22-243

A

ACE-MAN

New member
Just got back from Montana busting P-dogs. My partner ( owner of Benchmark barrels ) brought along a 22-243. WOW! I want one. 500 yard shots were witnessed by six of us, several out to about 700. Amazing long range cartridge.
 
What twist barrel and what bullets was he shooting?

I was in Montana a couple weeks ago, mainly for ground squirrels. With the Fed. regs. most PD towns are off limits till the end of May, many permanently.

Unless you are just trying for the long shots, the 22-243 is not a good colony varmint caliber. The barrel life is too short.

Jack
 
Gunsmith friend of mine in Pine Bluff, Arkansas who made my .221 Fireball is working up a .224/6 MM. I have also seen an article on one in one a the gun mags and it was called a .224 TTH, for Texas Trophy Hunter. They were using it in Texas to take deer.

Anyway, he says the data from the .220 Swift for hand loads can really make it scream. Same bullet that the .22-243 has, but a much bigger case. Think of the possibilities!
 
Jack,
He shot 80 grainers if I'm not mistaken and the twist was 1 in 8. As far as the land goes. We were on seventy square miles of private land. Every rancher I encountered before we went into this spot wanted us to stay at THEIR place and shoot. One lady tried to pay us for the ammo we shot. The Montana people I talked to were the salt of the earth. No matter how long we spoke. They had to shake my hand. This was nice and I did not mind. I just was not used to this.
 
An 8" twist barrel with the 80gr VLDs makes a good, up to 1000 yard combination. Barrel life is in the 700 round range. As long as you are only using it for long range shots, no problem. By the time you get the bench set, range the yardage, check the wind, adjust the scope, etc., 10 shots an hour is about the best you can hope for. 70 hours of actual shooting will take most people a long time to do.

Jack
 
I had a 22-243 Middlestead in the late 80's.Sold in in 91 or 92 very good round at long range.I went thru 3 barrels in that time.First one i went thru just trying to work up load data.No internet or wildcaters in the farming comunity i grew up in.Second barrel lasted around 7 or 800 rounds. By the third barrel i had worked out all my loading problems and got around 1500 rounds thru it.Groups started openning up around 900 rounds i then started seating bullets out farther.

There are a lot of load data out there now and i did not know all about cooling barrels back then.I slung alot of lite bullets apart in the 1-8 twist barrel.I dont think it is a barrel burner unless you set and shoot hundreds of rounds in one setting.Of course this goes for any high speed round.This was a mauser action and Hart barrels.If i was to build another like it i would go with the 22-243 AL.
 
Jack,
I called my partner today to confirm my last post. He shoots 80 grain Sierra match bullets with Reloader 25 out of a 1-8 twist barrel. The velocity is around 3500fps. The rifle is not a Cheetah, but a straight 22-243. He owns Benchmark barrels and has never heard a complaint on any of the barrels he has chambered for this round. He confided this round has a reputation as a wickedly accurate barrel burner. He stated the barrel burner reputation was over rated.
From what I've heard. It's velocity that has the greatest determining factor in barrel life. I'm assuming good barrel care. 3500fps is what I shoot in my straight 22-250 with 55grain bullets. Why should this 22-243 have such a short barrel life? Would the longer bullets have more contact with the lands thus less barrel life? I can see the short life with lite bullets at ungodly speeds but not 80 grainers at 3500fps. Am I correct?
 
I read an article years back about a wildcat round called the 22CHeetah,it was a .243 necked down to a .22 cal.it shot at just over 4000fps.The CH stands for who wildcatted it.The article was either by Zumbo or Carmicheal,but can't remember.What is the difference between this and the middlestad you guys are talking about.Is it the grain bullet.Or has anyone even heard of it?
 
In my experience, velocity has very little to do with barrel life. The big factor is the amount of powder relative to bore size. At one time I shot a 243 in competition and went through 5 barrels in 4 years. I tried reduced loads, lighter bullets, different powders, etc. Nothing made more than a 10% difference in barrel life.

The 22-250 is no slouch at burning barrels. The best I ever got was 1300 rounds through a slow twist barrel. The faster twist barrels have to be retired sooner because of bullet blowups.

Jack
 
Blak Coyote,
The CHeetah is a 308 match (small primer pocket) piece of brass necked down to 22 caliber. I'm pretty sure about this.
 
The Cheetah came in two versions. Mark 1 & Mark 2 I have one in the Mark 2 It has a 40 degree shoulder. the Mark 1 has a 28 degree shoulder and is easier to form. Both have almost no body taper. The 308 benchrest case is no longer made by Remington so I use .243 or 308 cases. With the small rifle primer in the BR case, cases had to be at least 90% full or you had a hang fire problem. I shoot a 55gr. bullet with 48 grs. of IMR 4350 powder. The barrel has a 1 and 16 twist.
 
My 8 twist .22-250AI only has a bit over 700 rounds on it, and it's already starting to have too many "poofs" for field use. Just too much of a pain in the behind having to stop for cleaning and cooling every 15 shots. Gonna cut the threads off and rechamber in .22BR, be content pushing 75's at 3000 - 3100.

If I do another one, I'll start with a 9 twist. At my elevation and large case velocity, that's all I need for 80's, and I think it would make a noticeable difference in how long before the "poofs" start. Maybe...

- DAA
 
1shot,how do you like it?This is one of the main reasons I chose the .243 for my coyote rifle.I figured when it came time to rebarrel,I would have the brass for reloading.But havent heard much on the CHeetah anywhere and was wondering if it was more trouble than it was worth.
 
Blak Coyote: I've had mine for 10 years. It is in a 700 rem. classic. Barrel is a med. wt. varmint Shilen. I made it 26" long. It will shoot 10 shots in a 3/4" one hole group at 100 yds. I never did see any reason for the small primer. Vel. was as good with the large primer and mine shot the same. All the small primer seemed to do for me was to cause problems like hang fires.
 
If the 22-243 has a barrel life of 700 to 900 rounds. What would a reasonable expectation for the 243 be? This old heavy barreled Sako 243 is in need of a barrel pretty quick. Lots of choices. I thought of rechambering in 243AI. The problem is by the time I had fireformed my brass, the barrel would be half gone LOL!
 
I'm curious as to how many rounds average for barrel life too.My .243 in 700 Rem.ADL sporter barreled has about 400 rounds through it right now,and only has gotten hot a couple times if 4 rounds fired in succession is considered hot and that was in the heat of battle with coyotes and whitetails.
 
When I was shooting a 243 in competition I went through 5 barrels in 4 years. The most rounds I ever got was 1100. All the barrrels were still very accurate, just started blowing up bullets. With a slow twist barrel and keeping the barrel cool you should be able to get closer to 2000.

Jack
 
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