I'm going to finally start reloading. My rifle has a 1-10 twist. I'm looking for recommendations for deer hunting bullets for this twist rate that are theoretically optimum by bullet weight and/or by your experience. I believe the optimum is 90-95 grains but I'm new to this.

Do a search on the 243 here, in favorite loads, and the reloading section tons of info. I have a 6mm Rem 1 in 9 twist shoots everything great if I seat the bullet .01 off the lands. Good luck

In my experience with my Remington 700 243 22 inch barrel the 1:10 works fine with 100 grain spitzers (Remington CoreLokt and Nosler Partition). I once played with some Barnes Original 115 grain semispitzers. The groups opened up to 1.5 MOA. Never determined if it was the load or the twist as they were too spendy to do much load development with.

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Originally posted by greg788:
I'm going to finally start reloading. My rifle has a 1-10 twist. I'm looking for recommendations for deer hunting bullets for this twist rate that are theoretically optimum by bullet weight and/or by your experience. I believe the optimum is 90-95 grains but I'm new to this.

Once again, the twist needed is based on bullet length, not weight. (Required twist in calibers = 180/bullet length in calibers) My 1/10" 6mm/.284 works well with 105 grain Speer FLATBASE bullets, but would not be so good with a boattail of the same weight that was significantly longer........

95-100 grain, and take your pick they all will work.

I have a 10 twist 243 Featherweight that really does well with 95gr Ballistic Tips.

Hi Greg,
I regulary use my 700 remington sps 243 for european roedeer hunting, it shots in a hole. For reloading it I use 95 grs VLD berger bullet, remimgton case, 47 grs MRP Norma or 47,5 grs N165 Vithavuori, cci BR primers, OAL 71 mm - speed bullet (in 26inc barrel) 960 m/sec.
If you want, watch some kills on my "caprioli" trailer
http://www.arsvenandivideo.com/videogallery.htm

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are theoretically optimum by bullet weight

forget about optimum...get what works....and that's most 100 grain spitzers.....I like Hornady or Remingtons ultra bonded corelikts.

If you use the Greenhill Formula, you'll find that a .243" diameter bullet that is 0.886" long is the optimum "size" for a 1 in 10" twist barrel.

T = 10
D = .243
L = ?

T = (150x(dxd))/L

10 = (150x(.243x.243))/L
10 = (150x.059)/L
10 = 8.857/L
Lx10 = 8.857
L = 8.857/10
L = .8857"

So any bullet that is +/- 10%, .974" to .797", SHOULD work pretty well.

The Nosler 85 grain Partiton is 0.95", but my favorite .243" bore rifles bullets are the slightly longer 95 grain BT and 95 grain Partition.

Jeff

The most accurate load for the 243Win that I used to own was a Win. case with 40 grains IMR4350 pushing a 100 grain Rem Core-lokt bullet. Shooting off of bags this load would shoot into sub-quarter inch groups in ideal conditions; i.e. no wind at all. I wouldn't try to kill deer with any bullet lighter than 100 grains in a 243, period. My son shot a decent size whitetail buck with an 87 grain Hornady SP through the heart and we darn near lost the deer before it finally realized it was mortally wounded. BTW, my 243 wouldn't shoot a 100 grain boattail bullet with any kind of accuracy what-so-ever, but it was probably just the rifle and others might swear by the Boattails. In that gun I just swore at them.

I have tried many different bullet weights in the 243 for wt deer.I always end up going back to the sierra 85gr bthp. using imr 4064 or 4831.People say it is a varmit bullet,maybe so,i just figure i'm shooting 150 lb varmits. They just flat out work!

My wife and I have killed several deer, and her several antelope with a 243.

We always used either a 100gr Sierra or a 95gr Nosler Partition.

In Texas where shots were close, we used 40gr of IMR 4550. In Wyoming and Colorado where shots might be at a distance she used 42 gr of IMR 4350. Groups at 300 yards were well under one MOA.

I used to swear by the Sierra 85 grain BTHP, but after a couple of failures to penetrate the rib cage, I no longer use it on deer.

Jeff

I shoot the 100gr Sierra pro hunter over a case full of Re22, very accurate load in my Weatherby .243

Shot quite a few animals with my 243 winny and the 95 gr Nosler partition is one wicked pill in my experience.
I use 43 gr of IMR4350 in win case and Fed 215 primer.
Shoots to 1/2" in my Tikka Mod 55 when I'm on.
Its so good that I have never felt like changing that load for anything else. Sure can't say that for any other rifle I have owned.
Ummm.. IIRC my twist is 1 in 9.25"