Thread: Fussy 243.

Even some of the older 100 and the 105gn Sierra pill can be loose in a 1:10 tube.

The 90 nbt is a good pill in a 10 twist, and the 95 maybe ok in your barrel.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depending on end usage,maybe try some basic cup n core Hornady or speer in 80-90 grn weights. The 87grn Hornady had a huge following for many years.

Try changing the pill. Sometimes a rifle simply wont shoot the pill you want it to....youll have to find what the rifle likes

Have you check all the scope ring/ pic rail screws? I had the same problem with my rifle until i found that the rear ring screws are loose. The two which holding the ring to the pic rail. Wasted alot of ammo

Greetings All,
I always get a good laugh when I see a thread where a rifle is described as fussy or doesn't like a particular projectile. Rifles are inanimate objects and don't like or dislike anything. They do however have capabilities. The English landscape architect Capability Brown would trudge around the estate of each commission before reporting back to the owners "These are the capabilities". It is the same with rifles. Things like magazine length, barrel twist and chamber dimensions all have an effect on what the rifle can shoot well. As projectiles are becoming longer even when the same weight we are likely to hear more tales of woe like the one in the OP where significant quantities of components shot down range in a rifle that never was likely to shoot them well in the first place.
Some .243 rifles have faster twists Remington 700 rifles have always had 1 in 9" twists recently increased to 1 in 8". Some may be slower as well. The first question when developing a load should be "What is this rifle capable of shooting well?
GPM.

And whilst I have reloaded very little being a fitter turner in a past life I can say that you could get a barrel that has a different harmonic to a bunch in the same batch.
I've had a piece of steel on the later that was just arse to turn. Lots of vibrations when turning and can make finishing cuts problematic. Even hard spots.
Try everything, slow up-slow down, different speeds/feeds, tips, cutting fluids, bits of wood pressed against the material.
If that one was a barrel it could indeed be very fussy compared to its brethren.
There was some scuttlebutt over the ruger mini14s when they first came out.
Bill Ruger supposedly in a cost cutting measure used a very fast aggressive machining technique on the barrels.
For the most part you do read/hear how a lot of those first rifles were minute of A4 at best. That machining technique could well have put stresses into the barrel.
To qualify that in a very minor way an acquaintance some years ago was culling in the north island. One of his fellow shooters had a mini rebarrelled to 222 as it was issued. Thing started to shoot like a demon.
And back on subject there could be just enough leeway on the barrels that some stabilise hundies but only just. The next one just won't.
I think that's why Nosler do 90 and 95gr BSTs. If one doesn't they other one should

ROCK, help your mate. Howa 243s comes with a 10twist barrel, which will stabilize projectiles to a cetain length.

The 95gr TMk, are longer than the lenght projectile a 10t barrel can stabilise.

I would suggest you mate look into Swift 90gr or Hornady 87s, both will work great in his rifle.

Originally Posted by Jaco Goosen

ROCK, help your mate. Howa 243s comes with a 10twist barrel, which will stabilize projectiles to a cetain length.

The 95gr TMk, are longer than the lenght projectile a 10t barrel can stabilise.

I would suggest you mate look into Swift 90gr or Hornady 87s, both will work great in his rifle.

@Jaco Goosen we've gone back to the drawing board. He's ordered some of the speer 85gr btsp and will grab some factory ammo(80gr blue box) to rule out the rifle too. Also looked at the 90gr Eld X but will just try adjusting one variable at a time..
Thanks for the reply. Once I'm back up and running I'll have some work for you too. Cheers!

i found the 243 tmk pills terrble in me 243- changed to Targex 95g- primo

Originally Posted by ANTSMAN

i found the 243 tmk pills terrble in me 243- changed to Targex 95g- primo

My experience too.

Out of interest for anyone reading all this it is not bullet weight that decides required twist rate but bullet length!
if there was a heavy enough core material available I could make a 200gr bullet that would stabilise in a 6mm 10" twist barrel as long as the finished bullet length was short enough.
This is also the reason that plastic tip bullets in various calibers wont stabilise as the bullet LENGTH can exceed the barrel twist even though the bullet weight is supposed to work.
Hope this makes sense.
Cheers.

Originally Posted by TARGEX

Out of interest for anyone reading all this it is not bullet weight that decides required twist rate but bullet length!
if there was a heavy enough core material available I could make a 200gr bullet that would stabilise in a 6mm 10" twist barrel as long as the finished bullet length was short enough.
This is also the reason that plastic tip bullets in various calibers wont stabilise as the bullet LENGTH can exceed the barrel twist even though the bullet weight is supposed to work.
Hope this makes sense.
Cheers.

In the 1850s this was figured out by a bloke called green hill who came up with a formula to calculate the twist rate needed for any bullet length or alternately the longest bullet that will work with a given twist. It completely ignores weight . It also takes into account the projectile speed as as a bullet slows it's rotational speed slows and gyroscopic stability decreases. Which explains the occasional I'm on target at 100 yds but can't hit the target at 200. I know I've been there.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

In the 1850s this was figured out by a bloke called green hill who came up with a formula to calculate the twist rate needed for any bullet length or alternately the longest bullet that will work with a given twist. It completely ignores weight . It also takes into account the projectile speed as as a bullet slows it's rotational speed slows and gyroscopic stability decreases. Which explains the occasional I'm on target at 100 yds but can't hit the target at 200. I know I've been there.

Actually the opposite is true, rpm degrades much less quickly than velocity....so bullets on the verge of stability wobble there way out untill velocity has dropped enough that the rpm will hold them stable.

It's the bullet. Unless your mate has an 8 twist he's pushing shit uphill.

I see it's all been said above, you're onto it now.

Round nose heavy for calibre rule supreme up close.... I do recall 100grn .243 round nose being a thing a few years back...