55's and 243's

I don't use 55's in my 243 but use the 55 BK's, 55 NBT's and Sierra 60 hp's in my 6x45 and 6mm-204 and They seem to be far more potent that the same weight bullet in the 22-204 or 223.

AWS
 
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If a guy wanted to shoot 55's why wouldn't you just get a .224 centerfire..Not looking for flame's..My comment isn't directed @ the last poster..Or anybody..

Just "sayin"



Maybe some people can only afford one small cal rifle, and the .243 makes a good choice since it can be used for deer as well in 50 states AFAIK.

Or people who figure they need a gun to fill in the missing gap between 6.5 mm and 5.56 mm. Everyone better agree this is a good reason to buy a .243 since my significant other may read this thread.
 
I was going to get a 22-250, but i have a 204, and 243 was legal for deer,but now with the rule change the 250 would of been fine. My intent was for a longer range, windy day coyote rig, that would be fine for deer. I do have some 80 gr berger's for it two.

Not that it matters, I was just curious if many people had trouble with them. As the other forum seemed all except me and another couldn't get them to shoot.

All this info, has made sense to me, and plan on doing more with the heavier bullets. I just like that thump the 55's give the coyotes, and for me they seem to be ok on fur, and buck the wind alittle better then the 204.
 
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55's are all my .243 will shoot. I bought the gun off of my dad because he couldn't get it to pattern 70,80,100gr bullets as a deer gun. After some research, I found it had a McGowen custom barrel on it and it only likes 55gr Ballistic Tips with 43g of Varget. She's a flat shooter...but not fur friendly at all. Never once had a spinner or lost coyote from it.

Tony



Back in my 243 Win days, I used to shoot the "club Load" which shot well under MOA for about 7-8 fellas at the gun club.

70 gr Sierra and Nosler BT
39.0 grs IMR4895

Might be worth a try.

If I were to hunt coyotes with a 243 Win, this would be my load.

JD338
 
Speed kills!

The 60g Sierra is great for coyotes and lions.

One thing that speed does for you is to cut down considerably on the leade required to hit a moving animal.

Also, with the speed, you are much less to unzip an animal at rages between 275-375 where you tend to hit them low.

Many folks wonder why shoot a 60 at 4000 fps, just plug in the ballistics of an 85g Sierra BTHP at 3150...it is a mind blower.

Another super load in the 243 is 47.0g of 4350 with the 70g Nosler BT at 3600 fps, this load is however much less hide friendly than the 60g Sierra. They could re-name this bullet the "Coyote Grenade".
 
In my savage the only 55 grain i could get to shoot was the sierras. They shot a raged hole at 100yd when it was 60-70 degrees.When it got cold they really opened up, so I went to the 60 sierra. this summer it didn't seem to matter what powder load i had behind them and they worked. Seemed to be good in the cold also.
 
Anyone,You do realize that if speed kills, you need to go to a heavier bullet.. A 70 grain at 3700 reaches 350 yds in.3392 seconds while your 60 grain takes.36283 and the 85 grain does it in.4121 seconds. Time of flight is what you need to look at with bullet weights and velocity if you are trying to cut running leads on game down.Never assume if a bullet is faster at the mzzle it will always get to the target quicker.If you speed the 70 gr up 150 fps(which is possible in some guns) then you really smoke the 4000 fps 60 grain.Been there ,done that.
And also, the faster 70 grain still only allows you to cut your lead down by 1.03 ft at 350yd for a 90degree angle on a 30 mph coyote.Total lead would need to be 14.92 feet. So lead decreases for faster bullets are not really that relevant because they are virtually impossible to judge accurately. I really doubt while looking thru a scope at a coyote running 30 mph anyone can tell if the lead is 14.92 feet or 13.89 feet.Realizing of course, that 350 is a long running shot,but used for an example.
 
I ran the numbers on JBM Eskimo comparing the 60 Varminter to the 85 Gameking and decided the 85 is going to work just as well or better out to 300 and after that I'm going to have to adjust MOA for either bullet so I'm gonna stick with the 85 grainer.
 
Settled on the 55gr noslers for my .243, they group very well out of my R-25 rifle. Shooting only factory loaded ammo, the winchesters do slightly better than the federal loaded ones, both right at half moa or better (clover leafs)! The only thing I don't like however, is the 3/16" thick solid copper base on the 55 noslers.
 
I just started to mess around with 55 BK's in a T/C Icon. Not having the best of luck yet. The gun shoots 85 BTHP's pretty well(
 
I use the 60gr.varminters. out of my savage predator.42.5 gr.of 4064,10 thousanth off the lands,and a lot of stock work.Crono,at 3680fps at 60 degrees.This is a 5 shot group at a 100.I choked on th 5th shot,the flier
1018081445.jpg


Double [image] [/image] tags are a no-no.
Jack
 
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Most 243's with a 26" barrel will shoot the 60's at 4000 fps with a max load of Win 760.

