Having trouble with my new .243 Win. The barrel is only 18" long. What powder do you think I should use for this barrel and 95 gr. bullets??? Thanks Maddog

Maddog, what kind of trouble are you having with your 243? My brother has a Rem Model 7 in 243 that shoots quite well with the 95 gr Nosler Ball. tips. using IMR-4350.

One of the 4350's would be hard to beat. The length of the barrel really won't make much difference as to the best powder.

IMR-4320 shoot's the best in my .243

How long of barrels are you guys using??
My 243 just wont group. 2" at 100 yds.This is with factory stuff, and 4350 reloads. My friend said try faster powder, but I don't know where to start. Do you think the barrel is to short for slow powder?? I can't get in touch with my buddie I bought it from Till after Christmas. He is out of the country. I know it will shoot I have seen it do it. But don't know what he loaded for it. I could wait till Jan, but want to shoot it now. Thanks for all in-put.... Maddog

It sounds like you've seen the rifle shoot better than the results you're listing here--so bedding shouldn't be an issue.

I don't have a ton of experience with the 243 (3 rifles), but all 3 shot better as bullets got heavier. You could try a faster (IMR-4320) or slower (IMR-4831) powder, but I would first try GOOD bullets in heavier weights seated .020" to .030" away from the rifling origin in its throat. More recently made rifles have some VERY deep throats cut in them, and the heavier bullets allow you to reach the throat origin and still have one caliber of seating depth. There could be a magazine length issue, but you didn't say whether repeat shots/sustained fire were an issue with this rifle.

Also--if the rifle's bore is deeply copper-fouled, such a condition could affect accuracy too. Mine the copper, then try a re-shoot.

Imr 3031 a faster and very accurate powder with 87gr hornady-
30-37.9gr
100gr hornady
29.6-35.5gr- even with longer barrels.

Here are some loads that you might try. All hit an optimum barrel time of 0.975 mS as predicted my one of my simulations, and use Quickload to arrive at the load/powder combination that will achieve this barrel time. This assumes a 95 gr. Nosler Partition seated at 2.710 COL. Approach with caution, as some of the loads are right near the predicted maximum pressures for the .243:

IMR 4350 44.0gr 2882FPS 58957PSI 96.0% full
H4350 44.7gr 2846FPS 58164PSI 95.4% full
XMR4350 45.0gr 2912FPS 60626PSI 99.4% full
RL-19 46.0gr 2880FPS 58974PSI 100.4% full
WIN760 44.1gr 2895FPS 59767PSI 87.6% full
IMR4064 39.1gr 2818FPS 58814PSI 86.0% full
Varget 39.1gr 2808FPS 58362PSI 83.8% full
VVN560 48.0gr 2901FPS 59534PSI 99.2% full

Hope that this helps!

I load H414 and 95 grain Barnes X in my son's Ruger Compact and it has a 16 1/2" barrel. It don't cut bullet holes but it will shoot MOA.

My 788 Carbine, also with an 18" barrel (may be 18.5) will put 95 gr. Ballistic Tips on top of eachother with IMR-4320 and the velocities are pretty decent for such a short barrel. Plus, IMR-4320 meters real well. I think the 95 gr. BT is probably the best bullet out there for the 243.