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

[see it shoot it]

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​

just out of interest have you ever tested factory ammo through a chrono ???

 

[Druid]

I have a win coyote light with a 1-10 twist which doesnt like the heavier bullets too much, 85 and under great but gradually opens up as you increase the weight. REALLY didn't like some Geco 105s that I tried.

 

[Brithunter]

This thread seems to suggest otherwise though ???

​Does it really?

 

[bewsher500]

just out of interest have you ever tested factory ammo through a chrono ???

yes, Norma .270 130gr SP some of them clocked as much as 75fps FASTER than the manufacturer's claim

but not these

but if you are suggesting that factory figures can be a close to 30% inflated then I suspect there would be significant implication of not only safety but trading standards
even if the figures are ambitious, they would have to be 500fps off the mark to be under legal ME

 

[Crosshair243]

​Does it really?

​Well it did until I posted that

 

[Rutland lad]

Strange - my Remmy 700 loved Geco 105 grain rounds and shot them very nicely. Barrel length was 22" and had JetZ suppressor fitted. Didn't like Winchester XXX 100 grain.

 

[Brithunter]

​Well it did until I posted that

Tis always the way.

Historically the .243 and 6mm has always had this "problem" with 100 grain bullets.

 

[Hornet]

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 agree it is no good just buying say 20 wnchesters finding they don't group and then proclaiming that my .243 hates hundred grain, experimentation is called for, my Weatherby is not very ammo fussy and returns a decent group with all 100 grain bullets I have tried, however Winchester and norma seem to be the best factory fodder, homeloading it is super accurate with 80 grain Sierra blitz, but does not really like Winchester 80 grain.

 

[6pt-sika]

Tis always the way.

Historically the .243 and 6mm has always had this "problem" with 100 grain bullets.

Mighty strange I've had a good number of 243's and 6mm REM's in my hands that did okay with 100 grainers ! You would think outta 12 or 14 rifles I would have run across one that didn't !

Now as I said earlier I can attest to the 722 I had in 244 REM with the slow twist , that one was a 85 grains or less .

Heck that little Mannlicher Schoenauer 243 carbine I got in the last couple months does very nicely with 100 grainers as well as the old Speer 105 grain Spitzers .

 

[stag1933]

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.

Privi half-incher. [ I was 75 and partially sighted when I shot that one.]
HWH.

 

[MountainStalker2]

Historically the .243 has been good with 100s hence it popularity in a dual varmit and deer role. This is due to the early standardisation of the 1:10 twist I believe. The 6 mm / .244 rem on the other hand had a slower twists early on that did not stabilise 100s well and hence it did not do as well in a dual purpose varmit / deer role. There have been a few 100+ gn pills that have troubled some .243. The speer 105s SP BTs would not shoot that well in my early winchester .243. This long Speer projectile was dropped from the line up some years back so it may have been a problem for others. with the .243 i do no think you can generalise in this area, but need to look at individual projectiles. Shorter ogive shapes with flat bases are often more stable than long ogive boattails.

 

[Effnjeff]

A buddy's T3 Varmint shoots just around 1MOA at 100 yards with Remington 100gn softpoints, but at 200 yards the groups open up to over 3MOA, i.e. over 6". As it shoots 1MOA with lighter rounds I assume that the 100gn bullets are not fully stabilised.

 

[ndt man]

some have been very lucky and have a rifle that will shoot 100gr bullets I have a rem 700 that would not shoot 100gr bullets factory or home loads. if the twist is wrong for the bullet weight your wasting your time. the only way I had to get mine to shoot 100 or 105 gr bullets was to change the barrel to 1-8 now I can shoot 100gr to .5 if I do my bit .

 

[bewsher500]

some have been very lucky and have a rifle that will shoot 100gr bullets I have a rem 700 that would not shoot 100gr bullets factory or home loads. if the twist is wrong for the bullet weight your wasting your time. the only way I had to get mine to shoot 100 or 105 gr bullets was to change the barrel to 1-8 now I can shoot 100gr to .5 if I do my bit .

but that is the point
they all have the same 1:10 twist yet some will shoot all 100gr some will shoot some 100's and not others
There are other Rem 700's that will shoot 100gr bullets.
which ones did you try out of interest?

I found when pushing "much heavier than designed for" bullets down a 1:14 .224 barrel there was an obvious sweet spot.
any faster and the groups opened up 1" per 0.2gr!!
Suspect that may be the case with factory 100gr loads being pushed at 28-2900fps

wonder what they would do at 2700fps

have to find a .243 that won't shoot them first!

 

[ndt man]

it true what your saying the only time I came close to cracking it was with 100gr speers and imr 4350 powder the group was well under the inch I was impressed with the group size but when the load was put over a chronograph it was( running at 2140 far to slow) when the powder was increased the group size also increased to the point of about a 4" group . a 1-10 is to fast for 100 gr bullets normal for this twist should be around the 80-87 grain mark .( and my barrel was a 1-9 1/4 so it was slower than a 1-10)

 

[lister]

rem 700 with 1-9 1/8 likes 105 amax +retumbo
​cheers lister

 

[howy308]

Down at paul lane shooting range two fridays ago after trying reloads I was not happy with put 5 100grn PPU within 10mm of each other with 3 going through the same hole!

 

[2434u&me]

What powder were you using and how much?