Thread: .243 load development part deux

So a while back I posted seeking input on load dev for my .243 which garnered a lot of opinion, a lot of helpful observations/recommendations and the odd spitting of the dummy (myself included lol) so since then I've been gathering the makings and today made up some load samples to shoot.

At this point I'd like to acknowledge @Basenjiboy who has taken me under his reloading wing and made himself, his reloading gear and his accumulated knowledge available to get me started, cheers mate, you're one of the good buggers and your time and input is well appreciated and also, thanks for cleaning and depriming all my brass...not all heroes wear their undies on the outside!

So below is the result of todays test loads and for me two things in particular stand out, handloading is very gratifying and can deliver (to me) surprising results. At the outset I was hoping to recreate a round "as good as" the Deer Season I tend to rave about and as you'll see we far surpassed that. Obviously this is only a part of the picture, good grouping is one thing but the proof is in the pudding so to speak of how it performs on game but the results of todays tests look very promising. Hopefully the pictures load in order. I started with 3 shots of Deer Season to settle in (and I took some settling, it's a new situation having someone watch over my shoulder, figuratively speaking so I needed some moments to settle in) and then worked my way up the test loads. For now I'll load all my brass at the chosen grain weight but....I have come across another projectile that I think bears closer examination and testing......but thats later!

All loads were 5 shot groups, didn't test for zero and slight headwind quartering across which I also didn't adjust for POI was dead centre of target @100m, couple of flyers I'm taking ownership of but it seems quite conclusive, OAL was, I believe, a shade over 2mm under max.