My first stupid question on SH

[Tugboater]

I was curious if any one is shooting a 243 out to 1000 yards? I'm going to need to rebarrel my rem 700 in the near future and was just wandering if I should just keep it a 243 and add faster twist barrel or go with something else. The 6.5's are really appealing but I have a pile of brass and 1000 rounds of berger vld hunting,dies and powder. I would have to start over. I've shot out to 800yards with this rifle (not very accurately) but I'm trying I'm self taught so it's taking me awhile to put 2 and 2 together. I would like to be able to shoot out to a 1000 yards or more. What you you guys do? Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks Bob

 

[sgtsmmiii]

My thoughts are if you already have plenty of brass and 6mm bullets, I'd stay with the .243 in a fast twist barrel. Plenty fast ( although can be somewhat of a barrel burner ), loads of high ballistic coefficient bullets, and great brass available, I think it makes 1000 yards pretty attainable.

 

[kingzero]

A 243 will do 1000 easy. Maybe not the best or most efficient round for it but you can get it done. What weight Bergers do you have?

 

[Diablo]

I have one that seems OK.

Moon-built .243, Surgeon 591, 27" Bartlein 1-7.7 twist, throated for 115gr DTACs.

I'd say, go for it with your .243.

 

[mkollman74]

No such thing as a stupid question, just stupid people who ask questions... (ask me how I know) All kidding aside, a .243 will get you there.

 

[1791PrecisionArmory]

I would look into the 6mm creedmoor. Better barrel life and still use the killer 6mm bullet.

 

[z71rat]

I'm running Hornady 105bthp's out of my 1-9.25" twist, and it stabilizes them just fine. It has been really accurate with IMR4350. Not sure what weight your VLD's are tipping the scales.

DK

 

[Conrad]

If you already have the brass and bullets stay .243. No flies on it. If you want to get a little different and still be able to use all your same components then check out the 6mm SLR. Run your .243 brass in the die and you're good to go with a new 30* shoulder.


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[Conrad]

PS you will have the capacity to run H1000 and get better barrel life just good luck finding it!


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[hahco]

I think that a 1-8" twist .243 would be about the best decision you could make.

 

[LoanHarvey]

I have a 243 with a new Bartlein 27" 5R barrel, and it has shot out to 1000 with no problem. I am running the Berger 105 H-VLD's on top of 40.5gr of H4350 and getting just over 3100 ft/sc. I tried the H1000 and still shoot better than 1 MOA at all yardages out to 600, just not as tight as the H4350. It likes 46gr of H1000, and runs those at just over 3000 ft/sc. I would stick with the .243!

Edit: Twist is 1:8! Good to go on those 105's

 

[Tugboater]

Wow that was fast! You guys are great. I'm running 87grvld's over imr 4831 and getting 3000fps on the cronograph. Its a 10 twist remington 700 varmit special. ( old school) I was thinking the 1 in 8 twist would be the ticket for some 105gr pills. I think you guys are making my decision a lot more easy! Thanks a bunch!

 

[onethousandmeters]

I've shot to 1200 yards with my .243. I run the Nosler 107gr Custom Comp bullets in Norma brass with 41 gr of H4831sc (short-cut). I'm at 462ft altitude and am still supersonic (just barely) at 1200 yards (1183 fps). I have a Savage 10FCP-SR that I took the .308 barrel off and put a Shilen Match barrel in .243 with 1:8 twist rate on that I ordered from Brownells. Cut it down to 22" and it's ran flawlessly for me. The .243 may not have the ft/lbs of energy at 1000 as say a .308 with 175gr SMK's, but ballistically it's awesome, IMO. Hope this helps. Here's pic of my rifle below:

 

[4000fps]

My 243's throat is about done. My next tube will be a 7.5 twist. With the right glass, any accurate gun can hit the 1000yd mark. Wind really is the devil, that is where the long skinny bullets come into play.

 

[jrm850]

John Whidden, a 3 time National High Power champ, shoots a .243.

 

[Tugboater]

Here is a pick of my 243 varmit special. I have a thunderbeast can coming in about 8 months. I think I will put a new barrel on with and 8 twist and be in business! Keep it coming , convince me

 

[jrm850]

Whidden Shares Championship Secrets within AccurateShooter.com

 

[onethousandmeters]

jrm850 - what an EXCELLENT link! Thanks for sharing this fantastic read.

 

[Tugboater]

Jrm850

very cool! Thanks for the link, That's bad ass! He is shooting some serious velocity's.

 

[4000fps]

PS, I am switching over to a 6mm Creedmoor simply to give me more magazine room for shooting longer bullets. Nothing wrong with a 243 though.

