22-243 dies

[TR220swift]

What set of dies are you 22-243 win guys using? Going ahead with a build, need to get the ball rolling. I have heard of using 243 dies with bushings, also any load info would be great. thanks

 

[cinch]

I am using a standard 22-243 Winchester die set from Redding. They work great for me. I PMed you my load info.

 

[combatcurt]

I will have my 22-243 win complete by the 5th of august. any chance you would be able to part with some starting data for a 1:9 and 69 gr smk's? Or perhaps know of anyone getting rid of the dies? I was curious as to how to use a .224 bushing in a .243 win die.. does that even sound right or am I making myself look like a complete jack-wagon? Thanks

 

[BiG tRaV aus]

knowing how bad a 243 stretches cases and burns barrels, let me guess the 22/243 is fireform, load your round, fire your round and throw the case away and start again! seriously does it really give much more than a 22-250? by the time you download it to make the barrel last more than a hundred rounds are you getting any advantage out of the extra bucket load of powder you used to make 10 useable rounds?

Just asking is all.

 

[shortgrass]

knowing how bad a 243 stretches cases and burns barrels, let me guess the 22/243 is fireform, load your round, fire your round and throw the case away and start again! seriously does it really give much more than a 22-250? by the time you download it to make the barrel last more than a hundred rounds are you getting any advantage out of the extra bucket load of powder you used to make 10 useable rounds?

Just asking is all.

The .22/243 stretches cases no worse than others do, so cases are not "fire once, and throw away". Load 'um until the primer pockets get loose. All that's needed to make .22-243 brass is to neck down new .243 Win. brass. It's a bit harder on barrels than some, not as bad as others. Load it reasonable and don't try to fire it like a machinegun. Loaded and fired sensibly, it'll run 1000-1400 rounds before she's toast. The .22-.243 is at its' best with 'heavy for caliber' bullets. The 80g SMK may be accurate in a .22/.250, but it doesn't have the needed velocity for LR, it runs out of 'steam' before it gets there. The above is not a bunch of guesses or assumtions.

 

[ZSteinle]

I also use redding 22-243 dies and work great for me. and as for the comparision between a 22-243 and 22-250 there is none. My lapua brass is on its 7th loading with no issues. I am running a lighter load of 41gr. of h4831 with a 90gr. berger vld on top running about 3100fps. My buddie also has on and is running the 75gr. amax just shy of 3500.

 

[justforfun]

I use RCBS dies and have no complaints. They are also gauranted for life.

I shoot the 22 Cheetah Mk II (basiclly a 22-243 improved) and there is a big difference between it and a 22-250. If you are looking for a fast 22 caliber these are hard to beat. As stated above, don't shoot it like a machine gun and over heat the barrel. I have found if you use a good barrel, shoot at a reasonable pace, and clean the barrel, it will last a long time. I don't think there is a better coyote cartridge out there, if you handload.

 

[BiG tRaV aus]

as I said in my original post I was just asking if the difference was that big, as lets face it a 22-250 launches a projectile very fast and will stabilise the large weight projectiles quite well provided you have ample twist in your barrel. honestly I have used a 22-250 to varmint to 400 metres (not yards) effectively on small game and would not really consider a 22 caliber effective FULL STOP beyond this range on much other than rabbits, crows or the like. and lets face it a 22-250 is very accurate to this range the only more supposedly accurate rounds are the 22 ppc and 222 with the 223 falling somewhere behind the afforementioned.

does the 22-243 have the ability to load down effectively that the 22-250 does (basically from sub 222 velocities to 4000+ fps) and still stabilise the chosen weight of projectile?

yes I see the velocity potential of what is essentially a 308 necked to 22 caliber just like the 5860 fps I was able to achieve with a 50 bmg necked to 30 cal with a 180 grain projectile, but do you really need it is what I was asking. A 30 cal projectile doing 2800 fps will kill something as dead within effective range as the same projectile doing 5800+ fps with less overall damage at both ends of the rifle. I hear the don"t overheat the barrel and stuff but lets face it that massive amount of powder burning doesn't just affect the barrel it also affects things like the throat of the chamber etc. all of which affect things like accuracy and velocity spread when a cartridge has been trimmed a couple of thou too short or a different brand of brass is used.

Basically what I am saying is that effective range of ANY 22 caliber is restricted, yes you may be able to put holes in paper at a thousand yards with them but I do not consider a 22 a capable calibre at anything further than roughly 400 yards for any game. Lets face it this isn't a forum about shooting targets at a thousand yards it is a forum about long range hunting.

I am sorry if my previous post or this one has offended anyone but I was just asking if there was that noticeable a difference.

 

[shortgrass]

I have customers using rifles I built, chambered in .22-.243, cleanly taking coyotes at 1000yds. If that ain't LRH, what is?! They 'stepped up' from the 22/250 because it couldn't do the job. The .22-.243 has a 'following',,,, a substantial following' & loading data available without looking very hard. The .30/.50BMG would be something to play with,,,,, velocity for the sake of velocity. The .22-243 has a practical use (LR varmints), I see none for the .30/.50BMG. I don't even see where one has any bearing in the discussion of the other.

 

[Max Heat]

With a UN like mine, the idea of sending 180 grs out at almost 6K is um, salivating, is what comes to mind - or do I mean mouth? Anyways, it is the rounds that exceed a charge-weight-to-projectile-weight ratio of 1:1 (unfortunately, there aren't very many) that really gets my blood pumping. But 30-50 (7.62x300) takes the cake at 1 2/3 (1.667). That approaches 2:1 - totally sick man - but I do love it! Did you ever try 150gr pillz? That actually WOULD put you at 2:1, AND well over 6K, I'm sure!!! Do you run the full 37" barrel length on that rig?

Since I'm already chimed in, I do have an on-topic question. For some reason I am thinking that the 22-343 round is represented by the 224 (.224) designation. Or is that the 22-243 rem, as opposed to win? Or does the 224 designation represent something else entirely?

 

[BiG tRaV aus]

thanks shortgrass you have answered the questions I have posed.

Max the aforementioned rifle was built by myself and another bloke I worked with at the time, as an experiment and cause we could. We no longer have it as we couldn't find 1500 metre ranges within easy travelling distances that would let us fire the thing, the back blast from the muzzle break would pick up rocks the size of tennis balls and hurl them in the face of whoever was shooting on the banks next to you, and without a break it was near impossible to fire. All up we put about a hundred rounds through it before we sold it. it weighed in at about 17 kg from memory, and was easily more capable of 1/8 moa angle shooting than the people who would be pulling the trigger. 180 grainers seemed to be the lightest we could get to effectively shoot through it and 220 grainers were more stable and better all round.

 

[Max Heat]

I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I did get exited about tRaV's "monster" 30 rig though. And it shot 1/8moa, to boot? That is a really amazing story. The question I had about length refers to the standard length of a 50BMG rifle barrel.