.243 WINCHESTER DUAL-PURPOSE POWDER?

BULLETS & BRASS

- Brian Pearce

Q: First, let me say how much I enjoy Handloader magazine. There is no other publication that contains so much information for shooters like me.

My main question is: I have several rifles chambered in .243 Winchester. My favorite is a Savage Model 110 with a 24-inch Shilen custom barrel that is used for varmints. I have been using the 58-grain Hornady V-MAX bullet with Hodgdon Varget powder for around 3,700 fps. It is devastating to prairie dogs and other varmints and is very accurate.

I also have a Winchester Model 70 Classic Featherweight and a Kimber Model 84M Montana that are each chambered in .243, which are used for hunting Texas whitetails. I initially developed a load using Varget powder with the 100-grain Nosler Partition bullet, but maximum loads fell short of desired velocities. Can you suggest another powder and load that will duplicate factory load velocities with either the 100-grain Partition or the 95-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip? To simplify my life, is there one powder that will give top performance with both the 58-grain V-MAX and the 100-grain Partition? Any suggestions will be appreciated.

J.B., Waco, TX

A: There are actually a host of top-notch powders that will duplicate .243 Winchester factory loads using 100-grain cup-and-core bullets listed at 2,960 fps (24-inch barrel). A few examples include 41.0 grains of Winchester 760, 41.0 grains of Alliant Reloder 17 or 45.5 grains of Hodgdon H-4831. Naturally, you will want to use a large rifle standard primer and begin 5 percent below those charges, then increase

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