243, what kind of range and accuracy can I expect?

[brewguy]

My father has a 243 and a 270, he told me I can start using the 243 again. I know in the past it is very accurate in the 100 yard range. I'm wondering what the range might be?

Would 300-400 yard shots be out of the question?

[markheck1]

Depends on what you are shooting...they shoot across canyons all the time out west with them, I have personally munched G-hogs at that distance no problem, but that was with 70 grain bullets at around 3400 fps. The drop does start to get steep that far out with 100 grainers, but if you practice...you should be ok

[brewguy]

Originally Posted by markheck1

Depends on what you are shooting...they shoot across canyons all the time out west with them, I have personally munched G-hogs at that distance no problem, but that was with 70 grain bullets at around 3400 fps. The drop does start to get steep that far out with 100 grainers, but if you practice...you should be ok

Thanks,

I was just kicking around playing with it some and wanted to see what it should be capable of.

What is a good source for calculating drop and things like that?

[Jared McLaughlin]

It's been a while but I seem to remember keeping rounds on target at 200 yards with my sister's .243. As a note of interest, the Barnes X-bullet seems to perform remarkably from this rifle.

[Tomcat088]

Brewguy, there are people that shoot out to 600 yards and sometimes further than that in the Benchrifle circles with handloads. Are you considering shooting paper and non living targets at that distance, or hunting with it at distances of 300 or more yards? You can use a ballistics calculator to figure out drop of a particular bullet. You will need to know the ballistic coefficient of the bullet that you are shooting (listed on the manufacturers website usually), the correct muzzle velocity out of YOUR barrel (usually requires a chronograph), and the weight of the bullet (in grains). Some programs will ask for what yardage you have the rifle zeroed at. Then they will tell you how much the bullet is gonna drop, you can get it in inches, clicks, etc, depending on the program, and just dial up or down as you need to.

Just so you know, drop is a VERY easy thing to figure out as long as you accurately know the distance. If you properly range a target, whether with mil-dots or a laser range finder, you can always figure out the vertical drop of the bullet. The wind is the variable that is the hardest to measure and account for. Part of this will just be practice and reading the direction and speed properly. Be aware that the problem with some of the smaller calibers (.243, .223, .22-250, etc) is that the lighter bullets are pushed more dramatically by the wind than the .30 caliber bullets. Either way, with the right load, platform and shooter, as a caliber, the .243 can be quite accurate out to 300-600 yards.

[markheck1]

And really....the Best way to accurately predict bullet drop is shooting at known distances. This works better for me than drop tables since I usually sight my rifles in high at 100 Yds....

[brewguy]

Originally Posted by markheck1

And really....the Best way to accurately predict bullet drop is shooting at known distances. This works better for me than drop tables since I usually sight my rifles in high at 100 Yds....

Thanks everyone. I'm going to give it a try and see how I do. I will be using it to hunt but doubt I would get any shots over 200 yards.. I just wanted to know what it could do.

[dogngun]

I used to sight my .243's about 1 1/2" high at 100 yards. If you look at an ammo manufacturer's ballistics table (online) you should be in the ball park up to 250 yards or so. I have shot groundhogs at 200+ yards using a .243 sporter, an old Remington 788, and it requires little if any holdover at that range if you are using a varmint load.

Find the loads it likes and shoot a lot with it at various ranges. There is no substitute for experience with a specific load and rifle.

mark