243...55 OR 70 grain bullets for 400 yards?

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WEATHERBY460

New member
What do you recommend in the 55-70 grain range to shoot coyotes at 400-450 yards...i do not care about pelt damage. I just want a very accurate load...thanks
 
Im still waiting for the mud to dry up a bit to test out the 87 grain V-max.. Im hoping I can get some real good groups with those
They would make a great 400 yard bullet I would think
 
if you reload i would try varget. in in choosing between the two bullets take the one that shoot the smaller groups at 400 yards
 
Have you considered that after 300 - 350 yards you will need to know the range to target within 25 yards or better to make a hit on target. The advantages of a high speed load is a more distant point blank range. Your 55 grainer will help you with that. But you need the best accuracy possible to hit a target at extended ranges. So you need to use the most accurate bullet and load you can get. If you have a range finder and time to use it that helps. You can make a ballistic table to show your drop at various distances and keep it with you when you hunt.

I have loaded the 87 grain V-max mentioned above and it was outstanding in my gun. The gun is a Mauser action with a 9 pound barrel, Timney trigger, ballistic mildot scope of 8-25 power, etc. All the bells and whistles.

One day my friend and I saw a large gathering of crows a quarter section out. We stopped the truck, took range measurements, consulted the ballistic table, determined the holdover, and let it fly. Of the `100 or so crows in the group one didn't fly away.

Each gun is different. Find the bullet/load combination that works for your gun. print out the ballistic table and keep it with you.
 
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I have a 24x scope with adjustable turrets to shoot that far......i guess i was wondering if 55-70 would make a huge difference in wind bucking capabilities..........
 
I will have to learn how those trajectory caclulators work..have seen some on a couple of sites but never played with them.I was thinking more like .243 (new member & welcome to PM)stated that a lighter bullet is going to have a flatter trajectory.
 
I looked at this too when I first started reloading for my tikka 243. Decided that what the 70 lacked in up front speed, it made up pretty quickly going 300+ with its better BC. Some of the calculators that I played with seem to prove this out. I've shot stuff out to nearly 300 with good effect, but this with 55's, 58's and 70's all three as far as that goes. The combination I seem to be settling in on is 43.7 of Varget at 2.600 (book COL), and 41.8 then of Varget with the Nosler 70gr BT's @ 2.690. Both real tight groupers in my gun, and with virtually the same POI too. If it is an extra windy day, or I think I might run into something a little heavier - I'll take the 70's, otherwise I will probably just be shooting 58's for ground-hogs and such (like the more explosive effect on these). All w/Rem 9 1/2 primers.
 
I just got done working up a load for my 243. I am shooting nosler 90grain balistic tips, 44 grains of imr4831,and federal 210 primer my twist rate is 1-9.25. It produced dime sized groups at 100 yards.
 
I just took a look at a Hornady ammo balistics print -out and was rather shocked to see only about 5/8" difference in drop at 300yards between 58g and 75g bullets and the 75g carries about 150ft/lb more energy.
 
SHoot the 55g at 3750-3950fps and put a 300yd zero on it. That will get you to 400-450 very fast, and very flat.

The 70g would be better past that for wind reasons, but out to 500 yards or so, I'd take the 55g anyday of the week, unless its blowing 20mph.

I shoot 55's and 58's at 3750-3950 in my stevens 243 depending on the load used at the time, and they've done me very well so far on about 12 coyotes the last 3 months out to 350 yards. I have a leupold vx2, 4-12 on it right now w/out target knobs so thats why I shoot the 55's and use it for a truck/calling gun, but when I get target knobs on it, it will be set up with the 87g vmax or 105g amax out to 800 yards for the ones that just sit there and stick there tongue out at you.
 
Id go with the higher ballistic coefficient, for yotes expansion type doesnt matter so much, I would try a berger vld in 105 gr if i was building a 243 load for long range it has a bc of .53 maybe the hornady a-max it is similar
 
Target shooters have always selected heavy for caliber bullet weights for higher ballistic coefficient, accuracy is accuracy at any range, in hunting scenarios rangefinders arent always able to be used, if 400 yards was my target range id build a load that was capable of shooting further just in case
 
Many good suggestions made, but I think the best advice was in "Each gun is different. Find the bullet/load combination that works for your gun. Print out the ballastic table and keep it with you."
 
Weatherby460,
I have had the same dilema previously and found that using the Ballistic Calculators that are available on line is very helpful. I suggest trying this one. http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.0.cgi

Be sure to experiment with different wind speeds ranging from at least 10 to 20 mph. I was surprised to find out how much the wind affects the bullet's trajectory at distances of 300 yds and beyond. I shot two different bullets from the bench at 300 yds and found the calculator to be very accurate. The higher BC bullets do buck the wind much better in my rifles. I decided on Berger 95gr VLD Hunting Bullets in both of my daughters'.243's and my .243 WSSM because it is easier for me to make adjustments for distance than for wind speed.

EX: .243 WSSM Sierra Game King 85 gr HPBT vs Berger 95 gr VLD Hunting Bullet at 300 yds. At 300 yds they have the same amount of drop. However, with 10 mph crosswind from left to right the 85's hit 6" right and the Berger's hit 3" right. With a frontal shot that's the differece between a hit or miss. With a broadside shot it could be the difference between a heart/lung shot and gut or brisket shot.

I also like the heavier bullets with higher BC because we hunt everything from varmints to whitetail deer with one bullet.

Have fun experimenting!
 
heres the thing, the higher BC isn't going mean crap if you are not going to pratice at ranges that matter. I have been shooting the 55s for yrs and anything out to 600 is no problem. I do miss but the higher BC of something else isn't going to make me hit. Practice with what you are going to use and if 400is a max distance shoot at 500. Competency of the shooter is by far the biggest factor than bullet selection. HAPPY HUNTING
 
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