.243 and a light bullet

Lightyear

Well-Known Member
Folks,

I am quite happy with my .243 and the excellent results I get with 100gr Sierra Gameking.

But just out of interest what would be the lightest bullet loadable for a 1 : 10 twist .243 ?

Cheers + ATVB

Philip
 
55gr you need a faster twist for heavier bullets over 100gr I like 85gr in my 1-10
 
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95gn Nosler Ballistic Tip. Excellent bullet & very well suited to a .243 with 1-10 twist. Does it for me with 44.5gn Vit N160.
 
I think I framed my OP poorly !!

What I meant was in the same way that most .243 rifles will struggle to stabilse a 105gr bullet, are there nsimilar issues when going light for the bullet ??

Is that any clearer. Just a thought is all as I have my .222 for 50gr for bunnies, fox and munty anyway.

Cheers + ATVB

Philip
 
the tighter the twist in a rifle barrel the more resistance on a bullet which means less velocity. So if you were going to shoot bullets of around 75gr or less than you could use a 1 in 12 twist but if you were going to use bullets of 100gr or more you would be better with a 1 in 8 twist. Most 243 barrels seem to be 1 in 10 which is a good compromise for the UK as many people tend to shoot heavy for calibre bullets for deer.
 
I have some 75gn Vmax which seem to go well.

have a selection of 60, 65gn hollow point but not had a chance to use them in anger
 
.243 light bullets

If you can get hold of some, try some sierra 60grn hollow points, my reloads acheive clover leaf groups in my weatherby and they are lethal on charlie.
 
If you can get hold of some, try some sierra 60grn hollow points, my reloads acheive clover leaf groups in my weatherby and they are lethal on charlie.

ooo that is what I have.
must pull my finger out and load them!
 
ooo that is what I have.
must pull my finger out and load them!
Oh yes mate you wont be dissapointed, my load is 45.5 gns of h414,bang on col of 2.600" remmy lr primer, superb accuracy,flat to 250+ and seem to handle the wingd better than I thought they might being a reletively light bullet. enjoy:evil:
 
About 15 years ago i bought some 60gn hp federal premium varmint ammo, they were superb and i had my best year killing 70 + foxes with them.
When i went to replenish my ammo federal had changed to a 70 gn head so thats when i started reloading metalics,
I did reccomend them to a guy on here and tried them in his ruger, he said the best groups he could get were around 2" though ! DF
 
I found my sako stabilised 100g well. I've not tried the 50's and 60's, but I do know it eats up the 85 and 87 BTHP's from either scierra or hornady with great enjoyment. both are also great vermin/fox and roe bullets too, so a bit of a 'do it all' really.
 
I can recommend Hornady 87gn Hpt Bt. I have been using them for nearly thirty years and found them ideal for fox and Roe, I do know of others that use them to good effect on some of the larger species too.
I push them out of my .243 and have had many different makes of rifles so no specific make is any better than any others, using 40gns of H380 with a Federal Mag primer.
 
Folks,

I am quite happy with my .243 and the excellent results I get with 100gr Sierra Gameking.

But just out of interest what would be the lightest bullet loadable for a 1 : 10 twist .243 ?

Cheers + ATVB

Philip

without a doubt the Hornady 58gr vmax
 
Thanks for all the advice chaps - all good stuff.

I am really quite tempted to try something light now.

Many thanks and best regards.

Phillip
 
+1 Hornady 87g HPBT.
Accurate, hits very hard and in my opinion suitable for Charlie, Muntie and Roe and devastating on smaller vermin.
I use N 160 x 44g for 3200 ft/sec out of my Tikka M55 with no signs of pressure.

Andy.
 
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