Primer’s for .243

I've used the Remington's for thousands of loads in that cartridge and others with no issues. 38 grains of IMR 4064 and Sierra 85 grain GameKing hp's are lights out in I don't know how many rifles around here. My Remington 700 makes a ragged one-hole group at 100 yards with it, and several guys that I load the same cartridge for have the same results. One young man around ten years old is convinced this load would take down a T Rex because of the results he gets on whitetail. Back off just a bit and work up to it as it is a maximum load in some rifles if you choose to try it. Best of luck.
 
Primer Brisance chart below. Hottest to coldest (top to bottom).
1723035669890.png
 
VinceMule said:
I don't consider the 9 1/2M a magnum primer, not even close to a Cci 250 which is not as strong as a 215 much less a Win Mag primer. So, you should be very well with the 9 1/2M in the 243. If you try R#26 in the 243 with 100g, the 215's is what I would try first.
Click to expand...
Why use any magnum primer in a .243? Not called for....not necessary
 
In a 24" sporter, 8t, shooting 105-108s, R#26 grouped the best with the lowest ES with CCI 250 and R#22.
R#26 Vel is 3150 with the Berger 105 VLD hunting bullet. ON hogs, we shoot the 100g hornady BTSP with the same load. 4 Groove Krieger, 4 Groove Brux, 6 Groove X caliber, using a CIP spec reamer from JGS, throated appropriately for these longer bullets in Rem 700s.

Even in 9T, with std 100g Bullets, the R#26 puts the 243 Winchester in another league.

I can't wait to try the R#26 in a 6 Remington, 8T with 105-108s.

I have read that the coating on some powders makes them harder to ignite, and ignition can be improved with a "mild" mag primer. Consider this statement nothing more than a rumor, but in the case of the 243, my brother and I found the same results. Barrels are fickle, they like what they like, no getting around it.

In the Short Action Remington 700s, the Wyatts mag box is a marriage made in Heaven allowing for longer OAL's.
 
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VinceMule said:
In a 24" sporter, 8t, shooting 105-108s, R#26 grouped the best with the lowest ES with CCI 250 and R#22.
R#26 Vel is 3150 with the Berger 105 VLD hunting bullet. ON hogs, we shoot the 100g hornady BTSP with the same load. 4 Groove Krieger, 4 Groove Brux, 6 Groove X caliber, using a CIP spec reamer from JGS, throated appropriately for these longer bullets in Rem 700s.

Even in 9T, with std 100g Bullets, the R#26 puts the 243 Winchester in another league.

I can't wait to try the R#26 in a 6 Remington, 8T with 105-108s.

I have read that the coating on some powders makes them harder to ignite, and ignition can be improved with a "mild" mag primer. Consider this statement nothing more than a rumor, but in the case of the 243, my brother and I found the same results. Barrels are fickle, they like what they like, no getting around it.

In the Remington 700s, the Wyatts mag box is a marriage made in Heaven allowing for longer OAL's.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure when my 700 was manufactured, and to be honest I haven't even tried to find the twist. When I got the rifle years ago one of the first bullets, I tried was the 85 grain Sierras, and over time I tried several heavier than that, but it will not shoot anything well over those 85 grains, so my guess is it's a slower twisted barrel. I don't actually use it much anymore, and that was why I didn't do more research. I had already moved on to 28 Nosler's, 6.5-284 Normas and the likes, so the 243 lost some of its shine. Great little whitetail rifle, but so is the 28, and with it I'm comfortable at much longer ranges.
 
Rem 243s are 9 1/4" Twists. I would guess that you just did not find the load for the 100g, or the harmonics of your particular barrel did not like those heavier bullets.

If your barrel likes the 85g Sierra, then the barrel would shine with the 85g Speer btsp(IMR 4831) which is a deer bullet, not a varmint bullet with a better BC. Most of my family Remingtons get 95g Hornady SST, 100g BTSP or Nosler 95g Ballistic tips with IMR or H 4350, R#22, or another 200 fps with R#26. Barrels will like what they like, and there is no getting around that fact.

Raven Rock, a vendor on this site is selling a 100g bonded core Ornx bullet that should be an awesome performer with R#26 at 3150, performing way beyond its pay grade.

The last deer I shot in Kansas was a 260 lb buck at 320 yards, 243 Win with 100g Hornady btsp, with a very accurate hot load of IMR 4350. He took two steps and fell over. He heard me using a rattle bag and grunt call, at 700 yards. He came running, slowed to trotting, then stopped in his tracks with me hiding behind a round bale of hay. I had my gun up resting on the hay bale, with the Leica range finder shooting distances all the way. When he stopped, I shot the range, held over, and took the shot. This was a frontal quartering shot, with the bullet entering just inside his front left shoulder, taking out the use of the shoulder, then lungs and heart. This was not a big buck for that area, but time was getting short, and the weather was about to turn hot, so I took him for the meat....a very heavy 8-pointer.

A friend here has taken a LOT of deer with a Barnes 80g TTSX with a very hot load of IMR 4064 with Federal 210 primers in the 3400 fps area, he shoots a Remington and Browning A bolt factory barrels. We skin our deer and the damage from the 80g Barnes TTSX is impressive.
 
VinceMule said:
Rem 243s are 9 1/4" Twists. I would guess that you just did not find the load for the 100g, or the harmonics of your particular barrel did not like those heavier bullets.

