243 win powder

Y

yotehunter243

New member
I have a Tikka T3 lite and have all kinds of bullets to load from 55gr up to 95gr and everything inbetween. I mainly want to shoot the 75gr Vmax and 87gr VLD. I plan on using varget for my 75gr and lighter bullet and i was thinking H4350 for my 87gr VLD bullets. Am i thinking along the right lines??
 
You will not know until you load some up and try. Every barrel has its own appetite. My 243 loves Varget but many 243's don't. H4350 is generally used in the 243 in bullet weights of 85g and above. Both of the powders you mention are extruded powders which will make them less sensitive to temperature changes.

Another very popular powder in the 243 is IMR 4064. It almost seems as though 4064 and the Sierra 85g HP have a cult following. You might give it a try as well. My gun likes it with the Hornady 75g HP.
 
For 80-87gr bullets, 4064 is tops IMO. For 90gr and up, I prefer 4350.

I run 87gr V-maxes with 37.3 gr IMR4064.

I run 95gr Bergers with 41.5 gr. IMR4350. Run 105 A-maxes with same charge.

Do yourself a favor, and go with the 87 V-Max over the 75 V-max. Better for long range, and a bit tougher also. But mostly, it tends to shoot better too.

You may be able to get a 87gr Berger and a 87gr V-max to shoot to the same POI. 37.3 gr or so of 4064 is a great place to start....
 
Yep. Forgot to add, 4064 and the 85gr Sierra is another great choice. I've run more 243s than I can recall. For 85s and 87s, I've never found anything that will produce more accuracy than 4064. Ever......
 
I use a tikka t3 lite in .243 and I have had awesome accuracy with 40.0g of Varget and a 75g Speer hp.

I've been told Varget isn't the way to roll with the .243 and I am sure there are better choices but it works real good for me.
 
Another vote for IMR 4064 first choice
also have had some good results with AA4350 with heavier bullets 95g Nos.CT`s
 
What do you know?
lol.gif


I have to admit, after so much experimentation with 243s, and with Varget, albeit in other cartridges, running Varget in a 243 just never seemed the "thing to do" to me.

I don't hear of a whole of guys doing it, but if it works, that is all that matters......
 
I have had good success with IMR 4064, Varget, and surprisingly, win 760. IMR 4350 is next on the list to try. I like having several powder/bullet combos so if one or the other isn't available, I can go to plan "B"
 
I used to burn a lot of 760. Lots of it. Very versatile. Loaded TONS of it in 30-06s for myself and others, although I always preferred 4350 or R-19. It is a dirty powder, IMO. But produces some good results.....
 
Recently I had 2 .243s. Now I have just one. Both shot 65 grain V-Maxs very well with Varget, and 100 grain Interlocks with IMR 4350.
 
I have a Tikka T3 Lite as well. After researching the 75 V-MAX a bit (and actually buying one box of these to try), I went with H4350 powder, but then I got off in a different direction trying this powder with the Barnes 80 TTSX's - which never did much better than MOA. So I'll have to come back around to the 75's when I get some more of this powder, or I might just be tempted to try Reloader 19. My gun seems to love this powder with Nosler 70gr BT's shooting sub 1/2".

4064 is also good to work with, for somebody measuring each charge individually that is. Probably wouldn't meter the best. But I haven't found the accuracy with it and say the Sierra 80 SBT's or HPBT Gamekings that I would like to see. I may try some different primers. I started with Rem 9 1/2's, then switched to CCI BR2's where I was trying Varget with the 70's at one point and heard several folks say Varget seemed to prefer CCI - but I also picked up some Winchester LR & Federal 210's this past weekend. So I just need to back off a bit and work back up again trying probably the 210's next with 4064. Velocity was certainly there with this powder, with no signs of pressure.
 
I like 4064 a lot. It meters decently well. 760 is like water, like ball powders tend to be. 7828, not the best metering, but the 7 mag likes it.

I measure EVERY rifle round. Otherwise, it’s just the same as factory ammo and I am wasting my time. I don’t see any advantage to NOT measuring every load. But I can for sure see disadvantages. Time savings isn't worth a firearm or personal safety.
 
I run Imr4831 or Imr4064 with 70nbt to 75gr hp I have also ran h380 and Imr3031. I have not ran anything over 75gr through any of the 243's but the imr powders have given me the best groups.
 
So far IMR 4064 and Varget with 70 Nosler BT's. Hope to have my 243 back from re-barrel in the next few weeks and try the 87VLD Bergers and 87 V-max as well as my old 70gr. Nosler loads using the same two powders. I really liked the 4064 in the heat of summer, just didn't seem I could use the same load in the winter. That's when I switched from it to Varget. Maybe a new tube will be different or maybe I'll just do more homework to make it right
wink.gif
.
 
I too have run it in a couple of 7-08s. Worked well, just dirty. 760 is one of the powders I have seen pretty large POI swings with, due to temperature. When you run it in a larger cartridge, the swings seem to be less dramatic.

Like every cartridge based on the 308 case, the 243 is not picky and a lot of powders are capable of producing results shooters will be happy with.

When I say I prefer 4064 and 4350, it is basically because they have produced the best across the board results with the bullet weights I prefer to shoot. I rarely run anything under 85gr in a 243......
 
"I measure EVERY rifle round. Otherwise, it’s just the same as factory ammo and I am wasting my time. I don’t see any advantage to NOT measuring every load. But I can for sure see disadvantages. Time savings isn't worth a firearm or personal safety."

EXACTLY my thoughts on the matter, pahntr760. Well said.
 
Back
Top