243 and reducing recoil for my son

champ198

champ198

Member
My son is 8 and is wanting to hunt this year. So I got him a nice 243 rem 700 to use.
What I was wondering is other than dropping bullet weight is there a way to reduce the recoil with reloads?
U know I could add some weight to the gun but it already has a decent wood stock on it. Was hoping some.of you might have some ideas.
 
Use reduced loads. Try the minimum load for a bullet and see how it shoots. You'll be surprised how mild the kick will be sometimes.
 
There was an article in one of Hodgdon's reloading magazines a few years ago that dealt specifically with that topic. I know I have it around somewhere and will see if I can dig it up and find out what it has for the 243. Seems like they were touting light monolithic bullets with a light charge or faster powder or something along those lines.
 
My 308 with 180 gr subsonic doesn't kick, it sort of tickles ya..
Used 11.8 gr of Trail Boss for 1080 fps. But it drops just like a 22LR.
Haven't tried a 243 yet.
 
I would stay with the heaviest bullet possible and use reduced loads. Speer has them in their book and Hodgdon has some info out there.
EX: 100 grain Pill with 15.0 grains of trail Boss should put you in the neighborhood of 1600 FPS

The hodgdon method is to use H4895 and take the maximum charge and reduce it. EX: 100 grain SPSP uses 33.0 grains of H4895 max. Multiply this by .6 and you get 19.8 grains of H4895 This is what you should use for your reduced load. If you choose not to use a 100 grain and go smaller then just look on the chart and also you can Google the reduced load for 243 and it gives this same info.

added,, get ready to change the scope settings because like it was said before, these reduced loads drop quickly. But it is doable.
 
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The Barnes 80 gr Tipped TSX or the Hornady 85 gr GMX bullets may work good because of their lighter weight they should kick less.

The lowest starting powder charges for both of these bullets looks like it would be in the 2900 fps to 3000 fps range.
 
I found the article that I was thinking of; it is in the 2009 Hodgdon Annual Manual/magazine. Ken Kempa wrote the article and describes his methods and testing, but the smallest chambering he uses is a .260 Rem. He does advocate using the TSX or GMX bullets with charges of quicker burning powders. His goal is to get the bigger bores approximating .243 type recoil for whatever that is worth. Sorry it is not more help.
 
TSX, GMX or any other monolithic lead free bullet would be a terrible choice for reduced loads in my opinion. They need fairly high velocities to expand and reduced/very mild loads aren't the way to go with them.On the plus side, normal soft points are probably going to expand and penetrate like a premium bullet at the low velocities.
 
Wow, full length gun for an 8 year old, you got bigger problems than recoil. First, he will not be able to put his shoulder on the butt and reach the trigger and look through the scope. You are probably going to have to cut half of the butt off and add a recoil pad.

When my nephew was 5, I bought him a Thompson contender Carbine in 30/30, replaced the wood stock with a plastic, and cut that plastic stock to fit him. The barrel and weight of the action, Allowed the 5 year old to shoot the rifle accurately. He shot two does that year, a bob cat, and a couple of hogs. Of course he Wanted to shoot every blue jay, wood pecker, squirrel, and everything else that walked and could fly, but it gave us the chance to teach him right from wrong.

Just saying that the rifle you purchased him will not fit and it is too heavy for him to swing. By the time he is 12-13, he should be able to handle the 700.

Good luck
 
Originally Posted By: desertcjTSX, GMX or any other monolithic lead free bullet would be a terrible choice for reduced loads in my opinion. They need fairly high velocities to expand and reduced/very mild loads aren't the way to go with them.On the plus side, normal soft points are probably going to expand and penetrate like a premium bullet at the low velocities.

I agree the Barnes 80 gr TTSX and the Hornady 85 gr GMX bullets would not be a good choice in slow reduced loads.
 
I'd say you should of bought the model 7 instead. Spin a 6x45 or 6/204 bbl on one of those model 7 aac receivers you see for sale now and then. Chop down an older birch youth stock to fit. That would be a fun little gun he could shoot/handle much better.
 
I'll agree on the gun fitting the youth issue. Took a young lad hunting deer this past year at the last minute and didnt have a youth stock to fit him. Cost him a shot at a spike. His parents don't wanna pony up, and I dont have kids, but I'm looking for a cheapy stock to cut down til he's bigger.

On the reduced 243 loads, a lot of guys swear by the 85-87 grain bullets for broadside shots on deer in the 6mm's. As mentioned above, at reduced velocities, they should penetrate even better than at higher velocities. I'd say H4895 is your friend here for reloads as also mentioned above.
 
I might suggest this idea. It's a replacement stock that absorbs some of the recoil, but more importantly since it's adjustable the stock is like a 6 position it will grow with him as he gets bigger. I have this on my mossberg 535, i barely notice the difference between the 2.75' 12ga loads and the 3" mags for coyotes.

If you match this with the Hornady reduced recoil loads you should be good. (or better)

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/722524/...synthetic-black

Good luck.
 
Tbone bullseye I run one on my 22-250 and have taken several kids on sleeping coyote. Adjust length of pull get them set with bipod. Youngest has been 7, no problem with 55gr full power loads. Put my 7mms Saum on it felt like a 243. That stock and the nosler 85 gr partition at starter loads would be similar to 223. Mike. Got mine from natchez for 169.
 
Reduce load for practice and run full power for hunting. My 8 year old daughter shoots 300 blackout 110 v-max in front of Trail Boss for practice and I run the 130 TSX for hunting. She has not noticed. I know because she has shot the full power Barnes target shooting and after 2 shots she wouldnt shot it anymore. But pulling the trigger on a animal it doesnt bother here at all.

Jason
 
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A stock change has already been decided that is for sure
And thank you to all who gave me some ideas on the reduced loads as well. That helps a lot
 
Your welcome. I hopefully have the same situation this year.

My 10yr old put in for Elk this year. Because of the issues with TC, I have a new TC 243 in youth coming, and i might still get the same stock if possible. (but she is getting big fast and i might not need to)
 
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