# New member to the family



## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

Browsing the local gun show this morning I came accross a tabble with some rechambered custom military actioned rifles that caught my eye. One a mauser in 270 for $350 and the other a mauser in 30-06 for the same. intrigued i started browsing the rest of the table and came across a little Remington 700 in .243 win. with a simons 3-10x44 44 Magnum scope could it be fait? the very caliber I had my eye out for in a great bolt platform at a steal of a deal? after a little coniving I got my old man to give in to the $350 price tag and home with the beauty I went.

Now Im looking for some food for this young one. Any particular loads y'all prefer? factory and handloads included.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Congratulations first on the new toy. Second for the schmoozing of your old man. My first thought is, do you save pelts? I love to shoot the Nosler 55gr BT out of mine they are flat shooting and absolutely devastating. If it's windy I shoot 70gr BT's they buck the wind a bit better and also perform well. I prefer ww748 or BLC-2or IMR4895 , they all shoot about 1/2"to 3/4" if you want specific load data I will PM you.


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

I'm planning on saving pelts this winter and tanning them to make a little doe. The beter ones at the gun show today were going for $50 bucks a pop. Maybe recover some cost of the gun. i like the speeds i see of 55 grain loads. i like the dual load idea for different conditions.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

I decided to go that route after going several hundred miles to a very target rich environment and having the wind get nasty all weekend. I honestly don't find the 55's to be all that fur friendly at close ranges at high speeds. If your normal ranges are within 100 yds I would start at the slow side. I push 1gr.to 1/2 gr. under MAX load onthe .243 it just worked out that way.


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

I need to stop by cabelas here soon and pick up some rifle powder and dies. With conditions down here in Texas usualy involving the wind i may just go for the 70 grainers and keep it simple. That way ill still have just enugh for the ocasional deer or the more than usual hog. .243's use small rifle primers correct?


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

If you are buying the 70gr nosler BT's (purple tips) do not use them on deer they are meant for varmints and therefore litterally explode on contact. Small entrance on coyote, but on a deer they may not penetrate especially if you hit the shoulder bone.

No the .243 uses Large rifle primers


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## TexAgBQ81 (Mar 4, 2010)

Was at the FT Worth show myself. My Interarms Mark X likes 87grain Hornady v-max in front of 38grains of Hodgdon Varget with CCI 200(large Rifle) primers-----------I'm not keeping fur. I do know the 87gr v-max will do a number on deer and javalina. {At 210 yards it will go thru a broken plow disc out of a 6mmBR.}


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

Thanks for the bullet tip youngdon. good news on the coyotes but looks like im gonna have to build another load for deer and such. I guess that means i need to pick up some large rifle primers while im at it to. lol







TexAgBQ81 the V-max sound like an alright load. What's your velocity and how bad does it hurt the fur? have you been to the original Ft. Worth Shows? i could spend 4 days in those! to bad they only allow 2.


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## TexAgBQ81 (Mar 4, 2010)

Unfortunately I have not shot it thru a crony and have not hit a coyote with it .. yet. It prints a .481 hole when I do my part (before the eyes started going south). I kind of have a soft spot for my CZ in 223 for a light carry gun when coyote hunting. The 87gr vmax does tear a very large hole in the back of a does neck when you hit the neck bones. Have been gong to the shows in FT Worth for +/- 25 years. Back then the whole main floor and the "Texas" room across the hall would be full of 90% or more guns....very little non gun items and no jewelry etc. When you get your dies, I recomend a 3 die set(full sizer, neck sizer, seater die), then only neck size after firing in your gun. I am partial to the Redding deluxe dies, but I have about the same number of dies in RCBS also. Try midwayusa or midsouth on the i-net to see how the prices compare.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

+1 on the neck sizer die advice.


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## RoughNeck (Mar 16, 2010)

Nice goin on getting the gun, hope you have great luck with it


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

Took it to the range this morning. Just shot some of the cheap federal 80 grainers and a few federal 100 grains. The 80 grainers grouped an inch from edge to edge once i got used to the rifle(a line of 4 touching edge to edge up and down and one off to the left a shade). only shot one 4 shot group with the 100 grainers. I had two touching and the other two were about 2 inches off do to flinching i think. Very happy with the porformance of it for the first time out with it.

The V-max sound good as it seems that the rifle liked the lighter bullet a shade more. Does neck sizing make that much of a diference? My cuzin full length sizes his every time for his 7mm STW and he shoots 1/2'' groups from dawn til dusk. If it makes that big a diference than I'll go for one but if we're talking 1/10'' diference than i find it hard to justify the cost. Has any one out there tried the Barnes Varmint Grenade bullets? on the product video on midways sight it shows a prarie dog disapearing into a fine mist. sounds like a good entry wound only bullet for fur keepers.


