.243 Bullet Weight

Hey Guys, What are the heaviest bullets you are using in a factory barrel? Thanks. Happy Thanksgiving

I'm guessing that you're asking for personal experience with the heavier (105 grain - 115 grain) bullets. I can't answer that because I've stopped using even the normal 100 grain. My best accuracy has always been with the 90 grain speer or 95 grain nosler partition or ballistic tip, or bullets of similar weight. That experience seemed to be consistent with 5 previous rifles: a rem 788, a commercial mauser, a rem 700, a browning a-bolt and my current rem 7600.

So I learned to shy away from the heavy bullets. If I need something heavier, I figure that's why God gave us the .257 roberts, the 6.5 x 55 swedish, the 7 x 57 mauser, or the .308 win.

I've shot up to 100gn with the factory 1:9.25 barrel. My hunting load is with a 95gn Nosler. The rifle shot 100gn Remington Core-lokt extremely well also.

107 smk

107 smk is the heaviest, and my rifle will shoot them very well, but the Noosler BT's are super accurate out of my VLP 243. 55grn & 70grn NBT's are awesome out of my rifle and fun to shoot.

Thats Guys. I have some 100grn Boat Tails on the bench and some 80 grn Hollow points on the way. I'll try the 107 SMK's and see how they do in my rifle.

Thanks Ted

Remember match bullets are not designed for hunting.

What is your intended use,hunting or punching paper?

I got the 105 Amax to shoot really well out of my factory savage barrel.

Been lurking on here for sometime now... figured I would chime in on this (first post). I had many MANY issues loading for my .243. For some reason, I had a real issue getting anything to group using heavier bullets. Anything above an 80grn would be all over the place... no consistency to it either. I tried different powders... lengths... bullet manufacturers... nothing would fly. So I shrugged my shoulders and figured it was a "VOO DOO" thing. Recently, I was digging through my supply of factory rounds and came across some Barnes (Federal) 87 grn tsx factory loads and gave them a try. Had decent grouping... so I looked into it. All I can figure was the B/C seems to work with the barrel on my rifle. Hell, I have even bought 95 grn VLD Bergers... and no luck.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, Each and every rifle is different and what may work for one, may not work for the other. This guy has to sit down and get some range time in to see what work well with his rifle and tweak it to the point he's happy. First, he's gotta figure out if he's gonna punch paper with it... varmints or hunting.

Mostly punching paper. I've read good things about 80grn Hollow Points for hunting.

If your'e wanting to start with the 80grn's.. try some Barnes 80grn ttsx. A starting load of 37 grn H380 and CCI 200 primers. It was a starting point for me and I was able to get a decent grouping. Work up the load in .5grn increments and watch for signs of pressure. Your OAL will depend on what you have for head space in your rifle, so I'm not even gonna give you that. If cost is an issue, I found great results with the 80 grn Nosler Ballistic tip varmint. Just remember, what worked in mine may not work in yours... you may even have good luck with the heavier bullets.
Good luck and happy shooting!

Bought my Savage Mod 10 combo at Wal Mart back in Jan after shooting my son in laws Savage Mod 10 in 243Win. His and mine both shoot 100 grain factory (Winchester, Federal and Remington0 just fine (under 1 inch and most time less than that) at least to 100 yds (longest range I can get to). The only time mine does not shoot really well is if I rest the rifle stock too close to the end of the forearm. When I do that, my groups open up pretty quick, but if I stay between the trigger guard and the forearm checkering, the rifle doesn't care what I put thru it as long as it is factory 100grs. I have not shot anything heavier or lighter, so can't speak on that. Hope this helps.