Since we are in pre-order mode for Pet Loads by John Barsness
and I've just picked up a 700 SPS youth for the common use of my boys, any proven loads for the .243 that might help cut to the chase? I'm looking for one varmint bullet load and one deer load.

I'll be grabbing a couple boxes of factory loads to get brass, any brand to avoid?

Thank you in advance.

I have had good luck with 70 and 75 gr Sierra bullets.

My 75 grain load I will not publish as I am using 4350 (75 gr bullet) surplus powder from the 70's. Check on line with Hodgdons for data.

The second I use 38 grains of 8208 with the 70 grain Sierra and winchester brass. Both loads shoot nice tight groups, with 8208 shooting the best and the 70's have the best BC of the two.

Folks think highly of the blue box Federal Fusion 95s for factory ammo. 41-42 grains of H4350 and 95 Nosler BT are what I would use exclusively for everything considering your twist.

100gr NP over 41gr of I4350 worked well in my Sako (now my son's Sako).

Some prefer Hodgdon's 4350, but I went with what I had.

A Sierra 85 gr HPBT with 37.0 gr IMR 4064 has worked for me in a couple Remington 700 ADLs in .243. I've taken deer at 280, 350 and 410 yards with this load.

Mine likes the 95gr NBT with 41grs IMR4350

For deer, 95 grain Partition over 44 grains of H4831.

For varmints, 80 grain Sierra Blitz over 38 grains of H4895.

I used to use the 85 grain Sierra BTHP for both varmints and medium game, but decided that they were more fragile than I prefer for medium game.

I've probably loaded for more than a dozen .243's over the decades, and aside from the already mentioned 41-42 grains of IMR4350 (H4350 also works) with bullets in the 100-grain range, these have also done very well in more than one rifle, with both outstanding accuracy and velocity:

55-58 grain bullets: 48.0 grains of Big Game
70-grain bullets: 41.0 grains of Varget

Have also had excellent luck in recent years with 95-105 grain bullets using Vihatvuori N560 and Ramshot Hunter. Some rifles do very well with bullets over 100 grains with Retumbo, but the standard 1-10 twist doesn't do all that well with 105+ grain high-BC bullets in most conditions.

I have yet to see .243 that wouldn't shoot a Barnes 80 TTSX 0r 85 TSX into nice tight groups with 37.5-38.5 grains of Varget. I have yet to see a deer that needed a second dose of either.

For varmints, 58 grain VMaxes work well with both 42.5 grains Varget and 14 grains of Blue Dot. 10-12 grains Blue Dot work well with the VMaxes when a little quieter is a little better.

I used to be of the opinion that 4350 was all you needed for a 243. When I started using Varget Things got better. Now that 4451 is available, it has given me better velocity in 243s and very equal accuracy in a couple. While I haven't tested it in all the 243s i have here, I would say it is worth a good hard look.

Damn MD, how long is your drop tube to get 100gr of Retumbo into a .243 case! Must be an AI...

Retumbo was one of the only suitable powders I could find here for a while, and it works pretty good for me although I use a much more sedate 49gr.

Couldn't agree more for the big game load. For varmints I like the 70gr Ballistic Tip and Varget.

100 grain Nosler Partitions do well with 44 grains of H4831. The old, long cut stuff just nicely fills the case. I assume that the newer short cut product would give the same results, possibly with a little more variation because the case is not quite full. I get 2923 FPS.

The load is fairly low pressure, and could easily go up a half grain without approaching the SAAMI limit.

I've killed a truck load of deer and hogs with the Remington 100 grain Coreloct Factory Ammo.
My favorite hand load is a 85 grain Sierra SP with a max load of IMR 4350.
My second favorite hand load would be 41 grains of IMR 4350 with a 100 grain Nosler Partition.

I've also killed a few Antelope with 55 grain Factory Winchester Silver Tip loading, which is a 55 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. Not my first choice for a Praire Goat load, but it will work in a pinch.

Sierra 85 gr HPBT ... 43-44 grs/IMR4350 or 38-39 grs/IMR4064 depending on the rifle.

I have 85 grain interbond and 87 grain vmax shooting in the same hole.

Ditto on the Sierra 85 HPBT and the IMR 4064.

I like the 95 grain Ballistic Tip....

Fueled by 4064 or IMR 4895 or RL 15....

or for less recoil, for kids, new shooters, or the ladies...
30 grains of 4198 or RL 7....

for deer season this year, in 243 I've been toting an 87 grain Hornady SP, ran with a charge of 38 grains of 3031..

The ADL seems to like that load....

Another vote for the 95NBT...since Hornady quit making their 100 grain flat base.


37.0 grains of 4064......

38 grains of IMR 4064 under the 85 grain Sierra BTHP has been very accurate in all 4 of the 243's I've put it through. Of course that bullet ain't good for a goddam thing because of it's comparatively low BC.

95g NBT and 42 grains of imr4350 in my model 7 shoots sub MOA and kills everything I have ever shot at it.
Before reloading I always used winchester ballistic silver tips. They shot about a 1.2 group and also dropped everything in its tracks

Crazy how the loads we all use are so close and the same powder and bullet combinations work in so many guns. My loads are basically the same as the ones above

My deer load---
Rem. 9 1/2 primer
33 grains IMR 4064
95 grain Partition
1/2 inch groups @ 100yards in my rifle

Picture is worth 1000 words.

