I've got two chucks so far on my new/used 243 using 70gr BTs and they while it's an accurate bullet, it's not explosive like my 22-250 55gr BTs. I'm looking for 70gr on up, anyone got any suggestions?

75 grain VMax. 70 Grain Blitzking.

I second the V-max - I use Nosler Partitions in my 270WSM and they explode groundhogs. I never though a Partition would do that because most consider it a deer hunting bullet. The V-max is cheaper and does great job, I highly recommend. BTW I use only 32gr V-maxs in my Savage 204 and it always gets the job done + leaves the dog alittle something to shake lol. Another thing is the 22-250 is smokin fast compared to the 243, could be some of the difference your seeing. Let us know what works good for ya.

70 Gr Blitzking with a healthy load of Varget should fix your problem.

Use a Hornady SX, just don't go faster than their reccomendation, I believe 3400. The small loss in velocity will be more than made up in splat factor.

HM

I've shot a lot of chucks with the 70 NBT and my 6/06 and found it to be incredibly tough on the chucks. I also used the 95 NBT quite a bit and it was really tough on the big rodents as well.

Do you know what speed you're running the 70's at?

The 75 VM is another good choice as would the TNT that Speer makes, I think it's a 70?

One last thing, if you're shooting chucks while they're standing you won't have the same effect as you will via a chuck laying facing you and or facing away.

Dober

I'll second the vmax and the tnt. The tnt is a cheap little bomb.

I use 65 grain V-max in my 243 and they do blow them up.

I'll second what Dober said.I've splattered groundhogs with the 70 gr. BT.Never thought of it as NOT being explosive.Keep wanting to try it on coyotes, but it seems like I always have something else loaded up when I call one in.

Also have used the 95 gr. BT on 'hogs.That will make a serious mess.Great deer bullet as well.

My thanks to everyone that replied. I'm running a max load from Nosler#6 of H414 47.5grs. So it should running 3600fps, but no chrono to confirm it. But my drop tables have matched so far out to 500yds so no reason to doubt it. I'll post some pics tonight. Gotta run, got some brook trout grilling.

This chuck was only 150 yds away and giving me a quatering shot. That's an exit wound.


This one was 200 yds away and running away slightly left. The bullet cut his leg at the base and looks like it exited his head. Atleast a frag exited, but on close up on my computer it looks like the base came out at his ear.




Same shots with 22-250 at like distances at these things would have been gutted,.... to put it bluntly.

GoForBroke, I was wondering what the load is you are shooting? We are shooting a load of 46-47g of IMR or H 4350 with the 70g Nosler and it grenades yotes. Velocity on this load is 3600+ fps.

I am wondering if your speed is low???

Well the velocity could be low, but I plugged in my numbers into a trajectory program for 3600fps and they match my reticle out to 500yds so far. So I would guess my velocity is correct. In Nosler #6 H414 beat 4350 speeds, but to be honest IMR 4530 with the 80gr BTs gave me better groups. So I'll try IMR 4350 with my next batch of 70 BTs. I save the H4350 for my 30-06, with powder being such as it is. The bummer is that I traded for this rifle since it shot really well. It's a long action and heavy so it's not my ideal 243, but damn it's a shooter. And then I got 500 70BTs seconds and 200 80BTs. I haven't shot anything with the 80BTs yet, maybe that's my next step. It's loaded with max W760 load. Max loads have been the trend I'm following with this rifle LOL.

My son shoots 70 grain Sierra Match Kings from his 243. They are very accurate and wickedly explosive on jack rabbits and prairie dogs.

I like the plain old Hornady 75 grain HP....

in a 6mm Rem, I am running that a little over 3650 fps... on a long action...

nailed a few prairie dogs just right and it really sent them flipping thru the air, and they came down in a couple of pieces... but when looking at the remains, there was a lot of prairie dog parts just plain missing...

55gr BTs and u will have mist and parts. Very explosive and very accurate. HAPPY HUNTING

58 grain Vmax works for me.

I run the 70 gn Blitzkings over a charge of H414 and love what they do to critters!

I was real pleased with the Speer 70 grain TNT under a max charge of either 380 or 414 on prairie dogs. I had some of both to use up and they shot just about the same. I think the 414 had the velocity edge.

