Savage Axis .243 Win Loading question

[Wallyl]

I have a new Savage Axis .243 Win rifle. I have been using a Rem 700 ADL from 1977...I thought it'd be fun to compare them as to which shoots "better". AS soon as I got the rifle out of the box I chambered a resized .243 Win case in it and found it was "tight". It was an easy fix; to re-size the cases (again), this time bottoming the sizer die to the shellholder. The Rem 700 has a looser chamber, so the sizer die was set higher up. This is a good thing as the Savage has a tight chamber.

I am an avid reloader and have never shot any factory ammo through the Rem 700. My idea is to develop an accurate load using the Speer #1205 115 HP bullet using Shooters World Match powder. There is no loading data anywhere in this caliber using the powder/bullet combination that I have found. Has anyone tried them?

[243winxb]

The Speer #1205 is a 75 gr HP. Have only fired 3 bullet for a pressure test, so not much help.

I have fired many Speer #1213 85 gr sp. With IMR 4451. My Rem 600 243 Win. doesnt like them.

The Speers are lower priced then my standard Sierra #1530 i use. Had to try the Speers.
When checking Speer diameters & bullet lengths to ogive, they are way off.

I would suggest buying the Sierras over the Speers for accuracy. But your Savage may like the Speers.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...-bullets.2841/

I would load 85 gr bullets using the S065 data for the Hornady V Max.

[Wallyl]

Thank you. The Speer is very accurate in my Rem 700; I also tried the 105 Hornady A-Max....the 9.25 twist in the Remington wouldn't stabilize them. Next month I will try the Speer 75 HP in teh Savage and hope that they shoot well. I was hoping to hear from someone that has tried the SW Match powder in the .243 Win Savage Axis.

[celltech]

Fiocchi 95gr SST shoots 1/2" groups in my .243 Axis...I have not even bothered to try and handload for it.

[Wallyl]

Will be buying a bulk pack of Speer 70 grain TNT bullets and an 8 Lb jug of Shooters World MATCH powder.....using a load of 45 grains or so, next month I will see what the new Savage Axis .243 Winchester can do.

[GaCop]

With the factory twist rate, I don't believe a 115 grain bullet will shoot well at all. I tried a 105 grain A-Max in my Axis 243 and it shot all over the paper not grouping at all.

[wbm]

I don't believe a 115 grain bullet will shoot well at all.

Me neither.

[hardnosestreetcop]

I have a new Savage Axis .243 Win rifle. I have been using a Rem 700 ADL from 1977...I thought it'd be fun to compare them as to which shoots "better". AS soon as I got the rifle out of the box I chambered a resized .243 Win case in it and found it was "tight". It was an easy fix; to re-size the cases (again), this time bottoming the sizer die to the shellholder. The Rem 700 has a looser chamber, so the sizer die was set higher up. This is a good thing as the Savage has a tight chamber.

I am an avid reloader and have never shot any factory ammo through the Rem 700. My idea is to develop an accurate load using the Speer #1205 115 HP bullet using Shooters World Match powder. There is no loading data anywhere in this caliber using the powder/bullet combination that I have found. Has anyone tried them?

My 243 Win is a Remington model 770 with a 22 inch 1-9 1/8 twist, it loves the 100 Gr bullets, factory or my handloads. Every rifle is different, but it’s the bullets length not the weight that will be a determining factor in stabilization of the bullet. Further more the longer the barrel the better.

[deaddeerwalking]

I have an axis 243. I load nosier 95 gr ballistic tips and I really 4350 . Just a touch under 3k FPS. My rifle shoots these really well. 1/2” at 100 if I do my part

[Mr.Snerdly]

Thank you. The Speer is very accurate in my Rem 700; I also tried the 105 Hornady A-Max....the 9.25 twist in the Remington wouldn't stabilize them. Next month I will try the Speer 75 HP in teh Savage and hope that they shoot well. I was hoping to hear from someone that has tried the SW Match powder in the .243 Win Savage Axis.

I am probably pretty green to be giving any advice but with what little I have done I have found the 75 grain Speer varmint hollow point gives pretty good accuracy for me. I tried their 100 grain and it was very much less accurate than the 75 grain. I haven't tried any other brands yet but I am happy with what I am getting with the 75 grain Speer.

