I had an old style Rem 700 Varmint Special that just loved the Sierra 85 gr BTHP ahead of a charge or old Reloader 11.. it would consistently give me 1/4" groups if i did my part..

that rifle is long gone(stupid is as stupid does) but I got another one... the newer Varmint Special with the 24" barrel and laminated stock. Well I already replaced the stock with a pillar bedded synthetic, floated the barrel, and it just doesn't like the old R-11 load.. (just as well, I only have about a pound left)
So am looking for your favorite 243 loads using bullets in the 70 to 100 gr range.. Mostly target work but may get to do some prairie dogs down the road..

so whatdyagot?

41-44 gr 4350 85 gr sierra bthp

My prairie dog load:
42gr IMR4831
95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip
3004fps
Savage 12fv

There's alot quicker loads out there for a .243 Winchester but at right around 3000 fps with either a Sierra 85 gr. HPBT GK or a Speer 85 gr. BTSP @ 2.615" O.A.L with 39.0 grs. of IMR-4320 will plunck 'em in itty-bitty groups from any of the 3 different .243s I've owned - 2 Remingtons and 1 Blaser R93. Still have the Blaser bbl. and one of the the L/H Remington 700 BDLs.

Make sure you start low and work your way up .....

Good Luck

95g Nosler Ballistic Tip
41.5g IMR 4350, H4350, and IMR 4451
Fed 210 Primer

105g Hornady HPBT
47g RL 26
Fed 210

Nosler 95g Partition
42.3g RL 22
Fed 210

Me too 42ish

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
41-44 gr 4350 85 gr sierra bthp

40 grains of IMR 4350 with a 100 grain Sierra SPBT.

My load is 85 grain Sierra hpbt, with imr 4064. A good friend gave me that load and it shoots in every 243 I've tried it in.

.

H414 pushing the 70 grain Nosler Ballistic tip. WLR primer in a W-W case. 3600FPS and very accurate in many .243s.

So far, my most accurate is the 69 grain Berger propelled by 38.5 H-4895. This in my Savage LRP.

I used a lot of the 87gr Vmax in a 30" barreled 243 I have. Heard of some people haven't problems with that bullet being finicky, but it always worked well for me. I shot a few 3/4" 5 shot groups at 200 with them and did a few prairie dogs in at beyond 700. Not guilt edge precision, but they worked well.

My sons .243 really likes these 3 loads,
43 grains IMR4350 with 85 grain Sierra HPBT
41.5 grains IMR4350 with 90 grain Speer Deep Shock
41 grains IMR4350 with 100 grain Sierra SPBT

All of these loads are really accurate in my sons Featherweight .243 turning in 5 shot groups under an inch.

P-FL sized Sako Brass
CCI BR primers
41.0 gr RL17
Sierra 100gr GK
~2.650" OAL

2950 fps

Be careful as the load is 0.2 grains over book max, do what I did, start low and work up.

Tested 1/2 MOA load out to 300M on different days, shot from my Remington LVSF.

quote:

Originally posted by Quintus:
H414 pushing the 70 grain Nosler Ballistic tip. WLR primer in a W-W case. 3600FPS and very accurate in many .243s.

Assuming you're speaking in terms of a varminting load, I agree that the 70 grain Ballistic Tip is usually a very accurate performer (as is the similar 70 grain Sierra Blitzking and the "economy" 70 grain Nosler Varmageddon). Powders in the range of H414 will yield the highest velocities. I've used 4350, 4007, N160 and maybe a couple of others, all with similar results and excellent accuracy. Most recently I've tried 46.5 grains of RL-17 with the same results.

For varmints i shoot 40 gr of 4895 and 70 gr Speer t-n- They shoot around 3500 fps and are very accurate in my ruger kmvt out to 500 meters.My hunting load is 48 gr of 7828 and nosler 95 gr bt shot at 3250 fps very accurate .I shoot this load out of a ruger ultra lite with a 18 1/2 in barrel.

43.5-44 grs IMR4350/ 85 gr Sierra HPBT

For varmints I prefer the 55 grain ballistic tip at around 4000fps from a max load of H4895.

I mainly use this load at night when range estimation can be difficult and so I zero it 1 1/2" high at 100 ( which just happens to give a bang on 100 yard zero for the 100 grain load above, incidentally ) to take advantage of a PBR of well over 300 yards.