Thanks for the imput. I have 58 VMaxs and 55BTs but in order to make the barrel last longer I wanted to stay around 70grs or above. Ideally I'm looking for higher BCs and explosiveness for longer ranges. Since this rifle is heavier than I wanted, but lighter than my PSS, I'm designating it for 300-600 yds or longer varminting if the opportunity presents itself.

So why would your barrel last longer shooting 70s than it would shooting 55s. Also a 55 will get to 600 darn fast and still ruin a varmints day. HAPPY HUNTING

ruger243223,
Mainly the 300-400fps difference between the two bullet weights. I figured the 55-58gr bullets are explosive and I have had some fine accuracy with the 58 Vmax. But at close to 4000fps I figured they are a barrel burning SOB.

Anyone have some pics they could send me, or post for that matter, of 70-95gr bullets and what they did with chucks?

I fail to see why 300-400 fps will burn your barrel out any faster. It is not speed that burns your barrel out it is more fault of the shooter that will burn the barrel out. I have talked to several barrel manufacuters and I have shot many thousands of 55gr BTs and I have had several 243s all shot extremely well even after 3000rds of BTs. You are not going to burn your barrel out shooting 55s. You will shoot out your barrel if you shoot and get your barrel hot enough too cook eggs and don't give it a chance to cool. Your 70s will burn out your barrel just as fast. HAPPY HUNTING

Heat is a big contributer of throat erosion. So is the amount of powder you use. The 55gr bullet will use more powder at 3900-4000fps than the 70gr bullets at 3600fps. So the way I see it the 55gr bullets will wear out a barrel faster than a 70gr bullet. Happy Hunting to you also.

Shoot what your gun likes. In my case it's 75gr. V-Max in front of H380. Dead nuts.

Fortunetly this rifle has liked bullets from 58gr-80grs so far. What I'm looking for is terminal performance with the 70gr and up. Looks like other people have had excellent results with 70-95gr bullets and of course the 55-58gr. What I'll end up doing is try the 80gr BTs I have loaded up and also try the Sierras and Hornadys once they're available in my area. I'll also have my loads chrono'ed to confirm the velocities. Thanks to everyone for their imput.

GoForBroke: I suggest giving the Nosler 70 Ballistic Tips a little more field use and maybe the results you are after will appear?
I have used the wonderfully accurate and rather "explosive" Nosler 70 grain Ballistic Tips in a number of 24 caliber Varminters for many years now.
Including Varminters in 6mm PPC, 6x47, 6mm Remington Bench Rest, 243 Winchester, 6mm Remington, 6mm Remington Ackley Improved and 240 Weatherby.
I choose my bullets for accuracy first, lethality second and availability third - the Nosler 70 grain Ballistic Tips fulfill my needs very well and I still use them in several of my 24 caliber Varminters.
"Explosive-ness" does not really enter into my comparisons of Varminting bullets.
I do remember a number of spectacular terminal "performances" these bullets have made for me on Rock Chucks in the past though.
Again run a few more Nosler 70's through your Rifle in the field and keep tabs on the results.
2 Chucks is not a large enough comparison pool to write off this fine bullet just yet.
Best of luck with the 243!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

VarmintGuy: 2 Chucks is not a large enough comparison pool to write off this fine bullet just yet.

I agree with you there! I did shoot a sagerat at 100yds this weekend and the 70BT still did not give the terminal performance of my 22-250 with 55BTs. Maybe I'm just excepting too much, but I figured if the 22-250 with 55BTs @3650-3700fps is good, then the 243 with 70BTs @ 3600 had got to be as good if not much better. I have 60 some rounds of the 70BTs loaded up and will shoot them this season. I just don't want to waste an accurate MarkX rifle if it doesn't suit my needs.

GoForBroke, I wanted the same thing you did with my .243 AI. What I did is I found the 87 Vmax and stuck it over some H414. It has one of the highest, if not the highest, B.C of a bullet under 90gr., at .400, and it is extremely explosive. You should have seen the rockchuck I hit at 470 yards on Saturday. No joke, it blew that thing in half and the top half landed 6 feet up the rim and we couldn't find the bottom half. These are going 3340 fps at 20 feet from the muzzle. These also do a good job at 550+ yards, still empties them out there.

