Accuracy Intl + .243 Winchester...Who is using this caliber for PRS?

[HairyDemon]

http://www.eurooptic.com/Accuracy-International-AX-Rifle-243-Winchester-24-PB-PB.aspx

I don't read much about people shooting .243 Win, but I plan on shooting my AI with the 308 barrel for practice so barrel life is mitigated to load dev and matches. I wanted to know what loads people have had success with, I like the idea of 115 DTACs out a .243 if the COAL will work?

Sorry if wrong section?

 

[Eagle1899]

243 with Dtacs would be great but barrel life is going to suffer.

 

[morganlamprecht]

243 + 115s are great in an AI...i know a couple of AWs that probably have 15k-20k rounds thru them each with that combo

 

[Mike402]

243 with Dtacs would be great but barrel life is going to suffer.

That is the combo I shoot. Of course everyone knows about the limited barrel life. On my current barrel at 600 rounds, I am seeing pretty significant firecracking, and the throat has moved ~.020 in that time. The other even bigger pain in the ass is the DTACs are constantly out of stock. I initially bought 100 just to make sure they would work in my setup. When I went to order more, they were out of stock for six months.

 

[Rob01]

.243s were used a lot back around 2004-2008 and then it shifted back more to 6.5 calibers and then around 2012 back to 6mms. Nothing wrong with a .243. I used one for quite a few years in matches and still have one in the safe. I used to load 115s with H4350 but now I use the 105s.

 

[buffybuster]

The .243Win is an excellent round for PRS type matches. The biggest strike against it is it has a bit too much capacity for 105's@3150fps. Meaning there are smaller capacity cartridges that will provide the same performance with less powder (potentially longer barrel life) and longer caselife (sharper shoulder means less case stretch). The main pro's for the 243Win is generally cheaper cases, dies and a lot data. Never feel under gunned with a .243Win.

 

[Shoots 700's]

I to have one in the safe sitting in an AICS. It's a great round and I shot 105 Hybrids out of it. Pushed it aside when I went to 6.5x47.

 

[W54/XM-388]

You'll get excellent results if you load your own rounds and push the long heavy projectiles.
These days now that 6.5cm and other 6mm cartridges are all the flavor of the year, you'll probably find match ammo for them easier.

 

[IndianaRem5r]

I run 95 grain TMK's in my .243 due to slow twist rate and cannot stabilize 105 and up. However, I would think that the 115's would be hard to fit in a magazine unless you had a ton of the bullet within the case. The shorter case 6mm rounds (Creedmoor, etc.) have the advantage of more easily fitting into a standard AICS mag. My 95's are loaded to barely fit in the magazine and still I have a ton of bullet in the case neck. 115's would be much, much worse.

 

[HairyDemon]

I run 95 grain TMK's in my .243 due to slow twist rate and cannot stabilize 105 and up. However, I would think that the 115's would be hard to fit in a magazine unless you had a ton of the bullet within the case. The shorter case 6mm rounds (Creedmoor, etc.) have the advantage of more easily fitting into a standard AICS mag. My 95's are loaded to barely fit in the magazine and still I have a ton of bullet in the case neck. 115's would be much, much worse.

Good info thx....

 

[3rdfocal]

I'm shooting a 110 SMK with H1000 from an AT with pretty good results. Right at 3k FPS, low pressure, 1.9" @400. AINA barrel 26" 8 twist.

 

[demolitionman]

Im running a .243 with 40.9g h4350 and 95smk. im seeing about 2.9 mills at 600yds. Its awfully hard for spotters to see much splash past 800 yards though. I really need to get my 105vld Bergers to shoot. My load devolpment never came together on them....

 

[6brshooter]

Been running a 243 for 9-10 yrs, started with 105 vld Berger and 43-44gr h4831sc. That would get me 3050 pretty easy, but eventually changed to 105 hybrids and 42.0-42.5gr h4350. That load will get to 3150 easy, I've got to 2600rds on one barrel with that load. It still shot fair (5/8moa), but it had lost 125fps. There is nothing wrong with a 243, the perceived barrel life difference between the 6mms that can run 105 in the 3100range is a joke. The guys that say the 243 has too much case capacity are silly. The 6creed has too little case capacity, to get to 243 speeds with it causes brass to wear out. Theres a reason that factory hornady 6 creed ammo is at 2950fps, thats where that cartridge is at with sane chamber pressure.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I haven't shot a PRS match in nearly 3 years due to work but I ran 243 in an AI or custom when I did and I really couldn't find any cons to it. I ran 105 hybrids though so I can't comment on how the 115's do.

