.243 reloading questions

[troyboy]

Hello.

I'm new to this forum and new to reloading.

I have a tikka varmint .243 1/10 twist that I have started to reload for and have a few questions about 1 of the loads I'm working on to start and learn to shoot long range (500yd+).

I use Remington brass, Federal primers, ADI 2209 powder and the projectile is the 95 grain Sierra Match King. I ran a ladder test at 300yds from 38 - 42 grains going up in 1/2 grain steps and from 39.5 up it shot just over 1 MOA which I was very happy with and had high hopes of a very accurate round being produced.

I then loaded 9 rounds each of 39.5, 40, 40.5, 41, 41.5, 42 to do some 100yd grouping to see where the sweet spot is. Out of all those rounds I shot at 100yds 1 group came in at 1/2 MOA and all the others would either be 3 shots spread out over a couple of inches or had 2 bullets touching and the third shot would go 2 - 3" from the others.

I have read that u have to nearly push these bullets into the lands for good accuracy. The COAL is 2.790 and they touch the lands at about 2.815. Is this a too big of a jump and that's the reason for the s**t groups or is it because my twist rate just wont stabilize these bullets?

Any info would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to suggest any other long range round that you have had success with out of a tikka.

Cheers

[Lorgar]

Hey troyboy,

You're on the right track with your ladder testing and then fine tuning your groups. As for the rest...

I then loaded 9 rounds each of 39.5, 40, 40.5, 41, 41.5, 42 to do some 100yd grouping to see where the sweet spot is. Out of all those rounds I shot at 100yds 1 group came in at 1/2 MOA and all the others would either be 3 shots spread out over a couple of inches or had 2 bullets touching and the third shot would go 2 - 3" from the others.

Half a grain of powder can make a huge difference in accuracy. It wouldn't be a surprise if (examples) 40gr shot 1/2 MOA and the same cartridge with 40.5gr shot 3 MOA.

If you do have a load that's shooting 1/2 MOA though you're obviously making some progress.

I have read that u have to nearly push these bullets into the lands for good accuracy. The COAL is 2.790 and they touch the lands at about 2.815. Is this a too big of a jump

As a general rule, yes; you want the bullet to be "just off the lands". A widely accepted rule of thumb is that 10 thousandths of an inch off the lands is ideal.

This can vary a little bit, but if you're 0.010" off the lands and your groups are terrible you've got issues other than seating depth and COAL.

COAL isn't the be all and end all either and plenty of rifles shoot very well without this. Example... 7mm-08 factory COAL is 2.8". For my Tikka I set the COAL to 2.820 because that's the longest cartridge the magazine will accept. Any longer and they wont fit, and I would have to hand feed ammo which I'm not going to do.

TBH I've never bothered measuring how far off the lands this actually is because it doesn't matter to me. From reading other comments on the rifle though I believe this is about 0.03" - 0.04" off the lands which some would say is much too far.

For all that though my rifle shoots under .4 MOA so you can't complain with that, especially for a hunting sporter.

...the projectile is the 95 grain Sierra Match King...

...that's the reason for the s**t groups or is it because my twist rate just wont stabilize these bullets?

In this particular instance I think twist an issue for you. According to the Sierra website 6MM .243 CALIBER (.243) 95 GR. HPBT MATCH bullets require a 1:9 twist.

If you actually are getting a 1/2 MOA out of one of these loads like you mentioned above though then you can ignore that...

On that subject, and as a bit of general advice... Personally I think doing 3 shots groups for load testing is a waste of time. It is too inconsistent to get a true result from the load.

Say you have load A which is accurate, and load B which is terrible and shoot a 3 shot group of each. Load A you could shoot two touching holes and get a flyer 2" away. Load B you could shoot a 2" group but have the 3rd bullet overlap one of the first two holes by fluke.

Both groups are identical and don't tell you anything about the true accuracy of the load. Like you experienced yourself, you "had 2 bullets touching and the third shot would go 2 - 3" from the others."

Add to that pulling shots or any number of shooter errors or influence and your not likely to make a tonne of progress. IMO you want to be doing at least 4 or ideally 5 shots groups to be testing loads thoroughly.

