Reduced .243 Loads

U

UncleDoc

New member
Loaded up a few .243 Winchester rounds yesterday with 12.0g of Trailboss and 80g Sierras for a grandson. The idea was to increase his confidence and avoid the noise and recoil that he expected to encounter. Velocity was probably in the 1400 FPS range and the soft points performed more like FMJ on water jugs at 50, 75 and 100 yards. Obviously no expansion and I did not expect much. Have not experimented with any HP but would guess that they would perform much the same. Has anyone had any experience with this same issue and if so, what was the remedy?
 
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What is your goal for FPS ? Maybe you're done already ?

Not 243, but similar story on 22-250.
Started with trail boss then switched to 8208 xbr to download into the 2400-2600 fps area.
Goal was to keep muzzle pressure in the 22-hornet range for a small 22 suppressor.
Achieved the speed ok, powder fill was just over 60%, that's ok.

Don't recommend downloading a normal powder until you've done more than a few hours of research on the subject, however.
Not all powders are candidates, and there are risks.
 
I think I am done as far as velocity. The issue is bullet performance. As I said, the Sierra 80g did not expand at all, just a straight pass through on the water filled jugs. Not downloading any other powders, understand that issue very well. Was just looking for a little more energy dump on impact, ie expansion which I am not getting at those velocities with the Sierra projectiles.
 
Uncledoc,

I downloaded my son's first shooting rifle which was the compact RAR in 243. Using 95 NBT with H4895 reduced 70% from max worked fairly well for him and was accurate. The only issue was his RAR compact had the short barrel and this made it seem to recoil more. My son has outgrew the rifle and I am looing to unload it. He is now using a 308Win. I think if he had a heavier rifle with at least a 22" barrel the reduced loads would work a little better. How old is your grandson? How much does he weight? You may also try have him learn on a 223Rem rifle to gain confidence?
 
Grandson is nine years old and about average build. I ran the energy numbers with an assumed velocity of 1400 FPS and the energy came up to about 350 ft/lbs which is pretty anemic. However, a close shot on a deer in the right spot might be a winner for him. I would really like to see him harvest his first deer this year. Funny thing though, when I was in middle school my Papaw found me a deer rifle, 1903 Springfield which killed on one end and maimed on the other. Practicing with it (although we were poor and could not afford extra ammo)was very painful. But it did not kick a bit when I was drawing down on a nick buck. Funny how that works.
 
My son was about the same age when I started him out. He used a 30-30 Lever gun and recoil was pretty stout. I gave him my 243 and used bullets in the 80 grain range and recoil is pretty mild. It didn't seem to bother him at all to shoot it. Might try lighter bullets??
 
24 gr IMR 4198 with a 70 gr SP gives me 2550 fps, descent accuracy and packs enough punch and expansion for a through and through lung shot on antelope size critters out to 150 yards.

20-25 grains of IMR 4198 for the 308 family works wonderfully; 25-30 grains of the same for the 30-06 family works well also. The same loads can be used for heavy cast bullets or light for caliber jacketed bullets.

If one really wants to play with reduced loads take a look at the cast bullet section in a lyman manual or pick up a cast bullet manual.
 
Originally Posted By: UncleDoc..just looking for a little more energy dump on impact, ..
Have you tried VMAX 75 gr ?
May need to push them up a few 100 fps to see some expansion..
Don't think they'll splash at such low fps.
 
If not too late prior to season:
Load up 55gr SBK's in the 3500fps range. This would give the
recoil of a .22-250 with impressive results with water jugs.
Load up the 80gr Sierras for mild hunting loads, site the rifle
in yourself and let him shoot at Mr. Buck when the time comes.
He shouldn't have a problem using a good hold...just watch out
for "scope eye"!
 
Didn't read whole thread but have some experience...

One of my good friends bought 243 youth for his small framed son & the full power loads were beating him to death & he wouldn't shoot it.

I loaded some trail boss loads with the 80gr Sierra Blitz (I can only assume you are shooting the same if current bullet?). I don't remember the load but it was running ~1700fps. Report & recoil was very mild and the kid then LOVED shooting it. It would "pop" water jugs & cans filled with water pretty good. He used that load to kill 6 deer (all under 80 yards) including one pretty good buck that was pushing 200#. None of the deer traveled more than 60-70 yards after impact & internals where mushed pretty good. Obviously the thin jacketed blitz was opening at those speeds.

Just some real world experience, you may want to speed it up ever so slightly. You may be on the edge of deformation...
 
why not pick him up a 300 blackout for his training gun instead.

he'll be able to shoot regular factory ammo without worrying about recoil, and at typical deer hunting distances of around 125 yds or less with a good hunting bullet its more than effective for helping whitetails attain room temperature. hornady 110gr vmax loads, nosler 110gr varmageddons, barnes 110gr blacktips, or hornady 135gr ftx offerings are more than suitable for the task.

[edit]as a reloader, you can keep him in practice ammo on the cheap too - we're talking in the neighborhood of 350 rounds out of a pound of powder for full house loads and upwards of 400 for a moderate plinking load (my goto plinker is 17 grains of lil gun under a 123gr or 125gr bullet). [/edit]

no fussing around with reduced loads, no worry about recoil (my cousins girls were shooting mine at 5 and 6 years old), just a plug and play option. and with the 6 position stocks on a typical ar-15 firearm, makes for easy LOP adjustment as he grows up. it could be a real confidence building firearm for a youth.

hold onto that 243 for later when he grows up a bit and can handle the full house loads and his shooting abilities allow him to outgrow the capabilities of the blackout.


just throwing it out there.
 
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Im in the same boat with my daughter and her new .223. Ill have to check on the .243 I found some regular loads and some reduced loads for .223 using Accurate 5744. Ill check on the .243 when I get home.
 
In my Speer manual they list a reduced load using AA5744 with a 80gr and 90gr Speer bullets.
With the 80gr bullets the velocity ranges from 2075fps-2265fps
With the 90gr bullets the velocity ranges from 2105fps-2273fps
Both of these seem VERY mild!
There may be some more data for 5744 in the single caliber loading books. They can be had for under $10 and it will be specifically for .243 Winchester.
 
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