Opinions on .243AI

I

ivo

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
99   0   0
Location
Calgary, AB
So I have been kicking around the idea of a new build and this calibre has me interested.
I already have guns in .260 AI, 264 Win Mag, 7wsm, .308 win, .300 win, .300Wby, .338 Lapua.
My main use for the rifle would be long range paper, coyote and antelope/deer. I am looking to build something in a smaller calibre, short action and super accurate!

I like the .243 AI because it outperforms the 6x47 lapua, 6br, 6xc, 6 dasher, .243 win...
The 40 degree shoulder appeals to me because it keeps the brass more stable(and I'm Lazy) so less trimming.

What do you guys think? Any real world experience would be especially helpful. Any other calibre suggestions?

Thanks,
Ivo
 
I recently obtained a 7.5 twist 6mm barrel and after some research have decided to chamber it in 6mm Super LR.

Basicly a .243 improved with a long neck that requires no fire-forming and potentially no neck turning depending on brass used. From an appropriate barrel length 115's at 3100fps is easily attainable.

Definitely look into this one.
 
Hi Ivo, below are a few of my ramblings:
Haven't had a .243 AI but have a 6mm Rem AI and my brother in law has a 6-284.
With the .243 AI or 6mm AI you don't need to resize the brass just fire form it and they will shoot factory ammo. I carry both formed and unformed rounds hunting and use the unformed on shots under 250 yards.
The advantage (maybe) of the 6-284 is that once you resize the neck the ammo is ready to go no fire forming required, you need to watch the neck thickness though.
The 6-284 may have a slight edge in velocity but I have not seen any real difference in accuracy, both rifles have custom barrels and shoot under an inch at 250 yards if the shooter does his part. Both seem to eat the barrel at the same rate - I expect 1000 rounds or so for their life.
For accuracy I would have my chamber cut for a 'no-turn' neck and toss the brass when it got too thick - neck turning is too much work and brass is cheap in the big scheme of things.
Rate of twist will be your big choice, a 1:8 twist will stabilize bullets in the 65 to 100 grain range; seeing as you will use it for hunting I would expect you would use bullets in the 85 - 95 gr range, 6mm target bullets up to 115 gr are available but need a faster twist barrel to stabilize.
In the big picture I mainly use my 6mm AI for hunting so 40 - 50 rounds a year is not a big deal to reload (I am lazy also). I bought 100 new brass when I had the gun built and loaded them for fire forming, I still have 20 left and the balance (80) have been reloaded about 3 times. All I have done is neck size them, the 40 degree shoulder must cut down on trimming as I haven't trimmed them yet. One piece of advice is don't trim the cases before you fire form them as it shortens the case.

Dan
 
243 Ackley for LR

The 243 ACK is a favorite of mine for 1000M shoots. Using a Remington 700 action custom barrel with 8 twist and stock of your choosing (the gunsmith is also very important, he should have a good reputation for building LR rifles). I have found using Lapua brass Berger 105s and H4350 to be very accurate. You don't have to push the 105 fast about 2950-3050FPS works great.
Bill
 
Thanks for the replies, load and calibre suggestions! Does anyone have a favorite action/barrel combo? I was thinking Surgeon/kreiger 8 twist or maybe even re-barreling my TRG 22(or maybe not, I don't even have 100 rounds down the barrel) I love the TRG, this is my second, just bored of the .308 win.
 
IVO I just had a cancellation and have the reamer, broughton or benchmark bbl in 8 twist as well as a pierce repeater action, all available if you want parts or a full build.

Cheers
 
since you already have several barrel burners, you know your life with the 243 imroved is going to be short.

someone mentioned here that you don't need to go fast and you don't. that is why i figure if you want a 3000 fps out of a 6mm and you want super accuracy, i would go
6mm dasher. way less powder, way better barrel life, you get your 40 degree shoulder, and it is one of the easiest to make work very very well. the 6br and its derivatives are darned hard to match for accuracy and ease of tuning. i believe that those 105 vld's have a redline of about 3050. they don't generally work really well faster than that.

i personally like to do more with less and if you can get away with 31 grains of powder instead of 35 or 40, well the scotsman in me comes through every time. the 6 slr is a 243 with the shoulder pushed down and not blown out like the 243ai. makes a nice long neck and all the boiler room you need. better barrel life. i have no experience with them myself but it should be a hummer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom