was going to buy a 243 rem vls until i found out the twist rate is 1 to 9. will this be to fast to shoot 55 to 70 grain bullets?? you would think a "varmit" gun marketed to vermin hunters would have a slower twist rate. any way what do you think?? i dont want to spend 600 bucks and then have to rebarrel it. thanks mark

Mark, I wouldn't worry too much about the twist really. I'd be more concerned with bore roughness, which is what seems to destroy fast, light bullets, IMO. (This could start a lengthy discussion ..!)

I shoot 58 V-Max's out of a 1-8" barrel at 3900 or so without them coming asunder, but it's an expensive match barrel and the bullets have been mollied. YMMV.

Another Mark

Redial

Mark, I have a Savage 110 .243. The rifle is ugly as can be and was bought for youngsters to shoot. Well, the kids are grown and there were two choices - turn down that birch stock to a functional softball bat or use the rifle as a truck gun for coyotes. I tried the 55 gr Nolsers and they just wouldn't shoot decently. Just before the firing up the lathe, I tried the 58 gr. Hornady V Max bullete. MOA or a little better is the rule at 3600 fps. Faster and the accuracy goes away. Ed

I have a Remington 700 BDL and it shoots the 55-70 grain bullets MUCH better than the larger Bullets. Personally I think the twist rate is TOO slow for the heavy bullets making the Rem 243 a Better Varmit gun

Fireball

I've shot the 55's and the 70's quite a bit out of 6/06's.

The 12's shoot the lightweights a bit better than than 10's.

The 12's will go in the under .5 quite often.

The 10's will still shoot under MOA usually around .7 to .8

The 55's run pretty good at about 4400 fps with 25" Schneider tubes.

The 70's go right at 4000.

The 70's are much more destructive on yotes and such and absolutely electrocute deer and lopes.

Personally I'd be just a bit leary of the 9 twist.

However the 95 BT is my bullet of choice for eveything at 3500 fps. So if the gun wouldn't shoot the lightweights, then I'd happily go to the 95's.

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

Mark-

BTW, I've never tried 55's, but 70 gr Nosler BT's and 70 gr Sierra MK's are my favorite 243/6mm groundhog bullets.

My old 1974 vintage 6mm Rem shoots 55 grain Noslers and 60 grain Sierras pretty well, not quite as well as it handles 95 grain ballistic tips. It's got some sort of a weird preference for that one bullet, but even the lightweight ones break one MOA. This is from a Remington 22" 1:9 sporter barrel. It's taken a mess of varmints from itty-bitty ground squirrels to coyotes without a problem. Those little 55 & 60 grain bullets flat move! Regards, Guy

Check with Remington to see if that's a 1:9 or a 1:9.25 twist. I thought they had a fraction added in there, but I might be wrong.

Anyway. Here is how to get the 55 grainers to shoot well in your rifle. Load them DEEP into the case. The light, fast bullet can't be loaded to approach the lands in most factory rifles, and during obturation (the bulging of the bullet when the powder charge goes off) the bullet can get really deformed as it slams into the rifling.

If you seat the bullet deep, it's release is a bit less turbulent, and perhaps better timed. (The obturation will have settled to some degree before the bullet encounters the rifling).

For those of you with partial boxes of 55 grain Nosler BT's sitting around collecting dust, try the following:

Powder charge: 52 to 53 grains of H380 (.243 win)
or 52.5 grains of H414 " "
or 44.5 grains of IMR 4895 " "
or 45.5 grains of IMR 4064 " "

Then seat the bullet until the OAL is 2.595".

You'll find that this recipe is very fast, and very accurate from most rifles.

Test about 5% under these charges before working up to them, but they should certainly be safe in any rifle of decent construction.

BTW, the deep seating method works well with the .22 centerfires also. Measure a factory Hornady VMAX round in .223, 22-250, or .243 and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Let us know how things go,

Dan Newberry
green 788

I have a Weatherby SVM in 243 and it will shoot the 55gr NBT very well. It will also shoot the 75gr V-Max. I don't have the load data available but the powders are H380 & H4895.

Your Remington may or may not shoot the 55 grain BT well, but if it doesn't, it's not particularly the fault of the twist rate.

My Browning-Sako is, I believe, a 1-10 (or the metric near-equivalent of that, the barrel being made in Finland). It shoots 80 grain Sierras fairly well, 70 grain Nosler BT's better, and 55 grain Nosler BT's superbly.

BTW, you MIGHT very well find deep seating with any bullet to be advantageous, but my 55's are seated out to the lands, which is VERY shallow, and they shoot in the .3's.

I shoot Nosler 55 grain Ballistic Tips in my Ruger Model 77 MKII Stainless and love them. They are extremely accurate and shoot consistant 3 shot groups of 3/8" @ 100 yards and drop coyotes like they have been hit with a hammer.