Pros:

1. Lapua brass

2. Barrel life (with H1000). You need to run a 26" to really be efficient with this powder but a 22-24" will still net over 3k. I saw 3130-3145fps from about a half dozen different barrel from 3 different manufacturers all finished 26". All gave single digit ES and SD with 47.5gr and federal 210's in Lapua brass. Load development really wasn't even needed. With H1000 you'll see 3k rounds minimum burning down some ammo, 4k rounds if you do less missing. If you're going to run H4350 or another faster powder there's no advantage to 243 as far as barrel life and you won't see an advantage to the larger case capacity since you'll hit pressure at about the same velocity as you would with other options.

3. Brass life (with H1000). It's very low pressure and simply does not beat up brass. Lapua brass goes 10+ firings before the pockets even loosen up at all. 15-20 firings before it's loose enough to be a concern for me and I wouldn't want to depend on it for a match.

4. Brass loss at matches. Nobody shoots 243 so you're not sorting through creedmoor brass with 10 other people to find as many with your markings as possible after each stage and hoping someone doesn't accidentally grab your brass. Therefor you recover more.

5. Feeding. This is more so for non AI rifles since they just seem to feed everything so smoothly, but the shoulder angles feed a little better in some rifles (mainly R700 footprints) than some of the stuff with sharper and larger shoulders. Not that they don't feed reliably in a properly built rifle, the shoulder angle of the 308 family just feeds really smooth in everything. Not a huge plus but it is nice.

6. The ability to get and use factory Winchester brass which is also great quality and consistent in a pinch and for about 1/2 the price of Lapua.

7. Pierced primers (with H1000) are non existent and eliminates the need for a SFP rifle. Moot point if you're buying or already have a rifle with a SFP though. With the faster powders you can still pierce them if you don't have a SFP, it's just a pressure curve thing.



The majority of the advantage really comes down to running H1000. If you're not going to then there are fewer advantages which may or may not be worth it to you.

 

[HairyDemon]

I haven't shot a PRS match in nearly 3 years due to work but I ran 243 in an AI or custom when I did and I really couldn't find any cons to it. I ran 105 hybrids though so I can't comment on how the 115's do.

Pros:

1. Lapua brass

2. Barrel life (with H1000). You need to run a 26" to really be efficient with this powder but a 22-24" will still net over 3k. I saw 3130-3145fps from about a half dozen different barrel from 3 different manufacturers all finished 26". All gave single digit ES and SD with 47.5gr and federal 210's in Lapua brass. Load development really wasn't even needed. With H1000 you'll see 3k rounds minimum burning down some ammo, 4k rounds if you do less missing. If you're going to run H4350 or another faster powder there's no advantage to 243 as far as barrel life and you won't see an advantage to the larger case capacity since you'll hit pressure at about the same velocity as you would with other options.

3. Brass life (with H1000). It's very low pressure and simply does not beat up brass. Lapua brass goes 10+ firings before the pockets even loosen up at all. 15-20 firings before it's loose enough to be a concern for me and I wouldn't want to depend on it for a match.

4. Brass loss at matches. Nobody shoots 243 so you're not sorting through creedmoor brass with 10 other people to find as many with your markings as possible after each stage and hoping someone doesn't accidentally grab your brass. Therefor you recover more.

5. Feeding. This is more so for non AI rifles since they just seem to feed everything so smoothly, but the shoulder angles feed a little better in some rifles (mainly R700 footprints) than some of the stuff with sharper and larger shoulders. Not that they don't feed reliably in a properly built rifle, the shoulder angle of the 308 family just feeds really smooth in everything. Not a huge plus but it is nice.

6. The ability to get and use factory Winchester brass which is also great quality and consistent in a pinch and for about 1/2 the price of Lapua.

7. Pierced primers (with H1000) are non existent and eliminates the need for a SFP rifle. Moot point if you're buying or already have a rifle with a SFP though. With the faster powders you can still pierce them if you don't have a SFP, it's just a pressure curve thing.



The majority of the advantage really comes down to running H1000. If you're not going to then there are fewer advantages which may or may not be worth it to you.

Fantastic Feedback, One Concern I did have that was mentioned earlier what as the overall length running the 105s? I used to run 260 rem and the one thing I didn't like is that in an AI mag with 2.90" I ran out of room fast, I kinda like the 6xc and 6cm because it is little shorter not have to worry about mag length. Excellent food for thought though

 

[Rob01]

I ran 115s in mine at .020" off the lands and had no issues fitting them in mags. Also no issue with 105 BTHPs in my current .243.

