So. Texas .243 deer load needed.
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Funshooter45
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I get a lot better accuracy from slower powders in the H-4350 range such as Hunter and W-780. Even slower powders will work as well such as 4831 and RL-22. My best accuracy has consistently been with 100 gr SP bullets. Hornady, Sierra and Speer have all given me under 1" groups at 100 yds, and they perform extremely well on deer.
funshooter
Thanks, I'll probably start with varget, it's close to the BLC2. I figured the 100 gn sierra prohunter or gameking, with a mid-range load. The slow powder should smooth out the recoil. Is rem factory load using blc2? He shot 5 boxes of rem 100 SP and still isn't within a min of deer. He's timid and flinches a lot. I suggested he sit(on the left) of someone shooting AR with a muzzle brake - to practice not flinching. It kicks about like my LR-308, but could et him to shoot mine. His dad fell in live with the 308 - put a full mag in 9s at 100 yds at first sitting.
Thanks, I'll probably start with varget, it's close to the BLC2. I figured the 100 gn sierra prohunter or gameking, with a mid-range load. The slow powder should smooth out the recoil. Is rem factory load using blc2? He shot 5 boxes of rem 100 SP and still isn't within a min of deer. He's timid and flinches a lot. I suggested he sit(on the left) of someone shooting AR with a muzzle brake - to practice not flinching. It kicks about like my LR-308, but could et him to shoot mine. His dad fell in live with the 308 - put a full mag in 9s at 100 yds at first sitting.
The slower the powder the harder it will kick. To break him of flinching you need to use dummy rounds & as you load for him not let him know if it is live or a dummy. Let him drop the hammer a few times then sneak a live one in. Another of my favorite powders has a burn rate the same as Blue Dot & has no recoil at all.
I agree before he goes hunting he needs to use that load but you need to teach good shooting habits first. Practice doesn't make perfect but perfect practice does make good shooters.
I even teach my wife this way. I believe it even helps me keep from picking up bad habits.
A light trigger will also help him become a better shot. There will probably be some that he needs a heavy trigger for hunting & I have mixed feelings about it but there is no need to give a kid a 6lb trigger at the bench. I can't even shoot a gun well that has a 6lb pull.
I even teach my wife this way. I believe it even helps me keep from picking up bad habits.
A light trigger will also help him become a better shot. There will probably be some that he needs a heavy trigger for hunting & I have mixed feelings about it but there is no need to give a kid a 6lb trigger at the bench. I can't even shoot a gun well that has a 6lb pull.
Trigger on that rifle is crisp and pretty good. Just put a 4# trigger in my lr-308. BIG diff. I think I'll make him some youth loads in 65 gr. to practice with, and some hunting loads too. Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately, I'm in Dallas and he is in Houston. Long range re-loading is difficult at best.
41 Mag
Member
Hey Popper,
Click over to Hodgdon's Youth Loads, they are under the Data tab on their site. Follow the reduction rule for the H-4895 with those 100gr bullets. Start him out light and work up.
I did that with my oldest now grandson when he was only 3.5yrs old shooting my Ruger Compact in .308. We started out with the minimum load, and 125gr Noslers. After shooting them 3-5 at a sitting mixed in with a 30 Carbine, or 22, he was up and running in no time with no flinch. After a few months of practicing, he dropped his first hog two weeks before his 4th birthday. I now have two more coming up, one at almost 5, and another at almost 3, that will both get to use those type loads.
On thing though, If you find he shoots the lighter loads good, depending on the velocity you end up at, you might want to go with something like the 100gr SST or 105gr A-Max, if it will stabilize for you. At a bit lower velocity these will work very well and not blow up on impact or slightly there after like they sometimes do at top end velocities. I switched over to the Barnes 130gr TTX for our actual hunting bullet after a 160yd broadside shot on a coyote failed to exit. THe close up shots worked OK with the BT but they simply did not penetrate on longer ones like the TTX did. I tested it out on over a dozen hogs at ranges out to 200yds and it worked fine on them. This was after I got the loads up to the 40gr range.
One thing about the H4895 loads is you can start with the Youth data, and work it all the way back up to the top end loads listed in the standard data. Thats quite a bit of spread, and I found that with everything being the same other than the charge weight, they still shot pretty decent all the way up to about a mid range standard load. I never got any higher with him and this rifle as he switched over to a 6.5x55 at 7, and then full loads in both the .243 and 25-06 last fall.
To be totally honest, I had a blast shooting some of the loads initially when I was testing them out on the hogs before he got a chance to use them. I wanted to be sure they were going to work, and trust me they did.
