John Deere 4320
Inactive
I just bought a Ruger precision rifle in .243 win. It has a 1-7.7 twist I was wondering what would be a good load for it I have 105 gr. Berger match bullets for it. Any help would greatly be appreciated thanks.
Reloading .243
- Thread starter John Deere 4320
- Start date
I will PM you my address and it will take me about a year to work up a good load for you. 
Bergers should be a good start, but not many have played with the RPRs yet. I have 107 grain Nosler Custom Competition and SMKs waiting in the wings. H4350 will be my baseline and I will try some of the other powders that have given good results with the heavier bullets in .243 Win.
Bergers should be a good start, but not many have played with the RPRs yet. I have 107 grain Nosler Custom Competition and SMKs waiting in the wings. H4350 will be my baseline and I will try some of the other powders that have given good results with the heavier bullets in .243 Win.
Hunter Customs
New member
I had the hots for one in 243 caliber but that's kind of died out a little now, I sure like the design and features they offer a shooter.
I already have a heavy barrel 243 that's very accurate and fills the need I have for a longer range rifle and at my age I'm not sure I want to buy another rifle.
That being said I would be very interested in how well your rifle shoots when you work up your loads.
In my heavy barrel 243 I'm shooting a compressed charge of IMR 4831 topped off with Nosler's 95 gr Ballistic tip bullets.
I already have a heavy barrel 243 that's very accurate and fills the need I have for a longer range rifle and at my age I'm not sure I want to buy another rifle.
That being said I would be very interested in how well your rifle shoots when you work up your loads.
In my heavy barrel 243 I'm shooting a compressed charge of IMR 4831 topped off with Nosler's 95 gr Ballistic tip bullets.
Roadkill2228
New member
Nosler has load data for 105s freely available online. Hornady shows load data for 105 bthps in their manuals. Rl22, rl19, imr7828, h4831, Should be good picks. H4831 is an "extreme powder" meaning that it is supposedly less temp sensitive than other powders. For precision long range shooting that matters. Any of the 105s should be good choices. Hornadys 105 bthp is the cheapest of the bunch as best I can tell and has a bc of .530 which is great. Running it at the 3000 fps which is possible, your supersonic to around or over 1400 yards. That's comparable to many .300 win mag match loads with minimal recoil. The .223 and .308 can't touch this kind of performance.
You absolutely MUST work up the load for your rifle though.
Have a look here. http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html
Been using IMR4350 for Speer 105 grain hunting bullets for eons. Match bullets would be wasted in my rifle. Isn't up to 'em.
"...at my age..." You need toys at any age. Older guys just have better toys. snicker.
Have a look here. http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html
Been using IMR4350 for Speer 105 grain hunting bullets for eons. Match bullets would be wasted in my rifle. Isn't up to 'em.
"...at my age..." You need toys at any age. Older guys just have better toys. snicker.
Hunter Customs
New member
True, but my wife and I are kicking around the ideal of selling our place in a couple of years and purchasing an RV to travel around the country.
If that takes place, I'll be very limited on guns and ammo I can take along for the ride.
If that Ruger Precision Rifle had came about 10 years back I would have already owned one.
William T. Watts
New member
IMR7828 was my go to powder for 243Win with 100 gr Nosler solid base lead tip bullet, without a doubt this push feed model 70 Winchester was the most accurate rifle I've ever owned!! William
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Sure Shot Mc Gee
New member
What's a good load for the 243? Depends what you intend to shoot. I've always believed the faster a small bullet is the better. Personally I don't like the 100 gr bullet and above section period. My preference has been the 24 cal 75-80 gr. bullets for the past 40 years. Fast & flat shooting. Big difference in a bullets performance when traveling down range at near or above 3400 fps verses hobbling along at 2900 to 3000 fps.
I've personally observed on more than one occasion deer shot with 75 gr. will walk no more than 25 ft when rib shot no matter its size & weight. Can't say the same about 105 gr.
Before I determined what bullet weight worked best for me. I had to experience the tracking of a couple big deer being rib shot with 105 gainers at close range well into the night to recover. Both deer left nice blood trails but brush slapping me in the face during their recovery made the effort a little more than just annoying.
Probably like you I was told too by a few co-worker fellows supposedly in the know and the 22 year old gun counter sales person. "105s are the best for taking deer."
It took me a couple years to come to the conclusion for my application they sure as heck weren't.
