i"m planning on suppressing my .243, mostly for
varmint shooting but also for deer. for varmints at short/medium range, it would be nice to have a round that was subsonic, or as close to it as possible.
i"ve read that it"s too dangerous to use very light powder charges as they are position sensitive and a small enough load can produce dangerous pressure.
i was thinking of a 107 gr bullet, but what to put behind it? anyone used case filler before? can it be done? i know there"s commercial .308 subsonic available.
any ideas?

Brass Thief.

Me again. Take a look at Hogdens manual, as they have a "youth load" that is vertually subsonic. l tried to pick up a copy last week but failed though some of the folks on here may have that for you. The powder quoted l think was H4895 which l normally load with, though as yet l've not gone for a peek down the subsonic road yet. l've been close to a .243 on normal loads and a moderator and it reduced the report by at least half, and in open ground where there'e less reflection that drops away even further.
Hope this is of help.

All the best.

Dave.
....

Look at cast bullet loads to help you here. They are just as efective at low velocity and are easier to load down for. I use a 115gr cast gas-check bullet in a 6mm Rem with pretty good success.
By the way, when you say suppressor, I hoe you are talking about the lower report of light loads, not a silencer. The feds take a dim view of those things.

jlongo, this is one of the very few areas where we brits are at an advantage! suppressors are legal here in the UK, although they must be registered on a certificate(at least that"s how it works here in northern ireland)
i know you do have different legal aspects in different states, but suppressors have really taken off here in the last few years. i"ve resisted the trend up till now, as i"m a bit of a traditionalist, and i feel suppressors ruin the balance and handling of a rifle, but i"m coming around to the idea if i can be convinced
of their value. and yes, i"ve used them, before everyone starts bombarding me with their praises!

Brass Thief:

Give me a bullet weight you are looking to shoot, and what velocity you are looking at ( in feet per second). I have tons of load data on that, that I have tested and chronographed on my own.

The 107 grain bullets are usually match bullets and will perform poorly on deer, regardless of how small they may be.

However I can make recommendations with velocity down to 1000 fps. Send me an email and I will let you have the info I have available.

Cheers and Good shooting
seafire

Accurate 5744 is said to be a real good powder for reduced loads. I checked the Accurate website, but they did not have a load listed for the 243.

hi
think on the SAMEREIER case,

In with the Lee program there is a way to take the powder you use for your REGULAR loading and down-size it to the velocity you want.
Some people say it can be dangerous to down-size anything but 22 centerfire loads?

quote:

Originally posted by MADISON:
In with the Lee program there is a way to take the powder you use for your REGULAR loading and down-size it to the velocity you want.
Some people say it can be dangerous to down-size anything but 22 centerfire loads?

Madison,

It amazes me when " some people say".

Anything can be dangerous. Riding in a bus or flying in an airliner can also be dangerous.

Downloading is no problem at all. One of the reasons that load manuals push slow powders is that they are trying to make it harder for people to be idiots when reloading.

If someone is that inept, then they should strictly use H 1000 or 870 or 50 BMG powder in all their cartridges and load them to a full case.
That should eliminate any pressure problems or worrying about blowing a firearm up. Then we have to make sure they understand the concept of that they need a full case with that type of powder. So them we have problems there.

People don't personally know what they are doing ought to be knitting or taking up sewing.

seafire