fine tunning your home loads.

[Guest bobjs]

Ok Lads.

 

I was introduced to reloading By Neil(dasherman) and i love it to bits. thanks Neil.

 

Anyway,

 

I just want to get the accuracy of the .243 varmint round a bit tighter on paper.

 

I have been getting sub 1" groups with the 100gr soft points i use for deer, but i cant seem to get the 75 gr blitz kings tighter than 1.56" ctc.

 

the load i am using is as follows.

 

sako brass,

 

COL: 2.625, very happy with the col

 

44gr of h4350 running about 3250 fps. (i think) i know it could be a bit of a higher load, but will it help with stability and accuracy.??

 

70gr blitz kings

 

rifle is a steyr pmII 20" barrel.

 

so apart from doing my bit on the trigger.

 

just how do you fine tune the load.

 

thank you,

 

bob.

[grahamfarmer]

hi bob,

 

depends on how accurate you want to get this is the problem with reloading the ultimate is one hole groups at 200 yds ok for brench rest guys but us varmint shooters just need reliable repeat able accuracy.

 

just trawelling the net for loads and you see regular preformers cropping up try them thats one way or the other is to send the time and effort to do a complete ladder test for your powder of choice and to identify the nodes for your barrel and to use those loads you can tweak components ie primers different bullets etc but you need to relise speed is not the be all and end all for accuracy.

 

also your gun will have a bearing on the results as twist rate and barrel profile can affect what you can acheive for a given set of components.

 

just doing load development for my own howa 243 heavy barreled varmint and can print 3/4 inch groups in the sme spot with 70 gr blitzking and 87 gr v max just by varying the powder load.

 

personally using varget dont know about h4350 if its a slower burning powder it might not be fast enough for 70 grain heads. but could be perfect for 100 grn heads.

 

so welcome to the tangled web of reloading and slepless night of reloading .

 

will try to post pics of groups later but my camera and computer not talking at the moment so all the best

 

graham.

[Guest bobjs]

hi bob,

 

depends on how accurate you want to get this is the problem with reloading the ultimate is one hole groups at 200 yds ok for bench rest guys but us varmint shooters just need reliable repeat able accuracy.

 

just trawling the net for loads and you see regular performers cropping up try them thats one way or the other is to send the time and effort to do a complete ladder test for your powder of choice and to identify the nodes for your barrel and to use those loads you can tweak components ie primers different bullets etc but you need to relise speed is not the be all and end all for accuracy.

 

also your gun will have a bearing on the results as twist rate and barrel profile can affect what you can achieve for a given set of components.

 

just doing load development for my own howa 243 heavy barreled varmint and can print 3/4 inch groups in the sme spot with 70 gr blitz-king and 87 gr v max just by varying the powder load.

 

personally using varget dont know about h4350 if its a slower burning powder it might not be fast enough for 70 grain heads. but could be perfect for 100 grn heads.

 

so welcome to the tangled web of reloading and slepless night of reloading .

 

will try to post pics of groups later but my camera and computer not talking at the moment so all the best

 

graham.

 

thank you Graham.

 

i am thinking of going to one of the following powders.

 

imr 4350 or vit 160.

 

just to see if they change any thing, at the moment i have taken charlie boy out at 247 yards with no problem, but in the past 2 weeks i have missed 2,

 

no problem with the deer round so i am happy with that, i have been reloading for about 2 years but i started with a 223 that was great fun cheap and loved the trial and error of it all.

 

now that things are getting a tad more costly i need to settle down with a good load sorted for bot the deer round and the varmint round.

 

many thanks for reminding me of those sleepless nights.

 

BTW nico243 has the same rifle as you and it shoots like a dream.

 

all the best for now, and updates to follow.

 

bob.

[Vermincinerator]

Bob,

I had my best results with 70grn Blitzking in my 243 Remmy VLS using WW760 which has an identical burning rate to H380, 44grns put 5 shots into sub 5/8" @100yds all the time

IMO H4350 is too slow for the 243 with all but the heaviest bullets.

 

Ian.

[Guest bobjs]

Bob,

I had my best results with 70grn Blitzking in my 243 Remmy VLS using WW760 which has an identical burning rate to H380, 44grns put 5 shots into sub 5/8" @100yds all the time

IMO H4350 is too slow for the 243 with all but the heaviest bullets.

 

Ian.

 

thank you Ian.

 

whats the score with imr 4320 is it faster or slower than h4350,

 

bob.

