Load Development Ruger Precision Rifle .243

[jdmecomber]

Update on 243. That factory barrel was too thin to shoot long strings in F Class. It was already pretty well fire cracked with ~1k rounds down the tube. The .308 was a hoot but was just too exhausting and exacerbating to shoot in matches. Just ordered a 30 inch bull barrel in 243 with a match chamber and a 7.5 twist. Plan is to toss 115 grain pills. If it shoots I'll shoot it in F Class. Was tempted by 6 Creedmoor, 6XC, 6 SLR and even 6x47. In the end I already had the Lapua 243 brass and match dies. Figured what the hell, I'll give it another try. Might be over a month before I get the barrel but will report back when I do.

30" barrel that will be nice. Are you going to gain much with that 115?

 

[barefooter56]

View attachment 79546 We are Box to Bench Precision, LLC. We are a Federal Firearms License Holder. We take factory rifles (box guns) and produce accurate and consistent long range performers.


We have developed The 100 Yard Long Range Load Development and Scope Tracking Target (Patent Pending). Shooters can develop an entire long range precision rifle system on one target.

It features the following:

Powder testing

Lands testing

Final group size with all ballistic data

Zero spots

Final velocity

Hot/Cold Fps

Scope Tracking up to 25 Moa/ 7.5 Mils

30" tall x 23.5" wide

Tear resistant and water proof

Comes with Storage Tube per shipment

Data Collection


Russ McKinnon and I, Joseph Mecomber, have been studying long range shooting near Colville, Washington. It is mountainous country with extremes in wind and temperature. Northeast Washington is becoming very popular with long range competitions with the most recent being the Snipers Hide Team Challenge.


It has taken several years to advance our long range abilities to this point. These sources have been tremendously helpful to us. We suggest studying the Precision Rifle Blog, Sniper 101 YouTube Video Series, Rex Reviews, Snipers Hide, Longrangehunting.com, Accurate Shooter, Ballistic XLR, and the Berger Reloading Manual.


Our number one goal has always been first shot hits. If you study the principles that are taught from these sources and develop your precision ammunition with the use of our target, your success in long range shooting will improve dramatically.



Russ and I are not organized competitive shooters but have both been invited to shoot in local private competitions. I competed for the first time against a field of 5 teams and finished in first place. This spring Russ shot in a field of 8 teams and finished tied for second place.


If you find yourself struggling with the science behind our target, we are currently coordinating with Long Range Shooting Schools to assure training is available for those who are interested.


You can follow Russ and my entire journey from over two years ago as we developed a Ruger Precision Rifle in .243 Winchester.


http://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/load-development-ruger-precision-rifle-243.166145/



Please support our business as we continue to grow, these targets will make your time shooting more enjoyable.


Keep an eye out for a review of the target that will be released by Long Range Hunting.com in September


Thank you

Joe Mecomber and Russ McKinnon Team B2B


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https://www.facebook.com/B2BPrecision/posts/337591816692057


Online at www.boxtobenchprecision.com

A target like this has been needed for a long time ! Kudos!!!

 

[jdmecomber]

A target like this has been needed for a long time ! Kudos!!!

Thank you Sir

 

[ranger3]

Great article, I like the detail and thought put into it all.

 

[ranger3]

Thanks

 

[jdmecomber]

Thanks

Thank you

 

[brentc]

Just figured I'd throw an update in here for my 243 RPR. Although I have a lights out load with 105 VLDs at 2990 fps with MRP, I've wanted to try RL26 once I got my hands on some.

It didn't take long to get into the 1/2 MOA area with RL26 with an OCW at 47.0 grains in Win brass with a CCI200 and a 105 Hybrid at .035" off the lands. I almost never believed the velocity hype with this stuff until it posted 3150 fps across the magneto speed without a hint of pressure.

 

[jdmecomber]

This year is an off year for me. My wife gets to burn up most of my leave on a vacation of her choosing within reason. Which leaves me with a little deer hunting and maybe some archery elk hunting.

