22/243
- Thread starter 10bruce
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I have had one for years. There are different versions, but mine is a standard 22-243 winchester. It is built out of a Remington 700 short action. 26" Shilen select match Sendero weight 8 twist barrel. I use Winchester brass, 48 grains Rel 25, 75gr Amax, and Fed 210. I will be switching to Retumbo and Cci250 when I can find a load. My dies are Redding. I like the standard 22-243 because you have no fire forming. Take a 243 brass, run it in your sizer and you have 22-243 case. I love this gun and will own one the rest of my days. I don't even shoot my 22-250 or 6mm anymore.
10Bruce,
Don't build a 22-243, build a 6x284. With a 30" barrel, it will shoot a 70grn BT at 4000fps , an 87grn V-Max at 3700fps and the 105grn A-Max at 3500fps. All you have to do is neck down the 6.5x284 Lapua brass to 6mm, load and shoot. Also, there is a bunch of reloading info on it and the 6mm poly tipped bullets have a much higher BC than the .22 cal bullets.
Have fun.
W.
Don't build a 22-243, build a 6x284. With a 30" barrel, it will shoot a 70grn BT at 4000fps , an 87grn V-Max at 3700fps and the 105grn A-Max at 3500fps. All you have to do is neck down the 6.5x284 Lapua brass to 6mm, load and shoot. Also, there is a bunch of reloading info on it and the 6mm poly tipped bullets have a much higher BC than the .22 cal bullets.
Have fun.
W.
comfisherman
Well-Known Member
a few places to look
Try and google reloaders nest, or handloads.com. They have several loads and velocities listed. Welcome to lrh, try a search for 22/243 or check the varmint section there should be some info there.
As far as the 6x284 its an impressive round, however during elk/deer season I am not allowed to hunt coyotes with anything larger than a .223 diameter bullet. 10bruce might be in a similar situation, I have a 1'7 twist .223 that I might chamber in 22/243 but will probably go with a 22-250 AI because a friend has a reamer and an extra set of dies.
I think teh 22-250 has 46grain water capacity, the 22-250 AI has 51 and the 22-243 has 54. So 22-250 ai load data would be a good place to start.
Try and google reloaders nest, or handloads.com. They have several loads and velocities listed. Welcome to lrh, try a search for 22/243 or check the varmint section there should be some info there.
As far as the 6x284 its an impressive round, however during elk/deer season I am not allowed to hunt coyotes with anything larger than a .223 diameter bullet. 10bruce might be in a similar situation, I have a 1'7 twist .223 that I might chamber in 22/243 but will probably go with a 22-250 AI because a friend has a reamer and an extra set of dies.
I think teh 22-250 has 46grain water capacity, the 22-250 AI has 51 and the 22-243 has 54. So 22-250 ai load data would be a good place to start.
Cheyenne19
Well-Known Member
I'm in the process of building a 22-243AI. I'm just waiting on the action now. The 6x284 is a good round, but wildcat is biased. The 87g vmax has a bc of .4. You can send a 80smk bc of .420 at 3700 out of a 22-243AI, which would make it a toss up. There's a guy on the savage forums who screen name is outlawkyote, and he claims that the bc of the 80g smk is .6 at 3500fps. Sierra has it at .420 at 2200fps. Either way, they're flat shooters with lots of potential.
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mikebob
Well-Known Member
I am a 22-243 owner for life too, it is a very accurate round fun to shoot. I shoot 47gr retumbo and 90gr berger vld seated .007 into lands of a hart 1-8 twist. I have 243 and others and I always go for the 22-243. I have all my loads posted on reloadersnest. Build it and have a blast shooting yotes way out there.
Cheyeene19,
I don't think the 22-243AI will push the 80grn at 3700fps, however, I might be wrong. I am not biased, the 6x284, with the 87grn V-Max, just works very well.
Also, the 6x284 requires way less case prep. All you have to do with the 6x284, is neck the 6.5x284 brass down to 6mm and shoot.
The 22-243AI takes necking the case down to .22 and fireforming. This will require a bunch of your time. Also, fire forming will take away barrel life.
W.
I don't think the 22-243AI will push the 80grn at 3700fps, however, I might be wrong. I am not biased, the 6x284, with the 87grn V-Max, just works very well.
Also, the 6x284 requires way less case prep. All you have to do with the 6x284, is neck the 6.5x284 brass down to 6mm and shoot.
