Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Pet loads for the 243

For coyotes and bucks,55 grain BT, 52.5 grains H414, right at 4grand, stupid accurate in the 4 243's I shot them in. For bucks and bulls,45.5 grains 7828, 100 grain partition @ 3100, sub moa in my 660. Later

Still going to work more loads for the 85 to see if I can beat what I've come up with with the Varget but It may be hard to beat. 39 grs of Varget with the 85SGK HPBT's yeilded this 5 shot group at 100 this morning at over 3200FPS.... not the best group but the best was 3064 and only beat it by .064

you KNOW i am not surprised.

Varget is good stuff. good shooting btw.

ditto Judman's load of 45.5 gr. 7828. In my case I use C&C bullets and they shoot very well. I was never sure whether this load worked so well because of the over 27" barrel on my 40X. Come warm weather I'll have to chrony this one to see what velocity I'm getting.

Jim

I'm starting to expect groups out of this rifle like this. It will shoot under a half without much trouble with factory stuff in the Hornady 95 SST and the first 5 shots after break in grouped like the target above.

Shot this mule deer @334 yds caught both lungs left a quarter size exit. That's a 3006 recovery gun in the pic as the deer went into a wooded bottom and I didn't know if it would get western or not. My bolt gun is a 700 remington with a Shilen 26" barrel. The whitetail was @ 245 yds bang flop with a neck shot. My load is 42.7 IMR 4350 behind a 85gr Sierra BTHP. Got it down to a 1.15 group @ 200yds. The .243 is a great caliber for any North American game with a well placed shot. It doesn't matter how fast or how big a bullet is if it doesn't hit the mark.

38.0grs of IMR 4064 and a Sierra HPBT is awsome. I have taken 50+ deer in Florida with that load, All but a few were DRT.

Groups? Hard to measure such a small hole after five shots.

I shot a ruger #1 in 243, Not much lived to tell about it after meeting me with that rifle in the woods. Oh, those were the days!

I have had really good luck with ramshot Hunter in a couple of 243's I have worked with , both were savages. They really liked 42.5 gr of hunter with 100 gr hornady bullets, 44 gr with speer 90 gr and 45 gr with Sierra 85 HPBT. Both Seemed to prefer a little hotter primer with the WLR working well. My daughters have used the 85 gr Sierra HPBT on lots of deer with very good results.

Working with a load I got from the Sierra people I use 43.3 gr of IMR 4831 and shot a 5 shot group that was .460 Saturday but if you take out the first shot that fired after a quick clean on the bench I had a four shot group of .150 at 3143 fps. Got to load up a batch to see if it holds up but the two on either side was around an inch. Also have one with the 95 Berger's that measured .444 for a 5 shot group and if you take out the first shot on it I had a four shot group of .134 with 42 grains of the same but I was concerned with the speed at 2895 fps but it's going to get another test, too. I had 4 groups under 1/2 while working up to this load but the second best was .277 at 2810 fps.

My results mirror yours.

I shoot a 1:9 twisted 700 remington ADL thats bone stock and has had nuttin done to it,my pet load is 38 grains of IMR-4350 with a 100 grain Sierra sitting atop,I fired a 3 shot string last week that measured .210 CTC as this rifle does this every time I take it out,its a keeper...........

I'm trying 40 grains of RL-17 behind a 95 grain BT and also a 100 grain Hornady BTSP. I'll report back after I test fire.

My Remington 700 BDL 243win I load 41.0grs. of RL17 powder with a Barnes 80gr. TTSX bullet seated 2.620" COAL. Using Remington cases and a Federal 210 GM primer. Get a 3-shot group at 0.300" center to center of bullet.

Try a Hornady hpbt in 87gn with 45.3gn 4350, or the same load with a 87gn Vmax. I'm using Hornady brass. They both shoot nice and flat. The 85gn Sierra hpbt is a great bullet, but goes through a goat at 50yards like a dose of salts, still dead though. Also trying the 90gn Nosler BT with 45gn 4350. Rifle is a Model70 Featherweight.

I was given two 243 varmint rifles. The load data my friend has is 38gr of IMR 4895 and 85gr Sierra HPBTs. Very accurate in both rifles. H4350 is a good powder for the 243.

We have a Savage Model 10 w/22 inch barrel,plain Jane bought new about 14 years ago. It has been free floated and had its 7 to 8 pound trigger lightened up to about 3 pounds. It shoots 100 grain Nosler Partition sub-minute with a load of IMR 4350 x 42.4 grains. This load will be right around 3000fps in warm weather. Has killed numerous deer and Russian Boar hybrids at our farm. My daughter killed the biggest hog we,ve seen, a Russian sow weighing every ounce of 500 pounds, also predators wishing to harrass our livestock. It also shoots an 87 grain Hornady 87 grain BTHP sub-minute with 36 grains of Varget. I have no idea the velocity of this load. Probably could load it hotter but it shoots so well I don't want to change. The 87 grain load is an excellent predator load also. The hogs are here to stay. We've killed about 400 in the last 12-15 years.

45.0 grs of RL-19 with a Barnes 80gr TTSX, deadly and shoots out of 6 of my 243's

So this is a revived thread that is 7 years old...

I wonder after it runs its course if it will be revived once again, in another 7 years.... 2023?

back on topic... bonked a buck last year with a 100 grain Sierra in front of 38 grains of 4064....ADL..

Guess it is still relevant though....

I've found it hard to argue with an 85gr Sierra HPBT GK on the lands over H4350. Good load for seeing if a rifle will shoot.

Well heck, its hard to argue with 25 grains of SR 4759 with any 6mm bullet to see if a 243 will shoot.... even when the barrel's shot out...it will still shoot SR 4759 to more than minute of whitetail....

but then you knew I was a load bench rebel anyway....

4350 is a good powder, hence too boring....
but I admit to using it when I'm in a follow the herd mood...