243 Rifle

[Raptor1956]

I'm thinking about buying or building a new rifle chambered for the 243 and would like some ideas on components. What I'm looking for is high accuracy and a long barrel to get the most out of the cartridge. I'm leaning towards an average bullet weight of about 85gns but would still like to be able to use something like the 58gn v-max so the twist should be fast enough for 85 gn at least but maybe not so fast as needed for the 100gn bullets.

Is there any AR style 243 that might have,say, a 24 inch floating barrel?


Brian

[bigun]

Originally Posted by Raptor1956

I'm thinking about buying or building a new rifle chambered for the 243 and would like some ideas on components. What I'm looking for is high accuracy and a long barrel to get the most out of the cartridge. I'm leaning towards an average bullet weight of about 85gns but would still like to be able to use something like the 58gn v-max so the twist should be fast enough for 85 gn at least but maybe not so fast as needed for the 100gn bullets.

Is there any AR style 243 that might have,say, a 24 inch floating barrel?


Brian

DPMS has a .243. A 1in12 or 1in14 barrel should be what you are looking for for the lightweight pills. Keep the velocities a little bit below 4,000 fps for best accuracy and barrel life. 24-26" barrel depending on weather it is going to be bench or bipod shot. Something to think about would be a fluted barrel to help dissipate heat and stiffen the barrel. A Remington 700 action blueprinted and trued would make the best donor or if you are going the factory route a Savage short action 110 varmiter in that calliber would fit your needs well.

[Raptor1956]

Originally Posted by bigun

DPMS has a .243. A 1in12 or 1in14 barrel should be what you are looking for for the lightweight pills. Keep the velocities a little bit below 4,000 fps for best accuracy and barrel life. 24-26" barrel depending on weather it is going to be bench or bipod shot. Something to think about would be a fluted barrel to help dissipate heat and stiffen the barrel. A Remington 700 action blueprinted and trued would make the best donor or if you are going the factory route a Savage short action 110 varmiter in that calliber would fit your needs well.

Thanks, good info...


My AR has a fluted heavy barrel and yes, that would be desireable.

I seem to remember paying just under $1K for a new Bushy Varminter in 2002 and it looks like they're now going for the mid 13's -- I bet I could sell my AR for as much or more than I paid for it.

The reason I asked about an AR style 243 is that my Varminter has the A3 flat top and it would be nice to be able to swap the scope (Leupold 6x24 mildot) between the two rifle without having to play with scope rings etc. But, if need be I could get something like an Eotech for the AR and mount the Leupold on the 243.

The DPMS Panther LR-243 looks very nice but I'd prefer a longer barrel of 24 inches or more.


Brian

[aubie515]

Contact DPMS....you may be able to get a 24" barrel for the 243. I have owned two DPMS LR 308s and have recommended them to anyone looking for an accurate semi.

Other considerations I'd add would be Howa or Tikka...you will fall in love with the Tikka/Sako action...especially if you ever handled a Savage action. Any Remington action that does not have the J lock would be a nice dono action as well.

As far as barrels, there are so many to choose from, so make a list and go shopping.

I personally only shoot the 78gr Vmax out of my 243. It is my ground hog bullet and it has not let me down yet.

[bigun]

I personally only shoot the 78gr Vmax out of my 243. It is my ground hog bullet and it has not let me down yet.[/quote] That is also my favorite bullet for coyote's with the .243 its pretty explosive and the coyote never knows what hit him.

[Raptor1956]

Yeah, I was thinking somewhere between 75gn and 87gn would be the sweet spot with perhaps as low as 68gn for little critters and xploding fruit when plinking.

So, if I can rule out 100gn+ then what's the best twist?

If I want to go to 100gn on occassion but still want to be centered around 80gn what twist?


Thanks,

Brian

[bigun]

1in12 A standard 1in10 will usually do quite well with the 75 grainers not so well with the lighter bullets.

[Raptor1956]

Originally Posted by bigun

1in12 A standard 1in10 will usually do quite well with the 75 grainers not so well with the lighter bullets.

How heavy can you go with a 1 in 12?


Brian

[bigun]

Originally Posted by Raptor1956

How heavy can you go with a 1 in 12?


Brian

It depends some will shoot up to 100 grainers pretty well.

[Brickboy240]

For what its worth to you, my 1964 Savage 99 Featherweight in 243 will throw about a 1" group at 100yds with the cheapo Winchester Power Point 100 grainers that you get for 11 bucks a box at Wal Mart.

Seriously! I was amazed that I got this kind of accuracy out of cheap ammo and a lever-action. The Savage 99 is amazingly accurate for a lever action...no wonder why they're so expensive on the used gun market.

I was planning on having to switch to something like Federal Premuims with the Nosler Ballistic Tips (the accuracy champs in my 270 and 30-06) but grabbed a box of the cheap stuff from Wal Mart, to test out and zero in the new 3x9x40 scope I had mounted on the Savage.

Well...a 1 inch group was fine with me! I quit there, since I was only going to bust coyotes at maybe 100-200 yards. Thats plenty accurate enough an yes...the 100 grain Power Points drop coyotes like mad.

Try a box of the cheap stuff first...you might get lucky and get enough accuracy without spending more on the fancy stuff.

- Brickboy240