 

[Backspace]

I would throw a 24-26" bartlien 1-8 or 1-7.7 twist of the same contour on there and add a badger thruster on the end. Swap out the 4831 for H4350 (if you have it, if not the 4831 is okay) and shoot the 105 hybrids. 1k is no problem at all for that combo.

 

[R.Walters]

243 will get to 1k with ease! Thats a great looking setup! Im digging the scope too

 

[g2gjoe]

What about the .243 AI?
Is there any significant advantage to it? Any drawbacks?

 

[Nate O.]

What about the .243 AI?
Is there any significant advantage to it? Any drawbacks?

The drawback is you have to slow it down to shoot a match with it☺

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[Early Cuyler]

If there's one thing I've learned shooting the local 1000yd club matches with my 22" 308win is that anything is possible with enough investment and practice. If there are two things I've learned is if you want to be competitive the 6.5mm and 7mm cartridges will smoke a 22" 308win every time.

I'm currently building a 6mm Creedmoor for tactical style matches but will also be using it for the 1000yd stuff as well. The ballistic advantages of the super fast 6mm bullets over a 308 are there (especially wind) but the 7's and 6.5's have even more. That's why I'm gonna get a 6.5x55 barrel for my DTA! Sling the 140's in the Lapua brass. Mmmmmm

 

[g2gjoe]

The following was copied from a page off of 6BR.com

.243 Ackley Improved--More Velocity, Less Case Stretch
by Bob Blaine, Sinclair International

Parker Ackley reluctantly developed the .243 Ackley Improved ("AI"). Ackley finally gave in to his customers' requests to develop the .243 AI. He had always felt that the .243 Winchester was already an improved configuration, but he did say that the best thing to be gained by improving the .243 Winchester was to substantially reduce the case-stretching problems. The .243 Winchester parent case has always stretched brass, almost as bad as the Swift. Even though you get more velocity with the improved .243, I've also found that the improved version gives a bit more throat life than the parent case does.

The .243 AI delivers more velocity by virtue of enhanced case capacity--roughly five grains more H20 capacity than a standard .243 Winchester. The .243 AI has a water capacity of approximately 57 to 58 grains, compared to 52-53 grains for the standard .

 

[Tugboater]

243 will get to 1k with ease! Thats a great looking setup! Im digging the scope too

Your the man Rhett
Thanks again for the scope(I love it)

 

[XTR]

John Widden has used one to good effect (I believe he has a couple of Wimbledon Cups to show for it)

 

[bbcellars]

Shot my GAP 243 out to 1300 yards...you should be money at 1000....send your action to Spartan or GAP, have it trued and have them chamber the barrel for you. You will not be disappointed!

 

[verdugo60]

Long Rifles is another great place, I think their group buy on 700's is going constantly. Fast turnaround and great work to true and re-barrel.

 

[Tugboater]

Ok guys.. Stupid question #2,3and 4! What barrel, a cut or a button? #3 what company and why? I'm sure that's a loaded question.#4 And where should I send it to get it all put together (that won't get me a devorce)

Thanks Bob

 

[bm11]

Ok guys.. Stupid question #2,3and 4! What barrel, a cut or a button? #3 what company and why? I'm sure that's a loaded question.#4 And where should I send it to get it all put together (that won't get me a devorce)

Thanks Bob

I would go with a Bartlein, in a 7.7 or 7.5 twist, and have GA Precision chamber it for you. Ask specifically for it to be throated for 115 DTACs or whatever bullet you use. I had a 7.7 twist Bartlein made for my AX and chambered for DTACs by GAP, and it absolutely hammered at long range. RL-25 produced 3125 FPS if I remember correctly.

 

[Tugboater]

I would go with a Bartlein, in a 7.7 or 7.5 twist, and have GA Precision chamber it for you. Ask specifically for it to be throated for 115 DTACs or whatever bullet you use. I had a 7.7 twist Bartlein made for my AX and chambered for DTACs by GAP, and it absolutely hammered at long range. RL-25 produced 3125 FPS if I remember correctly.

Any idea on price range on something like that? I've read they do great work!

 

[bm11]

IThe .243 may not have the ft/lbs of energy at 1000 as say a .308 with 175gr SMK's, but ballistically it's awesome, IMO.

Huh? I'm guessing you never ran the math.

A 175 SMK at 2700 fps muzzle velocity (fast for .308) will have 570 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .475.

A 115 DTAC at 3125 fps muzzle velocity (what I attained in a properly chambered rifle,) will have 647 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .540.

 

[BullyDog]

If guys are using 6mm 105gr bullets at 3,150 at 1,200yds., plus you have all that brass and components ready, I wouldn't even had asked the question at all Man, go shooting!!!! Regarding barrel twist, it never hurts to go alittle fast, buy a 1-7.5... your good to go.

