243 WIN for 1000 Yards

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j.chappell

New member
I have another question for all of you long range shooters.

Why not use the 243 Win for long range? A 100gr Sierra from a 243 Win has 60" less drop at 1000 yards than a 308 175gr Sierra. The 243 Win also has only 4 more inches of wind drift at 1000 yards with a 10mph crosswind. Both bullets are still supersonic at that range.

I am just wondering as I have both 243's and my 308 that shoot very well and I want to set one rifle up for extreme long range.

J.
 
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K

kraigwy

New member
I've seen several 243s at 1000 yard matches. They always held their own. Now they make heavier match grade bullets if your twist will take them.

Use to be the 300s mags were the go to rifle at 1000 yard matches, but you see more and more 6mms. I wouldnt hesitate to use a 243 at 1000 yards.

Heck I shoot my White Oak Service rifle at 1000 yards and its 223.

If the proper rifle you wont be handy capped with a 243 except in the most servere wind, then the 308 wont cut it either.
 
T

Tikirocker

New member
J,

Have a look at what 1000 yard competition shooters are using; in my case Fullbore TR we are restricted to only using Military cals so .303, 223/5.56 and 7.62/308 but these cals do very well and are well tested by us that shoot it. I believe the Palma match boys shoot the 155gr Win like we do and pretty sure the Hi-Power boys stick pretty close to Military cals also ...

You may be far more free to play with various cals, projectiles and loads than we are but I would argue that comp shooters have plenty more experience and data using those cals than anybody does with most others ... try 100 years in the case of Fullbore with .303 ... as an aside the .303 round gets BETTER the longer it runs ... so 1200 yards etc ... not kidding.

Quite a few guys are moving to the lighter cals and doing well but we have just had a new projectile introduced into Fullbore that will leave the 5.56mm boys behind. :cool:

There's plenty to it but I personally like .303 and .308 for 1000 yard stuff.

Best, TR,
 
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J

j.chappell

New member
Thanks fellas, I am getting more and more interested in this style of shooting and just want to start out right so I am not frustrated.

J.
 
M

mkg

New member
J.

It's a lot of fun , and you will certainly face an issue or two at some point in the process . That's what makes it so much fun wringing everybit out of your rifle , yourself and your loads.
It still amazes me at times that you can fire a projectile at that range and be very confident of your POI.

Mike
 
J

Jimro

New member
Nothing wrong with the 243 win for long range shooting. Check the BC on the 115 gr DTAC bullet.

Jimro
 
S

skinewmexico

New member
I think it would work great, with the heavier bullets. Just need the right twist. I have been tempted to pop a 6-6.5X47 Lapua on one of my Savages, since I'm already loading for the 6.5. If you start looking at trajectories, the 308 looks more and more like a rainbow. Lots of good info here - http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html.
 
J

j.chappell

New member
Thanks, I have 2 243's that may work but I have not tried the heavier bullets to date. The heaviest I have shot in the 2 in question is 88gr Bergers and while accurate they are a flatbase bullet that is not designed for extreme range. They work great for what I do with them which is varmints of any size out to 400+ yards but for 1000 I am going to load the heaviest my rifle will shoot. I have some work to do at 200 and 300 before I make any decisions.

J.
 
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skinewmexico

New member
I think Tubb and Berger are both making a bullet slightly lighter than the 115g now, for rifles with a shorter (more normal) throat. Might be worth checking out.
 
J

j.chappell

New member
Still moving at over the speed of sound and retaining around 350fpe I wouldnt want to just stand there. To give you a comparison that is more velocity and energy than a 38 or a 9mm at the muzzle.

J.
 
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Michael

Moderator
The 6mm bullets are fantastic at distance but you need to think barrel life.

243 and 107's at 2850 are about equal to 1200 rounds of accurate service.
Then it 's a months long wait for a new barrel and chamber job and about $650.00 when you get it.
Drop that down to the Tubb 6mmXC and you double the life of the barrel with no decrease in long accuracy.
 
J

j.chappell

New member
243 and 107's at 2850 are about equal to 1200 rounds of accurate service.
Click to expand...

Why?

