Hunting Forum

Has anyone loaded 100gr Hornady SSTs in .243?  I can't seem to get this particular bullet to group better than about 2" at 200 yards.  I realize that some of you would say that's damn good, but I guess I'm spoiled.  I use the same bullet in 30 Cal out of a 30-06 and a .300 Win Mag, and get better than 1/2 inch groups at 200 yards with both rifles.  The .243 SST is a flat base, while the .30 SST is a boattail.  Is that the difference?  I've tried H4350, IMR 4350, and H4831 so far, all with CCI 200 primers, and all loads in two different rifles.  Neither rifle can get them better than about 2" groups. Any ideas?

I only shoot 100 gr Spitzers o and 100 gr SBT (game kings I think) in my .243s and from a bench can hold 0.5 MOA groups. It does not surprise me however that your rifle does not like a particular bullet however. My .270 loves 130 grain Nosler Partitions and Sierra Spt and SBTs however will not shoot 130 grain Win Power Points under 4 MOA and 130 gr Speers under 2 MOA. Do not know why, that is just the way it is. Have tried different powders and charges and cannot improve the groups. I have a .222 that loves 55 gr Nosler, Berger, and Hornady bullets but will not group Sierra bullets at all. Again different powders and charges to no avail. In my limited experience, some guns are finicky about what bullet you load.

Sometimes I guess that is just the way it is. Finding the right bullet and load combination to me is the fun of hand loading to squeeze that last bit of accuracy out of a given gun (after piller bedding it, etc.)

good luck

A MOA rifle at 200 yards id darn good. Might be all the rifle or scope is capable of shooting or the bullets. By the way thats good shooting on the trigger pullers part...
I have found that primers sometimes make a big diff. and also bullet jump to lands but only work on one thing at a time.

Good luck

I've read some reports of guys having trouble getting SST's to shoot well. Try another bullet.

Dale

No experience with SST's in Hornady fare, but have used lots of their Interloks.

Or maybe it was the Interbond. Life used to be so simple, basic bullets and Nosler Partitions was all you needed to remember. Anyhow, I'd still try another bullet.

Dale

Thanks for the replies folks, and thanks for the compliment TGJ. I tried a Remington Model 6 Pump, and with any bullet and powder combination, I've never gotten better than MOA out of that rifle. However, my other rifle, a TC Venture, puts 3/8 inch groups (3 round groups) at 200 yards with Hornady 58gr. VMax over Varget out of a Remington Case with a CCI200 primer. I didn't weight sort my cases either, so perhaps that could even tighten up a bit. So perhaps you're right. The 100gr SST is not favored by that rifle. I bought a box of Hornady 100gr Interlock Boattails, so I'll try them next. If that doesn't tighten up, I'll probably switch to Nosler partitions for the next round. I thought about Sierras, but have heard bad stories about core/jacket separation with them, so I'll try others first.

In a 243, standard cup and core bullets (like the Hornady Inter LOCK) are fine, no real need for a premium unless you're hunting something bigger than deer. I've been running the Hornady flat base Inter LOCK in the 243 and 6mm Remington since 1980 or so. Never had a problem. Sierra flat base bullets will work fine, I have had some core jacket separations with their boattails. Of course those cores were found inside a dead deer so go figure. One inch groups from a Remington pump are fine. They're a good shooting rifle but definitely not a bolt action.

My 2 cents.

Dale

I use sierra 100gr bt in my 243 never had a separation at any range. I'm using a max load and have taken 5 deer with combo up to 275 yds. Sorry never tried the sst in this round but used it in my 308 and 3006. It worked well.

I was talking with a guy a the range today about the same thing. he uses the SST in his 243 and loves it. He said it didn't group the best but all the deer he shot with it fell right there. he told me he adjusted the seating depth on his a little. After talking with him I'm going to load some more for my 25/06. They are also flat based and not boat tailed. the alst groups I shot out of this gun weren't the best but good enough to hunt with. I have heard alot of good things so I'm gonna try it again. good luck

I haven't worked with the 243 but have loaded for the 6MM Remington.  In an old 700ADL the Hornady Interlock and Speer Hot-Cor both worked well.  In the Ruger #1 I couldn't get the Interlock or SST to group well, when I went to the 105 grain A-Max accuracy improved.  I have also found that changing to Federal 210 or 210M(Match) primers made a big difference.  Like you I had shot the SST in other calibers and had good success.  I was using IMR-4831 which seemed to work slightly better than the 4350's.
Good luck with working this out.