Our rut just now is in full swing here in Northeast Washington, the season for late rifle was Nov 11-19th. This was a very poor year with fog in the high mountains consistently along with heavy amounts of snow and rain. I spent hours behind the glass only spotting doe.

I had my Uncle sitting below me while I kept overwatch in this big valley. My RPR has the new Competition Night Force on it 15-55x. I like to really zoom in on my targets and it's not very good for hunting but oh well. So while watching for my Uncle I have this guy sneak around below me at 40 yards. I wish I could say it was an easy shot with a standing 14.5 lb gun. 300 yard zero and 15 power minimum but the 105 vld eventually cut the heart in half.

 

[jdmecomber]

I loaded the RPR up with some powder from the new Sartorious Scale. I will be shooting some tomorrow. I am looking forward on seeing my extreme spread with my powder within a .03 grains +/-.

 

[RonS]

30" barrel that will be nice. Are you going to gain much with that 115?

Sorry, just saw this. Not sure if I will gain much. 100 fps at the outside.

Just got the barrel and got it installed last week. Criterion 30 inch bull with a 7.5 twist. 115 DTAC's on order from David Tubb's site. Ran the first test loads with 105 Nosler CC's, H1000, CCI200's, .020 off and mixed brass. Wasn't expecting much more than a little barrel breakin and a rough idea of what the barrel could do. Too cold around here for load development. Had 5 sighters at 45.5 grains then started 45.1 going up by .3 on each set. Groups ranged from 3/4 MOA to 1 1/4. At 46.3 had three nearly through the same hole, one a quarter inch to the right and one a quarter inch to the left. Not sure of velocity. I'll wait for the 115's to come in before I really start playing and gather more data.

 

[jdmecomber]

Sorry, just saw this. Not sure if I will gain much. 100 fps at the outside.

Just got the barrel and got it installed last week. Criterion 30 inch bull with a 7.5 twist. 115 DTAC's on order from David Tubb's site. Ran the first test loads with 105 Nosler CC's, H1000, CCI200's, .020 off and mixed brass. Wasn't expecting much more than a little barrel breakin and a rough idea of what the barrel could do. Too cold around here for load development. Had 5 sighters at 45.5 grains then started 45.1 going up by .3 on each set. Groups ranged from 3/4 MOA to 1 1/4. At 46.3 had three nearly through the same hole, one a quarter inch to the right and one a quarter inch to the left. Not sure of velocity. I'll wait for the 115's to come in before I really start playing and gather more data.

Ron,
What is this gun going to be used mainly for?

 

[jdmecomber]

I loaded the RPR up with some powder from the new Sartorious Scale. I will be shooting some tomorrow. I am looking forward on seeing my extreme spread with my powder within a .03 grains +/-.

Well kind of bummed. I thought that the scale would make all the difference in the SD and ES. It was 30 degrees out and not ideal conditions. I was shooting off a portable bench that I am not a big fan because I am too big for the dang thing. I don't feel like the recoil management is very good off of it. I would prefer prone but a foot of snow didn't help. I shot 5 rounds and had a 30 ES and a 12 SD. I am leaning towards the powder weight precision is not as important as all the other things that go into the reloading process.

 

[RonS]

Ron,
What is this gun going to be used mainly for?

If it shoots I'll use it as a backup for both mid range and long range F Class. 284 currently used in long range and 223 (with 90 grain bergers) in mid range. If it shoots better than either of those, it'll replace them.

 

[jdmecomber]

Well kind of bummed. I thought that the scale would make all the difference in the SD and ES. It was 30 degrees out and not ideal conditions. I was shooting off a portable bench that I am not a big fan because I am too big for the dang thing. I don't feel like the recoil management is very good off of it. I would prefer prone but a foot of snow didn't help. I shot 5 rounds and had a 30 ES and a 12 SD. I am leaning towards the powder weight precision is not as important as all the other things that go into the reloading process.

The five rounds I fired for the test were all well over max length and varied some. I will anneal again and trim all the same. I will see if that drops the es some in this cold weather.