I have shot a couple thousand rounds from one of my 22-250's most of which were 3800+fps and I'd say a third of them were 4000+fps. I have seen no drop off in accuracy to date. So why would a 243 be limited to 1200 rounds of accurate service holding a 107 at 2800+? You are going to be burning less powder than if you were loading the lighter 6mm bullets let alone the 22-250.

Lets take for instance one of my really hot 22-250 loads (do not try this at home).

40gr Nosler ballistic tip
42.5gr WIN 760
4138fps

Now lets take for instance a max load of the same powder for the 107gr 243 WIN.

107gr Sierra BTHP
38gr WIN 760
2818fps

Now you are burning less powder in the 243 at a far lower fps in a larger bore, wouldnt it stand to reason then that the 22-250 should start to loose its accuracy potential long before the 243?

J.

*THESE LOADS ARE SAFE IN MY RIFLES AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED AS RECOMENDED LOADS FOR YOUR RIFLES*
 
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Horseman

New member
j.chappell

Your logic is sound. There may be a discrepancy in what Michael considers "accurate service life" and what you consider "no drop off in accuracy to date". That's only one possibility. Another possibility could be he's referring to a competition gun that is used timed event matches. In a warm climate it is possible to increase throat wear by shooting the barrel HOT. Some benchresters consider the "accurate service life" to end when groups open up from .2's to .4's. There are also different types of rifling thought to affect barrel life. There are too many variables here to be sure, but I do think you have a legitimate point here.
 
J

j.chappell

New member
Thats kind of how I was thinking. A bench gun that cant hold 2's and 3's anymore is no longer competitive. Compared to my varmint rifle, where my groups may range from .4"-.7", would have to open to say .7"-1" before I would be able to see the change and believe that it is a fall off in accuracy and not just my ability on that day.

J.
 
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Swampy1

New member
jchappel,

As already stated.... if your .243 has a twist that will handle the longer bullets then there is no reason it can't cut the mustard at 1k yards. The DTAC 115 is a good bullet, as are the Berger 115 and the new JLK 115.

On the other hand........

The one reason that a lot of shooters stay away from the smaller bullets for long range is barrel life. For competitive 1k shooting you have to pretty much run velocity to the top end to take advantage of the smaller bullets best characteristics. This has a tendency in the smaller calibers to burn out the throat PDQ. Once that happens, accuracy suffers.... then, if you plan to stay competitive.... it's time to re-barrel.

The larger calibers have a ballistic advantage at the longer ranges at relatively lower, less throat burning velocities, with lots longer competitive barrel life as a bonus.

If you are not recoil sensitive and don't want to be paying for a new barrel every 1000 to 1200 rounds, then you may want to stick with the bigger bores. If recoil is a problem for you, and-or you have the pocketbook to afford the frequent barrel switches.... then by all means take advantage of the smaller bores.....

Just my two bits....

Best regards,
Swampy

Garands forever
 
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J

j.chappell

New member
The larger calibers have a ballistic advantage at the longer ranges at relatively lower, less throat burning velocities, with lots longer barrel life as a bonus.

If you are not recoil sensitive and don't want to be paying for a new barrel every 1000 to 1200 rounds, then you may want to stick with the bigger bores. If recoil is a problem for you, and-or you have the pocketbook to afford the frequent barrel switches.... then by all means take advantage of the smaller bores.....
Click to expand...

Only here have I ever heard of the 243 being a barrel burner. I dont get it. I will refer you to post number 13 of this thread.

Please explain to me the reasoning behind this whole throat burning in a medium caliber burning a relatively small volume of powder compared to bore size.

So does a 308 WIN or 30-06 SPR burn out quicker than a 338 WIN or Lapua?

I would love for someone to explain to me why a 243 is so much of a barrel burner.

J.
 
J

j.chappell

New member
Swampy1,

I read your post again and saw that you stated smaller bullet weights, as far as the 243 what would you consider smaller bullet weights?

See I think it would stand to reason that a 155 or 168 would be a smaller weight in a 308 since it is capable of up to 180+ bullets in a standard twist rifle.

The 243 is only capable of bullets of up to 100-105 in a standard twist rifle so wouldnt the 90-105's be heavy for caliber?

J.
 
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