243 twist rate

[rclouse79]

I am way down the rabbit hole of researching my daughters first suppressed hunting rifle. There is so much information out there I feel like a dog chasing its tail. I keep going round and round with different rifles and calibers. The latest one I have been looking at is the 243. It seems like the vast majority of people recommend a 1 in 8 twist or lower but most factory rifles are 1 in 9 or 1 in 10. What gives? Are most of the people with lower twist rates getting custom barrels? I heard whispers of a 1 in 8 twist tikka, but didn't find one last night while looking.

 

[S.Clancy]

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It looks like all new Tikka .243 Win are 1:8. So you are probably seeing older stock.

 

[Billy Goat]

Tikka T3x Hunter 243 Win 22.4" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXA315

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Tikka T3x Laminated .243 Win SS 22" 1:8" Bbl Rifle JRTXG315

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It's not all of them, but they are out there.

 

[KyleR1985]

The general trend you’re picking up on around here is shooting heavy for caliber bullets, requiring faster twists.

The general trend in factory rifles seems to be a decade or two behind the general trend here.

You and your daughter can definitely be successful with any available twist rate. You just limit options the slower the twist you go with. If you don’t want or care about options, buy a gun. If you care, wait and find a faster twist or a prefit, and you can shoot heavies and lights.

 

[stooxie]

Because a lot of people on the forums are all about shooting heavy-for-caliber bullets that need the higher twist rates. If you only plan on shooting "normal" factory loads then I would go with the slower twist.

-Stooxie

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

I have a 1:10 tikka that has killed just fine but if shopping today I'd absolutely look for a 1:8 to have the option to run longer higher BC bullets (both mono and match lead core) to buck the wind a little more at range. But you'd need to reload to capitalize on these bullets in a 243win since there aren't many factory ammo offerings.

There are plenty of <100gr options that will work in the 1:10 if that is what you end up with and most factory ammo will work in that twist.

 

[83cj-7]

I’ve shot out 4 .243 barrels, it’s my favorite cartridge. If you’re looking to build a custom, go with an 8 twist, shoot 105 class bullets with H1000. You will not be sorry.

 

[Loper]

Unless you reload or plan on shooting custom ammo, I wouldn’t get too hung up on twist rates for the 243 as most factory loads are 100 grain and will shoot with the slowe twist. To shoot the heavy for caliber bullets out of the 243 you’ll need to load your own. If you want to shoot heavy .243/6mm caliber bullets I would get a 6 Creedmoor.

 

[Marbles]

243s are "designed" for lower weight bullets, so with factory stuff a slower twist works. Need a faster twist for the high BC options, but also need to reload to use them.

The easy way is a 6 Creedmoor.

 

[rclouse79]

I’ve shot out 4 .243 barrels, it’s my favorite cartridge. If you’re looking to build a custom, go with an 8 twist, shoot 105 class bullets with H1000. You will not be sorry.


View attachment 801385View attachment 801386

How many shots did you get before you shot out the barrel?

 

[Castle Rock]

Because a lot of people on the forums are all about shooting heavy-for-caliber bullets that need the higher twist rates. If you only plan on shooting "normal" factory loads then I would go with the slower twist.

-Stooxie

Why, that is just dumb, a faster twist will shoot everything fine and you are limiting your potential for better bullets
The 8 twist tikkas are widely available and are spectacularly good I was regularly hitting a 3 foot steel plate at 1350 yards recently with mine

 

[83cj-7]

How many shots did you get before you shot out the barrel?

The first three were done around 800 rounds burning H4350. I learned a thing or two and switched to H1000 for the current barrel. The current barrel has 1780 rounds. The groups I posted above were shot on the same day with approximately 1600 rounds through the barrel.

 

[swavescatter]

The first three were done around 800 rounds burning H4350. I learned a thing or two and switched to H1000 for the current barrel. The current barrel has 1780 rounds. The groups I posted above were shot on the same day with approximately 1600 rounds through the barrel.

Any difference in speed or accuracy between H4350/H1000?

 

[83cj-7]

I gained about 100fps using H1000. H1000 produces much less pressure for the same speed. My brass lasts longer. Accuracy was pretty close between the two but H1000 produces much lower ES.

This just made me realise that I’m at 1700 rounds on this barrel with the same hundred pieces of brass. I guess that would be close to 17 reloads and I’m still using it.

 

[swavescatter]

I gained about 100fps using H1000. H1000 produces much less pressure for the same speed. My brass lasts longer. Accuracy was pretty close between the two but H1000 produces much lower ES.

Sorry to bug again, but what primer did it like (large or magnum large?) Looking to dive in to my first 243AI and want to minimize testing if possible. I have H1000, Retumbo, Staball HD and N565 to try for slower powders. Both types of primers.

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

If you want a 6mm, save yourself time and money and just get a 6 Creed. It has factory ammo that you will have to handload to duplicate. Almost same velocity. It will have the twist rate to handle the bullets you would want to shoot out of a 6mm (heavy match, monos, etc.) It is everything the 243 is without handloading.

 

[swavescatter]

If you want a 6mm, save yourself time and money and just get a 6 Creed. It has factory ammo that you will have to handload to duplicate. Almost same velocity. It will have the twist rate to handle the bullets you would want to shoot out of a 6mm (heavy match, monos, etc.) It is everything the 243 is without handloading.

Personally, I enjoy handloading and would do that for 6 Creed anyway. Also, the 243AI should get me 100-150fps more than the Creed without going to crazy overbore like 6 PRC/UM/SAUM.

Everyone says they hate fireforming, but I do that with any cartridge anyway - never bother to load develop on virgin brass...

 

[Shootinsurveyor]

243AI is a different story and a really cool cartridge.

 

[sierracharlie338]

OP as others have mentioned if you only shoot factory ammo go with the 6creed.

If you reload then the 243 Tikka with an 8 twist is a great option for your daughter. I have a 243 Tikka with an 8 twist and it’s shooting the 105+ class bullets really well.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Why, that is just dumb, a faster twist will shoot everything fine

That isn't entirely true, twist rate and velocity translate into bullet rpms. Some of the light bullets pushed at full velocity could get spinning too fast and come apart. IE a 55gr varmint bullet at 4000fps would be 360,000rpm. Not sure the velocity limit of those little varmint bullets, I know they recommend keeping the eldms under 300k (some push a lil over).

I'd imagine anything 70ish+ grains would be fine though and that is the commonly available ammo too.