SmallCaliberCentral

You may have seen the that I had a 17 Tac (whole package) for sale. I was needing to add a 243 to the family and low and behold a Ruger M77 243 AI with a Leupold popped up and we traded. Whole package for whole package. Can't wait.

Awesome! I'm looking to buy a .243 AI as the 6MM is a huge favorite of mine. I like the 75 gr Vmax in this caliber. H414 has worked well for me in .243 Win. Do you have experience with this cal? If so what are your thoughts on bullet powder combos?

Just experience with the 243, but not much on the load knowledge yet. I have some loaded from a good time back and have been without a 243 for a few years so I can't help you too much on load stuff.
The AI I am getting, he said he got a .2 and .3s fireforming with Varget and Win powders. I am glad he got that with Varget since I have 2 1/2 kegs of it LOL. He was shooting Nosler 70s. He will be sending 400 of them with it

I like that round!

Sond Dog
Let us know how you're load development goes.My 243AI will be back from Hart,next week.Before the rebarrel ,I was getting excellent groups with H4831 46.5gr pushing a Sie 95 Match King (oal 2.780) 3200FPS,.221 groupe.Hope I can at least repeat that.

I would like to have a 243 myself. It is a good shooting round from what I have seen. It is also nice because you can hunt yotes with it if you dont want the pelt and also a good deer cartrage. Good luck with it!

Sounds like a great trade...Congratualtions!


Valar...I use a Browning A-bolt Hunter .243 with 100 grain Hornady Custom bullets for Deer Hunting,even shot several Coyotes with it and the pelt/fur wasn't in too bad a shape...if I dropped down to a lighter bullet it would probably be even easier on the hides?

Song: You'll be very pleased with the .243Win for coyotes. For many years I used one of my 223's, worked okay, but lost a few dogs now and then from perefrial hits. Since switching to the .243, I've never hit a dog and had him escape.....all purty much DRT. The larger caliber just hits with much more authority (read: terminal effect).

I use a Rem Model Seven SS Synthetic with only bedding and trigger mods with a Leupold 2.5-8X for 90% of my coyote duties, and it works very well indeed.



Shooting Nosler 70gr BT's over a stiff load of Varget at 3,500 fps, it's pure doggie-death in the field at ranges that the 204 and 224's just can't match with their lighter bullets.

After i got my new barrel back from Hart(tighter chamber),I developed loads with H414 and four different 70 gr bullets ;Speer TNT,Nosler 70gr BTipBT,Sie BK and Sie MK.All shot sub 1/4"MOA,with fireformed brass,and slightly larger groups with 243 virgin brass.Loads start @47gr,and work up slowly for accuracy..270 neck on my chamber.

I'm with you Rick, I recently shot coyotes at 105 and 423 yards and it's amazing the force hitting those coyotes. They dont just drop dead, the impact seems to blow most of them over.
The 204 works great, but the ole 243 slams them. I shoot a 75 grain Vmax at 3550fps over 46.4 grains of H414 and seated into the lands. This is a .243 win and not an AI as I dont have my AI yet. I prefer the 75 grain vmax because it has a really high BC in comparison to most others in its weight class. Great bullet to 600 yards. Beyond that I want to play with the 87gr vmax or some vld bergers.

Gentlemen all I can say is the 6mm or .243 makes for one heck of a predator rifle! I got my very first 6mm way back in 1970, a 700 BDL Remington with bull barrel and mounted a 6 x 18 Unertile scope on top. It took me several weeks to work up accurate loads for it but I did manage to do so using Sierra bullets. Now that rig would shoot .350-MOA rain or shine and shooting it became very boring to say the least. I wish I never would have traded that rifle but we have all been there a time or to I suspect, still a great caliber.

ryutzy wrote:I'm with you Rick, I prefer the 75 grain vmax because it has a really high BC in comparison to most others in its weight class.

ryutzy: Agreed, it's my favorite 6mm varmint bullet too......but.....Nosler being about 20 flaps of the crows wings from me, and their seconds shoot just as well as the firsts, and the price.............well, that's why I shoot the Nosler 70gr BT.

Tonk: Like you, back around 1980 I sold a perfectly good and very accurate M98 Mauser w/Shilen HB in 6mm Remington. The thing shot bugholes but was much too heavy to lug about the desert all day so I traded it off.......like a real dummy. Can't even remember now what I traded it for.

Well, forgot to update. Glad you guys brought the thread back to life.
It shoots 3 shot one holers, but its too heavy. So, I am selling it to finish the Lilja rebarrel in the NEW 17 Tac, them take left over and do another in the 243 or stick with 243 AI.