Reply With QuoteThe only gun you'll ever need for Pa whitetails,and groundhogs in the off season.
Took my new ( to me) 1985 production Model 110 .243 to the range this morning, for a get to know each other secession.
I had some left over cases from my last, less than satisfactory, 243. I loaded them with 44 grains H4831 and a 95 grain Hornady SST. OAL 2.635
Tried her at 50 to see where the scope was looking. Had to come left an inch and a half. Elevation was spot on. The old ( Japanese) Simmons tracked fine. Bonus! It didn't fog!
All groups slow fire, 3 rounders. At 50, 5/8' s. At 100... 3/4 and the last 3 were 11/16' s.
Not too shabby! For the first load tried to be a winner is very comforting.
FFE was 10.0%. Blast was noticeable, but not terrible. Recoil was comfortable and barrel heat a non-issue on this 38* morning. Copper fouling seems light too. Of course I will work on more loads, but this one is ready for the woods!
Now one range trip does not a trend make, but this is a very good start.
I think this little 243 and me are gonna be good friends!
The only gun you'll ever need for Pa whitetails,and groundhogs in the off season.
"An armed society is a polite society"
"...shall not be infringed" What's the confusion?
That's what I'm hoping for. Her first trip out will be for bear. I WILL be careful about the shot...
I'd be looking for a different/heavier bullet than the SST. If I had to use a 243 for bear I would rather use a solid copper or the heaviest lead bullet I could shoot accurately. SST's are ok for deer but I don't think I'd trust them on a bear. Just my 2 cents.
"An armed society is a polite society"
"...shall not be infringed" What's the confusion?
I think a Nosler accubond would be my first choice for your purposes.
Another pleasant surprise! I expect Savage factory barrels to copper foul. Badly. This is based in personal experience with a number of them. They're accurate, but they seem to be rather rough.
Apparently, this 243 didn't get the memo. I got almost no copper on a Sweets 7.62 patch, and an overnight Hoppes treatment showed no green at all. Nice to not have to go mining for copper.
Its all coming together rather nicely.
Where you at in Pa?
"An armed society is a polite society"
"...shall not be infringed" What's the confusion?
Coplay. A bit north of Allentown.
Enjoy! 243 Win is just about all you will need here in PA. Shoots flat, doesn't beat you up, and helps you focus on shot placement... which is about all that is required to knock off Bambi.
Yeah, and I was also surprised at how clean the bore of my "G" serial numbered 243 Win barrel was. I bought it used from a pawn shop and had to clean out the copper fouling initially, but after I shot a box through it, it was still pretty clean. I don't know if they lap them at all at the factory, but at this point, who cares... this one isn't scraping a lot of copper off the bullets, so I'll just be happy about it :)
If I had to use my 243 for a bear hunt I would definitely load up some 100gr Sierra SP Pro-Hunter.
Funny you should mention the Sierra. I tried some and she likes them as much as the SST's! Only drawback is they copper foul rather severely. I think these will be my bear load this year.
Always believed where you hit them is more important than what you hit them with. Within reason of course...
Like everything else shot placement is key as well as quality bullets. I have been using the Federal rounds with the 100gr Nosler Partition
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