Thread: Reloading .243, tricks, tips and advice

Hey fellas,

I recently bought a tikka .243 superlite and after a day at the range with 7 various boxes of factory ammo, I found some very interesting results.

Firstly, the rifle preformed best with the Hornady Precision Hunter 90gr ELDx (.75MOA). But interestingly it did not like the Sako 90gr GameHead pro (tipped game kings) giving 2” string. Everything else was mediocre, giving me 1” to 2” groups. This was a mix of federal, Norma, Sako and Hornady.

Secondly, the rifle heated up extremely fast!! Within 3 shots it was HOT! Is that normal?

My goal is to reload for it and after the range day, I’m thinking 90gr Hornady projectiles might give the best results. I do a reasonable amount of goat culling out to 350/400 meters and knocking over the occasional fellow.

Does anyone have any suggestions on projectiles, powders and primers that would be suitable for this rifle and the type of hunting?

Especially any experience with a superlite .243 and the recipe for success with it would be ace!!

Cheers,

My Brno likes the 90gr ELD-X, I load with AR2209, Fed 210 primers and Norma brass, 3140 fps.
The Sierra Gameking 85gr HPBT and Prohunter 100gr SP also shoot well, as does the 87gr Hornady varmint, but the ELD-X is my favourite.

My T3 shot very well with both 87gr Hornady Vmax and 90gr Nosler BT pushed by AR2209.

set up your seating die with the factory load that did best...it wont hurt and SHOULD give you SIMILAR jump to lands if projectile is similar shape.
you have a superlight rifle......it was MANUFACTURED to shoot few rounds at a time...weight Vs accuracy......accept it and live with it...you now KNOW it heats up quickly and 2-3 shots is it before it will open up groups.....its not a deal breaker.
if federal blue box WASNT shooting well,personally I would be looking hard at technique and double check all screws including the scope bases themselves.
maybe try a couple of loads at each end of range eg start load and hot load....we dont want to waste what few components we have left chasing tail.
take suppressor off between groups and leave bolt open to help cooling down.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

set up your seating die with the factory load that did best...it wont hurt and SHOULD give you SIMILAR jump to lands if projectile is similar shape.
you have a superlight rifle......it was MANUFACTURED to shoot few rounds at a time...weight Vs accuracy......accept it and live with it...you now KNOW it heats up quickly and 2-3 shots is it before it will open up groups.....its not a deal breaker.
if federal blue box WASNT shooting well,personally I would be looking hard at technique and double check all screws including the scope bases themselves.
maybe try a couple of loads at each end of range eg start load and hot load....we dont want to waste what few components we have left chasing tail.
take suppressor off between groups and leave bolt open to help cooling down.

Federal fusions shot just under an inch and the blue box shot around 1.5”.
As you say, maybe I’m expecting too much from a lightweight rifle.

Good call regarding the load development. I have read a bit about the Speer 85gr soft point boat tail and varget. So I might try that combo as 2209 seems to be impossible to find

if I read your origonal post correctly...400 meters will pretty much be your longest shot......so lets say you have 5 shots at 400 and 25 at under 300 for your day out...........so you only need flashasmichaeljackson loads for the 5 long ones,and any of the above other options would do "just fine n dandy peas n carrots"

I've had very good results in my Tikka with 90g ELDX behind 2209 (Norma brass, CCI primers). Also run the same load with 90g Nosler BTs shooting same point of impact. Both have been very effective on deer out to 350m, goats a bit further out.

speer spbt will be super soft...ideal goat medicine....any thing from yellown black boxes are great projectiles.....
MOST EVERY .243 I have ever had anything to do with...are tack drivers....there is just something about the cartridge that works.
most arent fussy....and as Ive said elsewhere,how far are you going to shoot??? 1.5 inches at 100yards=300 yards is still a very dead animal.
sometimes I reckon we get all tied up in knots over something that for 90% of shots wont matter a hoot. I know for myself,anytime I miss its because I fluffed the aiming bit,nothing to do with the rifle or ammunition.

Originally Posted by JohnQT

the rifle heated up extremely fast!! Within 3 shots it was HOT! Is that normal?

Does anyone have any suggestions on projectiles, powders and primers that would be suitable for this rifle and the type of hunting?

Especially any experience with a superlite .243 and the recipe for success with it would be ace!!

Cheers,

1. Yes, very normal. 40-50gr of powder being blown down a 6mm bore on a skinny "superlite" barrel... That's lots of heat and not a lot of steel to distribute it.

2. More importantly, what can you get right now? Components are scarce. Good news is goats and fallow don't take much putting down so as long as you pick a hunting bullet and not an FMJ or a HPBT it's probably going to work plenty good. There's lots of load data online which is real easy to find and follow.

3. You don't need to follow anyone else's recipe. More often than not, it's a waste of time since no two rifles are alike and odds are even two Tikka 243 superlite's will like different things.

Get yourself some brass of at least reasonable quality, whatever large rifle primers you have / can get, powder with a suitable burn rate (2209, 2213, 2217), soft points or a ballistic tips. Load up a few test groups from low to max and see which shoots best. If nothing is acceptable and you're not sure how to interpret the results, ask for help to adjust and refine.