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## TexAgBQ81 (Mar 4, 2010)

The biggest differences IMO to using a neck sizer are: 1)less stress on the case ie longer life, 2)the case is form fitted (fire formed) to your chamber and you are neck sizing to get a "grip" on the bullet, 3) I believe you get better accuracy results by having a case ready made for your chamber. If your cuz is getting 1/2" groups all day good for him, but I believe you could get 1/4" ones by neck sizing only. Bear in mind you sometimes do have to full length size a case if they are going to be used in a different weapon and almost always if you are using them in a semi-auto. as for the grenades have not had good results with them out of my gun so far. Hope this helps.


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Neck sizing works best for my loads and it keeps the brass from getting work hardened (brittle) which would then require you to anneal it(easier said than done). If money is tight or you aren't going to shoot it much then don't buy the neck die. I shoot quite regularly though and have some brass on it's sixth loading. You do have to full length size every so often depending on your gun and brass though. Neck sizing did nothing for my groups with 80 or 100gr bullets really, but it did tighte my 55 and 70 gr up considerably. 
I have tried the 20 caliber VG's and was not impressed with their accuracy they shot OK and I did hit a prairie dog or three and one of them did sort of vaporize up to his head(there was a head in the proximity of the lower part of a body) however 28 and 32 gr bullets from Hornady and Nosler will do pretty much the same thing. I have heard of accuracy problem from several sources regarding the VG's so I won't buy any more until I can figure out how to match the accuracy of the Noslers or Hornady's.


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

thanks for the info. think I may stick with full length sizing cuz Im planning on using 80+ grain bullets. Im more than happy with anything sub MOA (.999"). I might go for a spire point cuz it would be a little beter on heavier game such as hog and deer but wouldnt tear up pelts to bad.


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## bar-d (Feb 3, 2010)

2tay530 said:


> thanks for the info. think I may stick with full length sizing cuz Im planning on using 80+ grain bullets. Im more than happy with anything sub MOA (.999"). I might go for a spire point cuz it would be a little beter on heavier game such as hog and deer but wouldnt tear up pelts to bad.


To each his own but I flr everything I load, always have. I carefully inspect (under a lighted magnifier because of old eyes) any case that has been loaded a couple of times before for stress cracks or splits. 4 or 5 refills have always been the norm for me on all calibers, some, more than that. Having said that, I do not personally load maximum loads in anything as I don't believe that extra 2 or 3 hundred fps makes that much difference. It just takes the bullet a 1/5 of a second longer to get there. Whether you flr or neck size, the neck will be worked every time anyway and that is normally where the case is the thinnest. JMO.


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

bar-d said:


> Whether you flr or neck size, the neck will be worked every time anyway and that is normally where the case is the thinnest. JMO.


Excelent point Bar-d. I will just stick with the full length resize for now then go to neck if I see fit. After looking at some ballistics calculaters today I'm definately considering soft or spire point bullets in the 80-90 grain range. I feel like this would be the best all round bullet design for a multitude of game and not to harmful to the pelts.

Probably gonna try some hornady or sierra soft points over Varget or H4895 and some CCI 200 primers. Maybe try a slightly reduced load and magnum ptrimers just to try it. Sounds like a winner to me!


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## 2tay530 (Oct 21, 2010)

Well got my supplies in from midway yesterday and had loads ready for the range today and hot dang if I didnt hit the nail on the head. I ended up using just a plane-Jane set of Lee RGB dies and my crummy little Lee cast alluminum press. My recipe changed completely but I got to the same point. 
.243 Winchester Recipe-
90 gr swift Scirocco II
44.6gr of Aliant Reloader 19
once fired Federal cases
Remington standard large rifle primers

Tried 5 diferent loads with the Scirocco with 4064, 4895, and RL 19 and this one came out to be the most acurate. I had 4 shots group less than an inch from edge to edge and the pulled the fith off to open it to a little under 2''. I have a feeling that this would shoot even beter with another shooter so im gonna load up so more and try out my buddies big fancy Dangerous Game rest and see how she groups from it. super siked about using this bullet. I"ve heard nothing but great stories about it. One of my cousins close friends loads with it and took a head shot on a spike with it for management and couldnt find the antlers. Though its not a frangible round it does a number on animals in big game calibers. I'm hopping its a good compromise of weight and expansion to make it a perfect all-round bullet without tearing up the furs but still taking down some bigger animals.









:thankyou:to all who gave opinions and tips.


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