The speed that I shot The 85g BTHP at was 3100-3150.

Here is a comparison:

Range
yds Path
in ComeUp
clicks Velocity
fps Energy
ft/lbs Momentum
lb ft/s ToF
sec Windage
in Windage
clicks Optimal
Game Wgt
---------------------------------------------------
85g Sierra BTHP@3150; BC-.282
100 1.3 -5 2810 1490 34.12 0.101 1.0 4 240
125 1.5 -4 2729 1405 33.13 0.128 1.6 5 220
150 1.3 -3 2649 1325 32.17 0.156 2.3 6 202
175 0.8 -2 2571 1248 31.22 0.185 3.2 7 184
200 0.0 0 2495 1174 30.29 0.214 4.2 8 168
225 -1.2 2 2419 1105 29.38 0.245 5.4 9 153
250 -2.7 4 2346 1039 28.48 0.276 6.7 10 140
275 -4.6 6 2274 976 27.61 0.309 8.3 11 127
300 -7.0 9 2203 916 26.74 0.342 10.0 13 116
325 -9.8 11 2132 858 25.89 0.377 11.9 14 105
350 -13.0 14 2064 804 25.06
-------------------------------------------------------

60g Sierra@4000 fps; BC 182
100 0.7 -3 3380 1522 28.97 0.082 1.2 5 209
125 0.8 -3 3238 1397 27.76 0.104 1.9 6 183
150 0.8 -2 3101 1281 26.58 0.128 2.7 7 161
175 0.5 -1 2967 1173 25.43 0.153 3.8 8 141
200 0.0 0 2838 1073 24.32 0.179 5.1 10 123
225 -0.8 1 2712 980 23.25 0.206 6.5 11 108
250 -1.9 3 2590 894 22.20 0.234 8.2 13 94
275 -3.3 5 2471 814 21.18 0.264 10.1 14 82
300 -5.0 6 2356 740 20.20 0.295 12.3 16 71
325 -7.2 8 2244 671 19.24 0.328 14.7 17 61
350 -9.8 11 2135 607 18.30
-----------------------------------------------------------
55g .243 dia Nosler BT@4000 fps-BC=.286

100 0.5 -2 3581 1566 28.14 0.079 0.8 3 208
125 0.6 -2 3483 1481 27.37 0.101 1.2 4 192
150 0.6 -2 3387 1401 26.61 0.122 1.7 4 176
175 0.4 -1 3292 1324 25.87 0.145 2.4 5 162
200 0.0 0 3200 1250 25.14 0.168 3.2 6 149
225 -0.6 1 3109 1181 24.43 0.192 4.1 7 136
250 -1.5 2 3021 1114 23.74 0.216 5.1 8 125
275 -2.6 4 2934 1051 23.05 0.242 6.2 9 115
300 -3.9 5 2849 991 22.38 0.267 7.5 10 105
325 -5.5 6 2765 934 21.73 0.294 8.9 10 96
350 -7.4 8 2683 879 21.08
--------------------------------------------------------
No doubt that the 55g Nosler with it's very high bc stomps Heck out of the 85g BTHP at 3150 fps.
 
Ronnie, H335 would probably top out in pressure with very mild loads. H414 & 760 seem to rule when it comes to top velocity with extreme accuracy. Some guys have got 42g of Varget to shoot well with the 60's, my Varget would not shoot well....probably a bad can.
 
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Take a look at the 55grain and see how fast it sheds velocity and energy. Almost all heavier bullets will have more energy and velocity at mid to longer ranges than a 55 gr.At 400yds a 70 grain lauched at 3700 feet will be 400 fps faster and almost twice the energy of a 55 grain at 4000 muzzle velocity.Keep the 55 grain in the 22 centerfires where the belong!!!In a 6mm they are just smoke and mirrors.



750fpe vs. 950fpe ain't exactly double...

And... since we're on the subject of 400 yards... the difference in wind drift is less than 1/2" between the 55 and 70 (13" vs. 13.5").

Sight them both in 1" high @ 100... and the 55 is 2.5" flatter at 400 (-10.5" vs. -13")

Now... I like the 70 grainers in the 6mm (especially the .75 VMax)... but the 55 does have some advantages. Besides 4k is cool... and seeing coyotes go down in the glass, before you feel the recoil... is even cooler.
 
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Ronnie, H335 would probably top out in pressure with very mild loads. H414 & 760 seem to rule when it comes to top velocity with extreme accuracy. Some guys have got 42g of Varget to shoot well with the 60's, my Varget would not shoot well....probably a bad can.



thanks ackleyman
I had a few lbs of the h335 and was hoping i could use it for something lol
Its sucks for my 223 and 6.8 so i was hoping it would work for the 243
anyway thanks
 
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