If you are just culling goats, and not worried about the mess, the 87gr Vmax is absolutely devasting on them, they even kill very well right out to your furthest indicated distance.

I've found them to shoot very small little groups (like any bullet you'll need to find the seating depth your barrel likes of course)

Put one of them in the vitals and they do not take a step, it's like a bomb going off in there. Put a slit in the brisket and just pour the insides out.

Thanks for the advice everyone involved.

Given that the Hornady Precision Hunter preformed the best out of the factory ammo, would it be fair to assume that setting the seating depth die to the same OAL as the precision hunter loads could be a good option to start with length? Even with a Speer SPBT that is 85gr (not 90gr as the eldx).

The 87g Vmax sounds absolutely devastating! Gutted that I cant find any around these parts. (pun fully intended).

I think I'll give the Speer 85gr SPBT a go and see how it reacts.

Given that ADI powders have disappeared across the country, does anyone have nay suggestions on other options? I have seen some Hodgdon Varget and 414 about

Originally Posted by JohnQT

Thanks for the advice everyone involved.

Given that the Hornady Precision Hunter preformed the best out of the factory ammo, would it be fair to assume that setting the seating depth die to the same OAL as the precision hunter loads could be a good option to start with length? Even with a Speer SPBT that is 85gr (not 90gr as the eldx).

as I said earlier...given SIMILAR shape projectile the point your die contacts the oglive will be similar...so its a safe assumption the jump to lands will be similar too,
either it works or it wont...but it will give you a good place to start...Ive done it for years and actually have kept a single 130grn silvertip round to set dies for .270win and it works for every projectile Ive used other than a 110grn varmit or a 170grn round nose...

Originally Posted by JohnQT

Given that the Hornady Precision Hunter preformed the best out of the factory ammo, would it be fair to assume that setting the seating depth die to the same OAL as the precision hunter loads could be a good option to start with length? Even with a Speer SPBT that is 85gr (not 90gr as the eldx).

No. I would not make that assumption.

Gonna disagree with Micky on this one. The manufacturer will provide a minimum length (that will probably shoot OK) and by adhering to that, you won't risk jamming bullets into the rifling like you're going to risk with this "set up your die off of one type of ammo to try and get the same jump with another" lark.

Seems like you want to copy "something" to give yourself some kind of head start but you don't need to. You'll be better off sucking it up and starting from a clean page. There's several quick and easy methods to work out the maximum length in your chamber. You can then start at the mfg suggested length, 20 thou off the rifling or whatever.

Originally Posted by Pommy

No. I would not make that assumption.

Gonna disagree with Micky on this one. "set up your die off of one type of ammo to try and get the same jump with another" lark[/I].

go back and actually READ what I posted...similar is used for good reason.....any twit will realise a round nose will be completely different to a spitzer....and a 130grn is going to be different to a 170 or 110 grn.......SIMILAR and GOOD STARTING POINT that will either work or wont are relevant bits......
if projectile has a cannalure you can just seat to that depth too.....manuals will tell you that...seating it to SIMILAR depth to a load that shoots well isnt hard to do...
so the OP doesnt need to start from scratch as he isnt at start point,he has already found a load that has merit..there is something about that load his rifle likes...it would be silly to discount it completely in these times of component shortage and stupidly high prices..... thats like not bothering to bore sight before using a target..cause you going to have to fine tune zero anyway........
hells bells I arent a huge EBRG fan but vividly recall shooting goats at 300 yards with one 35 years ago after making ammunition for it using a lee loader and claw hammer....powder was measured with a spoon provided with kit..... sometimes folks over think things and make it more complicated than needed.
we used factory ammunition ,whatever was in shop...and fired 3 rounds to check zero then went hunting....
hopefully next time we bought some more it was same brand......

Originally Posted by JohnQT

Thanks for the advice everyone involved.

Given that the Hornady Precision Hunter preformed the best out of the factory ammo, would it be fair to assume that setting the seating depth die to the same OAL as the precision hunter loads could be a good option to start with length? Even with a Speer SPBT that is 85gr (not 90gr as the eldx).

The 87g Vmax sounds absolutely devastating! Gutted that I cant find any around these parts. (pun fully intended).

I think I'll give the Speer 85gr SPBT a go and see how it reacts.

Given that ADI powders have disappeared across the country, does anyone have nay suggestions on other options? I have seen some Hodgdon Varget and 414 about

ADI2206H, ADI2208, ADI2209, ADI2213, ADI2217, IMR4320, IMR4451, H4350 and RE22 have all given me good service in 243 over a number of different rifles and a number of decades of on and off use.
The tougher the bullet, the less likely I'm gonna use it. My favorites: Sierra 85sp, Hornady 87vmax, Hornady 87hpbt, Berger 95vld, Targex 95 rbt.
Wallabies, Reds (including big animals) Fallow and Tahr have all fallen to those pills (Vmax for hoppers only unless neck shooting)