bullets for longer range target shooting

I

iceboxx7

Inactive
I am using Sierria match king bullets , there are several sizes to use . Which would be better for my type of shooting . btw I am shooting a .243 Cal rifle . should I use a lighter bullet or the heaver one
 
How far out you plan on shooting?

.243 is easily capable of 1k yards. I shoot a grand using 87gr Vmax bullets when I want to change it up a bit. If I was using my .243 all the time I'd use 100gr. If you have a fast enough twist, I know a lot of folks that use the 105gr bullets.
 
"In general..." (a very dangerous preface indeed...), use the longest/heaviest bullet that will stabilize with the barrel twist.
 
The higher the BC the better the bullet is for long range shooting because it holds velocity better and has less wind drift. The bottom line though, the bullet that shoots best is the one you need to shoot.
 
Icebox,

Like was said before, really depends on the twist rate of your rifling.

I know some of the 105gr. bullets specify a 1:8 twist...

A lot of .243's have a 1:10 twist, so won't stabilize the heavy bullets.
 
What's the distance? There's not really a lot of value in pushing a heavy bullet hard at 300yds and less.
 
bullets for longer range target shooting
Click to expand...

Interesting question, by longer range I would imagine that you are talking about beyond 600 meters. While I like the 105 and 95 grain bullets in 243 there is really no reason to use them for that type of range unless you have a problem with cross winds. I use mine mainly for hunting.

The down side of using 50 or 55 grain 243 bullets is that at close to 4,000 fps you are shorting the life of the barrel (750 rounds max) till accuracy starts to fall off.

There are trade offs in all rifle shooting and I do not want to re-barrel my rifle each year to maintain accuracy. So I will keep the speed to 2,900 fps and my shots within 350 yards.

Your choice.
Jim
 
You have asked the age-old question- and there is no firm answer, it's a trade-off.

Heavier, higher BC bullets will take longer to get to the target. Yes- they'll buck the wind better, but they still have a longer time of flight.

The smaller bullets with a less attractive BC won't buck the wind as well- but will get to the target faster- and thus, are influenced by wind and gravity for a shorter period of time.

I've always opted for the heavy/high BC bullets- but there are those that don't.
You also have to consider that external ballistic theory is just that- theory- and if your rifle doesn't "like" a given bullet for whatever reason, you're limited to the bullet and load/velocity it shoots accurately. IOW, it might look great on paper, but...
 
A lot depends on what you call long range, but I'd use the 107. Not for hunting anything but varmints though.
Ain't no .243 needs 1 in 8 and most hunting rifles are 1 in 9.125 or 9.25. Except Browning.
 
I shoot a 1:8 twist 6XC @ 800-1000 yards.....It handles 105 and 107 grain bullets very well.....As mentioned in previous posts it depends on your rifles twist rate....What are you shooting them in?

Theoretically for ranges of 600+ yards you want the heaviest bullet with the best BC that your rifle will stabilize.....In reality sometimes the lighter bullets work quite well too.
 
iceboxx7 said:
I am using Sierria match king bullets , there are several sizes to use . Which would be better for my type of shooting . btw I am shooting a .243 Cal rifle . should I use a lighter bullet or the heaver one
Click to expand...

You really need to be much more specific. The term "longer range" means ??? 300 yds ? 600 yds ? 1K ? Is your range out in the open susceptible to heavy wind ? Shooting between trees with minimal wind ??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top