243 youth handi rifle

[pjeffreys]

does anyone have one of these, and what is the best factory round you have found for them? i bought my son one and i'm not having any luck loading for it. it's coming down to the wire and i need to get something for it to shoot soon? also what kind of accuracy can i expect from it? as you know it has a short barrel.

[quickdtoo]

The issue isn't the short barrel, it's the light contour, keep the barrel cool and you'll have the best results. Mine shot best with the 80gr Rems, although not great, but acceptable at 100yds, best handload was H4895 and the 100gr Speer, first two rounds from a cold barrel will be real close, the third will by high, if you fully bed the forend, you'll likely make a better shooter out of it when it warms up, but for a deer rifle, the first two shots are the only ones that really count, trying to make a colony shooter out of a Superlight or any light contour barrel is futile. IMO.

Tim

[j_guy]

Another thought comes to mind.   Assuming it is an eligible sb2 frame, you could take advantage of the barrel program and get a standard (243) or bull barrel (343)as opposed to the compact (y43).  This may defeat the purpose if your original goal was a lighter gun for a youngster.  I also own one of these.  I really didn't get decent accuracy until I o-ringed the barrel and ran about 4 or 5 boxes of ammo through it.  Of course, your mileage may vary.  By decent accuracy, I 'm saying 1 1/2 to 2 inch groups at 100 yards.  Fine for hunting, but a bit large for target matches 

[Default]

Bought the same rifle for my nephews first hunting rig .. I was told that the factory recommends 100gr projectiles .. I bought two boxs of factory hunting loads : first was the federal grey box 100gr and second was the winchester power points .. both shot well at 100 .. I went with the federals due to them shooting just a wee bit flatter .. But as was said and is true no matter the rifle, caliber or price tag .. The first two shots are really all there is time for, or that matter in hunting ..  I would say that 1" to 1 1/2" are the groups i was getting ( been two years since i shot it last and have slept since then) and the nephew was just a couple inches off of that accuracy when he shot it..

 As for reloads i went with a 80gr winchester for lighter recoils loads and they shot great..

  Hope this helps,

   Default