.243 Light weight / accurate suggestions??

I said it before, but it bears repeating- the Kimber Montana in .243 meets all your criteria. The 10" twist might just stabilize the 105gr VLD or A-Max, too. Some do, some don't, IME.
 
Mike, your last post explains your commitment to the 243 and your background to same.

I still agree with Jordan Smith above.
Good luck on your quest for the perfect coyote rifle.
I think it's time for me to do the same, but I will be looking at the ...
257Roberts
 
You want a lightweight rifle for shooting long range bullets....

If you want a good lightweight hunting rifle then look at the Tikka, remington, winchester, browning, savage, whatever fits your budget and taste. The Tikka is prolly the most consistant quality and best out-of-the-box shooter you will find without spending double the money up front.

If and when you want a long range rifle for shooting heavier bullets, then you might as well buy a rifle better suited for long range shooting right from the start. It will be a better deal for you economically rather than spending $500 - $1000 or more upgrading your lightweight.

Lightweight rifles are not good platforms to build long range shooters on. Decide which way you are actually going, and then go there.
 
AlexF said:
You might want to read this and think it over:
http://www.6mmbr.com/243win.html

3 factory rifles are suggested (all of which are heavy):
  • Remington 700 VLS
  • Savage 12 BVSS (very easy to change barrel)
  • Howa 1500 Varminter Supreme

Alex
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f:P:
Dude.......he wants a light rifle, he's got a heavy 6mm, did you even read his posts? :confused:

Mike Rae said:
I currently own a 6 Dasher 1:8 twist that shoots 105gr Berger just over 3000FPS. The problem is the gun is way too heavy! Its accounted for several 600 yard + coyotes. You want wind bucking ability, flat shooting and bang flop power, I can tell you from experience that the 6mm 105gr Berger bullet doing 3000+FPS is deadly accurate, and few if any coyotes move after they are hit. I can't tell you how many coyotes I've killed over the year's but it's' got to be 4 digits +.



Question is what to buy for a good light weight rifle in .243???

One with a quality synthetic stock (not a flimsy piece of plastic), pillar bedded, and a decent action.. something that would be a good build on down the road, and a decent shooter with the lighter BC bullet short term like the .87gr Vmax 4.00

Thanks to all, this is a phenomenol sounding board of experience.
Mike
Click to expand...

A Kimber Montana meets all those criteria.
 
Jpordan Smith said: I said it before, but it bears repeating- the Kimber Montana in .243 meets all your criteria. The 10" twist might just stabilize the 105gr VLD or A-Max, too. Some do, some don't, IME.

My Remington 700 in .243 with a 1 in 9 1/8th twist would not stabilize a 105 grain Berger.
 
you may want to consider the 6mm Rem for your application. This one is for sale NIB on the exchange.
M700 CDL in 6mm Rem...
IMG_9927.jpg
 
Mike Rae said:
Guys,
Great suggestions, I should have explained my desires better.

The intent of the rifle would be coyotes and deer. I want something I can pack around 7lbs or less.

Its hard to find anything close BC wise to the 105gr Begers, .87 and .95 bullets arent close.

*.257 roberts isnt in the same league with bullet BC choices in .257 Caliber, vs the BC of 6mm 105gr berger,
*The weatherby's are fast, but have way too much freebore, cant seat bullet near the lands, Dasher would shoot circles around them for accuracy.
* 7mm:08 , 7mm 140gr Berger isnt as quick or as high BC as the 6mm 105Berger
*7mm STW, 300 Mag, big bores, these are coyotes Im trying to hunt in rural communities, not cape buffalo.

I have had lots of custom rifles built by Henry Rempel. I recently went through a custody battle and went from 13 rifles, including cooper excalibur 280AI and custom 6.5-284's down to 3 rifles to help pay some of the bills. Funds are now limited, I have a daughter whos more important than any number of guns.

I currently own a 6 Dasher 1:8 twist that shoots 105gr Berger just over 3000FPS. The problem is the gun is way too heavy! Its accounted for several 600 yard + coyotes. You want wind bucking ability, flat shooting and bang flop power, I can tell you from experience that the 6mm 105gr Berger bullet doing 3000+FPS is deadly accurate, and few if any coyotes move after they are hit. I can't tell you how many coyotes I've killed over the year's but it's' got to be 4 digits +.

I have a cooper .308, problem is its not as flat and forgiving as the Dasher. .308 bullets, check out how heavy a bullet you need to shoot in order to come close to the BC of a 6mm 105 berger.

I have hunted and killed more critters than a lot of people combined, Im getting to the point where I enjoy shooting coyotes best of all. Dont have to eat them, dont have to skin them (sold whole), no limit, dont require a draw, allowed to shoot them Sundays, I dont have to drive half way around the world to do it. It's fun, exciting and most often action packed.

I would really like a light weight devoted coyote gun. For now, I like the one suggestions to buy a standard .243, shoot it, and down the road, look at changing the barrel out to 1:8 twist in light contour.