 

[BryanLitz]

My load,
105 Hybrids seated 0.015" off in a 1:8"
H4350 in Lapua brass, match primer.
3200 fps+ in a 30" barrel match rifle.

Easy to chamber for 2.810" if you wanna mag feed, and smokin' at 1000+. I've won many matches with this combo in a short time. It will fly well beyond 1000 too.

-Bryan

 

[bm11]

Any idea on price range on something like that? I've read they do great work!

IIRC, I paid somewhere in the $800+ range, including the blank. But that included threading the muzzle, fluting the barrel, and cerakoting it. With those three options off, your price would be a good bit less.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

The 243 is a great round and a lot of people compete with it. I just switched to 243's on my match rifle and completed load development. It was super easy to load for and it hammers. Will be shooting a match with it out to 1200 yards next weekend.

Huh? I'm guessing you never ran the math.

A 175 SMK at 2700 fps muzzle velocity (fast for .308) will have 570 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .475.

A 115 DTAC at 3125 fps muzzle velocity (what I attained in a properly chambered rifle,) will have 647 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .540.

While that looks good on paper, the mass of a 30 cal bullets owns it on impacts. I've seen a lot of people not get their hits called with 6mm's and 6.5's that had more energy than 308 on target and the guy shooting 308 got his spotted. That's the one downside to smaller calibers. This is probably what he's talking about, personally I'll take the chance for the superior ballistics.

 

[Tugboater]

IIRC, I paid somewhere in the $800+ range, including the blank. But that included threading the muzzle, fluting the barrel, and cerakoting it. With those three options off, your price would be a good bit less.

Bm11 thanks for that. Now I've got a good starting point!

 

[onethousandmeters]

Huh? I'm guessing you never ran the math.

A 175 SMK at 2700 fps muzzle velocity (fast for .308) will have 570 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .475.

A 115 DTAC at 3125 fps muzzle velocity (what I attained in a properly chambered rifle,) will have 647 ft/lbs of energy at 1000, using a density altitude of 500 and Litz's G1 BC of .540.

You guessed wrong. Actually I did run the math using iSnipe. I cannot run the 115 DTAC's and unless you run a REALLY fast 1:7.5 or faster barrel, not many others can either. The DTAC's are recommended for 1:7.5 or faster. I ran it at my load I listed above, for the 107gr. At my velocity of 2668, at 1k, the ft/lbs are 443. For the 175 gr at2700 fps at 1k, it's 626 ft/lbs. The 105 and 107 gr .243 rnds are the most commonly ones shot. They do not have the same ft/lbs of energy as the .308 at 1k. They do have better ballistics, at 1k, with less recoil, and that was the area I was focusing my answer on.

 

[Tugboater]

My load,
105 Hybrids seated 0.015" off in a 1:8"
H4350 in Lapua brass, match primer.
3200 fps+ in a 30" barrel match rifle.

Easy to chamber for 2.810" if you wanna mag feed, and smokin' at 1000+. I've won many matches with this combo in a short time. It will fly well beyond 1000 too.

-Bryan

Thanks Bryan
You guys have been a big help!

 

[bm11]

Right on. I made the assumption that if one were buying a new barrel of their spec, and chambering it to their spec, that they would be setting it up to optimize the long range performance, as suggested by this 1000 yard performance thread. I didn't think we were discussing factory .243 performance vs factory .308 performance, where a re barrel was involved.

You guessed wrong. Actually I did run the math using iSnipe. I cannot run the 115 DTAC's and unless you run a REALLY fast 1:7.5 or faster barrel, not many others can either. The DTAC's are recommended for 1:7.5 or faster. I ran it at my load I listed above, for the 107gr. At my velocity of 2668, at 1k, the ft/lbs are 443. For the 175 gr at2700 fps at 1k, it's 626 ft/lbs. The 105 and 107 gr .243 rnds are the most commonly ones shot. They do not have the same ft/lbs of energy as the .308 at 1k. They do have better ballistics, at 1k, with less recoil, and that was the area I was focusing my answer on.

 

[BullyDog]

Around, $325-345 depending on barrel contour, $200-250 chamber job, thread muzzle if you want $50, Cerakote barreled action $150-200 depending on artist

Any idea on price range on something like that? I've read they do great work!

 

[Tugboater]

Thanks Bullydog

I've been looking into that. They all seem close in price range. I'm leaning towards long rifles inc. now I just have to figure out what contour. You will all think I'm crazy but I'm going to hunt yotes with this tank of a rifle and try and bang steel as far as I can! The factory barrel is I believe a rem hevy varmit straight contour, the Manners t2A stock on it is for a sendero. I'm leaning towards a Bartlien with an 8 twist. Just not sure on contour.