 

[BallisticPrimate]

I haven't shot a PRS match in nearly 3 years due to work but I ran 243 in an AI or custom when I did and I really couldn't find any cons to it. I ran 105 hybrids though so I can't comment on how the 115's do.

Pros:

1. Lapua brass

2. Barrel life (with H1000). You need to run a 26" to really be efficient with this powder but a 22-24" will still net over 3k. I saw 3130-3145fps from about a half dozen different barrel from 3 different manufacturers all finished 26". All gave single digit ES and SD with 47.5gr and federal 210's in Lapua brass. Load development really wasn't even needed. With H1000 you'll see 3k rounds minimum burning down some ammo, 4k rounds if you do less missing. If you're going to run H4350 or another faster powder there's no advantage to 243 as far as barrel life and you won't see an advantage to the larger case capacity since you'll hit pressure at about the same velocity as you would with other options.

3. Brass life (with H1000). It's very low pressure and simply does not beat up brass. Lapua brass goes 10+ firings before the pockets even loosen up at all. 15-20 firings before it's loose enough to be a concern for me and I wouldn't want to depend on it for a match.

4. Brass loss at matches. Nobody shoots 243 so you're not sorting through creedmoor brass with 10 other people to find as many with your markings as possible after each stage and hoping someone doesn't accidentally grab your brass. Therefor you recover more.

5. Feeding. This is more so for non AI rifles since they just seem to feed everything so smoothly, but the shoulder angles feed a little better in some rifles (mainly R700 footprints) than some of the stuff with sharper and larger shoulders. Not that they don't feed reliably in a properly built rifle, the shoulder angle of the 308 family just feeds really smooth in everything. Not a huge plus but it is nice.

6. The ability to get and use factory Winchester brass which is also great quality and consistent in a pinch and for about 1/2 the price of Lapua.

7. Pierced primers (with H1000) are non existent and eliminates the need for a SFP rifle. Moot point if you're buying or already have a rifle with a SFP though. With the faster powders you can still pierce them if you don't have a SFP, it's just a pressure curve thing.



The majority of the advantage really comes down to running H1000. If you're not going to then there are fewer advantages which may or may not be worth it to you.

Great info here. I'm in the process of putting a .243 match rifle together and this is a most informative post

 

[Simia Dei]

Great info here. I'm in the process of putting a .243 match rifle together and this is a most informative post

I'm doing the same and was tossing up between 6XC and 243 until I read this.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Fantastic Feedback, One Concern I did have that was mentioned earlier what as the overall length running the 105s? I used to run 260 rem and the one thing I didn't like is that in an AI mag with 2.90" I ran out of room fast, I kinda like the 6xc and 6cm because it is little shorter not have to worry about mag length. Excellent food for thought though

I've ran AW/AX mags as well as AICS with the plate in them and mag length has never been an issue. AW/AX mags have a ton of room left.

 

[Engine 22]

The AIAT runs AW or AX mags. You will not have trouble fitting a .243 with any bullet.
I am on my second .243 barrel, running a post '14 AX. The 105s hybrids are hard to beat, but have ran 115 DTACs and 110SMK with great success.

 

[Hoser]

I am running a 6 Competition Match (243 with a 30' shoulder) using H-1000 and coated 115s. Just shy of 5,000 rounds on this barrel and it still shoots about 3/4 MOA. Velocity has fallen off a bit, but the accuracy is still there.

 

[mi223]

I remember a thread on the scout site, it was discussed that if you call it a 6mm winchester it has a lot more kool-aid factor... Just sayin.

I love my 243. the nosler rdfs at 2.85 oal only has the boat tail portion of the bullet past the neck of the case.

I run h1000 at 3050. I could go faster, but i am hoping for great barrel life.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

 

[D̷e̷v̷i̷l̷D̷o̷c̷A̷Z̷]

6mm Winchester is where it's at!

 

[BallisticPrimate]

Finally managed to do some testing that is relevant to this thread. For my 26' barrel I chose 47.5gr h1000 & 105hybrids at 2.88 oal - velocity was very slow compared to what others are getting posted above, ave over 10 shots = 3010fps. Produced a very good group and SD was 10.6 but I'm going to break out the drop tube and see if I can get more powder in the case without over-compressing.