Factory .243 that WON'T stabilise 100gr !!

bewsher500

Well-Known Member
So now I am intrigued

Seems the other thread has successful stabilisation of 100gr rounds from the following manufacturers:
Sako 75/85, Tikka, Ruger, Savage, CZ, Howa
in a range of bullet makes

So what DOESN'T work with 100's?

cue tumbleweeds......
 
Haven't read the other thread but I still have a Dumoulin 243 that will shoot 85g Federal Premium Grade HP BT's into 3-shot half inch groups all day but if moving to 100g of same manufacture they are (or perhaps I should say were as this is 20+ years ago!) all over the target with clear signs of tumbling. However, if I use 100g RWS they too shoot keyhole groups.

Oh, and Richard W, formerly of Chris Potter Guns, is my witness!

K
 
I've owned quite a few 243's over the years made by Sako , Mannlicher Schoenauer , Remington , Winchester and Ruger . I gotta say they ALL handled 95-100 grainers no problem ! I've owned several rifles from Remington chambered for the 6 mm REM that handled the heavier 6mm billets as well . The only one I ever had that wouldn't was a circa 1958 Remington 722 in 244 REM with the 1-14 twist , but then I was well aware that the slower twist wasn't supposed to handle anything over 85-90 grains anyway .
 
Whilst my Tikka T3 will shoot sub inch groups with Sako 100gr, the 1st 100gr I tried was Hornady Interlocks and the target looked like I'd used a 20b with BBs through an open choke.
 
Whilst my Tikka T3 will shoot sub inch groups with Sako 100gr, the 1st 100gr I tried was Hornady Interlocks and the target looked like I'd used a 20b with BBs through an open choke.

I must have had the ONLY Sako lemon .243 in the Northern Hemispere,It refused point blank to digest anything over 85 grains........... barn doors were very safe after this weight. anything 85 & under was a bughole job!
 
My tikka 595 will shoot hornady 100grn reasonably well. Then i tryed sako 100grn and they were top notch. I tryed 95grn and they were one hole groups. So found when i back off the 5 grns it made my groups alot better. So my gun can do it just not as it can other weights.
 
I had a very early Tikka T3 Hunter .243 that wouldn't stabilise anything over 90g, it really was a scatter gun with 100gn bullets. My shooting pal had one 5 years later that was fine.
 
I nearly posted a thread along these lines the other day.
Not only have I discovered that my 1-10 Steyr Scout will group 100g ppu, 70g Nosler federals and 58g Norma vmaxs but it also does so within 1moa of each other.
Tie this in with a ballistic app and you've suddenly got an incredibly versatile rifle for pretty much anything.
Almost feel bad that I've tied it up with NV now ;)

 
My Heym sr20 groups RWS 100gn, Geco 105gn all day long into 3 touching holes type groups. Federal 100gn opens up to 3".

Because the 243 is quite a small calibre, operating at high pressures and high velocities I would suggest it is quite picky in terms of choice of ammo, and hence the growth of the myth that it doesn't like 100 gn bullets. I would ask those whose 243s don't group 100gn bullets, how many have they actually tried?
 
this is quite interesting as my experience with 100gr in a few 243s was very poor,last one I tried was a month ago.
I see people with there 100 yard groups but has anyone tried it at 200 yards ?? I think you may find a different result,deer don't stand at 100 yards so best to test to the furthest your happy to take a beast at.
 
This is one of the reasons I steered clear of the .243 for many years. Some will shoot 100 grain bullets but a lot will not, not with any precision anyway, manufacturer makes no difference it seems as one may shoot the 100 grainers well and the same model may not.
As I bought a 6.5x55 Sporterised Swedish Mauser it became a moot point to me. It was not until I stumbled over the BSA majestic in .243 with the BESA and Range adaptor fitted that I actually acquired a .243 chambered rifle. it was about filling hoes in the collection and chambering and calibre were not important.
 
Well, my Blaser in .243 happily spits out Norma 100gr all day long, from 30 yards out to 150 yards plus. Only bullets I have ever used in it and I see no reason whatsoever to change.

As for deer not standing at 100 yards, sometimes they stand a lot closer!

willie_gunn
 
This is one of the reasons I steered clear of the .243 for many years. Some will shoot 100 grain bullets but a lot will not, not with any precision anyway, manufacturer makes no difference it seems as one may shoot the 100 grainers well and the same model may not.

This thread seems to suggest otherwise though ???
 
My Heym sr20 groups RWS 100gn, Geco 105gn all day long into 3 touching holes type groups. Federal 100gn opens up to 3".

Because the 243 is quite a small calibre, operating at high pressures and high velocities I would suggest it is quite picky in terms of choice of ammo, and hence the growth of the myth that it doesn't like 100 gn bullets. I would ask those whose 243s don't group 100gn bullets, how many have they actually tried?

I tried everything I could find & that was quite an amount, this was what set me into homeloading.
 
My T3 is variable at 100gr, depending on brand:

Federal and Sako are good (inside an inch at 100m).

Privi is ok (1.5 inch)

Norma, despite the premium price, is not so good (2 inches).

But all are good enough for stalking, and account for negligble variation given the variation introduced by my shooting.
 
My remmy 700 wouldn't do any factory round over 58g. This was due to the distance to the lands.... All rounds were over 2" and 105g's were a disaster. Tried various recipes on the home loads with similar results.

Played with home loads and the seating depth... By matching the oal to the 58g (using a Comparator £7) I now hav 100g spitzers doing 2775 (38g H380) which shoot sub half inch (and I'm nothing special in the shooting stakes).
 
My remmy 700 wouldn't do any factory round over 58g. This was due to the distance to the lands....

eh!?
do you mean 85gr? I hope so, I would be most upset if my .243 was reduced to shooting significantly light for calibre bullets ONLY

not sure distance to the lands has any relevance in a factory barrel chambered to SAMMI spec and shooting a factory load with Min OAL
​Was this a custom chamber/barrel?
 
So now I am intrigued

Seems the other thread has successful stabilisation of 100gr rounds from the following manufacturers:
Sako 75/85, Tikka, Ruger, Savage, CZ, Howa
in a range of bullet makes

So what DOESN'T work with 100's?

cue tumbleweeds......

Hi bewsher500

I posted Factory rifles .243 that will stabilize 100gr plus, chronograph over 2450

I was interested in other people rifles and what the will do, as I have two friends that both own top of the range rifles less than 2 years old. One will shoot 85gr and the other 95gr. They have tried all the factory stuff with no luck. ones going for different cal and the other a new barrel.

Secondly there has been suggestion some rifles that will shoot 100gr would not be fast enough for Scottish law.

When you here thing like this It is good to get some clarification that does not come from a RFD
 
Hi bewsher500
I have two friends that both own top of the range rifles less than 2 years old. They have tried all the factory stuff with no luck.

Secondly there has been suggestion some rifles that will shoot 100gr would not be fast enough for Scottish law.


what rifles do they have?

No factory 100gr .243 ammo will ever be doing anything like as low as 2450fps

Norma Oryx -
2887 (f/s)
Norma SP - 2986 (f/s)
Sako Gamehead 2967fps
Sako Deerhead 2955fps
Remington Corelokt 2960fps
Winchester Powerpoint 2960fps

interesting how we are all warned about breaching the deer act and .243's not grouping 100gr
seems to be ammo specific to me not rifle specific in most cases
 
Back
Top