243 for woodchucks

[petev]

I have a .243 that I use for deer with 100 gr. Winchester bullets. I am planning to do some woodchuck hunting with it, and if someone could recommend a bullet for that I would appreciate it. Thanks. Pete

[wilmsmeyer]

55 gr Nosler Ballistic tip at 4,000 fps. If you handload, I can give you recipes that work very well in my Rem 700. If not, there are several factory loads that will be great to if you want to pay a bunch of $$. Like up to $30+ for 20 rounds.

If you reload, you can keep costs to about $6.00 a box...if you already have brass and equipment

[deadon]

I use the 95 gr nos BT for large and small game and varmints. Of course I do not care if I end up with a yote in two pieces, ground hogs all over place or when I hit a crow,it looks like I shot a small black pillow ;D JM2, Rusty

[mdgroundhogger]

Feb 22, 2011 5:50:44 GMT -5 wilmsmeyer said:

55 gr Nosler Ballistic tip at 4,000 fps. If you handload, I can give you recipes that work very well in my Rem 700. If not, there are several factory loads that will be great to if you want to pay a bunch of $$. Like up to $30+ for 20 rounds.

If you reload, you can keep costs to about $6.00 a box...if you already have brass and equipment

Second that! I use 55grainers with Winchester 760 in my Remington 700 (6mm Rem.) and they are really accurate.

[petev]

Would 55 gr. Noslers be adequate for coyotes as well, or is that stretching it? Thanks for the replies, by the way.

[slugger]

I use a 34 gr in my 22 250 and they drop in there tracks

[wilmsmeyer]

Petev,

55 gr would be a wonderful way to say "I love you" to a coyote.

[petev]

Feb 22, 2011 19:15:27 GMT -5 wilmsmeyer said:

Petev,

55 gr would be a wonderful way to say "I love you" to a coyote.

You have a way with words, Wilms! ;D Thurs, I think I'll pick up some 55 gr. Noslers, or if unavailable at Gander, then the second choice will probably be 70 gr. Noslers or Sierras. I sure am looking forward to sighting in the flat shooter that it should be!

[deadon]

Petev, I will be happy to send you 5 or 10 of the 95gr Nos BT to try,it would save you from having to buy a hold box to learn that they suck outta your rifle. Maybe a few members could send you some the lighter bullets to try. Let my know if you want them, Rusty

[dans]

I like the heavier 70 grain BT over IMR-4350 in my weather warrior. Reaches out and touches varmits. Shoots 1 inch at 200 yards.

[petev]

When I was in Binghamton at Gander yesterday, the one brand of 55 gr. Nosler silver ballistic bullets were something like $44/box, so I opted for Remingtons 80 gr., and plan to at least try them. I will not change the sights, which are sighted in with 100 gr. Wincheste Power Points, so maybe the 80 gr. might be fine. Time will tell. I suppose the chances of a 243 being IN-accurate, with almost any available bullet isn't high. Pete

[slugger]

They will shoot 1 1/2" high at 100 yards

[petev]

Feb 25, 2011 13:49:18 GMT -5 slugger said:

They will shoot 1 1/2" high at 100 yards

Ahh, you're committed now, slugger!

[wilmsmeyer]

Any bullet you shoot will hit 1 1/2" high.....if you sight it in for that ;D

[Deleted]

The .243 is good all around fun shooting cartridge...From Prarie Dogs to 250# mule deer, it fits the bill. I shoot 87gn Sierra boatails for the lighter stuff and the 100 gn Hornadys for deer. When I run out of these I'm going to try some of the 65gn VMax for the smaller stuff and go to the 100gn Nosler Partitions for deer...Just to change things up a little.
Zen

[tcmech]

I have hit coyotes with a 100gr sierra bullet at 2920fps and the results were a dead coyote, but it was definitely a big game bullet.

I have loaded the 60gr sierra bullets for my gun but have not had the chance to try them out yet. I will let you know as soon as I get the chance.

I have used a 42gr frangible bullet on coyotes out to about 250 yards with my 223 (heavy barreled AR) and the results have been impressive.

[wilmsmeyer]

tcmech,

I have shot about 100 of those Sierra HP's. They were very accurate on paper at 100 yds. Never grouped them way out there and killed a handful of woodchucks with them with obvious results. ;D

[tcmech]

I use the flat based soft point pro hunter bullets. Never have shot a woodchuck with them though, just deer and coyotes.

[twoodard]

87 gr vmax does very well and is crazy accurate in my howa supreme varminter.

[ozark]

It is easy to find a load for the .243 that will take groundhogs and all the other animals mentioned. It would be much harder to find a over the counter load that would not work well. Note that all responses points to the effeciency of the .243 with all the bullets. I had to giggle a little at Wilmsmeyer's post pointing out that all would be 3.5 inches high if sighted in to hit there.

[mountainam]

I used to shoot the 60gr Sierra's years ago when I was going for speed. It wasn't difficult to get 3800fps. It sure blows the theory out there that you can overstabilize a bullet. Logic says that a 1/9" twist is too too much for a 55grn 6mm bullet,but as you see it doesn't bear that out under field conditions. Most MFG'R use a 1/10" twist which makes it more difficult to shoot the 100's and 105's accurately. The .243 and 6mm were designed to shoot an 80gr bullet. You'll find the Rem bulk 80gr Powr-Lokt HP's tough to beat. You'll have to spend a lot more $$ to see a noticeable accuracy difference. You'll have the best luck with bullets in the 80 to 90gr weight range and will handle the chucks with ease out to 500-600yds if you can put one on them. In my experience, the lighter bullets run out of snot too soon and are a lot more wind sensitive under field conditions that I encounter. This of course depends on YOUR hunting parameters. The lighter weight bullets shoot smoother, but if you wanted that you could use a .223 rifle. You own one of the most versatile rifles ever designed.

[jims]

Didn't the "similar" .244 Remington come out originally with a twist of 1 in 12. Before they "realized" their mistake and what it would be also used for the faster twist .243 had pretty much cornered the market and the 6mm never really recovered?
Twists can be important.

[deadon]

Mar 4, 2011 18:30:12 GMT -5 mountainam said:

I used to shoot the 60gr Sierra's years ago when I was going for speed. It wasn't difficult to get 3800fps. It sure blows the theory out there that you can overstabilize a bullet. Logic says that a 1/9" twist is too too much for a 55grn 6mm bullet,but as you see it doesn't bear that out under field conditions. Most MFG'R use a 1/10" twist which makes it more difficult to shoot the 100's and 105's accurately. The .243 and 6mm were designed to shoot an 80gr bullet. You'll find the Rem bulk 80gr Powr-Lokt HP's tough to beat. You'll have to spend a lot more $$ to see a noticeable accuracy difference. You'll have the best luck with bullets in the 80 to 90gr weight range and will handle the chucks with ease out to 500-600yds if you can put one on them. In my experience, the lighter bullets run out of snot too soon and are a lot more wind sensitive under field conditions that I encounter. This of course depends on YOUR hunting parameters. The lighter weight bullets shoot smoother, but if you wanted that you could use a .223 rifle. You own one of the most versatile rifles ever designed.

What twist barrel was designed to shoot the rem 80 gr bullet? Thanks Rusty

[hornet22savage]

I use the Winchester 55 gr. Ballistic Silvertip out of my 243 for woodchucks and also the Hornady 58 gr. V-Max both are point and shoot accurate to 200 yrd. and beyond. Both are deadly to anything smaller than Deer.