I have just purchased my first .243.

What size primers does it use, please - small or large rifle?

What bullet size is generally considered optimal (ie in .270 its the 130 gr.).

Any preferences for brass - Federal is most common here.

What about powder - is IMR 4350 good?

The 243 takes large rifle primers.
I personally like Winchester brass today. Years ago, it was Remington brass. Whatever is available for you up there should get the job done however. Federals should work, but I've never used any of it.
For bullets, that really depends on what you'll be shooting with the rifle. My personal 244 Remington likes 95 grain Nosler Partitions best. And, they should be just right for Deer size and smaller animals. I use mine for Coyotes.

The .243 uses Large Rifle primers. I use Winchester brass and am very satisfied. As to the bullet to use, that will depend on the gun. Some .243s shoot 100 grain bullets really well, but My Ruger won't. It likes lighter bullets, especailly the 65 to 80 grain bullets. I use Varget powder. The 75 grain Vmax with 37 grains of Varget. It is a great hunting load.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I'm going to have to check around town for brass availability. I haven't seen Remington but there's Federal. Is Varget a ball powder or extruded?

Varget is an extruded powder.

I have loaded for 2 different 243's one a ruger No 1-a, and a Remington Model 7.

Both of these rifles shot very well with the 95gr Nosler Partition, and the Sierra 100gr Spitzer, over 40gr of IMR 4350 [Texas load] and 42gr of IMR 4350 [Colorado and Wyoming load].

How well??? Palm of hand at 300 yards.

I only shot deer in Texas, but my wife killed antelope and mule deer, in WY and mule deer in CO, with no problems.

My experience has been with four, .243's. I find Remington and Winchester brass easier (softer) than Federal brass and Lapua the best and most capacious.

As for projectiles. If your rifle has a 1 in 12" twist barrel try not to go over 87 grain weight projectiles. If it has a 1 in 10" then you may get up to 100 grain projectiles to shoot accurately. This is only a rough guide.

Varget is good with very light projectiles and is insensitive to temperature changes. I beleive it is extruded. Something around the IMR-4350 burning rate works best of all.

Varget is one of the best powders for the rifles I load for.
I just got back from the range where I was shooting a 250 Savage AI. 37.0 grains of Varget behind a Speer 87 grain TNT shot two bullets in the same hole and one slightly left of those two at 100 yards. Varget is good stuff.
It is the best powder in my Rem 700 Classic standard 250 Savage, and is second best in my 22-250, VERY close to the 1/4" groups I get with Benchmark.

Don

Hey, BBruce,

What rifle did you get and what type of sights are you using?

Alf

Well Bruce, If we can leave the political forum behind here...for a moment... I have a lot of 243 experience...

what are you looking to hunt with it, or is it just going to be for casual shooting??

about any primer will work well in a 243, it takes Large Rifle.. Large Rifle Mag is not going to do much for you...

It can take varmint bullets, that range in weights from 55 grains to 87 grains...

depending on your twist, it can take grains wt up to 117 grain for David Tubbs bullets..those however require a one in 7 or one in 8 twist to stabilize those...

I've worked with a lot of reduced load data, but still giving decent hunting velocities, and are great for training new shooters or recoil sensitive shooters...

depending on bullet weights, it can function with powder burn rates from SR 4759, to as slow as IMR 7828, Rl 22, H 1000, AA 3100...

if you bought it for the Mrs to learn to shoot with, lighter bullets would be a good start..

I am assume you are speaking of handloading this one...

cheers
seafire

One guy here says that the .243 Winchester and 4350 goes together like cookies and ice cream. I shot it with AA4350 and 70 gr. Sierra Matchkings last Sat.

80 gr. 6mm Bergers over Varget do well too.

I like sierra 85 gr game king, Remington large rifle BR primers, Lapua cases. AR2206 powder 46 gns.
I is a great accurate load for thin skinned animals. Roo's Pigs etc

BBBbruce,

The optimum bullet weight for the 243 would depend upon the task. If varmints were the goal then 55 thru heavier bullets to maybe 87 grs would be considered. If big game such as deer were the job then many of the heavier bullets are for that.

If long range target then another bullet might be best, same for reduced loads. Imr's 4350 has always been the gold standard in the 243 but now with the light 55's and 58's faster powder is indicated. Start with what you have in the 4350 burning rate range.

i have rem mod.700 bdl 243 with 1in9.5 twist. use imr 4064@ 36.5 grns with sierra 85 gr hpbt. perfect for me and whitetails!! shoot 200 yds 3-4 times a yr,30-40 rds,group anywere from 3/4'- 1.2'