New midrange caliber build .243 Win

R

Road_Clam

New member
So been thinking about a solution to my weekly 600 yd situation. What my thought are is I basically have 3 calibers to sucessfully shoot 600 yds. I have my 300WM which is sort of overkill (and very expensive) unless there is a stiff dense wind. I also have to be conservitive in the warm days as the 300WM quickly gets the barrel very hot which beats the crap out of the throat. Next I have my .308 which is undoubtely ideal but it starts getting expensive shooting those 30 cal match bullets and the felt recoil. I shoot about 25-30 rounds during my 30 min relay. Then I have my 223 AR's (I have my 20" match service rifle, and my 24" Varmint. Both shoot excellent provided there is no wind. I can shoot heavy 80 gr bullets from the 20" but that rifle is set up for sling only. My 24" is set up for bipod but I can only shoot 69 gr bullets accurately as the barrel is a 1-9" twist. So this has left me with the question of what would be a good midrange caliber , mild recoil and economical ? After a few months of research I decided to pass on the 6.5CM and I went with the .243 Win. I actually found by total accident a R700 "demo" .243 Varmint for $520 from my LGS. Looks to be never fired. The barrel is the heavy contour with a 1-9-1/8" twist so looks like I can shoot up to the 107's gr sucessfully. I have a ton of R700 SA parts so I put together my fav setup using a B&C Tactical A5 stock and my Sightron SIII 8-32x scope. Already scored 300 pcs of o/f brass for $60 and got a set of dies. I am already stocked with H1000 , 4350 , 4064 , and RL22 which seem to be the preferred powders. Seems the .243 is a surperb and little known caliber that is well respected as a "do all" . I will be launching 105 gr bullets at about 2900 fps. Looking foward to working up some loads !

 
One of my favorite calibers...have 5 of them now.

Consider H4831SC at some point. It does great in the .243Win with the 95 to 115 grain bullets. Better than H4350.
 
MarkCO said:
Consider H4831SC at some point. It does great in the .243Win with the 95 to 115 grain bullets. Better than H4350.
Today 07:54 PM
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion! From what i'm learning the 243 masters have learned that a slow burning powder such as H1000 contributes to extended barrel life (which i've also learned that 243 barrel life, lack of , can become an issue).
 
Depending on how long and how accurate a 243 is more of a barrel eater than the 6.5s.

6.5 Creed and Lapua are modern designed to be low impact. .

243 is well known, great cartridge but never intended as an intensive bench rest shooting, light weight hunting (Deer)

308 is very low impact on eating barrel as well.

300 WM is going to start going at under 1000 rounds.

I went with Savage as once I had the setup (not that costly at around $150) I can change barrels when they go.

I am good for about 5 years but I am shooting 100 to 200 rounds each session (out of 3 rifles now so it does add up all too quickly.
 
I shoot 243 Kreiger barrel 24" and 243AI 27" barrel and as long as you get H-1000 to shoot, I'd use that. You may wear factory barrel faster than something like Bartlein,Kreiger.

Well good luck
 
overbore

The .243 does have a reputation as being hard on barrels when shot at match pace. I've not experienced that, as both my rifles so chambered are purely sporters.

If your are not bound by time limits regards your rate of fire, slowing your string way down should theoretically help your barrel life in .243 considerably.

I'm not excited by the 6.5Crd either, but the .260 keeps whispering to me.
 
From what i'm learning the 243 masters have learned that a slow burning powder such as H1000 contributes to extended barrel life
Click to expand...

There was one experimenter who favored .243 with SUCH a slow powder that a case full did not bring it to maximum pressure. Said that was the key to long barrel life.
 
This rifle is strictly a 600 yd recreational shooter. Our relays are typically about 30 min and we can shoot as many or as little rounds as we see fit. My 300WM is another example of a potential barrel burner. I will only shoot about 15 rounds during the 30 min relay, and I typically only shoot my WM is colder temps such as early spring and late fall. The wind is dense in the colder months which I tend to notice more of a factor on bullet path than in the hotter months. So with the same thinking off "keep your barrel cool" i'll have the same practice with the 243.
 
I tried H1000 and Retumbo both in the .243 Win and it worked okay with heavy bullets 105-115 grains. However, RL22 and H4831/SC gave me the best accuracy. This is what I got with RL22 and 115 grain Berger bullets at 300 yards.

300yardgroup3-1.jpg
 
Taylorce1, I purchased two 5# jugs of RL-22 and tried in in lighter 180 gr bullets in my 300WM. Lots of testing and ended up not working very well so I have about 9# left and i'm hearing RL-22 works excellent with the 105-ish grain bullets in 243.
 
Everything I've read on RL22 says that it works best with heavy bullets. So I imagine that it wasn't the right powder for 150-165 grain bullets in the .300 WM. It'll work great with 105+ .243 bullets, I was able to get to 3200 fps with 105 A-Max and RL22. However, at that speed it was on the edge of too much pressure and I backed it down to a more sensible 3100 fps.
 
300 yds

My build was based on a WW II 98k Mauser that I converted to a 6mm Remington with a 26: heavy barrel.

I found the 6 somewhat better than the 243, especially if you reload.

Good lickn
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top