Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Favorite powders, .243 and 95 grain Nosler BTs

Let's hear your favorites for accuracy. Working up some loads.

IMR4350 and H4350 were easy workups for me.

Agreed with Mathman. I've had great luck with 41-42g of H4350.

One oddity worth considering: Most powders don't fill the case very well. The old, long cut H4831 is an exception. It just nicely fills the case, and gives me 2950 FPS with 100 grain bullets. Typically, a load that fills the case will be more accurate than one that does not.

Smokepole: One of my 243's loves IMR 4831 and 95 grain Nosler Partitions - I use Federal brass, Federal 210M (Match) primers and 44.0 grains of said IMR 4831 powder.
Good luck to you.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Mine is pretty good with 41.5grs IMR-4350

I'm using 7828SSC, very accurate load.

RL26 has done so well in my 243 that I can't even imagine using some of my old standby's like H4350 and H414. RL26 is just outstanding.

I've used IMR 4350 and H-414 almost interchangeably in several 243's. Hasbeen

With 95's?

Yes. 48gr. of RL26, Nosler brass, Nosler 95gr. Partition, Rem. 9 1/2 primer.
Rifle is a Kimber 84M.

47.3 gr. of RL26 behind a Hornady Interlock 100gr. btsp.

Our Deer are not very big in the mountains, but here's the 2 I shot with these loads this year.

1st Deer was with the 95's at 120yds.........


2nd Deer with the 100's at 287yds......

Without knowing any better, I loaded 42gr of IMR 4831, because we have a ton of it. The Tikka t3 in 243 likes the load just fine:



Course, it is a Tikka so maybe I could have used 42gr of cow manure and produced the same results. I'd be interested in seeing what another grain or two could do.

As long as you use a magnum primer with the cow manure you should be okay...

Could you define outstanding? E.g., did it produce velocities markedly over 3100 fps with accuracy unattainable from other powders or ???

I don't own a chronograph any more, although I have plans on borrowing one just to see what the velocities are, but from my starting load up to where I stopped, the grouping size changed very little. It was a matter of which pattern do you like. In my 35 or so years of reloading I have never ran across that. I'm sure it helped that it is a Lilja barrel, but as you can see in the photo's it is a Kimber contour and the scope is a VX2 2-7x33.

I still prefer the older faster standbys...

4064, 4895, RL 15....

new stuff I've tried that had real good results,

AR Comp, RL 26.

40 grains of IMR 4350 works for us in my kids HandiRifle.

2883 FPS

41.5 of H4350

This !

41.5 grains of H4350 has been very accurate in several rifles for me. 22" barrel speeds have been between 3050 and 3075 in a couple of rifles

I am using RL17 with the 95BT's out of my 243, it has been working awesome! Not the fastest round ever but it is accurate.

IMR7977 averaged 3050fps w/22 in bbl with 95gr BT's and I haven't worked up to max charge yet.

What I can conclude is the IMR Enduron powders are the cleanest burning I've ever used in those foulding mutha's of a 243...

RL26 has been a little bit of a unicorn and I'm getting tired of chasing components. Maybe Trump will change things...

In the meantime I'm going to wring out IMR7977 in several 243's and 270's.

Casey

K22, how much '26 are you loading for the 95s? Are you loading any 105s?

Smokepole: I am not loading any 105's even though I'm running an 8T barrel. 100's are the heaviest and I'm doing 47.3 gr. of RL26 with thoses. In the 95's I run 48.0gr. which is a pretty full case. I can fingernail tap it down to the bottom of the neck. Guess I would be better off with a drop tube, but I don't generally use one.

I have had good results using W760 in just about every bullet weight I shoot in the 243. While I think it is a little better in the lighter weight bullets, I have gotten good accuracy and velocity out of the 90 and 95 grain Nosler BT's. I have also used IMR 4350 and 4064 also and been satisfied.

Thanks K22.

Happy I could help smokepole.

If you try it let me know what your results were.

I'll try it with 95s and 105s and let you know.

K22, if you're still reading this, 48 grains must be smoking! I shot some today and got my best accuracy with 46, and that was at 3200.

I started at 45.5 and never had what I would consider a bad group. First time that has ever happened to me. The rifle I'm using is a Kimber 84M that has a Lilja 8T 22" barrel. I'm hoping to get mine chronographed soon, but I didn't figure they were at 3200.
The 48gr. load is behind a 95gr. Partition. With the 100gr. load I run 47.3gr. No pressure signs whatsoever.
What is the setup you are using?

I should add that I am using Nosler brass with Rem. 9 1/2 primers.

The rifle is a re-barreled M70 push feed, Pacnor 9-twist @23". In an Edge stock.

Lapua brass, Fed 210 primer.

Didn't play with it much, but I used IMR7828 with 95gr BTs and Rem 9 1/2s.
Hit 48g without pressure signs and ~3050 fps.
Then got the chance at a threaded barrel and swapped barrels. Have not tried the new one yet, so I am also interested in 243 loads with 95gr BTs
AA 4350, RL22 and 7828 will be tried on the new one.

IMR 4064 nothing better in the 243

At first blush, R-26 appears to be.

Smokepole,

If you are still monitoring this thread I was able to get out the other day and chronograph my loads. The 95's with 48gr. of RE26 were 3133, 3156, and 3138. The 100gr. load with 47.3gr. were 3022, 3016, 3033, and 3023. The Chronograph was our shops Labradar and the barrel is a Lilja at 22".