Yeah I wanted to get them 87gr Vmaxs, they rave about them at 6mmBR. But I can get the 2nds BT for dang cheap. Beside there hasn't been any VMaxs available here since I traded for this rifle. But I'll try them and once they're available.

Midsouth has 75 and 87 now.
Allan

Allan,
Thx for the heads up.

I loaded up 3 brands of bullets last week and went to the range for sighting in.....They were all about the same weight (70 grains +/-) and I had them all going at the same speed of what turned out to be 3200 fps. I used different powder for each.

My friend's Savage shot them all at different remote areas and my rifle (Win. Mod. 70)shot them all pretty darn close to each other. The 68 grain Berger came out the winner for accuracy with both rifles so the next day we went out hunting coyotes with the Berger hollow points.

Out in the desert we got one huge male to appear about 220 yards out and my friend nailed him about 2" above his chest line right behind the shoulder. The result was a ragged tear across the chest and left a destroyed heart and lungs. The hole was 3" wide and went from shoulder to shoulder. Never have I seen a result so hugemungus. It was steep rocky terrain and the coyote came tumbling down splattering blood everywhere. What a mess.

I forget how expensive the Bergers were but I was amazed at the performance. The sternum was also blown away.

[img][IMG]http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/tt17/Inhaminga/IMG_0432.jpg[/img][/img]

idahochukar2,
Nice pic! Well I'll just have to start experimenting with other bullets. Bergers are also on my list, but your right they are expensive. I generally shoot those only through my PSS. But maybe I'll have to give them a try in the 243.

I've used the 70 grain BT for prairie dogs many times......they work quite well and are quite accurate.....but I agree....the "mist" factor doesn't match some of the 22-250 performances. They shoot with less drop of the TNTs as well.....but weren't necessarily more accurate. I thought the TNT had a slight edge in "mist" but nothing I've used matched the 55 BTs at close to 4,000.

I know you want 70 grains and up.....but out to 250 yards the 55s really do the trick!

Vapodog,
Thx for the info. Yeah the mist factor has been great with my 22-250 w/ 55BT at 3670 fps. Since I have a 22-250 that shoots fine out to 300yds fine in wind and with Kentucky windage I'll use it for out to 300 or so. I figured I'd use the 243 out beyond that. Ideally I want to use my AR for out to 300 and then the 243 out beyong that. Honestly the only area that my 22-250 lacks in is fighting the wind beyond 300yds, that were the 243 comes in. So I'll try some of the bullet sellections that were suggested for this season and and make a decision at the end of this year. Worst case scenario is I'll use my PSS for long range varmints. Which isn't bad at all since my family got that rifle for me back in 1991 when I got out of the Army.

What velocity are you getting out of the 70 grain ballistic tip?

I've not worked with the .243 much. My experience with that bore diameter is 99.9% from a slow twist 6x.284. I shot mostly 70 grain ballistic tips, but at roughly 3850 fps at the muzzle. Until a couple years ago when I got into .204, that 6x.284 was the most destructive thing I've ever used on varmints including .22-250 and .220 Swift. The 65 grain VMAX was a little more explosive yet, but not quite as accurate.

If you're not happy with the 70 grain ballistic tip, you might want to try the 55 grain version. It's got a higher BC than the .22 cal 55 grain and in some rifles can be launched over 4000 fps, so you've got both higher BC, more velocity, and greater frontal area than the .22-250 or Swift with a 55 ... thus more splat downrange.

The 58 grain VMAX is more fragile yet but doesn't have quite the BC, nor in my gun, was not as accurate.

Tom

try the rem 80 powrlokt HP... ded nutz accurate in most rifles... wicked results

Sierra 80 grain Blitz boattail, but the 55BT is your best bet, or any VMax

Thanks for the info Tom, johnw, and DakotaDeer. I got some 58gr VMaxs and 55gr BTs given to me so I'll give them a shot.It's nice to have friends! I'll also give the 87gr VMaxs and some of the Sierras a try also. I want the best combination I can find of high BC and explosivenes. We have some wind over here so a higher BC will come in hand.

