Picked up a couple of new rifles this weekend

rjm158

Handloader
Oct 15, 2009
704
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This past weekend I picked up two rifles, one sorta planned, the other not at all.
On Friday, I was off for hunting and after I killed my doe and took it to the processors, my oldest stepson and I stopped at a gunshop to look around. I found as Savage Hog Hunter .308 and ended up buying it. I have the idea of using it as a suppressed tree stand gun. I took it to the range yesterday and with two different handloads it was shooting just over half inch groups.
On Sunday, a friend asked if I wanted to go along to Scheels, which I did of course. There I found they were having a sale on a lot of their hunting stuff including their Tikka rifles. I had been contemplating buying something 6mm/243 to experiment with heavier bullets and knew that Tikka was now fitting their 243 rifles with 1-8 twists. I found one such new rifle there and it came home with me. I also bought a box of Hornady 108 gr ELD-M's and loaded some when I got home. I tried those out yesterday as well and got some respectable groups but nothing to ooooh and ahhhhh about.

On a side note, if anyone has experience or suggestions of bullets to try in the 243, please pass it on because I'm just getting started. I also have some Sierra 107 HPBT's but haven't loaded them yet.

Ron
 
i have an 8t in 243win also, but main bullet use will be from 75-90grs. i do have some 112mb's to try. i think the only bullet that won't stabilize in the 8 is 115's from berger and maybe the 110a-tips (not sure about that 1)?
 
The 95 grain BT and Hornady 105 HPBT are workhorses for me in 6mms. Anything from H4350 in speed up to IMR7828 or similar is darned good.

You’ll like that 8 twist 243. The 108 ELDs are pretty serious in the 6 ARC. Very easy accurate and they fly well.
 
Thanks to everyone for their kind comments and information. I loaded up some test rounds using the Sierra 107 hpbts and RL-16 last night. Hoping the weather cooperates so I can try them out this weekend.

Ron
 
When I got my first .243 I used it mainly to shoot coyote for hides. The 100 gr. Sierras were a bit too destructive and I had better reuslts from the Hornady SPs that anything else. his was back in the 1970s and I don't remember if the were Interlocks or before Interlocks. I always used something else for deer but let some of my neighbor kids use it when I took them on their first deer hunts and the Hornadys worked just fine.
My current .243s are a Ruger #1A and a Winchester push feed early post 64. I have shot eith one very much, sad to say.
Paul B.
 
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