I have also looked at 6mmAI and .243 AI, pain is fireforming brass, spending the time/money and barrel life to do it, and at what return??

At 4000 ft above sea level the dasher is 6.5 minutes from 200 meter - 500 meters (32.5inch). A .243 with the same 1:8 twist barrel would send the same 105gr berger as flat or better, mind you with a little more powder. results of increased powder are dimminishing as you get higher.

Question is what to buy for a good light weight rifle in .243???

One with a quality synthetic stock (not a flimsy piece of plastic), pillar bedded, and a decent action.. something that would be a good build on down the road, and a decent shooter with the lighter BC bullet short term like the .87gr Vmax 4.00

Thanks to all, this is a phenomenol sounding board of experience.
Mike
Click to expand...

Mike I'm struggling with your exact dilemma, this thread is refreshing. I have a intermediate length (7x57) Satterlee titanium Mauser action on order, and I'm looking to build a 6lb rifle with a very long reach for wolves up here and sheep in the mountains. I want to build a fast handling, incredibly accurate and incredibly light rifle, that's why I spent the money on the titanium action as I want this rifle to be no compromises aside from those physics dictates.

I'm looking at the 6mm, .257, and 6.5mms. It will almost certainly be a 6mm Rem (6x57), .257 Roberts (.257x57), or 6.5x55 Swede. The 6mm is a tad light for what I want in a sheep rifle, but honestly this rifle will predator hunt most and the 6mm gives the greatest bullet selection for that, and as you pointed out, great BCs. I will use the rifle for the sheep mentioned, and I have a Africa habit and it will see use on lighter plains game overseas on quite a few animals too so while the 6mm's tempting, I want more bullet weight and Barnes options in reasonable weights. The 6.5 just doesn't give me the varmint options, while I like 6.5. I actually settled, at least at the moment, on the .257 in a custom contour Krieger barrel.

I'll likely chose to go to the quarter bore's slightly poorer BCs, to get the best big game / varmint compromise. A couple good Barnes options, 100gr and 115gr, one decent VLD, the Berger 130gr, and not too shabby 75-90gr varmint options. In a perfect world the .257 would have a 90gr VMAX type with a G1 BC above .400, an 140gr VLD with a BC above .600, and so forth but the twist rates and bullets as a result just aren't there. Too bad as the only thing holding back the .257 is marketing decisions. Still, closest thing to what I need, I think... My only constructive input is to go Krieger and do your own ultralight profile, as their barrels are stress free as it sounds like you would know by your background in LR.
 
You may want to consider the Remington model 7 compact..... it's not flashy but it will do the trick and weighs in at 6 1/8 pounds... that's over a pound lighter than the CDL....
 
I have been thinking of the same kind of thing. I have a 12 BVSS in 223 rem, a 700BDL in 270 win and a Vanguard in 338 winmag so it would complete my battery pretty well.

Not in the market right away but have been looking at the:
M70 Coyote Lite (not a fan of the stock cut outs and a little heavy at 7.5lbs)
M70 extreme weather ss
Kimber 84M Montana

Maybe others out there but the last two are what's on my short list.
 
Ardent said:
The 6.5 just doesn't give me the varmint options, while I like 6.5. I actually settled, at least at the moment, on the .257 in a custom contour Krieger barrel.
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I don't understand this, unless you are into some gophers or rock chuck shooting, where you would go through lots of ammo in one sitting. What is a good day of Coyote hunting - maybe 4 or 5 killed? Wolves - lucky if you get a couple.

Are you keeping the hides? I shot a nice wolf with a .300 Win Mag and 180gr Nosler Ballistic Tip. I put the bullet behind the shoulder and it made two neat little holes on the hide.

For lightweight options with the 6.5 you can use:

Hornady 95gr V-Max (BC .365); 100gr A-Max (BC .390)
Sierra 85gr Varminter; 100gr Varminter; 107gr Match (BC.406)
Nosler 100gr Ballistic Tip
Berger 100gr Match
Barnes 110gr Solid (BC .452); 100gr TTSX
Lapua 100gr HPBT (BC .424); 108gr HPBT (BC .465)

I am sure there are more that I missed, but how many lightweight "varmint" options does a bloke need?

On the other hand, for your Saterlee build, I can't imagine a better chambering than the 7x57. You could push the little 110gr TTSX to 3100fps ( a 100gr Sierra Varminter is available, as is a 130gr MatchKing; not to mention Hornady's lightweight offerings and Nosler's 120gr BT). Or, you can load up a 175gr Partition and play Finn Aagaard on your next Eland!

The 7x57 is 'right fine in my books.

Edit: I forgot to mention that Lapua is now making .260 Rem brass.
 
Getting up into the 260's for varmint hunting is OK but i like to associate a good varmint gun with a lower recoil, see what you hit, type round. The 243's are pushing this criteria whereas a lightweight 260 definately doesnt fit the bill. Unless the bill is mainly deer. IMO
 
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