Need a good powder for .243 100g Sierra #1540

[Triggerhappy]

Here's the rub. I'm going to load a BUNCH of .243's on a Dillon 650 and recently found IMR-4350 to be a huge pain to get it to flow into .270 cases without bridging. What would be a powder that will flow nicely into .243 cases? These will be used on the AR platform.

Thanks for the help!

TH

[Lloyd Smale]

414 and 380 are excellent 243 powders and meter like water.

[winelover]

If you opt for the lighter j-word bullets, AA 2520 is my prefered choice in the .243W plus it meters extremely well.

Winelover

[GabbyM]

I've gone with stick powder for my 243's in hopes of getting a few more rounds of barrel life. Don't know if that will work. Have some Reloader 17 here that gives about the highest velocity you'll achieve from a long barrel bolt gun. If you've a short barrel on that AR you may want to stay with a faster powder like Varget. In hopes of keeping the muzzle blast down. 20” is a very short barrel on an overbore caliber like 243 btw. RL17 is a short stick powder. Meters about like RL15 or 4895. Works fine in a drum measure. Not tried it in my Dillon but it should work. RL17 is also a good powder for 270 Win. I've an 8lb can of IMR4350 here I bought back around 1975 and haven't used it up yet.

I've had a couple 243 barrels that would not shoot the 100 grain bullet with top accuracy. I'd make sure your loads shoot to your satisfaction before loading up a bunch of them. Have noticed some gun makers have tightened up the twist on there 243's to 1-9 ½” . Which would be my choice for 100's or the 90 grain VLD's.

You'll need some discipline with an auto loader not to burn the barrel out in a day. Never hand that thing to a buddy with a full 20 round mag. Varget would use about six grains less powder than the slower choices. One would think that would mean lower barrel temps but it's hard to say without testing. In the book Varget is 200 fps slower than RL17 so reducing the RL17 load down to the velocity you can get out of Varget may work even better for barrel life. Since you'd have lower pressure. But I've not tried that reduced load route. Have cast boolits for that.

[Triggerhappy]

Thanks guys for all the input. I'll have to do some thinking now.... Figure out the best way to go.

TH

[Doc_Stihl]

I've had GREAT luck with Winchester 780 supreme with 100Gr+ Bullets in the 243.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

I like Varget. It is a great powder that works well for a wide range of calibers, meters well too because of the short sticks.

[docone31]

4064, and 4895 are my go to powders.
Good for lots of calibers.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Well, have been a .243 fan since the 50s, and a reloader since the 60s, but never a black rifle fan - Ol'Coot!!.

Hundred grain boolits - Hornady and Nosler partitions - have always shot well for me, but again not in black rifles, so have tended to go with the slower powders which have always given very good !!! results. H & IMR 4831, AA3100 etc. etc..

Therefore, the only advise I guess I could offer in this case is to get a good bolt gun or RUGER #1 :kidding: :kidding: and go back to your Rockchucker for loading the 243.

Sorry, :bigsmyl2: I realise I ain't be'in much help!

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Triggerhappy]

Hey Ol'Coot,

Thanks for the input anyway. I needed a laugh!

Have a good one.

TH

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Thanks, Triggerhappy,

Glad you took it the way it was intended.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Triggerhappy]

It takes a lot to offend me....

TH

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

OH by the way Triggerhappy, are they still mak'in those "black Rifles"?

Thought they might be like the "B&Cs made by that Ol'company used to be called S&W. :kidding:

I just call just call em B&Cs for short (stands for Bean Can gun) , cause S&W used to be heavy into can'in fruits and veggies.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo, now I've gone and done it for sure, insult'in all the lovers of B&C products.

I am so ashamed:(:(, but then what can you expect out of an old Ideeeeeho Ol'Coot? :groner: :rolleyes: [smilie=l:

Keep em coming!

VERY Crusty Deary Ol'Coot [smilie=w:[smilie=w:

[felix]

'Round here we used to shoot old coots, young ones too. Fish eating ducks aren't ducks in AR country, but the game wardens think so nowadays. So,,,,,no more fun, except for your genuine humor, Crusty, my friend. ... felix

[Triggerhappy]

I thought Crusty was the clown on South Park.... We all know Ol'Coot really means Ol'Fart. I can say that cause I are one. Not too sure what to think of Deary.:kidding:

Black rifles???? Mine may be black but they're shiny silver too and sometimes they even get to go bang. We'll have to get together to go shooting one of these days. I'll bring the cans of S&W although I prefer hanging golfballs at a couple hundred yards.

Th

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

Swing'in golf balls sounds like a kick!

Have a friend in this area who is a B&C fan. Have no end of fun giv'in him a really bad time about his B&Cs.

