Home Forums Reloading Varmint Rifles Anybody run 90 grain BT in their .243?

I loaded up a bunch of rounds of .243 with some 90 grain Ballistic Tips for coyote hunting. My gun didnt shoot them work a hoot! We tried them in a friends gun as well, and found the same 3" group with them. My gun is a Ruger Target Grey Varmint model. Does anyone have a load that uses these bullets that shoots well? Second question - What do most of you use in your .243 for a coyote round?

I'm using Horny 87 SPBTs in a 243 Tikka which are AOK on paper..haven't dropped a dog yet with them though...my 8 twist 6XC really loves the Nosler 90 BT though...

I use the 95gr BT with either 41grs of H4350, or 45grs of IMR7828 with CCI200 primers. Both shoot under 1/2 inch at 2950fps. I bought some 80gr BT's for coyote, but haven't shot them yet.

I've used it with a batch of loads...
what has worked for me, is 4064, RL 15, W 748, 4350, H 414, RL 7, 3031, Sr 4759, IMR 4198....

how fast are you trying to run them and what powder are you using???

I have a batch of 243s and they shoot well in all of them...real well...I like both them and the 80 grain Ballistic Tips quite a bit...

My experience is the same as Seafire's. They always shoot good for me.

To hear about Ballistic Tips shooting 3" groups is anything is surprising.

Here's a thought.... they are slightly longer than a more traditional bullet. What twist does your rifle have? If it's a real slow twist, you might not be getting them to stabilize. Have you ever shot 100 grain bullets out of it? Did they shoot well?

I just re-read your post. I see you're shooting the Ruger Target model. Usually a quite accurate rifle, and has a 1-9" twist, which should be plenty for the 90 gr BT.

Still curious though, have you shot heavier stuff with good results?

What load are you using with the BT's?

I use the Swift 90 gr Scirocco in my 243 Win with IMR 4064 and this load groups 1/2 inch , this is my deer load. For coyotes i use my 6mm Rem with Shilen barrel with 1&12 twist, for this i use the Hornady 87 gr BTHP with Win 760, this load shoots 1/2 inch and sometimes under. I also use this load for deer. The best powder i have found for the 243 is IMR4064, try this powder in your 243 with the 90 gr BT.

I shoot 75 gr V-Maxs out of my Tikka .243 with Varget powder. Half-inch or smaller groups if I do my part well.

I had that very same rifle and I shot the 55gr Bts in it. They shot very well, under .5. Don't worry about your twist as I was worried that 55s would be too small but my gunsmith said give it a try and I did and I was very pleased that I did. Give it a try. Oh and H414 was my powder. HAPPY HUNTING

I worked up a load for my little cousin's Remington 700 the 90 NBT shoots less than a inch with arround 44-46 grains of IMR4350.

Actually, you had this specific rifle. I traded with you a couple years ago. The gun shoots good with the 75 grain Vmax. I have the load data that you gave me when we made the trade, I was just trying to use some bullets that I hade on hand. I will look at my records and see what powder i used with this group and answer some questions.

I have 3 .243s. Two of them like Barnes TSXs one doesn't. Two like the 62 grain Varmint Grenades, one doesn't...yet.

They all shoot 58 grain Vmaxs well, and also like 55 grain Nosler CTs.

Depends on do you want them dead, or dead with one small hole. The TSX will always give you two holes in the hide, but they usually are not big, caliber in 3/4 inch out is normal.

I loaded mine with 43 grains of IMR4831 powder, magnum primers and 90 grain Ballistic Tips. This is the load that is giving me three inch groups. According to my Nosler manual, that powder was the most accurate powder for that bullet weight. I am just wondering if a change in powder could change my group that much or if I should just forget about shooting those bullets and load something different. Thanks for the information guys... I will keep trying to figure this out.

TRy the 4064.. RL 15... Varget.. suggestions for that bullet weight...

once in a while you can get a 243 barrel that just sucks.. like any other caliber...

to test it out.. try either 25 grains of SR 4759, 30 grains of either 4198, 30 grains of RL 7... or 20 grains of Blue Dot... use a large rifle primer.. no mag primer...

if it won't shoot those with your 90 grain BT, then your barrel is bad, or you are dealing with some head space issues..

Thanks Seafire.

Without seeing the gun or ammo here's my best guess. Check your crown just in case. Try your load with standard primers, maybe a WLR, Nosler used a Rem 9 1/2 in their load data. Mic the bullet diameter. Could you post pics of your groups? That sometimes can help in figuring out what's going on with a load.

I load 95 gr. NBTs for a good friend for shooting deer 40.8gr H380. He doesn't really know what they are, he just wants the ones "with the purple tips" He has yet to lose a deer or miss a deer in 8 years of using them, he swears it's like pointing a lighnting bolt at them. Me - I'll stick to the 100 gr. partitions for deer and 55 gr. BTs for coyotes.
Selmer