4895 worked well in my granddaughter's rifle. Started out at 60%. Increased as she got bigger-older. It shot well all the way to max load. She has moved up to 6.5 Creed.

I ran my rifle up to 50 grains of RL26 with 105's last summer for 3150ish. Can't remember if that was Win or Rem brass. Some old Norma brass I picked up did the same with 48.5 grains at ~32 degrees the other day.

like hanco's I did the reduced loads with H4895 and at 70% or 75% I had 2 bullets touching and one about 1" away. Should have did more loads with the bullets pushed further away from the lands to see what it would do. This was with my son's Ruger American Compact.

Needless to say I had a Rem SPS 308 that he is using now because he has shot up literally and the compact feels harder to control now that he is 13 y/o. Oh well that is what happens when a kid grows up!

I am still playing with the Ruger Compact but may unload it as I have rifles with longer barrels that I prefer.

Moly?

Nope. I also ran RL17 up to 3100 in different brass last summer. Shot that load out to 1200 with good vertical dispersion. That same load of 41.5 grains RL17 I shot last summer is only doing a little over 2900 in this Norma brass and colder temps and 1.5" chopped off the end of the barrel.

I'll bet that wasn't easy getting that much powder in the case.
I'm curious, 24" barrel? And what primer did you use?

I don't remember it being terribly compressed. The barrel is 22.5" now, but it was 24" last year. I used cci 200's when I shot three the other day with 48.5 grains in Norma brass, but I tried 200's and Rem magnums when I experimented with it last year. The magnum primers didn't make much difference. I can't remember what brass I shot it in last year. Probably Nosler, but maybe Win or Rem.

I'll see if I can find any more particulars in my notes when I get home tonight.

tag

Going to try imr 4451 tomorrow if the weather holds out

If they had named it 4150 instead, nobody would have had to do load up work for their 243s. (That load: 41.5 seems so commonly well thought of.)

tag

my wifes Ruger likes IMR4064 and 95 partitions at about 2800 FPS 22in barrel.

Did you try it? I have a decent 4451 95 NBT load and curious what you found. About to load for another rifle, a lot of choices... Might break out the H4350 stash for 41.5.

Not yet. Gophers are out so I got sidetracked

Always used H414 in my Ruger Tanger, bought my 14 yr old a Tikka. Worked up a hunting load with H4350, 41 grains shoots bugholes all day long...

47 Gr of RL 26 is max in my 243 Win, 22", Ruger LH Hawkeye,95 GR NBT,CCI 200 Primer, RP case. around 3125 FPS.

48 GR of RL 26,95 Gr NBT, 3244 FPS and ejector marks. Way to hot 47 gr is max in my rifle with RP brass.

Better accuracy with 41.5 Gr of IMR 4350, F 210 primers and 95 GR NBT right under 3K.

tag

H4350

I believe the current issue of Handloader can offer some suggestions as well.

Guess I am doing it a little different,loading for .243 and a .243 A.I. I am using Retumbo and 105 Scenars and 105 A-Max getting 3050 fps,great groups, from the sounds of what everyone using R-26 are getting about the same results as I am, or the other way around I am getting about the same as the people using R-26.

Rio7

RIO7, how do those 105g scenar's do on deer? I know they're accurate, but what about performance?

Interesting. Thanks, Rio.

I'm shooting Hornady 105 HPBT's over Re17 from a 243. 41.5 grains gets me 3043 fps from a 22" barrel. Hornady lists this as a max load but I get zero pressure signs and case life is great.

I switched to the HPBT's after a 105 Amax exploded on an antelope. The HPBT has worked well on my antelope last year - it penetrated the animal's chest and left an exit the size of a 50 cent piece and dropped him on the spot.

Accuracy for both bullets is fantastic.

JGRaider, I started out with the Scenar, as a coyote load shot a lot of coyotes and bobcats, with 105 Scenar's very furr friendly.

Shot a few pigs with same load and it worked great killed the hell out pigs.

Then we needed to cull about 450 Does, so I started using them on Does, they worked even better on Does, than they did on pigs, I know the Scenar is supposed to be a target bullet, but it works on critter's and it's accurate.

The rifles I use are Rem 700 22" 1 in 9 twist I shoot 49 grs of Retumbo, and a 105 A-Max W/ CCI-200 primer at Oal 2.800 The A-Max will blow up every now and then, but still kills good on Does for me.

My other rifle a Cooper 22" 1 in 8 twist it likes the Scenar's and every thing the same as above.

Start low and work up to what your shooter likes.

Rio7

I ran a bunch of 90 ABs and 26 in my little brothers 243.. it was fast and very accurate. Plan on doing the same with mine.

I've loaded 4451 behind the 95BT and got pretty decent accuracy, just over ¾" at an average speed of 3020 with 42.5 grains of 4451.

I've also tried RL-26 behind the 95's all the way up to 47.8 grains, and that started to be on the edge of too hot at 3211. 3 shot groups where just over a ½".

I keep coming back to my H4350 loads. Both 41.5 and 42 grains shine, although they are slow, averaging just under 3,000 fps.

Haven't had any luck getting R-26 down here on the border, that's why I went to Retumbo, seems to work almost the sane as R-26 in my .270 and both .243s.Rio7

I've not loaded any Nosler 95 BT's in .243 yet. But, I have loaded them in 6x47L - 1-10 twist.

I'm loading 34.5 grains of CFE223.

No clue on velocity... but they're shooting sub-moa.