Hope this helps, and trust me I know all bout the long range stuff. My grandsons are up around Palestine and I am down in the H-town area.
Click over to Hodgdon's Youth Loads, they are under the Data tab on their site. Follow the reduction rule for the H-4895 with those 100gr bullets. Start him out light and work up.
I did that with my oldest now grandson when he was only 3.5yrs old shooting my Ruger Compact in .308. We started out with the minimum load, and 125gr Noslers. After shooting them 3-5 at a sitting mixed in with a 30 Carbine, or 22, he was up and running in no time with no flinch. After a few months of practicing, he dropped his first hog two weeks before his 4th birthday. I now have two more coming up, one at almost 5, and another at almost 3, that will both get to use those type loads.
On thing though, If you find he shoots the lighter loads good, depending on the velocity you end up at, you might want to go with something like the 100gr SST or 105gr A-Max, if it will stabilize for you. At a bit lower velocity these will work very well and not blow up on impact or slightly there after like they sometimes do at top end velocities. I switched over to the Barnes 130gr TTX for our actual hunting bullet after a 160yd broadside shot on a coyote failed to exit. THe close up shots worked OK with the BT but they simply did not penetrate on longer ones like the TTX did. I tested it out on over a dozen hogs at ranges out to 200yds and it worked fine on them. This was after I got the loads up to the 40gr range.
One thing about the H4895 loads is you can start with the Youth data, and work it all the way back up to the top end loads listed in the standard data. Thats quite a bit of spread, and I found that with everything being the same other than the charge weight, they still shot pretty decent all the way up to about a mid range standard load. I never got any higher with him and this rifle as he switched over to a 6.5x55 at 7, and then full loads in both the .243 and 25-06 last fall.
To be totally honest, I had a blast shooting some of the loads initially when I was testing them out on the hogs before he got a chance to use them. I wanted to be sure they were going to work, and trust me they did.
Hope this helps, and trust me I know all bout the long range stuff. My grandsons are up around Palestine and I am down in the H-town area.
Many years ago in free America I loaded 243 for myself and friends to hunt eastern whitetail using 4895 and 85gr Sierra BTHP I seen many one shot kills large deer dropped in there tracks so it would work on small Texas deer. Only problem is can't remember the exact charge of 4895. In any event it was a low recoil tack driving combination but I'm a big fan of the 243.
41 Mag
Member
Nope nothing at all. I carried them around loaded in the rifle on foot through the woods, and hauled them around in my pocket, and loaded in the mag of the rifle on the rack on a 4-wheeler, shooting hogs as opportunities arose.
When it came time to shoot it was usually pretty fast, and nothing was done to try and locate the powder in any fashion. Once I was convinced of their effectiveness, I started letting the grandson shoot them. The grandson was shooting them from our shooting bench, or the back of the truck, all loaded single or via the magazine. In the woods we were in a double bow stand we set up with only one 4' section of ladder to get us above the grass. We always had the rifle laying across the front bar while hunting so as not to have to go through a bunch of movement when something showed. He was so little then I had to set him on my knee so as to be level enough to shoot.
I never heard anything about it being quite that sensitive, or really at all until now. I guess in some of the bigger caliber cases it might be, but in the .038 based stuff I wold hardly think so. Somewhere around 35grs was where I started out and it seemed to fill about half or a tad more with powder. I used the Win-WLR primers and had no issues with misfires or weird ignition from any of the rounds we shot.
41 mag
Thanks, neat pic. I hope my GS has that big a smile. I've heard that 4895 is 'somewhat' position sensitive in .308. The starting youth load is about 27 gn, so I think I'll go ahead and use it to prevent any problems. Seems to be more of an accuracy thing in full power loads.
Thanks, neat pic. I hope my GS has that big a smile. I've heard that 4895 is 'somewhat' position sensitive in .308. The starting youth load is about 27 gn, so I think I'll go ahead and use it to prevent any problems. Seems to be more of an accuracy thing in full power loads.
41 Mag
Member
All I can add is that the accuracy of the loads we shot and used from this rifle have actually been some of the best I have gotten from it.
Like I mentioned I went with the 125gr BT initially since it was a bit cheaper, but I also tried out several others in that weight range. The Bt's were picked since I figured they would at least expand running at such a low velocity. I set his max rage at 50yds to help ensure they were still moving fast enough.
After his shot the following year on the coyote at 158yds broadside, I immediately switched over to the Barnes TSX and never looked back. I personally toted it all over creation shooting all the hogs I could from just about every conceivable angle or direction and was never let down. He dropped a couple with them as well.
