Thread: Reloading .243, tricks, tips and advice

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.