twist rates for .243

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Shurshot

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I am looking at a .243 bolt for my next purchase. I have been stocking up on bullets to load. I have 500 barnes tsx 85 gr and 600 sierra 85 gr hpbt gameking bullets. I bought the 85 gr bullets based on what my Remington R25 .243 likes and it has a 1:10 twist. (although I still have yet to actually load any of them) I have had nice groups with Remington 80gr sp which is what I have been using,

Now I am looking at a Howa Axiom Varminter .243 that has a 1:12 twist. I will save my questions about that selection for the Rifle forum. My question is, should I stick with a .243 bolt with a 1:10 twist or will a 1:12 twist be good for all the 85 gr bullets I have? I don't really have a need for heavier bullets.

I live in Ohio so I can't hunt deer with a rifle so I will only use this gun for coyote.
 
Hey there,

A 1:10 is typical as you may know. 1:10 is good for up to 90-100 grain depending on whether you're doing precision work or hunting. My 1:10 shoots 95's very well, but it's borderline, and many prefer a 1:9 for 95's or better.

243 Bullets come in 58 up through 107. With a barrel of 1:12 I'd say the max you'd want to shoot is a 70 grain, or there about. They don't call it a varminter for nothin'.

My 1:10 shoots 70 through 95 very well. The lighter bullets do not perform as well in my 1:10.

Twist is a function of stabilizing bullet length, not really weight. Typical weights/ratios are for lead alloy. When shooting all copper, like the Barnes, everything changes because copper doesn't have the same mass as lead or lead alloy.
 
thanks for the reply. If that's the case, the Howa needs to be scratched off the list of what I was going to purchase. I guess I will look at Savage and see what they have to offer. Not sure if they have one with a 1:9 twist or not but I didn't think to ask about 1:9 before.

I will keep looking. thanks again Art
 
When Remington introduced their 244/6MM cartridge back in the 60's, they originally had 1in12" twist which handled flat base bullets up to 90gr. However, Winchester's 243 used a 1in10" twist, which could handle 100gr flat base bullets for deer and other game.
Although the 6mm was superior ballistically, the 243 killed it with rifle sales due to the ability to shoot stable 100gr hunting loads.
Remington now uses a 1in9.125" twist in all their 243/6mm barrels.

A 1in9" twist will usually shoot all sizes of bullet weights quite accurately, and would be my choice, if offered the option.

Here's a link to an interesting site with a lot of information.

http://www.6mmbr.com/index.html



NCsmitty
 
I have an old '74 R700 .243 that was my dads. I have no idea what twist it has, but it shoots both 95gr. Ballistic Silvertips pretty well, and 105gr A-Max very well, both on top of IMR 4895. The AMax hovers around .5 MOA, and the BS are a little more spread out, but still under MOA.
 
I say the jury is out on Howa twist. they don't seem to really say anywhere. I downloaded their 2011 catalog and it referenced 1:10 in the Hornady chart and found it referenced as 1:12 at a sight for sale. I see now that Savage are all 1:9.25 for a .243 so I want to stick to something closer to that I believe.

I'm sure someone will jump on me for saying, but I have read a lot of complaints with Remington barrels and triggers on the 700 so I have not considered them but it's good to know what thier twist is. thanks smitty
 
I went through the same dilemma 25 years ago when I was deciding which custom heavy barrel to use in for custom 98 varminter... Went with a 1:10, and it shoots 55-85 grain bullets 1/4 MOA with handloads it likes, and .5 MOA for ones it absolutely hates... Good enough for me. Good luck.
 
well I just ordered a Savage Model 10 Predator Hunter with a 9.25 twist. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it likes my 85 gr bullets!
 
Congratulations on your choice of rifles, it's rare that Sierra bullets won't group in most rifles, and I don't use Barnes bullets.

Pictures of the rifle and it's targets would be nice, just use the Go Advanced tab and follow the link to posting pics.



NCsmitty
 
One of a kind

Hello Everybody
I've been reloading 41 years and alot of calibers, not so much as pistols and revolvers as I have for rifles. One Caliber that I have loaded extensively for is the .243 Winnie. The model 70 Winchester Heavy Varmint Stainless 26" barrel rate of twist 1:10. The scope was Leupold 4.5-14x40MM Tactical 4" sun shade right out on the box 1/4 Moa at 150 yards Using Nosler 55 gr ballistic tip bullets. I worked up some awesome pet loads for this rifle, I don't have my data in front of me, but right off my head the first round that went thru it was a 85 gr Sierra HPBT backed by 41.5 grs of Hodgdon H414 I shot my first Chuck with this load at 625 yards. I've have about 8 pet loads for this rifle. I never used the magazine in the gun I loaded one at a time and very rarely did I miss. I love Varmint hunting always have. The Winnie 243 will forever be in my heart she never let me down She was one of a kind. Here's another pet load I worked up for it. IMR4350, H414, IMR4064 works very well in this load, Speer 70 gr TNT-HP backed by 46.5 grs of IMR 4350 I have shot Chunks at 300-450 yards with this one, she shot good with 55 up to 85 grain bullets anything over that the accuracy would start to suffer. I don't have the gun anymore, but I shure miss it I don't think I'll ever find another like her she was one of a kind.
Later Steve.
 
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I bought a youth Remington 770 for my girls . The action leaves a little to be desired but basic fit to syn. stock & trigger was a hi fair !

Took the scope & mounts off ,cleaned & torqued/loctite the mount down .

Sited it in by looking thru the barrel ,then went to shooting Hornadys 87 gr. #2440 bullet over starting loads of IMR4895, I loaded 10 rnds , shot 1 at 50 yds moved the hairs to the hole then moved to 100yds the other 9 I could almost cover with a quarter!!!

I was impressed to say the least !!

Now I`m casting a 107gr. boolit for it , we`ll see how it handles heavy lead & how fast !!!
 
My Bo Bo. the load listed should have been 41.5 grains of Hodgdon H414 for the Sierra 85 grain HPBT
I have fat fingers. I changed the post.
Rooster.
 
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