Loading 243 w/cast?

[1Shirt]

Have always felt that all ctgs had a cast blt load someplace if you worked hard enough to find it, or just lucked into the right load. However, have noticed that apparently Lyman has given up on 6mm cast, and can't help but wonder why. The Lyman 245296 shoots well in my 243's with a number of different powders, but seems to have a preference to 2400. There has never been an over abundance of molds for this cal compared to a lot of other ctgs, and it falls between the 22's and 25's, and there are pleanty of styles of molds for those cals.
Am thinking about having my 296 HP'd, as I am one of those who believes that Hollow points are potentialy if not inherantly more accurate than the plain version of the same blt. Would be interested in hearing from anyone who has a HP 6mm, mold and has load data. Seems to me that in HP, at about 2000-2200 in a 243, it would be devistating on P-Dogs.
Thanks in advance to all who respond to this thread!
1Shirt!:coffeecom

[Wally]

I too shoot this calliber using CB using an RCBS mold. I have a Rem 700 and find it is a goodt caliber to shoot. I also use CBs in my .223 & .22-250 Rem (both Rem 700 rifles)--the .243 is a bit better at longer ranges.

I would guess that Lyman stopped making molds for this caliber due to low demand---Hornady no longer makes gas checks for the 6mm either.

[1Shirt]

Wally, Have a good stock of 6mm GC', or at least enough to last me for a couple of years I think. I also load cast for everything I shoot including K-Hor, 222,223,and 22-250. The smaller ones are a challange, but once you get the right load, they are a pleasure.
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[Larry Gibson]

1Shirt

Many moons ago I helped a friend develop a load for a 12" twist 244 Remington (same as a 6mm Remington today but with a 9" twist). I'm pretty sure we used a single cavity 245496 Lovern style Lyman mould. We cast the bullets out of old WWs (harder with a slightly different allloy than they are today) and sized them .245 and used original style Lyman GCs. He had a keg of 4759 so we used that. His rifle was a M700 V and would shoot 10 shots consistently into 1.5 moa. In '75 when I got my first Oehler chronograph we ran the load and they were doing around 2150 fps if memory serves me correctly, might have been 2250 fps. He killed lots of rock chucks with that load out to 300 yards or so with it.

GCs would be the thing to get for the 6mm these days as they will no doubt get scarce. Might also consider a GC making tool.

Larry Gibson

[9.3X62AL]

No HP work with the 243, sorry to say. But the 243 with both the RCBS 95 SP and the Lyman #245496 has been a labor of love since the day Carpetman sent me some samples of the RCBS castings. Both boolits will meet or beat 1.5 MOA if I do my part at 50 and 100 yards. 12.0 grains of 2400 runs them to about 1650-1700 FPS, and even at those modest velocities the ground squirrels and jackrabbits go DRT.

The 243 has been among my most enjoyable and successful cast boolit rifle ventures.

[1Shirt]

Larry and Al, Appreciate the load data and info. Am always up to trying what ever is sucessful for somebody else. Larry, as a kid, the longest shot I can remember on a chuck in a clover field in western N.Y. was from a 244, at over 500 yds. My friend sold that rifle, and I think has regreted it ever sinse. It was a specialty rifle and did what it was supposed to do with the blts designed for it!
1Shirt!:coffeecom