Having said that though if you've gotten to a 1/2 MOA group after your ladder testing it doesn't like like a total write off. If you've still got enough projectiles left I would focus on your 1/2 MOA load and wrap up like so...

Say 40gr is the 1/2 MOA load. Load up a few batches of cartridge with 39.8, 39.9, 40, 40.1 and 40.2 gr powder charges. 5 cartridges per batch for the reasons explained above.

Go to the range, take a rear bag, rest or whatever you're most stable on. Take your with each one and do the best 5 shots groups you can for each batch.

If they're all terrible, then that's the end of it... Time to drive a different bullet and confirm the required twist first. If they show some good results, whichever one of them shoots best is your load.

Take that load, then start tuning the seating depth. There might be some appreciable improvement gained with a different COAL, or not. There is no point fiddling with it though if the basic accuracy of the cartridge isn't proven.

Did I cover everything

Hopefully. Ask away if not.

[troyboy]

Thanks man for all the info. The good group that I shot was 1 out of the 3 groups with 42 grains. The other 2 groups were a 2" spread so its got me scratching my head.

I will load up a couple of 5 shot groups and see what happens from there.

I have a good 95 grain Hornady SST load worked up that will shoot .75" groups.

Do you know or have you heard if they are any good at long distances?

[Moonshine]

I'm also trying to develop a load for my .243, so far it's been challenging. For me Hornady 87 gr VMax are working the best. In saying that I have not shot past 100 m with them. Will be heading up to Belmont range on the weekend to try and shoot up to 200 m.

I've tried berger, nosler and remington with no great success.

Above post from Lorgar was very educational , thank you

[Norton]

I have a good 95 grain Hornady SST load worked up that will shoot .75" groups.

Do you know or have you heard if they are any good at long distances?

The SST's are a pretty popular bullet, and with good cause.

Good accuracy, strictly speaking they are a hunting bullet though, If you want to get real serious about long range accuracy you'll want to swap to some match grade stuff down the road.

Not knocking them. Just FYI.

[Tinked]

I've tried berger, nosler and remington with no great success.

It can take some fiddling ,mate. Don't get disheartened over it.

You can be working along without seeming to make much progress then bam! You find your load

[Lorgar]

I have a good 95 grain Hornady SST load worked up that will shoot .75" groups.

Do you know or have you heard if they are any good at long distances?

SST are good bullets. I was shooting 150gr SSTs in my .308 when I had it.

This was for hunting though, so not shooting further than 300m often.

[Lorgar]

For me Hornady 87 gr VMax are working the best.

V-Max are good bullets. That's what I was using in my old Ruger .243 before I sold it.

Above post from Lorgar was very educational , thank you

Not a problem.

[Hogester79]

Hi there,

I have a 243 Tikka Varmint with a Whiskey Rifle Stock, 6-24x50 blah blah and I've spent a considerable about of time working up decent loads with various bullets.

Starting ladder testing, always 5 shot groups with a minimum of 30-45 seconds (sometimes closer to 1 min) between each shot, first group with it, using the standard stock before moving to the Whiskey was about 0.5MOA, not bad with Federal 80gr factory stuff!

Anyway, for some reason I just can't get the VMAX's to tighten up, sub MOA but not where I wanted to be. Switched over to the Sierra 85gr HPBT (Gameking's) and @ 200m 43gr 2209, 4 of the 5 shots were inside 1.5cm (total was 3cm at 200m) and other group of 5 with 44.5gr was 2.3cm...the 43gr (4 shots) are 0.3MOA and the 2nd is just under 0.5MOA.- COAL is 2.65".

I have been unable to get the Game kings recently and found some Berger 87gr VLD's that I will be working on this weekend out at the range, took me HOURS to find the right measurement to the lands (2.735" haha). Will be focusing around the 42.8/43gr level but ladder testing initially on COAL before narrowing down the grain loading.

Can upload some pics if anyone want's to see the targets. BTW the VMAX's, Sierra's and Berger's will all be good out to as far as you could shoot a 243 as long as you are shooting at paper. They will hold together and work well in any 1:10 twist well.

