243w in copper
- Thread starter outdoor585
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Darkwoodecho
Well-Known Member
No, but that's interesting, I'll be moving my 243 onto copper soon. What rifle do you have? What's your shot placement?
Roedeer 1962
Well-Known Member
This is looking interesting , do you know your twist rate in your barrel and does it stabilise ok ?
outdoor585
Active Member
outdoor585
Active Member
I am not 100% but I think it's 1 in 10
I've been worried about the move to copper in .243. Anyone on here running a Sako 75 and found any good rounds?
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
The majority of 243’s run a 1 in 10” twist. This twist rate will stabilise a traditional 100gn flat based lead cored bullet.
Copper is less dense so you need to use an 80 or 85grain bullet copper bullet that is the same sort of length as the 100gn lead bullet for them to give you good reliable accuracy.
There is a whine about lack of energy with 80 gr bullets out of the 243. If you have a 20 to 24” barrel you will be getting c 3150 fps and this plenty of energy. If you have chosen a 16” barrel, your velocities may be much lower and thus energy levels will be below legal limits.
And it matters not whether you are shooting copper or lead, a short barreled rifle probably won’t get the velocities with either lead or copper to hit deer legal energies. With a 100grain bullet you need about 2750 fps to reach legal limits.
There is one 6mm copper bullet of 100grains that works well in the traditional 1 in 10” twist - the Peregrine Bushmaster. This is flat based and flat nosed bullet. BCs are not high, but drive it at 2800 to 3000 it will be good enough for 200m on any UK deer.
Copper is less dense so you need to use an 80 or 85grain bullet copper bullet that is the same sort of length as the 100gn lead bullet for them to give you good reliable accuracy.
There is a whine about lack of energy with 80 gr bullets out of the 243. If you have a 20 to 24” barrel you will be getting c 3150 fps and this plenty of energy. If you have chosen a 16” barrel, your velocities may be much lower and thus energy levels will be below legal limits.
And it matters not whether you are shooting copper or lead, a short barreled rifle probably won’t get the velocities with either lead or copper to hit deer legal energies. With a 100grain bullet you need about 2750 fps to reach legal limits.
There is one 6mm copper bullet of 100grains that works well in the traditional 1 in 10” twist - the Peregrine Bushmaster. This is flat based and flat nosed bullet. BCs are not high, but drive it at 2800 to 3000 it will be good enough for 200m on any UK deer.
I use Barnes copper tTSX 80 grain copper and also 95 grain in the LRX bullet . 1-8 twist barrel . The 80 and the 95 have proved very capable indeed . I am using a Tikka and i am pretty sure its got a long throught . Very pleased so far ! Ideal for copper
I used the same federal premium that you are asking about this winter, in my RPA, which has a 1in 10 twist.
It produces good tight, consistent groups on paper. I shot a couple under 200 fallow this winter in the park with that exact round, all headshot at all ranges, the furthest out to 295m.
It does the job however i have noticed that it certainly does not expand in the way that the hornady CX, sako blades or sako hammerhead II does. You do not get the same explosive force that the CX/Blades produces on a deer head and consequently accuracy and precision becomes more important as there is less margin for error with a bullet that pencils through if you arent absolutely bang on......
It produces good tight, consistent groups on paper. I shot a couple under 200 fallow this winter in the park with that exact round, all headshot at all ranges, the furthest out to 295m.
It does the job however i have noticed that it certainly does not expand in the way that the hornady CX, sako blades or sako hammerhead II does. You do not get the same explosive force that the CX/Blades produces on a deer head and consequently accuracy and precision becomes more important as there is less margin for error with a bullet that pencils through if you arent absolutely bang on......
outdoor585
Active Member
That's some very good information. I have not tried it on the larger deer yet I tend to go back to my 308 for fallow using RWS Evo green 136g .
Is there any chance you can post photos of those deer after skinning? I would be interested to see what the carcass damage is like.
Hales Smut
Well-Known Member
I have good results with Fox factory ammo 80 gr. Excellent accuracy and the limited experience on roe was very good. Rem 700 , older rifle.
Remember that with traditional cup and core you start with 100 gr and you end up with 60-65 gr.
With copper you start with 80 gr and probably end up with 79-80gr
Remember that with traditional cup and core you start with 100 gr and you end up with 60-65 gr.
With copper you start with 80 gr and probably end up with 79-80gr
outdoor585
Active Member
Sorry no photos but it was 1 1/2 moa
outdoor585
Active Member
devon deer stalker
Well-Known Member
I am, I reload Barnes TTSX 80G, if its factory you're after I had great results with the Sako Blade 80g
Im also using the Sako Powerhead Blade 80gr with good results in my Tikka t3x .243 1:10 twist rate. I have also tried/tested the lead free version of Hornady Outfitter 80gr and Federal Trophy Copper 85gr @ 100m but couldn’t get a decent group size so Im sticking with the Powerhead Blade
Shoot me down in a cloud of copper if you must but the irony of moving away from a type of projectile that's been in constant development to deliver improved accuracy (group size) for over 100-years, at a time of increasing demand for head-shot beasts, strikes me as a tad unhelpful!
Point being there is no way I'd entertain head/neck shooting a beast under feild conditions in the knowledge that the best I can hope for on paper is 1.5 MOA.
K
Point being there is no way I'd entertain head/neck shooting a beast under feild conditions in the knowledge that the best I can hope for on paper is 1.5 MOA.
K
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