Lamp on, cross hairs on the engine room, bang; no messing about.

Thank you gentlemen for all your suggestions!

All the powders discussed are in my powder cabinet. 4831, 4350, 4895, W760 or H414 4064, and 4320.

I've had good luck with 4320 and the Sierra 70 gr BTHP, but never tried it with heavier bullets. I use 760 exclusively in my 375, I never thought to try it in a 243, I think I'll start messing with that one first then 4895.

Thanks again guys!

75 gr Hdy HP
45 gr H4350
neck szd brass

My pre64 Featherweight LOVES 37gr of 4320 and 100gr Nosler Solid Bases. Unfortunately, Nosler discontinued that bullet some time ago and my supply isrunning low!

olarmy
Try the 100 grain Ballistic Tips, the guys at Nosler told me that the BT is the same bullet same construction as the solid base except for the polymer tip was added to replace the lead spire point.

As many on here;

85gn Sierra HPBT 34.5grn H4895

100grn Sierra with 33 grn H4895 .020 off the lands.

Rifle .243 Howa 1500 sporter out the box.

quote:

Originally posted by JTEX:
My load is 85 grain Sierra hpbt, with imr 4064. A good friend gave me that load and it shoots in every 243 I've tried it in.

.

I've got a Rem 700ADL in 243 that love's H414 with a 75gr bullet. Got a new 243 couple weeks ago and it's not as hot on H414. Probably should try it again if it warns up and the wind quits blowing for a bit!

quote:

Originally posted by Snellstrom:
olarmy
Try the 100 grain Ballistic Tips, the guys at Nosler told me that the BT is the same bullet same construction as the solid base except for the polymer tip was added to replace the lead spire point.

Snellstrom: Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately: Nosler does not make the Ballistic Tip in 243/100gr. Although the 95gr BTip has proven accurate for me in other 243s, the pre64 prefers the old 100gr Solid Bases

+ 1 0n the 85 Gr. Sierra BTHP and 4064, my go to load is 38 grains but check the book.

I just had to do it....

Loaded up 60 rounds of my ancient go-to 243 load of 34.0 gr or Reloader 11 behind the Sierra 85 gr HPBT in Federal cases and CCI Bench rest primers..

I'll try them out this weekend, if its not raining here!

760 and 4895 are next on the list to try!

I have about 800 rnds of 4064 loads in 85 and 100gr that I "wound up" with.

They don't group as well as my 4350 loads.

Saturday I was at the pit and ran the 70gr B-tip through a Weatherby Super Predator Master. 47.0 grains of H414, WLR primer, W-W Case. 3 shots into a 1/2" oval, 5 in a dime and 10 in a nickel. I love this load.

70 gr Speer TNT, CCI 400 primer, Varget ?grains Crony at 3406 FPS .75 inches at 100 yds 4 shots

70 gr Speer TNT or Nosler Varmageddon, 45.5 gr Ramshot Big Game, RP 9 1/2 primer, Winchester case. Outstanding accuracy and high velocity. Work up, close to max load in a Stevens 200.

My favourite .243 load uses powder manufactured in 1991, ADI 2213 ( the forerunner of todays ADI 2213sc OR H4831sc ). It still makes great loads.
Norma case, Norma Superflash Primer, ADI 2213 46.50 gns, Hornady SST 95 gn, OAL 69.70 mm
My rifle is a handy Sako M591, always a pleasure to shoot as it's so accurate. These days I generally use it only for pest control rather than serious hunting, which is not to say the rifle is incapable.
The range I shoot at is on private property and on non-club days I frequently shoot alone. It's quite nice to have the .243 along for the odd little side excursion dealing to the resident pests. At various times today I cleaned up these critters while allowing barrel cooling between batches of shots.
https://drive.google.com/file/...ZkU/view?usp=sharing

My Best Loads So Far: Hornady Brass. Superformance powder at 48 or 49 grains, CCI br2 primer, and a Sierra 70 grain HPBT match with 49 grains or a 70 grain Sierra Blitz King over 48 grains. I shoot them in a Shillen barreled Rem. ADL with a 6-24 Vortex Scope and a Timney trigger. I use the original stock pillar bedded and the barrel channel free floated but bedded to stiffen it up. It's a nice rig.