Setting up a 243?

W

wisconsinteacher

New member
I have a good collection of big game rifles and may be getting a 243 soon. I would like to set it up for coyotes and range shooting. The rifle currently has a 2-8 power scope on it. I may take it off and replace it with something a little bigger but that is in the future. I am thinking about starting out with the 70 Nosler B-tip. I have a 22-250 that shoots 55 Vmax bullets well right now. What powder would you try with the 70 grain bullets and are there other bullets to look at?
 
I actually think the 2-8 would be fine for coyote hunting. I put an EGW base on all my rifles so I can switch them out quickly if I'm heading to the range. I have a Weaver T36 I throw on my .243 when I target shoot or do load development.
 
Take a look at IMR4831. It has shot very well out of both my 700 bolt gun and my R25 in 243. Don't remember what charge but with the 70NBT it shoots very small groups and smacks yotes with authority.
 
I tried about 5-6 powders when I first got my .243 Tikka and with bullets between 50 and 100 grains, none of them shot badly.

The go-to coyote and varmint bullet has been a 60 grain Speer with Varget. But it was really a judgement call because I had excellent groups with at least 4 powders.

The versatility of the 243 is under-appreciated, IMO. It isn't the best at any one thing except being good at a lot of things. I'm taking mine out for pronghorn this fall with a 90 grain Nosler that shoots very well.

Grouse
 
Originally Posted By: GerbsGrouse,

What were the other powders you tried?

Thanks.

I'd have to look at my log book to tell you all of them. Off the top of my head I can recall Varget, 760, 4895. I also tried an Accurate (have to look up the number), and at least 1 other IMR or Hodgdon.

In many cases, it was a tough call to pick a winner and that's saying something because I shoot three five-shot groups of each powder/bullet combo when I'm testing. There were a lot of groups that were within the margin of error of another combo.

Grouse
 
If your not looking to save fur try the 65gr V-Max. It has been very accurate out of my 243's and 6mm-204. I've had good results from 62 gr VG's and 55gr NBT Lead Frees(NBT's have been easy on fur also) if you need or want to fool around with green bullets.
 
I shoot 87gr vld with imr 4831 and it's great. I'm going to start loading 87gr vmax with 4064. I'm shooting a
Remington 700 varmit special 243.
 
Originally Posted By: AWSIf your not looking to save fur try the 65gr V-Max.

You can say that again. V-max in the .243 is about as fur-unfriendly as you can get.

I shot a raccoon with a 50 grain. I guess you could say there was fur that could have been saved. Some of it was drifting in the wind, a chunk of it was hanging on a bush about 30 feet away, there was a decent sized piece over in the weeds about 10 feet the other direction... I probably should have aimed a little more to the left and tried a heart/lung shot on that coon. What a mess.

On coyotes, it looks like it'd be fine from the entry side, but then that bullet explodes...

Either way, a .243 is not the fur-savers load. If you want to save fur, get a .223.

Grouse
 
Bullets for the .243 that drop coyotes on the spot if shot correctly of course.
55/65/70g all do the job.
Powders that work super. W760/H424/imr4350/varget/rl19/h335/4064 and all stated above.
 
I set mine up this winter running the 87gr v max over h4350. I also have a load with the 105 a max. Again with 4350. My 243 has never let me down yet!
 
Shot some 70 gr sierra match kings in two different .243's Wednesday with CCI 200, IMR4064, both gave good groups over all. My .243 Win. Feather Weight shot better groups than my heavy barreled custom .243 did. Both turned in groups under 1 MOA. The best with the Feather Weight was Hair under 9/16 MOA. 41.2 Grains of IMR 4064.


I went by the Nosler book which gave 41.5 grains of IMR4064 as a Max load which is way above the Sierra manual.

I know a manual is just a good guide.
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I have found W760 to be my go-to 243 powder. It has worked good in almost any weight bullet I've tried it in. I have also had good results with IMR4350.
 
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