243 caliber 55 grain

todbartell said:
sold it (parted out) last year!...it *was* a great gun
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the plain vanilla 243 Winchester is a very underrated and under appreciated cartridge..it's the Rodney Dangerfield of cartridges....it get's no respect but they work very well.....for various purposes obviously.

TB..that mulie looks just like the one we watched for 10 minutes at 75 yards on Friday.....in a zone without a mulie season.......:-(...but i didn't have a 243 anyway...just a 30-06...:)
 
I have come to respect the 243 more than i ever thought I would. It shoots most wieght fine for hunting and I have tried 55 to 107 grain bullets.

For years I swore I would never own a 243 it just did not turm my crank for no good reason. I bought one 2-3 years ago when a sale came on for the 700 sps, and tuned one up.

I stuck with 70 gr bullets for varmints and 100 gr for deer, only for the simple reason the same POI was very close for these 2 bullets and I do not need to mess with the scope, and really thats the only reason because the 55 grainers shot as well (groups) as the 70s, and almost as well as the 100s they just shot 4 inches high and 2 inches to the right at 100 m.
 
My 243 has served me well with the 65 gr v-max and 75 gr hornady HPFB. The 70 gr nosler ballistic tips chewed coyotes but were accurate. The 55 grainers i have shot didnt give me groups i liked, but that was only a box of factory loads, so not enough info there to pass judgement.
 
My savage has a twist of 1 - 9.125 and loves the 65 grain Vmax so there goes the 85 gr and up theory again. Its not the weight of the bullet but the length that affects stability in flight.

You did nothing wrong with your purchase and it will be fine. Like any new rifle.. keep trying until you find something it likes.
 
Rembo said:
the plain vanilla 243 Winchester is a very underrated and under appreciated cartridge..it's the Rodney Dangerfield of cartridges....it get's no respect but they work very well.....for various purposes obviously.
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Rembo, I gotta disagree with that. I think the .243 is a highly respected, highly rated cartridge. It's a consistent top-10 seller, and is likely one of the top half-dozen success stories of cartridges introduced since WW II. Everybody chambers it, and millions are sold worldwide. And I think that even in these days when deer have become almost bulletproof, it still sells well, and would, I think, sell even better in your region if the deer were a bit smaller and the distances a bit shorter. And even a fair few of savvy Western riflemen carry them.
 
This poor guy took a 55 gr BT at 4k head on. The bullet ended up in his hip. Not bad for that little bullet.

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243 never did anything for me I've shot a couple deer with mine but it sat in the safe most of the time.

Rechambered mine to 6mm-284 now that is a cartridge... :D

Was at the club yesterday shooting a new load for my 70gr Bal Tips only gave 3450fps loaded up more when I got home expecting 3550fps with these.

I don't ever go to the tiny 55gr bullets I have absolutely no interest in them.

I was also shooting a new load with 85gr TSX that gave 3350fps going to try pumping them up 1gr powder hoping that it will tighten up the group slightly.

Nope the 243 does not do what I want...

The only way I'll buy another one is with the plan to make it into a 6mm-284... :)
 
warrenb said:
Does anyone shoot the lighter grain 243 caliber loads.

What are they like as a light shooting varmint and just general all day target load?

I'm thinking of getting a 243 and wondering how they perform at the lighter load end of the spectrum.

Also are these rounds more expensive than the regulary say 100 grain 243s I see everywhere?

thanks,
warren
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Quite a competent Varmint round - can do everything a 22 Centrefire can do and more, except that recoil, while light, is significantly more than for example, the 223. You won't want to shoot it "all day" as you might a 223.
 
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Camp Cook said:
243 never did anything for me I've shot a couple deer with mine but it sat in the safe most of the time.

Rechambered mine to 6mm-284 now that is a cartridge... :D

Was at the club yesterday shooting a new load for my 70gr Bal Tips only gave 3450fps loaded up more when I got home expecting 3550fps with these.

I don't ever go to the tiny 55gr bullets I have absolutely no interest in them.

I was also shooting a new load with 85gr TSX that gave 3350fps going to try pumping them up 1gr powder hoping that it will tighten up the group slightly.

Nope the 243 does not do what I want...

The only way I'll buy another one is with the plan to make it into a 6mm-284... :)
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3350 with the 85gr TSX is no screaming demon and I can easily get within 75 fps of that with the no good .243.
 
While I have never shot any 55 grain Ballistic Tips out of a 243, I certainly have shot plenty out of a 9-1/8 twist 6mm Remington and also an 8" twist 6mm Remington. These twists are quicker than necessary to stabilize these short bullets, but my rifles didn't seem to mind. The factory 9-1/8" shot them into well under 1" for 5, and the 8" custom was even better, with several sub ½moa groups recorded. The key is how well made the bullet is. If the bullet has a concentric jacket, overstabilization does not hurt accuracy. I can exceed 4200 out of my long barrelled custom, and just over 4100 with the shorter tube on the factory rifle. Do they ever make a crow into black feathers in a hurry!!
And Chuck Nelson, FWIW, I have had the 70 Ballistic Tip doing 3600, and the 87 Hornady doing 3450 out of a 24" 6mm Remington, so for the throat's sake, I'll just pass on that 6-284 you tout so highly. Regards, Eagleye
 
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chuck nelson said:
3350 with the 85gr TSX is no screaming demon and I can easily get within 75 fps of that with the no good .243.
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I'm not shooting top loads at that velocity I have easily gotten 3500 + fps and it is only a 21" barrel.

todbartell said:
my favorite 243 load was 70 gr Nosler BT over 42.0 grains RL15 for 3500 fps :)
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You sure your chrony was working correctly or are you shooting a 28" barreled rifle... :D
 
not if you consider ammo and rifle availability, which makes the 243 the king of dual purpose varmint/deer cartridges :)
 
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