[5Tom]

I found with my Tikka in .243, I focused with the Sierra 87gr Vmax with 2209 powder. My groups seemed a little erratic as barrel temperature changed POI, so after a few mods I decided to change projectile to a 70gr pill and made the COAL to SAAMI spec (2.710). The amount of jump is quite big, but the rifle loves it and shoots much more consistently.

I find with my stainless sporter barrel, the heat effects the POI much more so timed shots is important. Try simulate the time between shots out in the field if you hunt, otherwise the hot barrel will give you a false indication of groupings.

[Apollo]

In my testing with a "half shot out" Tikka T3 Varmint .243W for Target shooting I have found that 70gr Bullets or around there have been the most accurate in my tests to 300 metres. At my 175m target I have managed to get 5 shots in the one little clover leaf hole BUT that was with McCraken Bullets a mate gave me and I don't have any left plus stupid me wrote everything down except the powder weight plus seating depth.

I'm now about to go through testing with not only my own .243W but a mate's new Tikka and I'm only going to play with the 70-80gr range plus I'm going to try a new powder to me, Reloader 17 which is easier to get than ADI Powders here.

I do have loads for 100gr Sierra GameKings down to 55gr Hornady V-Max but they are either for varminting or hunting. Different story depending on the purpose you want to achieve and accuracy required.

My testing powders varies depending on bullet weight but I'm not afraid to use Winchester Ball Powder if it performs better for a given bullet weight.

In my mind all the time is that a .243W is not really kind on throat wear so I'm trying to advise my mate to keep the amount of testing down and save barrel life.

To "troyboy" what is the main then secondary use for the .243W. For those that have "Sporter" contour barrels then don't heat them up. Fire a couple of fouling rounds and if firing a 5 shot group then let it cool because it will get hot quick, even a minute or few between shots plus don't leave a round sitting in the chamber.

Great calibre, have had a few over the past 40 years and it's one of my favourites for the area where I live, would not be without a .243W so I might even treat mine to a new custom barrel when this one wears out. A custom stainless might last a bit longer and certainly see my days out.

[Warrigul]

I found with my Tikka in .243, I focused with the Sierra 87gr Vmax with 2209 powder. My groups seemed a little erratic as barrel temperature changed POI, so after a few mods I decided to change projectile to a 70gr pill and made the COAL to SAAMI spec (2.710). The amount of jump is quite big, but the rifle loves it and shoots much more consistently.

I find with my stainless sporter barrel, the heat effects the POI much more so timed shots is important. Try simulate the time between shots out in the field if you hunt, otherwise the hot barrel will give you a false indication of groupings.

My T3 lite in .243 loves AR2209 and 90 grain projectiles. Shoots unbelieveably well for the first three quick shots then starts to wander out a bit but is still acceptable. Only once have I had to shoot more than two in quick succession.

So in this instance I broke my normal rule and only shot three shot groups for development.

Love my Tikka and so does everyone else who borrows it(it is heavily used).

[Shotfox]

Some very good answers here.

Have you taken chornograph readings on any of the loads to match the bullet and powder? I think you have covered everything except powder.

Personally given the twist I would drop the bullet weight slightly and sus out powder. I have had great success with ADI Benchmark 2.

[Warrigul]

Some very good answers here. Have you taken chronograph readings on any of the loads to match the bullet and powder ? I think you have covered everything except powder. Personally given the twist I would drop the bullet weight slightly and sus out powder. I have had great success with ADI Benchmark 2 .

I often chronograph loads, interestingly the max velocity for .243 for me was gained using AR2208 but better consistency was realised with AR2209. This lead to less variation in elevation at distance(checked at 300m) which reduced group size dramatically. This applies to my rifle and loadings.

As you have said there is often something to gain in trying different powders.

[SendIt]

Anyway, for some reason I just can't get the VMAX's to tighten up, sub MOA but not where I wanted to be.

Yep, that's the way it goes some times.

No matter how good a bullet should be and how well it's shooting for others it just won't come together in some rifles.

Switch to another bullet and hey presto.

We've all had that frustration

[lapp]

Can upload some pics if anyone want's to see the targets.

I'm interested if you'll post them

[Hogester79]

Hopefully this works

I have more pics around but they are split between 100m and 200m ranges. Typically start @ 100 and then when Im happy move across to the 200m to make sure I have a 200m zero.