duncan61 wrote:From what I can deduce 90gn will be my heaviest bullet that will stabilize in my 1:10 HOWA.Has anyone developed a target load for .243
Well, I have a Tikka T3 and a Sako 85 in .243W. The Tikka T3 in standard mode has a blued barrel and I've shot 100gr Sierra's with good hunting accuracy but it's shot quite a few rounds over the years. I got a stainless barrel with only a handful of rounds shot of a member at another forum as I wanted to set up an accurate Factory Class Rifle for 300m. I have shot quite a few different bullets and weights over the years but for a target grade I went for the 90gr Berger BT.
I did some testing, not a lot as I pretty much knew what would work at 300m best. I did try the 95gr Berger VLD's and they were not very stable at all. Then the 90gr BT's which gave me a 1st Place the first shoot it entered and a 2nd place at another shoot, just a point difference which could well have been just me having a bad day.
At my testing range at home, about 200 yards give or take I settled on a load that gave me well under 1/2 MOA. Like 4/5 shots touching and one just out which I'm sure I could fix with a bit more tweaking but I don't like wasting too many rounds in a .243W. The load I went with twice was 42.5gr AR2209 with bullets set to a 0.010" jam so with my light neck tension they are soft seated on the lands. These are Moly Coated bullets as I need to shoot 50 rounds for a competition and I don't like cleaning at all during the day shooting. So, you may need to drop the charge a bit for naked bullets. I don't chase velocity so I don't know their velocity, I chase accuracy.
Now, the same bullets and load with the same barrel but in a fully bedded Sako 85 Action is more accurate again. Then again the stainless fluted Sako Barrel is even more accurate from the few tests I have done but not used in a full competition as yet but coming up soon. Best I've done with the Sako 85 at 300m at home once was a 5 shot group of 0.65" in perfect conditions.
I have tested lighter bullets with great accuracy at shorter ranges but I wanted to go on the heavy side especially if the wind comes up.
A mate has tried a number of different bullets and powder but can't come close to the accuracy so he's been on the bottom of the list.
All barrels can be swapped between the Tikka or Sako, the Sako is the best accuracy and all are 1:10 Twist Factory Barrels.
Hope that helps.