I haven't tried 55 gr. bullets in my 6mm Rem. -- a Model 700 heavy-barrel Varmint Special; I think it has a 1 in. 9 twist, but I'm not sure -- but it shoots 70 gr. Sierra Matchkings very well. But only with IMR 4064 powder. In theory, slower powders -- such as the 4350s -- should work better, but they don't in my rifle.

Mark,

I use a Savage .243 as a walking varminter and deer rifle and have tried all bullet weights for for just about all purposes - this rifle has a 1/9.25" twist. I bought this setup off of a friend who won it at a DU dinner becuase it shot extremely well when I tested it. I've been able to achieve consistent 3/4" groups with the 55 grain pills but am able to get 1/4" to 1/2" groups with a variety of 80 and 85 grain bullets. So I guess it depends on your accuracy standards. I've shot coyotes, Deer, and hundreds of rabbits and squirrels with this setup and have found the 80 grain Nosler ballistic tips to be the most lethal, by far. Even on little squirrels, the 80 BTs are terminally much more impressive than the 55s - it's not uncommon to get them 30 feet in the air.

Have fun. And good choice with the Remington!

My #1-B in .243 Win. puts three of the 55gr. Nosler BTs into a half-inch at 100yds.

I've killed 'chucks farther than that, but I've never shot the gun for groups at 200yds. or 300yds.

Try them; you'll know quickly enough if your gun won't shoot them.

George

I don't shoot them because I think they would cause excessive barrel wear in my favorite barrel.

I've been loading for the oldest boy's Rem 700 BDL in .243 lately, and it's one of those guns I picked up at the local gun store for his birthday. After sighting it in for him, and then doing some load workup w/ it, I still shake my head cuz I consider it a waste of a perfectly good gun on a bowhunter (He still attempts to pop the occasional target of opportunity i.e. coyote w/ it)

It shoots Sierra 55gr BlitzKings over Ramshot Big Game (don't remember how much off hand) into 1/2" for three shots. No bedding, no pillars, no trigger work, and has an el-cheapo Tasco 3-9x40 scope. Disgusting, really.

BTW, I'd say that one reason for the faster twist is so that the .243 can be used as more of a dual purpose round, and stabilize the heavier bullets adequately. IIRC, that's why it more or less beat out the .244 Remington at the time, and by the time Remington got it all in one sock and jacked up the twist rate and renamed it to the 6mm Remington, it was too late, for all intents and purposes. I know some people that would consider the 1-9" twist too _slow_, as they are looking for a 6mm Rem or .243 Win (or AI versions) to push the VLD slugs like the 107gr SMK for *long* range varminting. To each their own.

Monte

I shot some Sierra 60 HP and Hornady 75 HP's out of my Rem 700 ADL today using IMR3031. The bullets shot great out of this rifle and an Encore 243.

DLS,

I'm currently using the Sierra 60 grain HP's and IMR 3031 for a very accurate and effective load in both of my .243's. This is the only load I've found to date which works well in both of my rifles.

The charge is 39.8 grains, and the bullet is seated to an OAL of 2.600". Both rifles shoot 1/2 MOA with this load, and I've heard that other folks have had sub MOA results with this same recipe.

By the way, the 40 grain charge of IMR 3031 works well with Hornady's 58 grain VMAX at an OAL of 2.595".

Take care,

Dan Newberry
green 788

I have owned quite a few 6mm's over the past 30 years or so. Most of them have been Remingtons with the 1-9.25" twist. When you are shooting light bullets, each rifle will display preferences. My present 700V loves the 55 Ballistic Tip, the 58 V-max, The 70 and 95 Ballistic tip and many of the heavy bullets. Doesn't care for the 85 Sierra BT or the old 90 Speer. My other 700 a "Classic", will not shoot any bullet under 80 grains into less than 1 moa. It will shoot the 95 and 100 Partitions into .6 - .7" though, and that is fine by me. Regards Eagleye.

The 243 is one of the finest varmint cartridges you can own. Few 243 owners even know how well the 243 will perform with lighter weight bullets on small game since they think it is primarily a deer or antelope cartridge. My 243 model 110 Savage package rifle will put five 65 grain HP Watson benchrest bullets under a nickle at 100 yards with a charge of 38.5 grians Varget powder.
I have owned and shot a 243 for over 30 years and did not try 55 or 65 grain bullet until last year. I thought they would be to light to get good accuracy in the 243. If the bullet is a hollow point or BT and are longer than the SP bullet the same weight it will shoot in the 243. The light weight HPFB or HPBT will group well in a 243 with the right powder bullet combo. Short stubby bullets like slow twist rates, long sleek looking bullets like fast twist rates. If your 243 has a faster twist rate find the longest light weight bullet you can find to try. The reloader has the advantage and can taylor his handloads to fit his 243 rifles twist rate. My 243 with the 65 grain Watson benchrest bullet is superior to the 220 swift with the 55 grain PSP bullet on any small game animal you care to hunt at any range you shoot. The .243 bullet bucks the wind much better than the .224 caliber bullet. Barrel life is about 2000 rounds with the 243 or the 220 swift.