If your barrel likes the 85g Sierra, then the barrel would shine with the 85g Speer btsp(IMR 4831) which is a deer bullet, not a varmint bullet with a better BC. Most of my family Remingtons get 95g Hornady SST, 100g BTSP or Nosler 95g Ballistic tips with IMR or H 4350, R#22, or another 200 fps with R#26. Barrels will like what they like, and there is no getting around that fact.

Raven Rock, a vendor on this site is selling a 100g bonded core Ornx bullet that should be an awesome performer with R#26 at 3150, performing way beyond its pay grade.

The last deer I shot in Kansas was a 260 lb buck at 320 yards, 243 Win with 100g Hornady btsp, with a very accurate hot load of IMR 4350. He took two steps and fell over. He heard me using a rattle bag and grunt call, at 700 yards. He came running, slowed to trotting, then stopped in his tracks with me hiding behind a round bale of hay. I had my gun up resting on the hay bale, with the Leica range finder shooting distances all the way. When he stopped, I shot the range, held over, and took the shot. This was a frontal quartering shot, with the bullet entering just inside his front left shoulder, taking out the use of the shoulder, then lungs and heart. This was not a big buck for that area, but time was getting short, and the weather was about to turn hot, so I took him for the meat....a very heavy 8-pointer.

A friend here has taken a LOT of deer with a Barnes 80g TTSX with a very hot load of IMR 4064 with Federal 210 primers in the 3400 fps area, he shoots a Remington and Browning A bolt factory barrels. We skin our deer and the damage from the 80g Barnes TTSX is impressive.
Click to expand...
I shoot the Sierra GameKings so they are great deer bullets, I find most of them on the far side just under the hide, and have killed some giant Kansas whitetail with only one dying outside of view. My barrel just won't spin a 100 grainer enough, every now and then you'll get a keyhole with it, but the Sierras are lights out. Killed a coyote at 460 with it, but it starts losing steam fast as far as deer sized game are considered. I'm getting 3150 at the muzzle, and it is super accurate, but my Nosler is deadly at 1000, and west of Dodge where I hunt that's not out of the question. I killed my deer a couple of years ago at 560, I didn't draw a tag last year, but I have one for this year. I love that place out there, wide open, and very large whitetail.
 
Highfinblue, sounds like your barrel has a defect as all rems are 9 1/4 twist, and I have even shot the Hornady 105g bthp in one of my rifles. 243 Rem take-offs are inexpensive if you want to go down that road.

We were hunting West of Bucklin, and in some years, SE of Bucklin in a different zone where the bucks seemed MUCH larger.

In one rifle, I shoot the 85g at 3350 with a warm load of R#19, win primer in win brass, that barrel is 26".
 
highfinblue said:
I've used the Remington's for thousands of loads in that cartridge and others with no issues. 38 grains of IMR 4064 and Sierra 85 grain GameKing hp's are lights out in I don't know how many rifles around here. My Remington 700 makes a ragged one-hole group at 100 yards with it, and several guys that I load the same cartridge for have the same results. One young man around ten years old is convinced this load would take down a T Rex because of the results he gets on whitetail. Back off just a bit and work up to it as it is a maximum load in some rifles if you choose to try it. Best of luck.
Click to expand...
I shot that same load with a Fed 210 primer for years hunting coyotes, put coyotes down hard, even when shot back of the diaphragm. I hunted with a gunsmith from San Diego that had worked up a load with IMR 4831 with a Win primer that was doing 200 fps faster, and exit wounds on coyotes displayed much larger gaping holes. For coyotes, changing out to a 80g Sierra Blitz boat tail, produced the largest WHOP sound I have ever heard on hitting an animal, they were dead in their tracks. A over book max load of IMR 4064 with fed 210 with the 80g Sierra and TTSX also shot tiny groups, very fast and accurate for 300+ yd shots on Coyotes. It seems like in many instances, a coyote is harder to put on the ground and keep him there than a white tail!
 
VinceMule said:
In a 24" sporter, 8t, shooting 105-108s, R#26 grouped the best with the lowest ES with CCI 250 and R#22.
R#26 Vel is 3150 with the Berger 105 VLD hunting bullet. ON hogs, we shoot the 100g hornady BTSP with the same load. 4 Groove Krieger, 4 Groove Brux, 6 Groove X caliber, using a CIP spec reamer from JGS, throated appropriately for these longer bullets in Rem 700s.

Even in 9T, with std 100g Bullets, the R#26 puts the 243 Winchester in another league.

I can't wait to try the R#26 in a 6 Remington, 8T with 105-108s.

I have read that the coating on some powders makes them harder to ignite, and ignition can be improved with a "mild" mag primer. Consider this statement nothing more than a rumor, but in the case of the 243, my brother and I found the same results. Barrels are fickle, they like what they like, no getting around it.

In the Short Action Remington 700s, the Wyatts mag box is a marriage made in Heaven allowing for longer OAL's.
Click to expand...
I'd like to give Re-26 and a 105 VLD a try. Did you use the data from Alliant for the 105 Amax? I'll assume it's a compressed load.
 
Last edited:
This BS about which primer is NECESSARY needs to die…
If you don't test ALL primer types, how would you KNOW which is necessary?
I have tested both standard and magnum primers in EVERYTHING, even the 17/22 Hornet, 17 Remington and all variants of the 222 Remington, including 223.
If you don't test, you don't know which will print the tightest groups…

Cheers.
 

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