The 22-243AI takes necking the case down to .22 and fireforming. This will require a bunch of your time. Also, fire forming will take away barrel life.
W.
Wild cat for President in 08
Hey I shoot a 26" BBL 6x284 ( Hart BBL with 10" twist)I can get just about 4,000 FPS with 70 gr Nosler BT. 87gr V-Max safely 3,600 FPS.( Hit a yote at 341 yds and he look like he was struck by lightning) Case prep is a walk in the park. I also shoot a 22-250AI and fireforming is a hassel.Long Live the 6x284 !
Hey I shoot a 26" BBL 6x284 ( Hart BBL with 10" twist)I can get just about 4,000 FPS with 70 gr Nosler BT. 87gr V-Max safely 3,600 FPS.( Hit a yote at 341 yds and he look like he was struck by lightning) Case prep is a walk in the park. I also shoot a 22-250AI and fireforming is a hassel.Long Live the 6x284 !
Iron Worker, my last 6x284 had a Krieger 30", 1-12 twist barrel and it pushed the 87grn V-Max at 3730fps. The 6x284 is an awesome cartridge. I was going to have another one built, however, I decided to have another type of speed demon built.
It is a 300 Varminter which is based around the 300 WSM cartridge, custom action and a 30" Bartlien 1-15 twist barrel. It pushes a 125grn BT at 4000+fps. It was designed by Richard Franklin of Richard's Custom Rifles.
Richard believes in pushing the poly tipped bullets at very high velocities for varmint hunting. He specializes in high velocity varmint rifles. Check his web site out. He is a very serious varmint hunter like myself. He builds some awesome rifles, and he is a great smith to work with. He has got a great varmint video called "Death in The Green Grass". It's a great video and it shows around 300 kills on groundhogs at ranges from 50 to 800 yards. If your going to have a varmint rifle built, seriously look up Richard Franklin.
W.
It is a 300 Varminter which is based around the 300 WSM cartridge, custom action and a 30" Bartlien 1-15 twist barrel. It pushes a 125grn BT at 4000+fps. It was designed by Richard Franklin of Richard's Custom Rifles.
Richard believes in pushing the poly tipped bullets at very high velocities for varmint hunting. He specializes in high velocity varmint rifles. Check his web site out. He is a very serious varmint hunter like myself. He builds some awesome rifles, and he is a great smith to work with. He has got a great varmint video called "Death in The Green Grass". It's a great video and it shows around 300 kills on groundhogs at ranges from 50 to 800 yards. If your going to have a varmint rifle built, seriously look up Richard Franklin.
W.
Cheyenne19
Well-Known Member
I didn't mean to offend you. But you've had a 6x284. It'd be hard to vote for one combination over another you've already had. Fireforming is a one time deal and not what I would call a lot of case work.
I'm a fan of the 6x284 and I'm going to have one someday. But this thread wasn't about the 6 or 30 stuff. It's about 22-243's.
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Varmint Hunter
Well-Known Member
I have owned and shot a 22-243AI for many years. A super accurrate and max load for me was with the 75gr A-Max (moly) @ 3,668 ft/sec. RE22 was THE powder for this cartridge. I worked up a fireforming load that used 55gr bullets at 22-250 velocities. It was not very hard to get .5moa groups with fireforming loads. I use to call them "huntforming" loads because I shot groundhogs as I formed cases. However, reduced barrel life is the obvious consequence of fireforming cases for a hot cartridge. (assuming that you are using bullets rather than COW)
As much as I loved the 22-243AI, when it was time to set the barrel back and rechamber, I had it rechambered in 22-243 (plain). No case forming and similar ballistics. Not equal, but similar. Some shooters of the 22-243 claim to get the same velocity as the AI version but I can't believe that it can be done without an increase in pressure.
My 26" Hart barrel has an 8 twist which would not shoot the 80gr SMK very well, which is why I shot the 75gr A-Max. I have yet to try the newer 80-90gr A-Max and similar heavy-weights.
Tyler Kemp
Well-Known Member
Fireforming isn't that hard, I have spent 10 minutes of my free time to make 5 COW shells and shoot them. Have 15 left to do, and it's kind of enjoyable to see what the gas and wax and COW do at a couple feet.
I am sure it will be a fine shooting rifle. It won't be long and you'll be looking to build another.
