What is the effective range for a 243 wichester

Just to add or clarify some info;
b/c on the H-87g is .400, that is the v-max.
The H-87gr bthp b/c is .376 - interstingly enough the H-87g spire point b/c is .327 and that is a flat base bullet.
But now check this out;
The Speer 85g bt-spitzer b/c is .404, from a jacketed soft-point!
Dang-it, it's too bad instead of buying 100 at a time wouldn't it nice to try 20 or so each and burn some recipies. Right now I am getting great results from the Sierra 85g bthp & imr-4350. These are 100 & 200 yard groups though. Around here I can't see taking a shot past 300 yards so I guess that would be my effective range. I didn't mean for my previous post to be misleading. As some of these guys here know alot more about longer range shots then I do.
That being said it would appear the b/c of the Sierra bullet may not be the better choice for shots pushing past 300 yards. However then would the question be not just the accuracy of a higher b/c bullet but it's terminal performance on larger game under 300 yards as well. And would you want a slower or faster burning powder behind it.
 
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Indeed a Ci of .400 is excellent. If you can't find that maybe the factories load the 70 gr bullets with sharp plastic meplats. They are a very good all around varmint bullet.



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Expain your comment please.
 
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If the Federal 85 gr BTHP uses the Sierra bullet and I surmise that it does that bullet is at best a compromise for any purpose and not an ideal one let alone for very long range shooting.

243 dia. (6mm) 85 gr. HPBT .243 85 .206 .282 @ 2700 fps and above
.293 between 2700 and 2000 fps
.311 @ 2000 fps and below

The problem is that it has a very poor ballistic coefficient and a heavy jacket. That means a fast loss of veloicty, lots of wind drift, fast drop and a greater propensity for ricochets.

Indeed a Ci of .400 is excellent. If you can't find that maybe the factories load the 70 gr bullets with sharp plastic meplats. They are a very good all around varmint bullet.



I'm an Indiana hunter so I have very little experience with rifles and none with reloading. My house sets on a hill side over looking my property with 300-400y shots at coyotes which we can use rifles to hunt. I'm looking for the best suggestions in factory loads to shot through a Handi Ultra 243 with a 24' bull barrel. Your post said that Federal 85 gr BTHP 'is at best a compromise' and the last part of your post lost me. Are you suggesting another factory load to look at?
Thanks
 
Hey danurve, I know Speer lists the BC of the 85 grain SBT @ .404, but in my experience it is more like .350. I shot quite a few of these over the chrony at 100 yards just to see if they could hang with the 87 V-Max and there was no comparison. I wish I could find the hard data, but alas the cleaning of my "Man Fort" (as my wife likes to call it) has rendered it lost forever. I also agree the Sierra is a compromise at best. I don't know if they're still made, but the Remington Premiere Varmint was loaded with a 75 grain V-Max in the .243 at one point, that my be the best factory option if it is still on shelves. ~6mm
 
Muddy,

That load you picked out looks like a very good one for varmints. While I am not sure what exact bullet an Accutip is a Ci of .330 is very good for that weight.

Here are it's ballistics from the site you provided.
PRA243WB Premier® AccuTip™ 75 AccuTip™-V Boat Tail 9 1/2 0.330
Premier® AccuTip™ 75 ATV BT 3375 3065 2775 2504 2248 2008
The velocities above are from the muzzle to 500 yds.

Next go to www.huntingnut.com and download the free program Pointblank. Enter your velocity of 3375 and the Ci of .330 along with the other required data and play with the various trajectories. In other words if you sight it in for 250 yds enter that and then run off that page and carry it in you ammo box. Then you will have the trajectory data and wind drifts.

Best of all good luck.
 

My dealer got a savage 112bvss in 25-06 for me, as soon as i sell my cz 527, will this be a better long range gun for me. I want something that will kill groundhogs and things to 500 + yards. What grain bullets will shoot best in this gun,

thanks
 
NCVARMINT,

Each rifle is an individual so you must test loads. However some good rifles shoot a lot of loads well.

It seems that you handload? In any case today I like the plastic tipped bullets. For such extreme ranges a moderate weight might work best. You will need a range finder or sight in on a particular spot.

Wind drift is the biggest problem some of the time. It's a big trade off of that, recoil, trajectory, ricochets, expansion and a large humane wound.

If you have not committed to that rifle yet I would look over the bullets available. I did not see many I like as compared to the 6mm and 6.5mm's.

One of my long range varminters is a 264 WM shooting the 120 gr Ballistic Tip. The 6mm will do it however and they kick less.
 
I was thinking of what the best cartridge might be for a long range coyote rifle. I might take a shot at one of those bastichs even beyond 500 yds. Richochets aside the 25-06 does indeed have a lot of power for those long ranges. I called Sierra about it and they suggested that an impact velocity of 2300 fps might be considered minimum to expand in a small animal like a coyote. Woodchucks are hard to kill as well and we must stop them with one shot beore they get in the den.

Either just go and buy the gun and make the best of it. Heck we can only carry one at a time anyway. Or go to all of the mfgs bullet sites and pick out the best bullets and their coeffients and enter the data into Point blank.

In any case good luck.
 
At long range it all boils down to the bullet. BC rules and there are much better bullets available in 6.5 than in .250. The 105 and 107 VLD bullets in 6mm are also very good.

Jack
 


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