I chronoed my 243 handloads for the first time this weekend and was surprised by what I found. I am running a 22" Shilen Match barrel and my load is 105 Amax with 39gr of H4350. A five shot string averaged 2925. I anticipated something no higher than 2800 due to the short barrel. This load is accurate and much faster than I thought so I am happy with it. I know alot of guys are running higher grain loads than this with longer barrels and not getting much more speed. How does this compare with your loads for the 243 speedwise?
There are "fast" barrels and "slow" barrels. I had a Ruger 77 in .308 that ran really hot with starting loads on the other hand I had a 22" Criterion barrel in 243 that pushed the 95g Sierra Match bullet at 3000fps with Hybrid 100V and showed no signs of pressure. Also a 22" Savage factory barrel in 7MM Magnum that shoots very accurately with velocities you would expect from a 26" barrel. Be happy the Shilen is shooting the 105's like that. Better keep that one for sure.
I also had a Savage 22" that ran the exact same load as you that was running at 2900 fps as well. It would shoot those 105s into half inch groups all day. Makes me wonder why I ever changed out the barrel on that one.
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