243 Winchester loads

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mikeboehm

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I just picked up a Sako AII 243 win and im going to develop some loads for it. I also just bought some 80gr Barnes ttsx. anyone loading these. im going to start with VARGET but i dont see it listed in the Barnes manual. im going to start using the Hodgdon load data and start at the lowest working up looking for pressure signs.

this gun will also be for my daughter whos 6 now but when she older it will be hers.
 
My experience with the .243, suggests that Varget is an excellent choice for light weight bullets from 55-75 grs, but heavier bullets seem to do better with slow burning powders in the H-4831 and R-22 range. While the .243 has a similar powder capacity as the .308, which might lead you to think that powders that match those with .308 burn rates are the correct choice, the powder burn rate should be based on the bore capacity of the cartridge, which in the case of the .243 makes slow burn rates the top performers.
 
I just started reloading .243 and chose Sierra GK 85gr. HPBT. The only powder I could get was IMR4320, so I used Sierra's load data to work up the 4 listed loads for that powder. I'll report back here once I have had a chance to test them, if you are at all interested.
 
I'm looking at the Hodgdon reloading data on there website. Under 80gr bullets, since I'm using Barnes ttsx I'm wondering if I should go with their data ofthe 80gr hornady gmx. They are the same type as the ttsx
 
I wouldn't start with the Hornady data. The GMX might be the same weight as the TTSX but they are NOT the same bullet - GMX's load with the same data as all Hornady's of the same weight even though it's a mono bullet - Hornady worked on that for a long time to get it like that.

Contact Barnes (email) to get a starting load. It might be somewhat "lower" than just about every other bullet you find listed and using data for another could result in an overcharge from your very first load. Deep Curls and E-Tips are others that "don't play the same" as "typical" bullets.

Varget is my "go to powder" for my 243 with 4064 being the second choice. But I only load "hunting rounds" so don't care if something else would give me 1/2 millimeter of better accuracy. Varget is generally available (even now), meters well and produces decent results in both my 243 and 7.08
 
Been loading 85gr Speer boat tails over H414 for decades...Me and my brother have Killed everything from gophers to barren ground caribou, black bear, moose and all critters in between...I like varget but dislike trickling stick powder unless I have to.
 
My son's Savage shoots Varget with the 80 grain Nosler Ballistic tips but liked the IMR 4831 for the 100 grained Nosler Partitions. I can get chrono'ed speeds and loads from my logbook if you want/need.
In load development of the lighter bullets, I saw ejector marks on the headstamp with 45 grains of Varget. A wee bit hot.
 
I got into loading the 243 Win last year and am enjoying it alot. Have tried several things, here's my best result in the 20" Savage 1:9.25" twist (use at your own risk): Sierra 85 grain 1520, 45 thou off the lands, with 43.5 grains of H414 ball powder, meters great. Shoots 1/2 MOA, with the best group done by my wife right off our deck: 1.18 inch group at 285 yards! I just bought another pound of 414 today :)
 
I got out to the range yesterday and tested the 4 loads that I made for the wife and kids' 243. One load was better than the rest by a fairly good margin. All loads were IMR4320 pushing 85gr Seirra HPBT #1530. Federal brass and Federal 210. The loads were right out of the Seirra .243 load data. Nothing fancy. 20" Savage Axis XP Youth with pen spring trigger job.

The 37.8gr load shot a .526" 4-shot group at 100m. I'm going to play with various COAL now, as all loads from this round of testing were on the short side. One other load seemed sub-MOA, but with a 2" flier. I probably pulled it, as I was not using a led sled or sand bag.
 
RL 17 41.5 3166 45.5 3467 92
IMR 4350 42.0 3149 46.0 3425 96
♦ H4350 41.5 3159 45.5 3398 92
Hunter 42.5 3127 46.5 3374 89
HyBrid 100V 41.5 3122 45.5 3399 98
Supreme 780 47.5 3166 51.5 3401 98

This was copied from the Barnes site.
You have to do some alignment but their version of the most accurate load was with H4350
Checking this information against loads captured from various members, only once was the BARNES TTSX captured and the load was 45.0 grains of H4350.
 
I am having good luck with H4350 and 87 gr. Hornadys right now.
I have also used IMR 4350 and W760 for bullets 85gr and up.
I do have one Varget load that I use with the 75gr Vmax. It's not for the faint hearted as it is over the published data in one of my 243's so I will not publish it here.

David
 
I read that barnes recommends using the load data from the 85gr tsx for the 80gr ttsx bullets. i found the below data on the hodgdon website using 85gr tsx and varget

Hodgdon Varget
.243"
2.620"

34.3
2,997
52,200 PSI

36.5
3,121
58,000 PSI
 
Using 80 gn bullets (and that's all I've used for nearly 30 years now) I have found IMR 4350 to give me the best velocity and accuracy in several 243s that I have owned and do own now. (About 5 I think, right now) This is one of my favorite cartridges and I have tried every powder and bullet combo imaginable and keep coming back to IMR 4350 and 80 gn bullets. 80 grain bullets give the highest velocity per grain weight of any bullet in 243. I will qualify this though with the statement that I have never used Barnes TSX or TTSX, only ever C+C bullets and I do not (intentionally) use it for big game.....
 
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