[Guest varmartin]

here is a burn rate chart....1. being fastest......sorry for the `scattered effect`

 

 

1. R-1 (Norma) 59. HS-7 (Hodgdon) 117. Varget (Hodgdon)

2. N310 (Vihtavuori) 60. Blue Dot (Alliant) 118. 5000 (Vectan)

3. Titewad (Hodgdon) 61. 571 (Winchester) 119. AR2208 (ADI)

4. AS- 30N (ADI) 62. N105 (Vihtavuori) 120. 4064 (IMR)

5. Nitro 100 (Accurate) 63. No. 9 (Accurate) 121. 4064 XMR (Accurate)

6. Bullseye (Alliant) 64. Enforcer (Ramshot) 122. 2520 (Accurate)

7. Solo 1000 (Accurate) 65. 4100 (Scot) 123. 4320 (IMR)

8. Red Diamond (Scot) 66. Steel (Alliant) 124. N203 (Norma)

9. AS (Vectan) 67. 2400 (Alliant) 125. N140 (Vihtavuori)

10. Red Dot (Alliant) 68. N110 (Vihtavuori) 126. N540 (Vihtavuori)

11. Promo (Alliant) 69. Lil Gun (Hodgdon) 127. 2700 (Accurate)

12. Titegroup (Hodgdon) 70. R123 (Norma) 128. Big Game (Ramshot)

13. No. 2 (Accurate) 71. H110 (Hodgdon) 129. Reloader 15 (Alliant)

14. American Select (Alliant) 72. 296 (Winchester) 130. H380 (Hodgdon)

15. AA Plus (Winchester) 73. AR2205 (ADI) 131. 760 (Winchester)

16. Clays (Hodgdon) 74. SR-4759 (IMR) 132. Brig 4351 (Scot)

17. N320 (Vihtavuori) 75. N120 (Vihtavuori) 133. H414 (Hodgdon)

18. Competition (Ramshot) 76. 4227 (IMR) 134. N150 (Vihtavuori)

19. Royal D (Scot) 77. H4227 (Hodgdon) 135. N550 (Vihtavuori)

20. WST (Winchester) 78. 5744 XMR (Accurate) 136. 4350 XMR (Accurate)

21. AP- 50N (ADI) 79. 410 (Alliant) 137. 4350 (IMR)

22. HP38 (Hodgdon) 80. N130 (Vihtavuori) 138. 7000 (Vectan)

23. AO (Vectan) 81. SP-3 (Vectan) 139. AR2209 (ADI)

24. 452AA (Winchester) 82. 680 (Winchester) 140. H4350 (Hodgdon)

25. 453 (Scot) 83. N200 (Norma) 141. N204 (Norma)

26. 231 (Winchester) 84. 1680 (Accurate) 142. Hunter (Ramshot)

27. Zip (Ramshot) 85. AR2207 (ADI) 143. Reloader 19 (Alliant)

28. 700X (IMR) 86. H4198 (Hodgdon) 144. N160 (Vihtavuori)

29. Green Dot (Alliant) 87. N133 (Vihtavuori) 145. N560 (Vihtavuori)

30. AS- 50N (ADI) 88. 4198 (IMR) 146. 4831 (IMR)

31. International Clays (Hodgdon) 89. BM1 (ADI) 147. Brig 4831 (Scot)

32. 473AA (Winchester) 90. Brig 4197 (Scot) 148. AR2213SC (ADI)

33. HS-5 (Hodgdon) 91. 2015 XMR (Accurate) 149. N205 (Norma)

34. WSL (Winchester) 92. Brig 3032 (Scot) 150. 3100 XMR (Accurate)

35. Unique (Alliant) 93. Reloader 7 (Alliant) 151. WMR (Winchester)

36. Universal Clays (Hodgdon) 94. 3031 (IMR) 152. H4831 (Hodgdon)

37. N330 (Vihtavuori) 95. Benchmark (Hodgdon) 153. MRP (Norma)

38. AP- 70N (ADI) 96. BM2 (ADI) 154. Reloader 22 (Alliant)

39. Power Pistol (Alliant) 97. N201 (Norma) 155. 785 (Winchester)

40. SR-7625 (IMR) 98. Brig 322 (Scot) 156. H450 (Hodgdon)

41. HS-6 (Hodgdon) 99. AR2219 (ADI) 157. Mag Pro (Accurate)

42. Silhouette (Ramshot) 100. H322 (Hodgdon) 158. N165 (Vihtavuori)

43. WAP (Winchester) 101. X-Terminator (Ramshot) 159. WXR (Winchester)

44. N340 (Vihtavuori) 102. 2230 (Accurate) 160. 7828 (IMR)

45. 540 (Winchester) 103. 748 (Winchester) 161. 8700 (Accurate)