I also will be working up loads for a Ruger Frontier in .243 again with H-4895 for the middle grandson to try out this fall. I have a bunch of 95gr bonded cores I picked up from the blem sale Midway had for him to use. Not that they are any better but the price was right and WAY better than the Barnes I was looking at. Same game with him, 50yd max range on game, even though we practice out to 100. If he cannot exercise patients and gun safety he will sit and watch or sit at the house. Same rules different child.
Like I mentioned I went with the 125gr BT initially since it was a bit cheaper, but I also tried out several others in that weight range. The Bt's were picked since I figured they would at least expand running at such a low velocity. I set his max rage at 50yds to help ensure they were still moving fast enough.
After his shot the following year on the coyote at 158yds broadside, I immediately switched over to the Barnes TSX and never looked back. I personally toted it all over creation shooting all the hogs I could from just about every conceivable angle or direction and was never let down. He dropped a couple with them as well.
I also will be working up loads for a Ruger Frontier in .243 again with H-4895 for the middle grandson to try out this fall. I have a bunch of 95gr bonded cores I picked up from the blem sale Midway had for him to use. Not that they are any better but the price was right and WAY better than the Barnes I was looking at. Same game with him, 50yd max range on game, even though we practice out to 100. If he cannot exercise patients and gun safety he will sit and watch or sit at the house. Same rules different child.
start light 55g
If range time allows... start with some light 55g @~ 3200 fps. Loud Load, but not much bump. Hornady 95g SST and 100g spire FB work very well so far at the impact point Both could be loaded moderate, but my barrels like them FAST using 4350 & R22 Consult your manuals for loads
If range time allows... start with some light 55g @~ 3200 fps. Loud Load, but not much bump. Hornady 95g SST and 100g spire FB work very well so far at the impact point Both could be loaded moderate, but my barrels like them FAST using 4350 & R22 Consult your manuals for loads
Strongbad
Member
My preferred load (used to hammer deer in the Texas Hill Country) in 243 uses H-4350 and the 95 gr. Hornady SST's. My niece has been shooting that load since she was 12, and it's a Rem 788 carbine, i.e. it's a fairly light rifle. She never had any problems with it. The only word I can use to describe the performance of this load on deer... unbelievable. I use a lot of other rifles these days just because I like to play with other guns, but of all the guns I have be it 243, 300 H&H, 338/378 Wby, 308 Winchester, whatever nothing dumps whitetails in their tracks like the SST's out of the 788.
A year or two ago I also worked up a load with the same SST's in another 243 rifle using IMR-7828. Sub 1" accuracy out of both guns.
Hopefully those two powders (and that bullet) will atleast give you a palce to start.
A year or two ago I also worked up a load with the same SST's in another 243 rifle using IMR-7828. Sub 1" accuracy out of both guns.
Hopefully those two powders (and that bullet) will atleast give you a palce to start.
Huckelberry75
Member
I am using the Berger 95gn VLD-H's and 41.5gn of IMR-4350. They are showing excellent groupings so far. I will have them over the chrony on the next outing.
35 Whelen
Member
popper I'd suggest a lighter bullet in your reduced load. After all bullet weight plays a big role in recoil. (Physics) Nosler makes their Partition in 85 gr., and Barnes makes their TSX in even lighter bullets.
35W
35W
Strongbad
Member
Keep in mind here guys that you're already talking about single digit or low double digit (ft lbs) of recoil already. Putting together a reduced load isn't going to buy you that much and if you try to use it on deer you risk making the load too anemic to get the job done. Your time and money will likely be better spent on a Limbsaver, a slip on shoulder pad, thicker jacket, a little bit of weight added to the rifle (if possible). Those kinds of things. Trying to finesse the loads to reduce recoil in the 243 is hair splitting. If we were talking about something bigger where you could reduce the recoil dramatically, I'd be all for it but that just isn't the case here.
I had to learn a new meaning for that. What I'm talking about isn't a reduced load but a reduced recoil load. They aren't the same thing. You might be able to get the bullets traveling to slow but that would have to be really slow. Now there are different bullets & the slower it travels the less the bullet comes apart. You may get a clean pass through without doing much hydro shock if it is to slow. I would think if it was that slow it would probably tumble & still shock the internals.
I sent him some 100 grn SP with 23 g 4895 for this weekend. If that helps him shoot better, fine. I can do the 55grn for next weekend, if it will help. I think he may be limp-wristing as well as flinching. He does real well with 22, first time with CF. I'm sure he'll hunt with the Rem or Fed 100's.
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