which factory ammo for 243?

r judd

Well-Known Member
hi lads hope someone can help. what factory ammo would you advise on for roe/munty through a 243? the rifle is a tikka t3 hunter. a couple of friends have advised hornady 95gr sst?? has anyone found any others to be better. i understand each rifle can be different but would just like pointing in the right direction.
many thanks ben.
 
hi lads hope someone can help. what factory ammo would you advise on for roe/munty through a 243? the rifle is a tikka t3 hunter. a couple of friends have advised hornady 95gr sst?? has anyone found any others to be better. i understand each rifle can be different but would just like pointing in the right direction.
many thanks ben.
I find that the federal 95grn Btips work fine through my Blaser R8 .243, I haven't tried the Hornady but I think that the 95grn bullet weight is probably optimum for .243 with a 1:10 twist rate. I also do some reloads again 90-95grn work best . My rifle doesn't like the Sako 100grn. Hope this helps. atb Tim:cool:
 
you said 'factory ammo' - depending on budget go for either 100g norma SP's or Federal Powershock SP's in 100g. If they shoot, you can also use them for reds and sika. for roe, the federal 85g BTHP (loaded with scierra gameking bullets) are excellent too. some like sako ammo or PPU, but some hate the stuff apparently- in my book the norma is the ultimate factory fodder instills trust, belief and confidence in my shooting and game-taking abilities when I am not reloading, but it's around £30 - £35 per box. worth it if you don't practice or shoot much but just need it for the odd weekend stalk.
 
Wise words from both the above.

If your only shooting Roe and Munty's you may as well stay under 100gr, as Timbrayford said 1:10 tend to like bullets little lighter.Just make sure they are hunting tips and not varmint.
My T3 likes Sako 90gr so does my wallet, if you wona spend a little more Federal Premium 95gr Btips are the V good.

Loads of choice out there, buy a few and have play.

Trucraft.
 
Wise words from both the above.

If your only shooting Roe and Munty's you may as well stay under 100gr, as Timbrayford said 1:10 tend to like bullets little lighter.Just make sure they are hunting tips and not varmint.
My T3 likes Sako 90gr so does my wallet, if you wona spend a little more Federal Premium 95gr Btips are the V good.

Loads of choice out there, buy a few and have play.

Trucraft.
Good point about the btips, the Federal ones are called "vital shok" and carry a deer motif on them which indicates that they are suitable for medium game. The varmint ones are usually in a much lighter bullet weight and have a rodent motif. These would kill your Muntjac but badly mess up your carcase and aren't suitable. atb Tim
 
My T3 loves 80 grn Federal Power Shock, with clover leaf groups at 100 yds achieved, however I wanted to go for a 100 grn for the larger deer and it took some time and not a few rounds to find one that suited. I have now found that Remington Core Lokt soft points in 100 grn are spot on with sub 1"groups achievable no problem. It took a while to find the right round but it`s worth it now. Strange how with the lighter rounds they can be spot on, but with the heavier rounds ( even from the same manufacturer) they can be as fussy as hell.
 
ive been using hornady 100 grain btsp, they group excellent at under an inch, federal brass, cci 200 primers and 38.1 grains of n140, not crimped on the 243 they easy to load and shoot and my T 3 varmint loves them
 
ive been using hornady 100 grain btsp, they group excellent at under an inch, federal brass, cci 200 primers and 38.1 grains of n140, not crimped on the 243 they easy to load and shoot and my T 3 varmint loves them
Has anyone got or know where I can get loading data for using N140 in .243, particularly with bullet weights of 90,95 & 100grn? atb Tim
 
I use Hornady 95gr SST through my Howa 1500 in .243, very impressed with them and can cloverleaf at 100yds.

 
if possible I would go to a range with some one who has a selection of .243 ammunition, make a deal with them that you will pay by the round. Put up a large target at say 50y and try 3 rounds from each type and see what groups the best, you are not looking so much for point of impact but grouping once you have found what it likes then you can go for point of impact. And again test out to 100y. Then find a supplier as close to you as you can and buy in batches to what ever your limits are.
I would recommend you keep a record of what shoots well or not as you never know what you might be able to get. My savage .243 shoots ok with most but is at its best with RWS 96grain factory load set at 1” high at 100y, I am lucky that it will also shoot hornady 55grain v-max with a 2” high at 100y with out adjusting point of impact so it does well as a fox rifle to.

charlie
 
With my T3 varmint 243 I use 100 grain soft point Sako Gameheads. Maybe over the top for the Roe but prefered to use one round on both them and the Sika. Good results on both species.
 
With my T3 varmint 243 I use 100 grain soft point Sako Gameheads. Maybe over the top for the Roe but prefered to use one round on both them and the Sika. Good results on both species.
For whatever reason this particular round shoots very badly through my Blaser .243, typically giving groups of around 2 1/2" at 100 yards compared to 3/4" for Federal & reloads. Probably just shows how important it is to find a brand that suits your particular gun barrel.atb Tim
 
home loading i use a 95 SST in my 243 rounds, but before i started to home load for my TIKKA T3 .243 i found i had the most success with Norma 105gr SP for deer
 
My tikka t3 varmint grouped very well with Norma sp 100g,bit overkill but I like to use one bullet for foxes and deer.
 
You rifle has a barrel that is optimised for 100 grain bullets. Provided you use an expanding bullet, at the distances you're going to shoot and given the size of muntjac, it really doesn't matter a jot which brand of bullet you use - if you hit the deer in the right place it's gong to drop dead on the spot. You don't need the world's latest development in bullet technology. You don't need Hornady's SST nor Nosler Ballistic Tips or Partitions or Boat Tails or any of that stuff (though I have tinkered with most of them). A standard flat based soft ponted bullet punt in the right palce is all you need. So to that end, I suggest you try two or three different brands of ammuniton (each with 100gr bullets) on the target and see how they perform. Rest the fore end on a sandbag or locked bipod and have another bag supporting the butt to eliminate human error. Pick whichever brand of ammuntion shoots to your liking and suit your wallet. If that's an expensive brand like Norma or Sako, fine, if it's a cheaper brand like Prvi, equally fine. Zero you rifle to strike 1.5" above the point of aim at 100 yards, and it should be zeroed for 180 yards. That should be ideal for woodland stalking.

Good luck.

-JMS
 
Thanks lads, got plenty to go at looking at that. Now just got to wait for the officer to ring regarding my application.
Atb ben
 
sako 90gsoft point out of my tikka t3 super varmint the dogs but they do a lot of damage to fox and deer but they dont get back up longest shot on a fox just over 480yards downed on the spot so very good in the tikka t3
 
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