80TTSX over 38.5 Varget
95BTip over 41.5 H4350
85IBond over 44.0 RL17

I bought 4 boxes of Barnes Vortex 80gr TTSX for the brass. It shoots so well with those that I am only shooting them in my .243. Less than an inch, chronos over 3200 fps with 20" barrel.

Or you can load this bullet with 44.4gr of H4831, Remington brass, and CCI200 primer. It turns groundhogs and coyotes inside out. I've never shot a deer with it, though Sierra has this in their Game King line. It was one step down from max in the Sierra manual years ago and the first group went 5/8" out of my 700 ADL.

According to Sierra, despite it's GameKing moniker, it was designed as a varmint bullet.

How fast is your load? The load I posted above it 2950 fps out of a 24" barrel.

tag

I'm running 38.5 grains of 4064 in mine...got that one off one of the old IMR Brown Sheet load data distributions...

Tag

We have a Savage Model 10 that is a pretty accurate rifle. Actually it has belonged to my daughter since she was 9 or 10 years old. She is now 23 and married and expecting living in another state, so I have custody of the rifle. For deer loads we get excelllent accuracy out of Nosler Partition 100 grain powered by 42.4 grains of IMR 4350. This is a hot load (around 3000) but very accurate. Jessica has killed 22 deer with 22 shots with this load and also the biggest Russian sow hog I have ever seen (heart shot 500+ lbs.)along with a few lesser swine. I carried it as a farm rifle for dispatching problems for a while. For that I found an accurate load using Hornady 87 grain BTHP which was a match bullet I think. The powder for that load was Varget but I can't recall the grains and it is recorded in the load book out in the shop. The rifle shoots well with other bullets but for a deer bullet none shoot as well (sub-minute) as the Partition.

As noted in my earlier post, I'm a 100gr NP guy myself, but I'd be okay with the Sierra PH as well. I sectioned one and as advertised, it has a tapered jacket that is pretty heavy near the base. Ought to be fine for anything a .243 is good for. I picked up 400 blems from Grafs at a real good price and corrected the defects (a a little extra lead at the tip) with my thumbnail in about 10 minutes.

No writer here. Thirty or more years ago, Jim Carmichial recommended any good 100 grain bullet over 42 grains of IMR 4350 and a standard primers for about 3000 fps.

My choice is a 100 NP and it works. So do 95s. My powder is about as old as the advice. New powder may require a bit less? The monolithics had not yet come out.

Jack

Just wondering if anyone tried RL-26 with 95 or 100 gr bullets in the .243? The Alliant manual shows some interesting velocity numbers.

Nothing beats the Barnes 80gr TTSX for deer in a 243, I used 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tips, killed a few truck load of deer with the Sierra 85gr HPBT, But neither one of them don't even compare to the Barnes 80gr TTSX in a 243. My load in 3 243 is 45grs of RL19 for 3289fps, all three shoot less than 3/8" @ 100 yards. My carry rifle is a Savage Acton with a 26" #4 Shilen barrel, that rifle will shoot 5 shots into a hole that a 338 bullet won't fit through.

43.5 grains of IMR 4350 and a 90 gr Nosler BT or 43.0 grains of the same with the 85 Sierra HPBT. Haven't used the Sierra on game, but the BT is a tough little mother seducer.

80 gr TTSX

45.0 IMR 4831

F210

Lapua brass

Here is a photo showing the major impact to a large feral hog shot through the heart by my nephew (I usually shoot them at the base of the ear and this load works well for that too). The bullet exited.

Nice shot, especially for a lad with no head!😜

This load I would consider a tried and true all time classic with 100 grainers. It works well in all 6-7 243s I've owned plus others I've used it in. It also drops deer DRT.




Another great load is 37.3 gr. 4064 with 85-87gr. bullets. I pretty much only run 87 gr. V-maxes with it now, but Barnes and Sierra have done well also.

IMO, after MUCH toying with many 243s, I'm convinced 4064 is way to go with 80-87gr. bullets. And 4350 with 95-105s. Sure others will work, but these are only 2 powders I bother with anymore. if you want "proven", they are as proven as it gets..........

I'm pretty sure I loaded up some min book loads for mini-me with 41.5 H4350 and the 80TTSX. Worked great!

45n Ramshot Hunter/85 TSX.

Works well in my Kimber MT, Rem Mt Rifle, standard weight 700 BDL, and M70 Fwt classic SS.

42.5 4350 , lapua brass, 210m or br-2, 100 grain horn or sierra , .030 off

38 grains of varget , lapua brass, 210m or br-2, 90 grain scenar,( or 87 berger or 88 berger or 85 sierra bthp) ... .030 off.

41.0 varget, 70 grain ballistic tip.

If your 700 Youth .243 is like the one I bought for my son, Winchester 100 grain, Federal Blue box 100gr and Fusion Ammo 95 grainers will all shoot well enough that there is no need to re-load for it. We settled on the Fusion Ammo and have had very good luck with it.

