Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 243 reduced recoil

Taking an 8 year old to shoot Saturday. He is recoil shy and I am going to load him some 75 grain hollow points for my 243 youth model 700. Hornady lists 33.1 grains of imr 4320 as a starting load. Would charges with less than book minimum cause any problems.

I would not go below the minimum charge in the book. Why don't you call Hodgdon and ask for assistance?

if you have or a friend has a .223, i have found for a starter center fire the .223 is a great starter load for young people.then let them work up to a .243. rio7

You have any 4198?

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/H4895%20Reduced%20Rifle%20Loads.pdf

Hodgdon recommends H4895 for reduced loads. I might have to try some for my 8 year old.

If you have access to IMR SR4759 it is a great powder for reduced rifle loads with both cast and jacket bullets. My Lyman manual does list a reduced charge of 28.2 grs of 4320 with an 84gr lead bullet at 2178fps. 4895 is another powder good for reduced loads.

Would a reduced load for a 243 have about the same recoil as a 223?

If you have IMR 4198, 26 grs with a 75 gr bullet has been very accurate for me in two 243's. Mild muzzle blast and recoil. If I remember correctly it gives about 2600 fps.

I worked up several reduced recoil loads in a 243 for my daughter this year. I didn't have any IMR4198. I used H4198 instead. I tried H4895, but there was noticeably more recoil and muzzle blast.

The load was not only accurate, but very mild on the shoulder....223ish type recoil.

Lyman cast bullet manuals are a good source for that type of info...

the best choices for reduced loads for kids is SR 4759, IMR or H 4198, RL 7... and to a lesser extent, 2400, 4227 or 5744...

that is considering recoil and also muzzle blast, and then accuracy...

if one has to use 4895 burn rate, use IMR vs Hodgdon's....

Hodgdon distributes that info, because it has been tested by ADI for the Australian Military... Hodgdon has done no testing themselves on it at all...

yet they recommend it, when they also carry and distribute most of the other powders above, except RL 7 and 2400...

I don't have a bolt 223 just yet as its being built. Hodgkin was closed at the time and thought maybe a few folks had some easy loads for it. Anyways I loaded up the 4320 at book minimum and we shall see. Also have some reloader 7 that I'm going to try out if I need too

Try to pickup some H4895 and 80 grain bullets and load them to the youth load in the link above. It really helped my grandson.

for reduced 243 loads, I started out referencing 250 Savage load data, utilizing the same bullet weights...

or for lighter 6mm bullet weights, using 22.250 load data with the similar bullet weights...

always worked out pretty well...

why dont you just use "trail Boss"?

http://www.imrpowder.com/trailboss.html

I believe the procedure is simply fill a case to the neck, weigh it and start at 70%. very simple
i shoot lots of 85-87 Sierra BTHP

260gr 375H&H Mag

and some 223 reduced loads

http://www.imrpowder.com/

clich on data.....open trail boss reduced loads PDF

http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf

I used Hodgdon's reduced data for .243 and 270 with great results.

If you want to try trail boss, 13 grains with a 75 hornady hp does 1800ish fps, puts 5 into less than an inch at 100(6" low), and produces minimal recoil/noise in my buddy's rifle.

If she is recoil shy, I'd be loading that 243 WAY DOWN via Trail Boss or Blue Dot. You have to get it below her threshhold or you'll reinforce a nasty flinch.

Once you see how much fun that Blue Dot loads are, I bet you'll make a few for yourself too!!!