o on the another question about 223 and 243

cowpastureplinker

cowpastureplinker

New member
Thanks for the info on the other thread guys, but i have another question. i'd like to be able to shoot in the 200 yrd + range, but there are quite a few houses around here and roads on every section line, so i'm a little worried about bullets passing through and going places i dont want them to beyond where i'm shooting. Of course i'm always very careful where im shooting, but what is the average range of 223 and 243? and can i expect bullets to fragment enough on impact so that thats not an issue? as you can tell, i'm not to familiar with these rounds, so thanks in advance for the info.
 
I shoot a lot of nosler bt's out of my .243 and they are very frangible, but of course you have to hit something(hopefully what you are aiming at) for them to explode, if in doubt don't shoot. Average range? are you talking about effectiveness or how far will the bullet travel?
 
youngdon, i was referring to the total distance the bullet will travel. as stated before, i am very careful, and would never knowingly shoot in an unsafe direction. But as an example, if a 200 - 250 yrd shot missed or passed through, what are the odds of the bullet glancing off a rock or something and traveling another couple hundred yards? Up til now i have used a 22mag, so it hasn't been a problem, but usually if i see coyotes under a hundred yards, they're going to dang fast to get on before they get to the brush. at the 200+ range, they're not quite so skittish,,,yet. And like i said, i'll usually be in a feed truck, so no sneakin up on 'em
 
As far as a straight line shot...You can pull up a ballistic chart and get a fair estimation of distance for a 'pass through' or miss...(Distance, Energy, Velocity,Trajectory)

When it comes to a ricochet, that's a totally different matter... there are a lot of factors that will come into play...

The density of the object hit,
the angle at which it's hit,
the bullet's speed at the time it's hit,
the type of bullet,
and the angle which it departs whatever is hit...

Our old police range used to be in an old abandoned quarry and it was not uncommon for low powered wadcutter bullets to bounce straight back 75 yards... These had a muzzle velocity of about 750fps and were if fairly soft lead.. Fortunately, no one ever got hit in the eye, but by the time the slug had come back that far, most of the energy was gone...

I've also seen normal handgun, FMJs, normally used in most street shootings strike a vehicle or other object and take off to a point a city block or more and hit someone, causing enough injury that they were taken to the hospital.

We had one, where a greenhouse owner/operator in the edge of the city was killed after being struck in the head by a 30-06 round that was originally fired from almost 1/2 mile (973 yds, straight line) away after a property owner/hunter missed a deer, shooting in a different direction than the greenhouse by about 45 degrees...It was investigated and ruled to be strictly an accident, and no criminal charges were filed.... But I'm sure there was a sizable civil suit entered by the victim's family...
 
A frangible bullet like the V-max or Blitzking are highly unlikely to ricochet with any amount of energy left.

As for maximum range in ideal conditions-

A 50gr V-max out of a .223 has a max range of +/- 3500yds.
A 75gr V-max out of a .243 has a max range of +/- 4400yds.
 
I shoot a lot at crows on the shoreline. (I live on an island off the coast of MAine). Since I have been using v-max and blitzking bullets I have NEVER seen a ricochet and a lot of shots have water right behind my target. If there was anything to be seen you would with calm water behind. I use 17 mach 2, 17HMR, 222 w 55gr v-max, 204 with 32gr vmax, 243 w 58gr v-max. (420yard shot- personal best) and a 17 fireball with 20gr v-max. 200 yards is a snap with a 223. Shots beyond that I would step up depending on what your killing.
my2 cents worth
 
Originally Posted By: cowpastureplinkerThanks for the info on the other thread guys, but i have another question. i'd like to be able to shoot in the 200 yrd + range, but there are quite a few houses around here and roads on every section line, so i'm a little worried about bullets passing through and going places i dont want them to beyond where i'm shooting. Of course i'm always very careful where im shooting, but what is the average range of 223 and 243? and can i expect bullets to fragment enough on impact so that thats not an issue? as you can tell, i'm not to familiar with these rounds, so thanks in advance for the info. As representing a hunter I would worry about noise level too with housing that close, Just something to include.
 
Study the ballistics calculators to find the max distance a bullet will travel, you will find gravity will anchor the bullet long before it's out of steam. In the case of a ricochet, a tumbling bullet looses velocity extremely quickly. Your being very responsible by asking however. I never fire unless the background is 100% safe even though I know the bullet wouldn't get there.
 
Can never be too safe!


Your quote:


"if a 200 - 250 yrd shot missed or passed through, what are the odds of the bullet glancing off a rock or something and traveling another couple hundred yards?"

The deal comes down to this ...... if the slug misses everything ...... you've got a problem.

If you tag something reasonable ........ a pass through or hitting dirt or a rock ...... any of the following bullets is going to cease to exist in a pretty short distance:

The nosler ballistic tip for varmints (lighter .243's or 55 gr. or lighter in .224)

The Hornady V-max

The Sierra Blitz

The Hornady SX either 50 or 55 gr.

This seems contrary but I consider the .22 mag with standard HP's to be more suspect as to richochets than the above bullets fired out of centerfires. Don't lump the big game ballistic tipped rounds into this however.

If you can somehow get into an elevated position ... you can create an even safer environment as you are firing into the ground.

And just for discussion purposes ..... since you have been using rimfires ....... what about shotgunning your prey ...?


Three 44s
 
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if you use v-max or nosler b-tips the richochets would be almost none, that is if you hit something reasonably solid. with soft piont bullets you would run more of a risk. I shot a old oil filter off a 4 banger with a 204 40 gr v-max and it didnt even go through, just dented the back side.
 
It goes unsaid that i would never shoot into an unknown background, like over a hilltop or into brush that i cant see through. my shots would always be towards the ground within my field of vision. accidently killing one cow ( or worse ) would offset a lot of coyote depredation. as to the shotgun question, the reason i am looking for something longer range than the 22 mag is that when i happen to see a coyote within that range, it usually gets to the brush before i can step out of the truck and get on em. when i see them a couple hundred yards out, they are not as worried. maybe they have already learned to stay out of my range?
 
I agree with the previous statements. The poly tipped bullets are very frangable and believe these bullets would minimize ricochets. I have tested a 29 bullets in .243 caliber and find this to be so.
 
If you are really worried Barnes make a 62 grain varmit grenade for the 243. I havent tried them yet but have heard varying reports as to there accuracy. I have used the hornady spsx bullets out of my 223 and as someone said I would worry more about the 22 mag. I tried to get the sx to ricochet and could not. I did have problems with runners though. Don't expect an exit wound on anything bigger than a rabbit. On jacks I have found you get a little 22 hole on one side and then you cant find the other side.
 


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