70gr BT 243 Win loads

[Billo]

Just working up a 70gr BT load for my Ruger 243, only got 2208 and 2209 on hand, all my other powders seem a little bit on the fast side.

Keen to hear some working loads,

[on_one_wheel]

I started out loading 70's with 2208 but switched to 2209 for a more complete case fill, gave good results.

[Billo]

thanks mate yeah looks like 2208 gives good speed, ADI is listing 40.5gr max for 3574fps but 2209 max is 43.5gr for only 3194 fps.

Im guessing 2209 only starts to give 2008 a run for its money at around 90gr ??

[SCJ429]

I used 2208 in a 243 AI to launch a 65 grain bullet in excess of 4000 fps, I am guessing it will give you all the speed you are looking for with a 70 grain bullet.

[bigrich]

Just working up a 70gr BT load for my Ruger 243, only got 2208 and 2209 on hand, all my other powders seem a little bit on the fast side.

Keen to hear some working loads,

I’d probably start ordering a new barrel now
I don’t know your situation, but 87 vmax are good for just about anything with a 243 and extremely accurate

[Billo]

Yeah bigrich I know 243s run hard will eat a barrel by the end of the week I have already thought about what Id rebarrel it too but Im like the 243 Win alot

But seriously just seeing what the 1:9 twist likes, I have a heap of Lapua 77 HP and 80gr BT and 90gr Scenars so i ended up buying 2209 as per the suggestion. The 70gr BT I will save for my 6mm ARC.

Yesterday I set up a 9 inch plate at 200m and I had 3 new shooters all centre smacking the plate after a bit instruction, Gun didnt seem too fussed with brands of ammo and ate 4 diff 80gr loads.

[on_one_wheel]

Yeah bigrich I know 243s run hard will eat a barrel by the end of the week I have already thought about what Id rebarrel it too but Im like the 243 Win alot
drinks:

I've owned the same .243 for well over 20 years, unloaded over 1500 rounds of mostly 100 grain projectiles ... she's still shooting under 1" at 100
If I ever wear it out I'll have it re-barrelled in .243

[Peterwho]

83EA24EE-BD55-49AA-B1CB-B8B8265F9495.jpeg (305.06 KiB) Viewed 2203 times

Here are my rem 700 in 243 results from yesterday at 50 metres. My first rifle after 3 decades of shooting nothing. Scope is a Nikki nighteater 4-16x50. Got lots of other calibres but enjoying shooting paper with this one

Peter

[Apollo]

You have a lot of work to do....

Practice with something other than the .243W or you will wear the barrel out before you get even close to accurate.

The 243W can be very accurate and should shoot 1/2' 5 shot groups at 100 Yards easy with the right rifle.and load.

I've won 300m competition with a Sako 85 using 90gr BT's and shot 2/3" to 3/4" groups. The 70gr are even more accurate at shorter distance overall.

I shoot to test with a proper homemade Bench, Front and Rear Bags.

[bigrich]

You have a lot of work to do....

Practice with something other than the .243W or you will wear the barrel out before you get even close to accurate.

The 243W can be very accurate and should shoot 1/2' 5 shot groups at 100 Yards easy with the right rifle.and load.

I've won 300m competition with a Sako 85 using 90gr BT's and shot 2/3" to 3/4" groups. The 70gr are even more accurate at shorter distance overall.

I shoot to test with a proper homemade Bench, Front and Rear Bags.

no argument on the 243 accuracy . i had one , but consider the 6.5 swede and similar , as a minimum for a stalking rifle as it's got a bit more energy , and can carry more energy further out than the '43

[JohnV]

Too many shots in the one group you may be over heating the barrel . Light bullets pushed hard are sometimes not the most accurate.
I found that a 87 grain Hornady HPBT shot far better groups than 75 grain bullets did in a 243 . Chasing the highest velocity may not result in finding the best accuracy . I never load less than a 80 to 87 grain bullet in a 243 as it does everything a 243 can do .
There is no big ballistic advantage ( while using normal pressures ) in using above an 87 grain bullet in a 243 . 90 to 100 grainers don't produce any more kinetic energy . Some small advantage if penetrating scrub but that's it . Loading a 243 up to max all the time will burn the throat out fairly quickly . Using very light bullets is clipping the 243's wings if you suddenly run across a pig etc.

[on_one_wheel]

If your worried about barrel life you could develop a mild load for short / medium range practice and develop a separate hot load for reaching out.

It's the pressure and extreme heat that kill them.

[SCJ429]

Too many shots in the one group you may be over heating the barrel . Light bullets pushed hard are sometimes not the most accurate.
I found that a 87 grain Hornady HPBT shot far better groups than 75 grain bullets did in a 243 .

Depends what you mean pushed hard. No reason you couldn't get a 70 grain bullet to out shoot any other 6mm bullet, in fact most PPC shooters use this weight or lighter. Could you get a 70 grain match bullet to shoot better groups from a 243 than you got with the 87 grain Hornady HPBT, I am betting a beer that you could.

[Billo]

So I loaded up the 80gr BT I had on hand with 2209 and the best 3 shot group went bang on 0.5 MOA, also top load of 45.4gr. Not sure on speed but reloading manuals are suggesting 3400 fps or there about for the 22 inch barrel

The Ruger SS barrel seems to have a liking to the flat base BT's, real easy to clean too

[Peterwho]

You have a lot of work to do....

Practice with something other than the .243W or you will wear the barrel out before you get even close to accurate.

The 243W can be very accurate and should shoot 1/2' 5 shot groups at 100 Yards easy with the right rifle.and load.

