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tubabucknut
Posts: 3,520 Senior Member
Learn me on the .243
tubabucknut
Posts: 3,520 Senior Member
I am starting think about my next rifle, and am leaning heavily towards the .243. It will slot well between my .223 and .308. I want a varmint rig and have been looking at the Rem 700 vls. Are there any other good options? I am thinking of it as primarily a varmint gun, and having it serve second duty as a deer rifle for my wife. Will the 1 in 9 1/8 rifling on the 700 handle heavier bullets Say 105 gr. I hate the stock and am looking at this one.
http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-537/Bobby-Hart-AccuBlock-Long/Detail
Any thoughts are appreciated.
http://www.stockysstocks.com/servlet/the-537/Bobby-Hart-AccuBlock-Long/Detail
Any thoughts are appreciated.
Replies
The 6mm is my LR pdog rig, though I've pretty much retired it to antelope duty. It's killed pdogs out to 800 yards, and antelope out to 440. While I admit the 800 yard pdog shot is not typical, between 600 and 700 is pretty common for that rig, and it performs well. I do like the VLS platform.
You will find that the VLS platform is considerably heavier than your typical "deer" rifle, and I'd not want to have to carry one around much. But, if you hunt from a stand, it's not a bad rig. Shooting it unsupported can take a bit of practice, at least if you're built as sparsely as me, but it can be done.
As to the .243 Win chambering, I personally don't think there's a better "deer" round out there for deer in the lower 48. I load my 6mm with 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips over H4350 and they clock an average of 3250 fps. This is my go-to antelope round, and they've performed perfectly from 160 yards to the 440 mentioned above.
If I was hunting deer at closer (read, less than 200 yards), I'd likely handload a Partition simply because it'll hold up better at the higher impact velocities. Some of the worst beat-up deer I've ever seen were several shot by a friends son using a .243 Win loaded with 100 grain Win Power Points. Most of his shots were 80 yards and less, and the damage he inflicted on the deer made the wounds caused by my .270 with 130 grain NBT's look mild in comparison. There's just something about the .243 Win and it's velocity/weight that make it an extraordinary deer-killer, way beyond what you'd expect from its paper ballistics.
I think you're making a great choice. Just be aware that the VLS model isn't a "tote it around the hills all day" kinda platform.
Mike
edit: Yeah, you can shoot the 105's with that twist.
N454casull
This is the only Remington 700 I own that really doesn't shoot that well for me, and I have a feeling 95% of that has to do with the stock.
As line finder mentioned, it's no light weight!
180 degrees out from my experience with mine. The 6mm has been heavily tweaked, and so has the .223, but in their bone-stock condition they were both tack-drivers. While I'll readily admit that the stock contributes greatly to the rigs cumbersome weight, I still think that the stock is the heart of this setup. I wouldn't change mine for the world.
Mike
N454casull
I would love to TWEAK mine and get it shooting.
75 grain VMaxes over H4350, if you handload.
If not, anything factory loaded with a poly-tip. You will absolutely shred some coyote.
Mike
N454casull
Floated, pillar bedded, action blueprinted/trued, different trigger, different bolt guts, got rid of the J-locks. Krieger barrel and brake on the 6mm. Still have the factory barrel on the .223.
But, I shot both of these rifles (especially the 6mm) for a long time before I had any work at all done on them and they both shot very well. While the "tweaks" improved the accuracy somewhat, I'm not convinced that it improved it by as much as it lightened my wallet. LR pdogs take a little more in the accuracy department than most endeavors, and I'd certainly not spend the money that I spent on tweaks for an occasional "deer/coyote" rifle. While there are always exceptions (yours, obviously), chances are it'll do for those two critters quite well straight from the box.
Mike
N454casull
I use H4350 with both 75 & 95 grainers nowadays, but I've also had great results with (believe it or not) RL19 & RL22 under 95 grain bullets.