Not sure how old your kids are or their tolerance for recoil, but mine was young and only about 35 lbs when he started hunting. I took the recoil pad off and filled the rifle butt with BB's then screwed the pad back on. If you get enough in there they don't move around too much and the noise is minimal. It takes what little sting a .243 has completely out.

Bob.

Win 760 pushing 95 gr Berger Classic Hunter.

I've got a recently purchased Axis sighted in with this load and on 5 shot groups at 100 yards off the bench it was 3/4" tighter than green box Remington, blue box Federal, and even Federal Premium.

Yeah we have had great luck with that load with 4 different 243s.

Tag

I really don't know, but I would guess 2900 or so. I didn't have a chronograph back then and haven't shot the .243 since I acquired the chrony.

John Haviland has a good article on the .243 in the latest Handloader, which pretty much bears out what's been posted here.

While 3000fps has always been the target velocity for 100gr loads, he didn't get there. Stuff still dies.

If I ever get back in the .243 business, the 80gr TTSX will get a serious try.

sent u a pm just a follow up. every weapon has different chamber dimensions,and barrel meatallurgy.so both powder charge sizes,and bullet seating depth must be adjusted. this is why its called working up loads.

thomas gajan

You guys are making me think that I need to try 4350 powder. I've never tried it in my 243.

I'm going to mention my load since I don't see it listed. My rifle absolutely loves 40.3 grains of IMR 4831 powering 95 grain Hornady SST bullets. I get .5" groups pretty consistently and I've had good performance on deer as well. The other 243's I have also shot it exceptionally well.

Expansion ratio of the 243 lends itself to slow powders, 4350 has been my go to, as it always worked well and I typically had some on hand - IMR. Used others since. I do like Varget pretty well for the light 70s but anything like 4350 or slower works great with 85 to 100+.

Given your accuracy - not sure you will improve but that never stopped me from experimenting with powders and bullets - in the name of "R&D"

Pappy, my experience with that bullet (TTSX) is that you really, really need to seriously consider it if you do get another .243.

I'm having fantastic results, accuracy and terminal performance-wise.

I appreciate all the advice here. I think I lucked into a pretty accurate rifle for the kiddies, as it shot everything pretty well.

55gr Ballistic Tip - 48grs Big Game





70gr Sierra Blitz King - 41gr Varget





95gr Ballistic Tip - 44gr VV N560



The 20" barrel is fairly stout, I'm sure it helps out quite a bit. These loads all show a lot of promise, especially the 95gr NBT. I'm fairly amazed at what the cheapest M700 made can do, right out of the box...well, with a slight trigger tweak.

No slam intended toward kicH...

but I have high mileage 243s that will outdo those groups at 100 yds pretty consistently.... and its not like Seafire is some sort of big time Benchrest Shooter...

I have a harder time trying to find a powder that doesn't work well in a 243, versus one that is a whole heck of a lot better than all the rest, when it comes to accuracy...

and that is running everything thru them from SR 4759 to IMR 7828SSC...

I used to occasionally call Sierra with questions. Opinions vary so much from one tech to the next that it's almost like posting a question here on the 'fire...

This load should be on everyone's list. I can't imagine a better coyote load in 6mm.

My gold standard accuracy load has always been the Sierra 85 bthp over 37.5 IMR 4895. If I didn't have 4-500 of these loaded on the shelf I'd be trying this bullet over Varget.

I do believe that a guy would have to work at it to find a load that won't shoot in most .243s...

3 different bullet weights, uncleaned sporter barrel, 20 total down the tube, and the only 4 groups fired go from an inch to 5/8"...the future looks bright!

Though I have lurked around this site for some time, this is my first time posting. I've reloaded for the 243 for almost 40 years, and currently reload for 4 different rifle, all Remington 700's. W760 is my go to powder, and I've yet to have a 243 that didn't like it. 45.5 grains of 760 and the 85 grain Sierra HP shoot tiny groups in all my rifles. I also like IMR 4064 with this bullet in a 700 youth model. I have tried for a long time to work up a load using 95-100 grain bullets for deer, but I've yet to find one that shot as well as the lighter bullets. I have settled on the 95 grain SST with 760, although R19 shoots just as good.

JamesJr,

Welcome to posting on the 'Fire! Your input will be much appreciated (and probably much critiqued )!

What kind of performance have you seen on game with the 85 Sierra?

I started out loading the 85 grain Sierra as an "all around" load. I wanted something that I could sight a rifle in with, and then use on deer or varmints. I figured that bullet was the best compromise out there. Now, having said that, there are better choices in the 243 for bullets that will be used for deer, or at least there are in my way of thinking. But, I've killed a number of them with the 85 grain Sierra. Most shots have been on does, a 100 yards or closer, and it's worked good. The one "failure" I had, if you can call it that, was on a big buck I shot at 250 yards. The bullet broke the front shoulder, but did not get into the vitals. The deer went down, and stayed down, but took a finishing off shot. I try and fill my buck tag first, and this year used a 7-08 for that. Then, I'll take a doe or two, with a 243 using either a 95 grain SST or the 85 grain Sierra.