.243 long range bullets

[Guest]

What are your experiences with what bullets?

 

[1Shot]

What bullet? It all depends on what twist you have in the barrel. If you get over 100 grs you need a 7 or 8" twist. I have a friend that has a 6mm-284 and he likes the 115 Berger VLD bullets really well for 1000 yards paper punching. He averages around 1/2 MOA. I think he has a 7" twist. It also depends on what you intend to do with the bullet. If it is paper punching you can stretch things out a bit if you are good with wind doping. For game like deer using a 243 Win. I would limit my personal shooting to 300 yards or so because the bullet has slowed down and does not have the velocity to get good penetration and expansion I like. For small varmints anything that you can hit at any range is fair game.

 

[Guest]

1shot,
I have a after market varmint barrel with a 1:12 twist.

Going after wood chucks.

 

[1Shot]

What caliber and what do you expect to shoot with it?
With a 12 twist you most likely will not be able to shoot anything over a 80 to 87 gr bullet.

 

[Guy Miner]

With that 1:12 twist, you're not going to be able to run the great 105 - 115 grain match bullets made for long-range precision shooting. Bummer. They shoot great!

Not sure how heavy you could go with the 1:12... 85 or so??? Some excellent bullets avail in roughly that weight.

 

[1Shot]

With a 12 twist you most likely will not be able to shoot anything over a 80 to 87 gr bullet. I use to use the 70 gr Nosler ballistic tip with a good dose of IMR 4350 in a Rem 700 varmint barrel 243 Win. When the wind was not blowing much I have killed groundhogs 300 to 400 yards. Most of my groundhog land only allowed 100 to 200 yards shots though. I use to hunt with a fellow that used the 60 gr Sierra HP and it did a wicked job on groundhogs. The 243 Win makes a much better varmint rig than the 22's if you get into much windy areas.

 

[Guy Miner]

Yup. I've nailed a mess of varmints over the years using a 6mm Rem, normally with 60 - 75 gr varmint bullets... Fun stuff! :grin:

 

[R Flowers]

I too, have an aftermarket custom barrel with a 1 in 12 twist. I did it that way sort of out of nostalgia. I grew up shooting a Remington 722 chambered in .244 Remington that had a 1 in 12 twist.

My current 6mm Remington shoots quite well with just about any bullet under 90 grains. My favorites are the 70 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip and the Sierra 80 grain Blitz.

Actually, I used to shoot the 90 grain Speer spitzer in my old .244 as well as the 85 grain Sierra spitzer. This new gun is strictly for varmints, so I have not shot too many of these. It will shoot the 100 grain Hornady round nose quite well. (I run into wild hogs occasionaly while varmint hunting around here.)

My favorite has to be the 80 grain Sierra Blitz bullet. It is extremely accurate and with the boattail it shoots flat. I have killed prairie dogs in excess of 750 yards with it and coyotes over 600.

 

[Guest]

ALL great responses and I WILL take all and use. THANKS guys!!

Flowers... What load do you use for the 80 grain blitz?

 

[YoteSmoker]

With a 12 twist, I would try the 68 berger, 75 hornady v-max, 70 ballistic tip, 85 sierra gameking bthp, and 87 v-max all with IMR4350 and pick whichever shoots the most accurate. If you ever re-barrel and are looking for truly long range ballistics, go with an 8 twist and try 107 matchking, 105 a-max and 95 berger vld.

 

[JD338]

As already stated, a 1:12 twist is too slow for 100 gr bullets. I would look at the 70 gr BT for varmints and the 85 gr PT for deer and antelope.

JD338

 

[R Flowers]

longranger;

My load for the 80 grain Sierra Blitz in my 6mm Remington consists of:
W-W case
Fed 210M primer
47.5 grains IMR 4831
Sierra 80 Blitz
OAL 2.88 "

Sierra only shows about 3100 for this load but with my 26 inch custom barrel I get a little over 3400 fps. This load shoots consistant 5 shot groups under a half inch if I do my part.