I've won 300m competition with a Sako 85 using 90gr BT's and shot 2/3" to 3/4" groups. The 70gr are even more accurate at shorter distance overall.

I shoot to test with a proper homemade Bench, Front and Rear Bags.

I do have a lot to learn. Half inch groups is something to aim for. I havent been using any bags just a basic rest. Glad I didn’t show the 25-06 results

[bigrich]

You have a lot of work to do....

Practice with something other than the .243W or you will wear the barrel out before you get even close to accurate.

The 243W can be very accurate and should shoot 1/2' 5 shot groups at 100 Yards easy with the right rifle.and load.

I've won 300m competition with a Sako 85 using 90gr BT's and shot 2/3" to 3/4" groups. The 70gr are even more accurate at shorter distance overall.

I shoot to test with a proper homemade Bench, Front and Rear Bags.

I do have a lot to learn. Half inch groups is something to aim for. I havent been using any bags just a basic rest. Glad I didn’t show the 25-06 results

stick to 87 vmax and 2208 in the 243 and you will get great accuracy, reasonable barrel life, and it'll probably do everything with shot placement

[deye243]

I had a 243 Winchester now my mate has it that would do this with monotonous regularity the load was with a 65 grain Vmax velocity was around 3850 amazing all the way out to 500 best varmint cartridge I ever shot .

Screenshot_20221208-000604_Gallery.jpg (215.85 KiB) Viewed 2126 times

[JohnV]

Too many shots in the one group you may be over heating the barrel . Light bullets pushed hard are sometimes not the most accurate.
I found that a 87 grain Hornady HPBT shot far better groups than 75 grain bullets did in a 243 .

Depends what you mean pushed hard. No reason you couldn't get a 70 grain bullet to out shoot any other 6mm bullet, in fact most PPC shooters use this weight or lighter. Could you get a 70 grain match bullet to shoot better groups from a 243 than you got with the 87 grain Hornady HPBT, I am betting a beer that you could.

My post based on experience with my 243 others may vary . Your post based on supposition . Any match quality bullet is going to shoot better than the run of the mill average hunting bullet as far as grouping goes .

[SCJ429]

Too many shots in the one group you may be over heating the barrel . Light bullets pushed hard are sometimes not the most accurate.
I found that a 87 grain Hornady HPBT shot far better groups than 75 grain bullets did in a 243 .

Depends what you mean pushed hard. No reason you couldn't get a 70 grain bullet to out shoot any other 6mm bullet, in fact most PPC shooters use this weight or lighter. Could you get a 70 grain match bullet to shoot better groups from a 243 than you got with the 87 grain Hornady HPBT, I am betting a beer that you could.

My post based on experience with my 243 others may vary . Your post based on supposition . Any match quality bullet is going to shoot better than the run of the mill average hunting bullet as far as grouping goes .

My post is based on shooting tens of thousands 6mm bullets and have shot the 243 Win extensively. For fun I used a 65 grain hunting bullet in my 243 and achieved a best group of 0.180, which I was pretty happy with. But it is hard to argue with PPC shooters who win group competitions at short range almost without exception using 60 to 70 grain bullets.
You got a good result using 87 grain bullets, and that is great but it does not mean you couldn't do as well or better with a lighter bullet. For shorter range a light flat based bullet is hard to beat in the accuracy stakes.

[deye243]

Too many shots in the one group you may be over heating the barrel . Light bullets pushed hard are sometimes not the most accurate.
I found that a 87 grain Hornady HPBT shot far better groups than 75 grain bullets did in a 243 .

Depends what you mean pushed hard. No reason you couldn't get a 70 grain bullet to out shoot any other 6mm bullet, in fact most PPC shooters use this weight or lighter. Could you get a 70 grain match bullet to shoot better groups from a 243 than you got with the 87 grain Hornady HPBT, I am betting a beer that you could.

My post based on experience with my 243 others may vary . Your post based on supposition . Any match quality bullet is going to shoot better than the run of the mill average hunting bullet as far as grouping goes .

My post is based on shooting tens of thousands 6mm bullets and have shot the 243 Win extensively. For fun I used a 65 grain hunting bullet in my 243 and achieved a best group of 0.180, which I was pretty happy with. But it is hard to argue with PPC shooters who win group competitions at short range almost without exception using 60 to 70 grain bullets.
You got a good result using 87 grain bullets, and that is great but it does not mean you couldn't do as well or better with a lighter bullet. For shorter range a light flat based bullet is hard to beat in the accuracy stakes.

I will definitely agree with this post ....... sub 400 yards a light fast steppin flat base bullet every time after that a slippery bullet , l'v had 4 243win one had 2 two barrels I have burned bucket loads of 2208 and 2209 powder through a 243 started off with the old Hornady sx-70 grainers then went to 70g Nosler ballistic tips when they first came out they weren't bad but the 65 grain Vmax out to 500 left them for dead in terminal performance and accuracy then the 260 Remington came out and I never seen the need for a 243 ever again as the varmints in my area got just that little bit bigger .

[JohnV]

The difference is that the lighter bullets at higher velocities can blow up on heavier game and they loose energy quickly . So I settle on a heavier bullet so it takes a wider range of game more reliably . It's common to be laying up waiting on wild dogs or shooting foxes to have a pig or two turn up or even a Fallow Deer . 80 to 87 grain bullet that shoots accurately will still take the lighter game but has more grunt for the bigger game . .243 it's self is marginal enough on large pigs so I like to have a more flexible load . You don't always have time to change the ammo in the gun and carrying different loads is a pain . That's what I have found anyway .