He was out with his brother and sister-in-law this past weekend, and they were shoot'in some of those bean can guns ( these belonged to the brother ), one of them was new and just happened to give a bunch of trouble.

Bad thing to let me know about, cause it just opens the door for more flack from this direction.[smilie=l:

He also shoots a very fine shoot'in Salvage .22 single shot, while I am shooting a Clark Custom Ruger 77/22. We had our first annual shoot out last summer and his Salvage about cleaned my clock.

We were shoot'in a bunch of pricey target ammo, and that Salvage really shot well.

Rested a bit easier this summer, after our second annual shoot at which we shot a bunch of typical off the shelf .22. Different story with the cheaper ammo, as the Walther barrel on the Clark really turned it on when compaired to the cheaper rifle.

Eather way, have a great time go'in back and forth about his B&Cs and my RUGERS.

Come to think of it, I think he has one of those black rifle .22s made by B&C.

Have a great day!

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[Triggerhappy]

I've been wanting a good shooting .22 bolt rifle. Any recommendations? I don't want really expensive since it's just for rabbits. But good accuracy is fun.

[Crusty Deary Ol'Coot]

WOW Triggerhappy, I sure got this thread waaaaaaay off your origional question, hope you don't mind!

I had a RUGER 77/22 some years back and should have kept it. Maybe Tricked it out if didn't do what I wanted. Nice rifle. Looked great with that nice piece of ebony on the forend. Classy!

This go around, I bought a TC "classic" shortly after they came out, believing their ads about 1/2" fifty yard groups and target quality trigger, which in my rifles case were both false.

Jamm'in thing!

Sent it back and the first clip it jammed again. BAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some folk had very good luck with the classic, just didn't work for me!

So, I was looking for a rifle which would do what TC's claims said, and slobbered over Coopers and Kimbers a bunch. Kimber was more in my price range.

Talked to the Cooper dealer in Spokane and he told me about a new Clark Custom 77/22 he had on the rack, and even dropped the price while we talked.

Sometime later, I was in Califunnyia with family where I got to handle and slobber on a fine Kimber. So, called Spokane and talked to the dealer again and he came down on the price again.

Stopped at the dealers on the way back through Spokane, picked up the CRuger, ask if I could dry fire it and then offered him $600. He took it.

The rifle was new, traded in by the fellow who ordered it and then didn't like the weight, and it had been sitt'in on the dealer's rack for some time.

Folk who are look'in for a good shoot'in .22 and have already decided on a Cooper probably wouldn't be interesed in a "Ruger" -- my gain.

The new cost was $785 shipped from Clark as I recall from the origional paper work I rec'd with the rifle.

Other then the rifles I have already spoken of, the CZ 452 American gets a lot of great press on Rimfire Central, and the price is right.

I just don't like a clip that sticks out of the bottom of the stock!!!!!!!! And love that RUGER clip.

If you already own a 10/22 or 77/22, Clark will trick out your rifle.

But, Jack's Salvage shot way out of it's price range when he and I were shoot'in the pricey .22 match ammo. Made me wonder why I had paid over double what he had invested.

However, the answer to that question was clear when the much cheaper "off the shelf" ammo was shot. The Salvage turned in so so results while the CRuger just kept shoot'in nice little groups, some equal to the groups from the much MUCH higher priced ammo.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot

[tophet1]

For the .243, H-450 or if all else fails RE-19

[Triggerhappy]

Ok, I settled on IMR-4350 which I had been avoiding because it didn't feed well in my powder measure. Soooo.... I took the powder funnel out and polished the heck out of it then put some graphite powder on it with a Q-tip. This seemed to really solve my inconsistency. I also put a powder checker on my Dillon which verifies that you, 1. Have powder, 2. didn't double charge the powder. Not likely to double a charge in a .243 but the way it's built it allowed me to verify that the powder charge was in the neighborhood and that the funnel hadn't bridged.

Thanks for the input guys.

TH

[tonyjones]

Triggerhappy,
As to a .22 RF check out a CZ 453 American. It has a single set trigger that can be adjusted under 1 pound (set). With ammo the rifle likes I would expect 5 shot, 50 yard groups around 1/2". I have one as well as a Cooper that is capable of .200", 5 shot, 50 yard groups and it's drop dead gorgeous to boot. Yeah, you can buy 10 CZ's for what the Cooper cost.
The .243 Wincher is a neat cartridge with well deserved popularity but it is a barrel burner. I know several competitive shooters who had to replace their barrels after 900 to 1,200 rounds.
Good luck,
Tony

[9.3X62AL]

+1 to the CZ rifle recommendation for the 22 LR bolter.

I'm using WW-760 with varmint-weight bullets in 243, when j-words get used in the 788. 90% of its use is with RCBS 95 spitzer castings, though. Ball powders run like water through my RCBS Duo-Measure, and meter VERY consistently.