243 help

[dakotashooter2]

I have been casting and loading for the 243 and am getting totally frustrated with the results. First some background: Gun..TC Encore which easily shoots 1/2 moa with condom bullets of 80-100 gr. Boolits... Lyman 245496 (Loverin) and RCBS 243095 (both gas checked and sized to .243 The lyman was initially cast straight WW then WW/lino 4/1. The RCBS was cast WW/lino 4/1. I have segregated weight variation to 1/2 grain. I have not slugged the barrel and have not ruled that out yet. My lube is on the soft side but I'm not seeing any leading with the WW/Lino mix.

So far I have tried about 4 powders (red dot, H4895 and two I can't remember right now) loaded to produce from around 1600 -2000 FPS.

I can't get ANY load on paper at 50 yards. It makes a shotgun pattern look like MOA. Its also easy to see why. EVERY hole in the backstop is keyholes. Some worse than others. A lyman bullet was recovered early on (straight WW) and appeared to be stripping at low velocity and that is when I went to the WW/lino.

Any thoughts? :confused:

[felix]

Up the boolit diameter in 0.001 steps, using magic marker on the case neck per increment. Any significant scraping of the marker color when closing the bolt, you are a thousands too much in diameter. Use the most accurate load you have so far, whatever that is. Keep velocity around 15-1800 until proven you can alter the range. Stay with the WW/lino until you start seeing groups. Harder boolits require a larger diameter, and that is a general rule. ... felix

[9.3X62AL]

Rifle work, here--FWIW. My Lyman sizer (.244") produces .245" boolits, which shoot VERY well in my Rem 788 x 243. These are 92/6/2 alloy, 50% lino/lead. Both the RCBS 95 and the Lyman Loverin are gret performers for me with 12.0 grains of 2400. A tuft of dacron doesn't seem to make much difference at 100 yards, but the SD's shrink a bit and velocity raises about 20-25 FPS. Mean velocity runs about 1725 without dacron, about 1750 with the tuft--both boolits.

These loads are rat-whacking delights, and cost about the same price as CCI Mini-Mags to produce.

[Maven]

dakotashooter2, It's not the lube, alloy or powder that's the problem. However, it may be the powder charge, bullet design (although I wouldn't bet the farm on it), bullet diameter, and/or the T/C Encore bbl. diameter & throat, especially the latter two. You DO need to slug your bbl. to determine the "size to" diameter. In the mean time, try 10gr. - 11gr. of Red Dot with Ly. #245496, but size it to .244" if possible and seat it so that the first two bands are marked by the rifling.

[Char-Gar]

The first thing I think of is copper fouling in the bore. After 800 rounds my Winchester 70's (.243) accuracy went south and I mean really South. A 1 MOA rifle turned into a 5 MOA rifle. This was with factory and factory equivilent condom loads. The rifle was cleaned after ever firing with Hoppe's, but the build up of copper finally turned the rifle into a scattergun.

After a through cleaning with Sweet's 7.62, it was back to normal. The small bores like the 6mm will metal foul much sooner than the larger bores and with a much great effect.

Sooooo... Is your barrel clean of ALL metal fouling?

[Newtire]

I am seconding the 12 grain 2400 load & also slugging the bore. Both those boolits will shoot as well as the 85 gr. Saeco. Now I am gonna have to try the Red Dot load. Too many rifles, not enough time...and then along comes the peestola-bug and now things are real tough. With all the range time & preparation, hard to get things done around the house anymore.

[35remington]

I am seconding some of Maven's comments.

I am highly suspicious of T/C throats and their ability to shoot lead. They often work well with jacketed and are miserable with cast.

Besides slugging, try a chamber cast and look at the throat. Let us know what it looks like. That way we will have a better idea of what you're up against.

A badly throated rifle is a real b**ch to get to shoot lead. T/C darn near has the market cornered on lead unfriendly throats.

[Newtire]

I am seconding some of Maven's comments.

I am highly suspicious of T/C throats and their ability to shoot lead. They often work well with jacketed and are miserable with cast.


Yer probably right 35remington, Didn't notice it was a TC...Old-Timer's Disease strikes again!

[MT Chambers]

When I have trouble getting accuracy with cast bullets and a new/diff. gun it is usually either dia.(slug barrel) or twist is too abrupt. I find faster twists adversely effect accuracy with cast bullets more then j-word bullets.

[9.3X62AL]

Good point, MT.

The 243 is usually pitched at 1-10", not real bad for castings but ya gotta watch closely as ya boost pressures/velocities. At some point, "too much" will let itself be known downrange. Harder bullets may extend the velocity potential, but I haven't gone there. 95 grains at 1700 FPS will do anything I need doing with the 243 and castings--it is one fine rat-whacking package. I do have some loads assembled with "stair-stepped" charges of 2400 to assess that question, but haven't shot the series after putting them together.

[35remington]

The T/C, being a single shot, is one of the very easiest rifles to chamber cast. I'd really highly recommend it. I didn't know what was wrong with some of my T/C's, including some Custom Shop barrels, until I cast them.

Then the reason why many loads that should have shot accurately and didn't became very apparent.

I'd hate for you to waste as much powder, primers, bullets and time as I did on something that just wasn't gonna happen.

The Lyman bullet, in particular, is short enough to stabilize in a 1-10" twist at those speeds, and I doubt the rifling twist is the limiting factor going the other way either. If you've got honest to gosh keyholes with that bullet at those speeds something else is radically off.

[dakotashooter2]

Went back and looked at my load data. Most of the loads were "starting load" and that could be a part of the problem. I remember the Red Dot load being pretty "soft" so I may not be getting enough velocity for stability.

The sized bullets mic'ed around .24378 the unsized ones at .2445 so I may have to try some unsized ones to see what difference that make.

Didn't slug the bore yet cause I didnt have anything of adequate size to drive a slug through.