46. Herco (Alliant) 104. Reloader 10X (Alliant) 162. H1000 (Hodgdon)

47. WSF (Winchester) 105. BLC-2 (Hodgdon) 163. AR2217 (ADI)

48. SR-4756 (IMR) 106. AR2206 (ADI) 164. Magnum (Ramshot)

49. AP- 100 (ADI) 107. 2460 (Accurate) 165. Reloader 25 (Alliant)

50. Solo 1250 (Accurate) 108. H335 (Hodgdon) 166. AR2225 (ADI)

51. 3N37 (Vihtavuori) 109. TAC (Ramshot) 167. Retumbo (Hodgdon)

52. 800X (IMR) 110. H4895 (Hodgdon) 168. H870 (Hodgdon)

53. No. 7 (Accurate) 111. 2495 XMR (Accurate) 169. N170 (Vihtavuori)

54. Longshot (Hodgdon) 112. AR2206H (ADI) 170. 24N41 (Vihtavuori)

55. Solo 1500 (Scot) 113. Reloader 12 (Alliant) 171. 50 BMG (Hodgdon)

56. True Blue (Ramshot) 114. 4895 (IMR) 172. AR2218 (ADI)

57. N350 (Vihtavuori) 115. Brig 4065 (Scot) 173. 20N29 (Vihtavuori)

58. 3N38 (Vihtavuori) 116. N135 (Vihtavuori)

[grahamfarmer]

bob

 

have a look on ww.6mmbr.com and follow the links for the 243 info page lots of use full hints and info regaurding powders and burn rates to bullet weights on there plus other links for tips .

 

suspect n 160 is on the slow side for light bullets as well should suit the 90 grn plus weights

 

varget is running well for me with 70 grn blitz king in lapau cases and cci bench rest primers using 40 grns varget

 

and 37 grns is putting 87 grn vmaxs in the same holes with same case and primer

 

have got some H4895 which i am tempted to try in some 55 to 60 grn bullet loads and really flatten some 22 250 shooters efforts will have to see what heads are available locally but blitzking or v max look good for a try or some hollowpoints for the splat factor.

[Guest bobjs]

bob

 

have a look on ww.6mmbr.com and follow the links for the 243 info page lots of use full hints and info regaurding powders and burn rates to bullet weights on there plus other links for tips .

 

suspect n 160 is on the slow side for light bullets as well should suit the 90 grn plus weights

 

varget is running well for me with 70 grn blitz king in lapau cases and cci bench rest primers using 40 grns varget

 

and 37 grns is putting 87 grn vmaxs in the same holes with same case and primer

 

have got some H4895 which i am tempted to try in some 55 to 60 grn bullet loads and really flatten some 22 250 shooters efforts will have to see what heads are available locally but blitzking or v max look good for a try or some hollowpoints for the splat factor.

 

thank you graham

 

you are right, i need a powder that will perform on 2 counts the deer load, and the critters load, so once i find that out i will just have to fine tune the loads i find work,

 

thank you.

 

bob.

[grahamfarmer]

hi bob,

 

from what i can find out i think you will be struggling to find a one powder that does it all where the 243. is concerned but you may find one to do light to medium bullets weights or medium to heavy weight bullets .

[menial 1]

I use Viht 160 for my deer rounds, 43.5grns with Sierra 85grn SP, CCI large rifle primers, Federal brass [because I have loads of it], 40thou off lands,

3080fps, sub 1/2" groups.

47grns Viht 160 with 70grn Sierra Blitzking, CCI large rifle primers, Lapua brass [to keep the the brass separate between the two rounds], again 40thou off lands, 3280fps, slightly tighter groups than the 85's.

I'm often told that 160 is two slow for 70's but it works just fine for me in a bog standard Tikka M595, the rifle that sees the most work 3-4 times a week sometimes.

These were the most accurate in my rifle, when driven harder the groups opened up a bit, but still no pressure signs.

Haven't loaded lighter rounds for .243 as I have a .223 for that, and also don't want to hasten the demise of a barrel that's shot in excess of 2500 rounds and hasn't started going off yet [touch wood].

Hope this helps.

Pete.

[Guest bobjs]

I use Viht 160 for my deer rounds, 43.5grns with Sierra 85grn SP, CCI large rifle primers, Federal brass [because I have loads of it], 40thou off lands,

3080fps, sub 1/2" groups.

47grns Viht 160 with 70grn Sierra Blitzking, CCI large rifle primers, Lapua brass [to keep the the brass separate between the two rounds], again 40thou off lands, 3280fps, slightly tighter groups than the 85's.

