243. rate of twist

[GoneHunting]

I am going to purchase a remington 700 vls in 243. and was wondering what the best rate of twist is for this caliber.  The rifle comes standard with a 9and 1/8 inch twist.  Is this a good choice for this caliber.  I will probably be adding an aftermarket barrel depending on how the factory barrel shoots.  Info will be greatly appreciated.

In God I Trust!

[Zachary]

GoneHunting,

Take a look at this link from Lilja:

http://www.riflebarrels.com/products/caliber_twist_rates.htm

Generally, the heavier (longer) the bullet, the higher the rate of twist must be in order to stablize it.  For the .243 with standard bullets of about 100 grains, 1 in 9 1/8 is fine, as is 1 in 10.  

The real question, however, is what range of bullets will you be shooting?  The answer to this question will be the answer to your first question.

Zachary

[Thomas Krupinski]

Also to be entered into that stabilization relationship should be the velocity that the bullet will be traveling.  The longer the bullet, the faster the speed, the faster the twist.

I just bought a 15" Encore pistol barrel in .243 with a 1:10 twist, so I am interested in what length bullet will perform the best.  I think I will be trying some 100 grain Remington SP's first and then see how a 75 grain HP will shoot with that twist.  I can change the speed that I load them so this will get interesting.

[earschplitinloudenboomer]

Remington entered this baliwick in 1955 (I think) when they introduced the .244 to compete with Winchesters .243 cartridge. Remington did not fully exploit the duality of varment/deer possibilities. Their .244 was of a slower rate of twist and would not stabalize the heavier bullets available, as would the .243 Winchester (1 in 10). The .244 faded into obscurity but Rem. later legitimized the 6MM with the appropriate twist to handle heavier bullets (and a slightly larger case to accept more powder and boost velocity...and sales). It worked, the 6MM is alive and well and a fine long range cartridge...as is the .243 Win. A 1 in 10 twist is standard in .243 but other rates are now available. Choose what will work best for the game/bullet weight you wish to shoot.

[lilabner]

I've been looking at .243 twist rates also. From what I've found on the web, it looks like for varmint loads with light bullets, the slower 1 in 14 twist that Remington used for its .244 is best. For deer/antelope hunting and heavier bullets, a faster twist in the 1-9 to 1-10 range is better. A scientific analysis I found came to the conclusion that for the 100 gr. bullet, a twist of 1 - 8.95 would be the optimum. If the rifle is to be used for both varmints and deer, the faster twist is best but accuracy will degrade seriously with bullets under 70 gr. I don't consider that a problem because there are varmint bullets available in the 70-85 gr. range. The best twist rate depends on how the rifle is to be used.