I am late for the party, but here is a load that has worked for me on chucks. It absolutely blows them in half if shot in the body. It is a 75 grain Hornady HP at 3350 using 47 grains of 4350 powder. One grain above and one grain below, and it shoots an inch. With this load, I have shot many 200 yard groups less than 3/4" with a HB Sako 243. My favorite longer range chuck gun.

+1

Have used alot of different varmint bullets in the 243 over the years looking for that magic bullet. I liked the 58 grain VMAX over the 55 grain Ballastic Tip, shot a ton of 70 grain Ballistic Tips, a great varmint bullet. The most economical and accurate, for me, is the 70 grain Speer TNT, hard to find lately so I've replaced it with the 65 grain VMAX which I have only shot several hundred of but am coming to like very much. I think this will be my go to varmint load with Varget and Rem 9 1/2 primers.

Just an update,.... shot some more chucks since the last post and 70gr BTs worked great. Almost turned one chuck inside out. I also noticed that rifle was walking groups around so the initial hit might have bounced into the chucks and not been direct hits. As I shot the rifle more the misses became more noticeable so I shot the rifle on paper to confirm the problem. Since this is the second time this has happened to me with a different Mauser but same brand stock I concluded that the stock cannot stand up to the amount of pressure I place upon it while shooting sitting/ prone slung. Since then I have gone to shooting the AR I built and made a fairly lucky shot with it at 391 yds this past weekend.

The most explosive 6mm varmint bullet is the 62 grain Barnes Varmint Grenade - period. They need a twist in the 1:10 range, because they are as long as 80-87 grain offerings. Most .243's should work. I haven't used them on yotes, but the advertisements say they enter with a tiny hole then explode inside without exiting.

Here is a photo of the destruction caused by the closest Varmint Grenade I have pictures for, the 50 grain .224 on a ground squirrel. The yellow arrow points to the remaining ear.



The rest of the squirrel vanished. If you really want explosive expansion the copper-tin powdered metal core of the Varmint Grenade will deliver.

Try some Barnes Varmint Grenades, I have good accuracy .675 3 shot 100 yd. groups, I think you will like the explosiveness.

I shoot 65 grain hornady V-max.

Just today I shot two Wood Chucks with a Ruger .243 shooting Federal Premium V Shok 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tip Ammo. Both wood chucks were perfectly broadside through the shoulders. The carnage was amazing and the 70gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips literally blew the chucks into 2 pieces each. There were innards all over surround the wood chucks. I am not sure how much more explosive a .243 bullet can get.

Larry

I'll second 75 grain Hornady HPs.

I'm running them through an old factory Remington 700 with a trigger tuned to 2 1/2" and a new classic ADL factory stock yet the action was manufactured way back in 1963. The rifle now wears a 6x18 VXII. Mind you it only has a 20" barrel but with 45 grains of WW 760 my best groups are around .125 and my exits holes on chucks are usually 2-3".

I really can't ask for more.

Me too! I use the moly-coated 58 gr. V-Max factory load at 3760. Blows up little critters as well as a 22-250. Use the 30 gr. Berger in your .243 necked to .223 and you can push 5000 fps. (Look in AR reloading page for 22-243 Middlestead). That will blow up, gut, skin and cook your critters!

Got a buddy that's running 87 V-Max out of his AR-10 243 and i saw him nail a jackrabbit at 472 yds. on the second shot. It was very destructive at that range, and he's reported excellent terminal effect with it on prairie dogs beyond 400. What more could u ask for? I can't imagine a better varmint bullet for 600 yds. and under than that one--the highest BC varmint bullet made as has been mentioned above. Someday u'll be out there shooting chucks when the wind's blowing and u'll learn to appreciate the higher BC bullets.

I couldn't get it to shoot out of my 6AI for long-range coyotes but the 75 Horn. BTHP gave me <MOA all the way out to 800 yds. on the calm days.

SS-I couldn't get the 87 VM to shoot very well in my 6/06 either (neither could a couple of buds), but the 75 VM is a total terror and shoots lights out!

Dober