Mike
N454casull
Listen to Linefinder. He suggested H4350 to me for use in my .243 Winchesters..............I've been thanking him ever since! That powder is an accurate magnet!!!! Both my .243 rifles shoot .1-.2" groups when I don't screw things up. I run 85gr Sierra HPBT-Gamekings, 87gr Hornady V-Max and 105gr Hornady A-Max in my rifles. Accurate and deadly. Stupidly even.
I love the .243 Winchester and I blame Linfinder for my love affair with the cartridge. I could never be without one from now on. They are just too useful and too easy to shoot.
I had a VLS in .22-250 that shot wonderfully. My buddy listed after it so he has possession of it currently.
It used to shoot well, and now shoots great, since I changed the trigger, stock, and scope. It's a 1:9 twist, does great with 105 A max.
Ummmmmmm, at what point am I to be expecting to see this "problem" start being an issue? Been shooting .308 brass necked down to .243 Winchester for several years now.
Where did this info come from? I'm curious.
Linefinder Is the 4350 temperature sensitive? I ask this in total ignorance. Would I need to load differently for the winter and summer. I shoot Varget in my .308 and get very similar mv at a wide range of temps. What about some of the magnum powders such as 7828 or Retumbo. I read some are using these powders for their heavier bullets. I don't ask to challenge your suggestion, just to learn. Why one over another.
Zee I never said crappy, I just don't like the look of it. Regardless when I scape the money together it might be some time before I could put it on another stock. It will likely sit on the regular stock for some time.
Durango I have no idea about the neck stretching, but I did consider the 6mm, and nostalgia won out. I have wanted a .243 for quite some time. With what appears to be minimal performance difference, and the great recommendations, it looks like it will be the .243 when I buy.
I was kidding about the "crappy" stock. I just like them.
;-)
Gave up 4350 25 years ago in favor of H414. Hornady bullets have done everything I've ever asked the cartridge to do, and back in the pre panic days the Remington bulk bullets made for a bunch of inexpensive, yet accurate general purpose rounds.
Like Mike, I also load 95 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in front of IMR 4350. It's an accurate round, and I quit playing with trying to improve on it a long time ago.
It's a great round, and I think you will like it.
Gun control laws make about as much sense as taking ex-lax to cure a cough.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/6mm.htm
No, it's not. I shoot pdogs in 100F+ blistering sunshine, and antegoats on cold, windy mornings that would make a well-digger tote a blanket. Of course, I don't leave my ammo in the sunshine if I can help it, but that's a precaution I take with any ammo, regardless of powder.
As to the 6mm Rem. I love it, and consider it mildly better than the .243 Win. But, it's a "handloaders only" chambering. As of a couple months ago, the only factory ammo listed was 100 grain deer bullets of some ilk. OTOH, the .243 Win cartridge is available in pretty much every combo of chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and green bean you can think of.At least, during non-panic times.
You won't go wrong with a .243 Win. In fact....if you spend a bit of time with it (more than just the occasional range trip or coyote bust), I bet it'll become one of your top three chambering picks.
Mike
N454casull
I like that. Best description I've heard in a long time.
Example: 75-gr bullet: H4350: 3563 fps, Superformance: 3637 fps
That's from a 24-inch barrel - a 26" should go higher.
Before the brickbats get tossed my way - No, extreme velocity is not the be-all end-all. But if Superformance will build accurate loads at well over 3600 fps, it will be a bolt of lightning on varmints.
I'll report back on my results.
243 Win will be much easier to find loaded ammo for, in a much greater variety, than 6mm Rem, which has all but disappeared from LGS shelves.
Brian
Irving Berlin
"The Un-Tactical"
What is your quarry with that load?
I use the same powder and 105 A-Max as Ernie in my loads. I've shot deer with mine.
Damn lucky, I guess.
;-)
My thought on the stock. If you are going to name the gun model after the stock. (Vls - varmint laminate stock). At least take the time to bed it and free float it. While it looks nice it could have come a lot nicer from the factory with these simple steps.