I'm often told that 160 is two slow for 70's but it works just fine for me in a bog standard Tikka M595, the rifle that sees the most work 3-4 times a week sometimes.

These were the most accurate in my rifle, when driven harder the groups opened up a bit, but still no pressure signs.

Haven't loaded lighter rounds for .243 as I have a .223 for that, and also don't want to hasten the demise of a barrel that's shot in excess of 2500 rounds and hasn't started going off yet [touch wood].

Hope this helps.

Pete.

 

now thats better,

 

thank you Pete,

 

i think i need to do the same mate, once the group size on the 70's gets to the same or better than the 90's i will stop, mine gets used about 2 times a week for fox mostly so i hope my barrel lasts a long time,

 

bob.

[6BR]

now thats better,

 

thank you Pete,

 

i think i need to do the same mate, once the group size on the 70's gets to the same or better than the 90's i will stop, mine gets used about 2 times a week for fox mostly so i hope my barrel lasts a long time,

 

bob.

 

 

hi bob

i've had very good results using r15 for the lighter bullets and h4350 for the heavy bullets.in my .243 rem 700 vls using lapua brass fed 210m primers 58gr v-max 40 thou off the lands and 45.5 of r15 i get 3900 fps and shoots under an inch at 300 yards.with 45gr h4350 and 87gr v-max 10 thou off the lands i get 3300 fps groups 3/8 @ 100 yards with a 26 inch barrel.

[jon]

There is an interesting chart at

http://gsgroup.co.za/burnrates.html

It shows powders in a chart of "relative quickness" to each other, rather than a straight list.

It has plenty of warnings about not directly substituting one for another... but gives an idea of where they sit... then off you go to the reloading books!!

pretty colours too.

jon

[Ronin]

Hi Bob, I don't shoot 243, never have and never will (unless I make myself an AI)

 

Anyway, sometimes you struggle to get a particular bullet to group, you can go through a whole pack of them swapping seat depth, powder weights and primers in an almost infinate mix of variables to get the accuracy you want.

 

 

If its giving you 1.5 inch groups at best, I would seek alternative powder (as already suggested) or alternative similar weight / style bullets.

 

 

Cheaper to buy 100 bullets than it is to buy 2 - 3 lbs of powder to try.

 

 

Although realistically you war better to have a varied selection of powder (expensive I know) to get the best from your rifle.

 

No substitute for your own testing I am afraid

[Jingzy]

Looking at the original post, you have not said what you have done so far to try to tighten the group.

 

When I load for any calibre I start about 10% below the maximum and go up in 1% or 2% increases until I am happy with the safety of not too high a pressure. During this you should have some spread out groups with some tighter groups. I then look at the tighter groups as the starting point. Usually, the tighter ones are close together in load weight.

 

I then start to experiment with seating depth, I start at 10 thou off the lands and work back in 10 thou increments to 50 thou. I will also do one group at 5 thou off the lands.

 

This is a method that I use, I got it off the internet under a search for optimal load development.

 

Cheers,

 

J

[snap_shot]

I use Viht 160 for my deer rounds, 43.5grns with Sierra 85grn SP, CCI large rifle primers, Federal brass [because I have loads of it], 40thou off lands,

3080fps, sub 1/2" groups.

47grns Viht 160 with 70grn Sierra Blitzking, CCI large rifle primers, Lapua brass [to keep the the brass separate between the two rounds], again 40thou off lands, 3280fps, slightly tighter groups than the 85's.

I'm often told that 160 is two slow for 70's but it works just fine for me in a bog standard Tikka M595, the rifle that sees the most work 3-4 times a week sometimes.

These were the most accurate in my rifle, when driven harder the groups opened up a bit, but still no pressure signs.

Haven't loaded lighter rounds for .243 as I have a .223 for that, and also don't want to hasten the demise of a barrel that's shot in excess of 2500 rounds and hasn't started going off yet [touch wood].

Hope this helps.

Pete.

 

i also used this round also loaded with 47g n160, federal 210 primers, win brass, in a tikka m595 col 65.83mm velocity was chrono at 3310fps, accurate round,

 

 

 

 

 

 

48g of n160, federal 210 primers, col 2.600" 58g v-vax prints 1/2 inch groups all day at 100 velocity was 3449fps

 

42.9g varget. federal 210 primers, col 2.600" 58g v-max prints 1/2 inch also at 100 and velocity was 3662fps

 

 

 

snap.

[Guest bobjs]

Thank you Lads,

 

ok what i think i will try first is a change of powder, i will try imr 4350 for both loads, i have found some info to start with so i will post my findings soonest.

 

bob.