I just gave my 13 yr old son my Model 70 in .243. Now I have to replace it. I've been trying to decide if I should get another .243 or get a .22-250. the .22-250 will do just about everything I need except for deer hunting. That means I'd have to buy two guns if I got a .22-250. One for varmint and one for deer hunting. Not that I'm opposed to buying two guys it's just I can't afford to right now. The .243 in most cases is too much gun. I shot some 55grn's Winchester Factory stuff out of my old one and they didn't shoot that well and blew shit to pieces. What I'm wondering is if anyone has loaded down the .55 grn bullets in a .243 to the 3500fps range which would put it on par with a .22-250. How did they group at 100yrds and farther? What OAL did you load them too? Part of the reason I dont think they worked well out of my old gun was that it always seemed to like long loaded shells. The 75grn Vmax's my son is shooting now are loaded to 2.678" which is .004" off the lands. The factory 55grn's where quite short compared to any shells that I like to shoot. So is it worth it to try and down load a .243 to .22-250 ballistics?

Thanks
Tim

I would,and many times as not,one will gain better accuracy!! Velocity does not necessarly mean accuracy.And barrel life will increase as well. I have consistant and good accuracy with 58gr.&60gr up to 300yds plus. vangunsmith

quote:

I shot some 55grn's Winchester Factory stuff out of my old one and they didn't shoot that well and blew shit to pieces.

Not trying to be a smart aleck but that's why most people run varmit bullets...to blow things to pieces....usually the more....the further....the better!

Anyhow...all that aside..I have a Ruger varmiter in 243 that loves the 55 grain bullet at around 4000 fps. I'm sure that there is a load that would/could be found down around 3500 fps. Otherwise my gun also loves the 70 grain ballistic tip at around 3600 which is exactly what you are hoping for.
I sold my 22-250 because I couldn't see a need for it when I had this much flexibility with the 243. Only thing I can say is the barrel is going to heat up a little faster with more powder if you are "dog hunting".
Team up that 243 with some 85 grain barnes x bullets and look out deer!!!
I would give it a BEST OVERALL VOTE anyday.

By the way....go here and get some great buys on Nosler blems....you and your son could put together an order that would keep you shooting fairly cheap for a long time....

http://www.noslershop.com/cgi-bin/virtualcatalog/Catalo...ets&displayNumber=55

I had good luck with Varget in the .243 with the 55 grain Nosler BT's. I would think that you could experiment with different powder weights with that powder and see if it gives you what you are looking for in velocity. I run my loads up to 4050FPS through the chrongraph and have found great accuracy with that combo to handle long shots here for the rockchuck population.

I have had a lot of luck shooting 55gr BT with 41.5 gr IMR4064. I have not clocked it but it shoot under MOA out of my Browning BLR. You could use 4895 if you dont have 4064 on hand. Good luck.

I've had great luck with the 58 grain Hornadys and IMR4064. My best groups run about .375 and it pretty consistently does .5 MOA at 3750 fps.

Have any of you guys shot hem for groups at farther distance like 200, 300 yrds or farther? the ones I tried before shot about 3/4" at 100 yrds but qicklly open up till at 300yrds I was lucky to get MOBD (min. of barn door) accuacy out of them. And before anyone suggests it was the shooter I can get the same gun to shoot 3" at 300 yrds if its not to breezy with a heavier bullet.

Thanks
Tim

Here are some of my results with different bullets and powders.

quote:

Originally posted by TReX300:
Have any of you guys shot hem for groups at farther distance like 200, 300 yrds or farther? the ones I tried before shot about 3/4" at 100 yrds but qicklly open up till at 300yrds I was lucky to get MOBD (min. of barn door) accuacy out of them. And before anyone suggests it was the shooter I can get the same gun to shoot 3" at 300 yrds if its not to breezy with a heavier bullet.

Thanks
Tim

Can't say that I have shot the 55g 243 for groups at 200-300 yards but have had good luck at 250-375 yards on rockchucks and many times, after a few shots around the rocks, you only have heads or sometimes heads and necks to shoot at. I would guess a rockchuck's head to be around 2.5 - 4 inches and we were able to have a high percentage of hits provided the wind stayed down. JMHO

Before Nosler published their latest manual, I took a Rem 243 that is an accuracy pig from day one! I mean like 5 inch and larger groups, with factory ammo, or most handloads..

However, trying a load of 50 grains of H 380 with the 55 grain Ballistic Tips....the same barrel gives me one hole groups at 100 yds... in fact I was so surprised the first time, I thought that it hit the target once and the rest went who knows where.. so I tried the load again....

needless to say, that is pretty much that rifle's diet for the life span of this barrel!