle rules required that the rifle be "offered for sale to the general public" it had to be a cataloged off the shelf rifle, no barrel changes, stock changes, etc. about all that was allowed was a bedding job and trigger job. David Tubb used a factory Rem 700 in 243 to set a High Power Hunter Rifle record - 39 out 40, I believe that record still stands.
Now admittedly Tubb is a great shot but it still requires a capable cartridge and the 243 worked for him. I know that at some clubs there are folks who are now being succesful using the 6mm BR - once again illustrating that the less powder burned the less recoil and less recoil makes it easier to focus on the shot.

Regardless of whatever way you go here is the best advice I can give - shoot at a spot on the animal, not at the whole animal. It will force you to concentrate better.

Aim small - Miss small

drover

I used the 260 for a couple of years and in my experience with it there was very little if any difference in barrel life between it and the 243. They both seem to give around 1500 rounds of barrel life. When you consider that the barrel is being shot 5 times in 2-1/2 minutes, then only has a minute to cool before shooting another 10 rounds in 2-1/2 minutes that is hard on the barrel.

My last 243 barrel had over 2000 rounds down it and still had good accuracy but I started loosing rams, when I checked velocity it was down to 2700 fps - it just didn't have enough power to push them over at that speed.

As far as finding new take-off barrels I would find them on the classifieds here or at 6mmbr.com

I haven't had time to look for my old load data but practically every powder manufacturer has an on-line site so take a look for a powder that will give you the fastest speed with the least amount of powder and try that one for accuracy. I do recall that I used more than one powder with the 105's and they all worked well.

I can tell you that I tried numerous powders trying to get the Sierra 107's to group in the factory barrel but was never able to accomplish it - they definitely require a faster twist rate.

Mark Pharr has been at this game a long time and if you can pick his mind he would be a valuable resource.

drover

drover

Thank you for all of this info. What's attracted me to the sport is that it is a shooter's sport, your hold is what's most important.
I just heard tales of insanely short barrel life and that the sporter barrel would not cut it. I can just hold off on shooting the standard class during the day if it means keeping the life of my barrel going.

I'm grateful for the knowledge that I can get from people that have done it before me.

 

[gsxr1k]

Some folks question the 243 as being enough rifle for HP silhouette but back when the Hunter Rifle rules required that the rifle be "offered for sale to the general public" it had to be a cataloged off the shelf rifle, no barrel changes, stock changes, etc. about all that was allowed was a bedding job and trigger job. David Tubb used a factory Rem 700 in 243 to set a High Power Hunter Rifle record - 39 out 40, I believe that record still stands.
Now admittedly Tubb is a great shot but it still requires a capable cartridge and the 243 worked for him. I know that at some clubs there are folks who are now being succesful using the 6mm BR - once again illustrating that the less powder burned the less recoil and less recoil makes it easier to focus on the shot.

Regardless of whatever way you go here is the best advice I can give - shoot at a spot on the animal, not at the whole animal. It will force you to concentrate better.

Aim small - Miss small

drover

The High Power Hunter record is 38 and is held jointly by Derek Greenaway, Augustin Sanchez, and Dustin Flint. Drover is giving some great advice. And remember. Pick a spot, squeeze the trigger and follow through! Most importantly shoot what you have and have fun.
Mark Varner

 

[Will Henry]

i laugh because I know it has to work.
what twist is his factory 243 that he shoots speer with?
I'm excited that i've been potentially sitting on a great starter rifle that I hardly have to touch to get running.

His factory 243 is a Winchester with 10" twist. I think his biggest issue is just not being able to get quite the velocity he wants out of the 22" barrel. The 8 twist barrel is 26" and he can exceed 3000fps at reasonably low pressures. WH