Printable View
Is anyone here using the Barnes 62gr .243 Varmint Grenade? How do
you like them? Accuracy? What OAL do ya end up with?
Upon opening the box I was surprised at the length (darned near an
inch)!! There is so much bearing surface that the recommendation on
the box states the need for 1:10 or tighter twist. Have .204's and
.224's which are very short........NOT THESE!!
The logical caliber to use in a 308 rifle would be one based on the 308 case, 243 being the obvious choice. It would get my vote above all others for your use. With 60-85 grain bullets it will outperform in the overall any 224 cartridge for the longer range uses. MHO.
I have shot the Black Hills 62gr Varmit Grenade's in my 243. They held a 1 1/2" group @ 100. I probably could have done better.
I perfer Nossler Blaistic Tips, 70gr in my 243, now I know they are devestating on small game!
Target shooting, 107 SMK's, unbelievably accurate, in a bone stock VLP 243 (reloads)
I'm sure if I reloaded the Varmit Grenade bullet, I could easily tighten it up. Never hit anything, but from what I heard, it's devestating!
My best groups with that bullet was with the starting load from Barnes using Reloader 19. My rifle is a 110 with a sporter weight barrel. I'm working on playing with the OAL a bit ot see what works best but I started with Barnes recommended OAL and was pleased with the results.
One caution with the 6mm VGs is to handle them carefully and shake each bullet before loading. If it rattles, toss it in the cull bin. I've had trouble with the core becoming dislodged in the jacket and having it rattling around isn't exactly conducive to good accuracy.
I've got a load for my tikka 243 using 62 VG's and H414, worked very nicely on prairie dogs. the load is 46.5gr H414 for a 5/8" group at 3600fps. bullets seated .020" off the lands.
one thing I found with these VG bullets and the 36grainers in 22 cal, they need to be shot at high speed, for whatever reason.