.243 Question

[Buckwabit]

I'm looking at buying another Varmint rifle and have decided on the .243 because of the different loads I can get. But i was thinking I could go middle of the road and get the best performance out of the ammo. So i was looking at about 60-75 Grain ammo.

Here's the question..Do any of you guys shoot that grain ammo in a .243? Are you happy with the performance? And Cons to going this route???

[Buckwabit]

I forgot to add that I'm going to be shooting Coyotes, Pigs, Beavers and I want to be able to deer hunt with it also...This might be important to know...

[miket]

Lots of good info here: http://www.predatormastersforums.com/index.shtml

[Buckwabit]

I would say so. It would take me weeks to read all of that and I probably will now that you gave me the link...

My main deal is I've never owned a .243. I've had 22-250's, 223's and one 220 swift in varmint rifles but never a .243.

[hntrpat1]

55 grain ballistic tips will put a hurting on some animals. My rifle loves 70 hpbt. Reload its easy and save a lot of money

[Buckwabit]

I was kind of planning that route but hoping to get some input as to where to start with my Grains...You know??

[cwink]

If you want to use factory ammo for both predator and deer.. Go with the 85 grain.. The 85 Grain BTHP from Federal is wicked on deer. Most of my deer have been killed with it..

[duramax]

If you aren't worried about pelts, just about any grain is fine. But a .243 can make a mess if you hit a shoulder with the lighter varmint bullets. I'd just try 3 or 4 different factory loads in different grains to see what the gun likes. If reloading, you can do the same deal or I'd settle on a 70 grain for Varmint. Big enough for deer if you had to, and vicious on varmints. Should be able to easily find a load that will push a 70 grain over 3500fps that your gun likes.

Here's a couple loads to get you started:
http://www.handloads.com/loaddata/defau ... er&Source=

[turkeyman]

Chad I shoot a 95 grain. It's really flat shooting gun. You will love it

[Old Swamp Gobbler]

If you want to use factory ammo for both predator and deer.. Go with the 85 grain.. The 85 Grain BTHP from Federal is wicked on deer. Most of my deer have been killed with it..

Me and the Jake have killed a bunch of deer with those....

[Buckwabit]

I've looked at the ruger, Remington, savage and Browning varmint models with heavy barrels and the Remington feels the best by far. I'm a ruger man but I think in about a month I'll own my first Remington .243

[hntrpat1]

85 grain Barnes x is a deer killa.

[MrGoodtime]

Pm me and i give you the load data on a wicked 85gr. barnes load that we use.

[Dutch Dog]

We used the Remington Core Lokt 80 gr bullets for the first few years we owned the .243 thinking it would have less recoil on the kids. The difference between that and the 100 gr is negligible, we're now shooting 100 gr bullets pretty much exclusively and they are working wonderfully on deer. You could always shoot the 58 gr v max bullets on your lighter animals and step up to heavier bullets for deer. Once you do it a time or two you can more than likely determine the difference between zero's and can pretty much dial it in when you need to change and be sighted in with just a shot or two.

[Buckwabit]

We used the Remington Core Lokt 80 gr bullets for the first few years we owned the .243 thinking it would have less recoil on the kids. The difference between that and the 100 gr is negligible, we're now shooting 100 gr bullets pretty much exclusively and they are working wonderfully on deer. You could always shoot the 58 gr v max bullets on your lighter animals and step up to heavier bullets for deer. Once you do it a time or two you can more than likely determine the difference between zero's and can pretty much dial it in when you need to change and be sighted in with just a shot or two.

That's a pretty good Idea Dutch....