The biggest deer I've taken with my Ruger 77 {Flat Top} 243 loaded & lock with 75 grainer's. One of that rifles many deer harvested was a 10 pt. Buck shot at 80 yards and weighed 242 lbs field dressed. As I recall the Buck toppled over not more than 20 ft from where it was shot. Bullet entered thru its ribs nicking the top of the animals heart and also totally destroying its lungs. All with out leaving a exit hole. Reason for the animals quick demise. Most 24 cal 75-80 gr bullets will when loaded with heavier powder weights typically disintegrate within the animals body cavity thus dumping its entire energy factor then & there. I have no want or need to see a exit hole in the animals I shoot. Typically a second or (exit) hole is preferred by those hunters who expect to track their animal. Thus wanting that additional bullet exit hole for their wounded animals bleed out I think. Nope not me. I prefer a entrance hole only. "Brown is Down" is what I want to see from my deer stand. And too. When it comes to paper targets. It pleases me to see my rifle put its 5 rounds grouped into a nickle size hole at 100 yards time after time while bench-rested.
IMR 4831 is the powder for 75-80s. Hornady's 75 gr. HP with its long narrow profile I've found to be the best preforming on deer and targeting both. {Which is quite similar to your Berger's in look but not the price.}
My overall advice: Experiment with different bullet weights & brands. See which one is the most accurate shot out of your rifle. Don't take for granted what others including myself say are the best weight & brand for "you're" use. Discover that piece of reality on your own.
I've personally observed on more than one occasion deer shot with 75 gr. will walk no more than 25 ft when rib shot no matter its size & weight. Can't say the same about 105 gr.
Before I determined what bullet weight worked best for me. I had to experience the tracking of a couple big deer being rib shot with 105 gainers at close range well into the night to recover. Both deer left nice blood trails but brush slapping me in the face during their recovery made the effort a little more than just annoying.
Probably like you I was told too by a few co-worker fellows supposedly in the know and the 22 year old gun counter sales person. "105s are the best for taking deer."
It took me a couple years to come to the conclusion for my application they sure as heck weren't.
The biggest deer I've taken with my Ruger 77 {Flat Top} 243 loaded & lock with 75 grainer's. One of that rifles many deer harvested was a 10 pt. Buck shot at 80 yards and weighed 242 lbs field dressed. As I recall the Buck toppled over not more than 20 ft from where it was shot. Bullet entered thru its ribs nicking the top of the animals heart and also totally destroying its lungs. All with out leaving a exit hole. Reason for the animals quick demise. Most 24 cal 75-80 gr bullets will when loaded with heavier powder weights typically disintegrate within the animals body cavity thus dumping its entire energy factor then & there. I have no want or need to see a exit hole in the animals I shoot. Typically a second or (exit) hole is preferred by those hunters who expect to track their animal. Thus wanting that additional bullet exit hole for their wounded animals bleed out I think. Nope not me. I prefer a entrance hole only. "Brown is Down" is what I want to see from my deer stand. And too. When it comes to paper targets. It pleases me to see my rifle put its 5 rounds grouped into a nickle size hole at 100 yards time after time while bench-rested.
IMR 4831 is the powder for 75-80s. Hornady's 75 gr. HP with its long narrow profile I've found to be the best preforming on deer and targeting both. {Which is quite similar to your Berger's in look but not the price.}
My overall advice: Experiment with different bullet weights & brands. See which one is the most accurate shot out of your rifle. Don't take for granted what others including myself say are the best weight & brand for "you're" use. Discover that piece of reality on your own.
schmellba99
New member
My .243 loves H414 (40.5 grains) with a 95 gr Combined Technologies BST loaded to .003" off the lands. But it's a hunting rifle, not a long range shooting gun like yours is. I'm also near the max weight the barrel twist will allow. Pretty sure I could go up to the 100 grain bullets if I had any desire to, but I've never felt the need to do so as the performance of my bullet selection on this load has proven to be excellent.
mxsailor803
New member
I've had good luck with Sierra ProHunter 100gr with 4064. It may not be the "best" combo but it has put a number of deer in the freezer. I've never really been a fan of trying to make a screaming .243 just because of barrel wear. With that said, we need to see pictures of your new toy, especially since I want the .243 version.
3,000fps is doable. And reasonable to achieve. As. Far as I an concerned, with this round, it's far more relevant to get an accurate load with a genuine high performance bullet, th a to worry about 75 vs95 or 95 vs100. I've used a lot of bullets in it, and not really found one that can't get good accuracy. The basis on the .308 cartridge is very good.
All things considered, for deer purpose, it's nearly perfect. It's a 250+ yard capable round. Proper Ammo makes it capable of moa or better, and choice of bullets makes it capable of one shot kills.
The precision rifle is a good match for it. That rifle can go to a stand and reliably kill. An 06 based round,25 on up will be a better choice, but the 6mms can be made into precise rifles that can kill even with a less than optimal hit.
All things considered, for deer purpose, it's nearly perfect. It's a 250+ yard capable round. Proper Ammo makes it capable of moa or better, and choice of bullets makes it capable of one shot kills.
The precision rifle is a good match for it. That rifle can go to a stand and reliably kill. An 06 based round,25 on up will be a better choice, but the 6mms can be made into precise rifles that can kill even with a less than optimal hit.