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Thread: .243 Match Gun

  1. #1
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    .243 Match Gun

    I am passionate about precision rifles, and regularly compete major matches as well as local club matches. I've gone from 308, to 260, and now to 243. I run a straight fast twist 223 as a practice rifle.

    My goal with this rifle was to have a minimal recoil producing rifle with very, very good ballistics. It's a lot easier to "stay on the gun" in uncomfortable positions when you are fighting recoil. I am also trending away from brakes, and towards suppressors, for multiple reasons.

    Anyway, here is what my gunsmith and I decided on:

    Surgeon RSR
    Brux 8 twist, m24 contour, finished at 22"
    243 match chamber, cut to kiss the 105 Hornady BTHP's at around 2.837"
    AICS with Viperskins
    Jewell @ 2.5 lbs
    Bushnell HDMR w/ G2...not a fan of Horus reticles at all
    Seekins rings
    FTE for when I am not shooting suppressed.
    SWR Omega 300 until my Thunderbeast 30P-1 is approved in 6 months.
    I didn't want it to be painted at all, because the barrel will be dead in about 6 months.

    Here it is with the FTE

    Here it is with the Omega 300, which is a huge and heavy can...


    Here is a test target...It has potential


    I arbitrarily loaded 105 BTHP's, that I pointed in a Whidden Pointing Die, in neck sized virgin winchester brass. 42.5 H4350, Tula 7.62 primers. The above target was the second 5 rounds out of the barrel, with zero load development... I'm going to play with seating depth and put it over the chrono this week If I am anywhere near 3k, I'll call it good and rock and roll until the barrel dies.

    Aaron Roberts, of Roberts Precision Rifles, put it together and I can't recommend him enough. He put together my 223, which is an absolute hammer, and also put a new barrel on my 260 after I burnt it out. Aaron is a hell of a guy, and he does very good work. Every rifle that he's worked on was done in approximately 1 week. Super, super guy that does an excellent job.

    Should be an interesting 2013 season...
    Last edited by jpipes; 09-12-12 at 20:35.

  2. #2
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    very familiar themes in that build... looks like a shooter!

    i left the paint off my barrel for same reason. they just don't last long enough to paint! i'm already missing my suppressor, but the brake does a great job with the recoil. you will love the the thunderbeast. i have 2 and they rock.

    what made you go with the rsr instead of the 591?

  3. #3
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    Thanks Taliv. I went with the RSR mostly because my 308 was due for a re-barrel, and I didn't want another 308. The RSR is an awesome action, and I sure wish they still made them!

  4. #4
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    Yup, suppressors beat brakes every day of the week and twice on sunday.
    Greg Dykstra
    Primal Rights, Inc.

  5. #5
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    Always been a fan of the .243 and the 65 - 85 gr rounds ... younger, when hunting deer, I was always impressed with how quickly those rounds would put down a deer and mentally equated that to potential human terminal equivalency.

    Interesting how years down the road, similar weighted "223" (224?) rounds are proving very effective.

    Now, I realize there are quite a few other differences between the rounds but the 243 is a very nice, flat shooting, low recoil round that has an excellent BC ... overall a very under rated round.

    I will be adding the .243 option to my MWS in the future.

    Also, OP ... very nice setup, sorry about the soap box.

  6. #6
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    A little off topic but how do you like your scope? I am looking for a new scope to put on one of my rifles and haven't seen a whole bunch of reviews on the Bushnells.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by WillC View Post
    Always been a fan of the .243 and the 65 - 85 gr rounds ... younger, when hunting deer, I was always impressed with how quickly those rounds would put down a deer and mentally equated that to potential human terminal equivalency.

    Interesting how years down the road, similar weighted "223" (224?) rounds are proving very effective.

    Now, I realize there are quite a few other differences between the rounds but the 243 is a very nice, flat shooting, low recoil round that has an excellent BC ... overall a very under rated round.

    I will be adding the .243 option to my MWS in the future.

    Also, OP ... very nice setup, sorry about the soap box.
    Thanks WillC. It's interesting that you make note of 223's and heavy bullets. I completely agree with you as to how effective a system sending those heavy bullets can be. I run a 6.5 twist (7 twist would be just as good) .223 bolt gun, and I am sending pointed 82gr Bergers at 2900. It hammers, is supersonic to 1250, and shares similar ballistics to my 260. It's a great rifle, and I plan to mirror it for my 4 year old son...though he is a lefty.

    Honestly, I'd run the 223 in every match, if I could. Unfortunately, many match directors have a 6mm minimum...and the wind is a sure a bit easier to slip with these 105's.


    Quote Originally Posted by rundm View Post
    A little off topic but how do you like your scope? I am looking for a new scope to put on one of my rifles and haven't seen a whole bunch of reviews on the Bushnells.
    I absolutely love the Bushnells. I sold my Schmidt and Bender to pay for two of them plus Seekins rings. They lack a zero stop and illumination, but neither have been a hinderance to me. They are bulletproof, designed by someone that actually uses their equipment, and are short enough to allow for night vision mounting with no problem.

    I have the G2 reticle, and think it's about the most practical reticle that I've used.
    Last edited by jpipes; 09-13-12 at 07:43.

  8. #8
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    Well, I ended up ordering and receiving one of the G2DMR bushnell scopes. Looks very nice and clear. No CA that I had been hearing of in some of them. I won't be able to test out until this week cause the dealer I ordered rings from did not actually send them out until a week after I ordered and payed for them.

  9. #9
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    The Bushy is sweet for the coin. I have a couple. I do prefer my NF scopes, but for the coin, Bushy does rock.

    How many rounds will you get out of the 243 barrel?

    Nice looking rig. I need to try a Thunderbeast, people rave about them often.
    "Air Force / Policeman / Fireman / Man of God / Friend of mine / R.I.P. Steve Lamy"

  10. #10
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    I have a Surgeon 243 with about 50 rounds through it. I was told I should expect around 1500 or so rounds with the Kreiger barrel on it. That would be with the 115 bn coated dtacs somewhere's around 3k fps. I am not getting quite that amount of speed but still have a little room on the powder to go. Right now I use R25. And yes, the Thunderbeast does rock. I use mine for my 308's and smaller. I got the TB 30BA so I can move it around to a couple of the guns I have the brake for.
    Last edited by rundm; 09-30-12 at 23:00.

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