[darkker]

Here's something that should help a lot of people.

Bullet weight doesn't need stabilization, bullet length does. And heavier bullets aren't simply longer than lighter bullets, across the board. A 75gr A max is notably longer than a 77gr SMK; for example.

Here's a link where you can look-up bullet lengths, and a calculator to give you a rough idea of stability


http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi

[charlie b]

It is a good one for rough estimates. FWIW, those stability calculators do use a bullet shape, it is a football shape. One of the many assumptions made to simplify the equation for general use.

FYI, pay attention to the temperature you use. Changing temps will alter stability if you are near the cusp, especially if you shoot in temps below 40F.

[darkker]

Indeed, as will twist rates. Excepting the hammer forged barrels, button and cut barrels will have a twist variance. It's usually not huge, but up to about a half a twist off is not uncommon.

[std7mag]

I've shot 105gr Hornady Match with a 1:10 twist. Called Hornady. "No, they will not stabalize".
Had zero issue to 600 yards with it. Traded the rifle before i could go further distance.

I'm hearing from several sources that people are finding bullets that shouldn't shoot well at ELR, are proving to do just that.

[charlie b]

The bullet mfgs are conservative in their analysis. They have to make sure it will be OK in just about any length barrel even at very low temperatures.

In 'most' cases, if a bullet is stable at 1-200 yd it will remain stable til it drops into transonic range. Some bullets will remain stable throughout the transition to subsonic, some won't. The spin rate of the bullet does not slow down much during the flight of the bullet.

[darkker]

1) The spin rate of the bullet does not slow down much during the flight of the bullet.

2) Some bullets will remain stable throughout the transition to subsonic, some won't. .

1) Correct, which means a bullet will always gain stability as it flies farther. So if it's stable at 1-200 it can't help but be stable beyond.

2) This really doesn't have much to do with twist, other than as a side effect or an aggravation to something else. There are two reasons why bullets won't safely cross the transonic region:
Center of gravity Vs Center of pressure
Tail angle

Dr. McCoy's work long ago, showed the sweet spot in tail angles for crossing is 9°. So if you cheat and use a steeper angle like the old 168 SMK(15-ish) then you can have a super sexy sounding BC. But as the boys at Camp Perry soon discovered, that sexy BC tail angle ensures turbulence will push the tail off path in transonic.

[charlie b]

Yep.

[Bunky-Shooter]

Bullets tested in my 243 Axis action with model 12 heavy varmint barrel with bullets weight 60 grain to 95 grain. Barrel is a 1/9.25 twist rate. The sweet spot i have found is 85 to 87 grain. Seirra 85gr game king hpbt for deer and 87gr Hornady bthp varmint. Any thing over 87 grain began to open up. That's my rifle. Good luck

[Wallyl]

Can I ask, what loads are you using with the 75 Grain Speer bullet? I am using 45.0 Grains Big Game to get 3,350 FPS in my Savage Axis. I also tried the 70 TNT with a starting load of 39.0 SW Match for 3,023 FPS; I plan on laddering to see if I can get 3,400 FPS and have an accurate load.

I am probably pretty green to be giving any advice but with what little I have done I have found the 75 grain Speer varmint hollow point gives pretty good accuracy for me. I tried their 100 grain and it was very much less accurate than the 75 grain. I haven't tried any other brands yet but I am happy with what I am getting with the 75 grain Speer.

[Wallyl]

Shooting a Rem 700/.243 Win with a 26" heavy barrel I found 42.0 of SW Match with the 70 grain Speer TNT bullet was the best load (I had laddered to determine that). Average velocity was 3,450 FPS. After sight in, I was regularly "popping" 12 ounce soda pop cans at 240 yards.

Will be buying a bulk pack of Speer 70 grain TNT bullets and an 8 Lb jug of Shooters World MATCH powder.....using a load of 45 grains or so, next month I will see what the new Savage Axis .243 Winchester can do.

[FTGV]

I have had great results in my Axis with the 75gr VMax ,85gr Sierra BTHP and the 95gr Berger Classic hunter. All with Varget powder. Initial results with the Hornady 105's and H4350 have been encouraging. MOA sized groups but Only shot to 100 yards so far.

[wbm]

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