I have a Rem 700 sporting rifle in 243win that shoots 100gr Speer SPBT with a 40gr load of H4350. It is a very accurate, consistent load that shoots less than 1" groups when I do my bit. The rifle has been pillar bedded, barrel free floated and the trigger adjusted for 2lb pull.
The club I shoot with is celebrating its centenary and we have organisied a series of shoots - one of them being for sporting rifles. It shot very well in the 300yd contest but in 3 weeks we have a 600yd shoot and I was wondering if it is possible to shoot heavier match bullets through it - the twist rate is nine and one eighth. Any one tried these? - the barrel is standard profile, 22". I shot the current load at 600yd last week and the 17 rounds grouped within 8" in very light wind.

Jerry,

Wow that is good shooting! I would be tempted to put the time into seeing how your current load reacts to wind rather than change things.

Your current bullet has a BC of 0.43 (I know because I shoot the sierra BTSP which is the same) Not bad if you consider that the 105gr A max is 0.5 and will likely rob you of at least 100fps and may be marginal in it's stability.

Hello,
Your rifle is shooting groups in the order of 1.3 moa and that is good performance for a sporting rifle. Many 600 yard matches shot with the 243 over the years and might suggest that you take a look at the bullets offered by Sierra or contacting them as well. Sierra folks are very experienced and can usually help a great deal in questions such as yours. Favor Center!!

Thanks, I will try the Sierra site. The main thing that worries me is the soft, exposed nose. I am conerned that it may be damaged very slightly when feeding - would this show up on a longer shoot?
The 700 is my first Remington and in the three years I have used it it has proved to be an excellent, accurate rifle - before bedding it shot aroung the inch mark. At the 600yd shoot it performed better than some shooting with tactical rifles! All the shooters I know who use the 700 have nothing but praise for them, particularly in the smaller calibres.