A new rifle in the battery soon- Picked it up Friday!

[rifleman]

I put some money down on a Stevens 200 243 Win this morning at my local dealer. It was $279.00. I've been eying it for awhile, and it had been calling to me.  Now I've got to get dies, brass, bullets, and scope bases. I've got the scope and rings. I'm in no big rush to actually pick it up. Still a little cold up here in the north country for serious shooting at the range for load development.

The next caliber on the agenda will be a 7mm08.

I'll post updates after I pick it up and start shooting it.

Dave

[EVOC ONE]

Congratulations!   

I have both calibers in the Stevens.  They are shooters.  I've only shot factory loads in either.  The .243 does very well with Federal Power Shocks in both 80 and 100 grain.  So far, the 7-08 likes Remington Core Locts 140's.  I not tried any other types of ammo.

I like them enough that I plan to pick up one in .25-06 this week from a local dealer.   

Keep us posted once you get them. 

[rifleman]

Yeah, I'm pumped.

This will be a crossover/backup coyote and deer rifle. My Stevens 200 223 is a real shooter, and I'm anxious to start load development in this one. I've got the 25-06 covered with my Ruger M77 MKII. My son prefers the "look" of the Ruger, but when I suggested that he cover the extra $300 to get a Ruger, he kinda shut up so to speak.   

I'll post reports/pics after I pick it up and get started. I camo painted the 223 and haven't decided whether that's in the future for the 243 or not.

Dave

[rifleman]

I picked up the new Stevens 200 in 243 yesterday afternoon. Last night I worked up some loads to try out in it.

Win Brass
Fed 210 Primers
Nosler 55 gr BT
H414 powder
I loaded 3 ea starting at 45 gr and worked up to 48 grs in .5 gr increments.

This morning I mounted and boresighted the scope and went to the range. There was a very light breeze out of the south, sunny and about 25 degrees. It was really a very nice morning for being at the range.

Here are the range results:

45.0 gr 1.24" group
45.5 gr 1.50" group
46.0 gr 0.45" group
46.5 gr 1.37" group
47.0 gr 0.58" group
47.5 gr 0.65" group
48.0 gr 1.20" group

I'll take the 46.0 gr load and load up some more and see if I can duplicate those results. Then, who knows, I may play around with seating depths, etc to see if it can be improved on, but I have to ask, WHY?

By the way, when you get to this point in load development, what is your next step?

I haven't taken pics of the targets yet, but I will get around to it.

Later,
Dave

[Old English]

If it were me I'd look more into the 47/47.5 area. Reason being that both of those shoot well, the 46gr load was between 2 poor spreads, so it looks to me that 47/47.5 is around your sweet spot and if you happen to add a few grains extra to a 47gr load, your still good. I'd explore that area, confirm and then just load them. This is a load for a hunting rifle in 243? Anywhere around half an inch is plenty accurate in this caliber.

[EVOC ONE]

I'll take the 46.0 gr load and load up some more and see if I can duplicate those results. Then, who knows, I may play around with seating depths, etc to see if it can be improved on, but I have to ask, WHY?

By the way, when you get to this point in load development, what is your next step? 

Later,
Dave

You certainly could do some fine tuning.  Some folks back their powder weights down to .2 grain increments and experiment with seating depth.

It depends upon what your expectations are. I would be satisfied with the current results for now and do as Old English suggests, confirm the load and duplicate it.

You can then move to other areas.  Work up loads for different tasks using different bullets weights.  Note the scope adjustments.

As well as this gun seems to shoot, you could quickly have a multipurpose rifle with little effort.  55 grain rounds for varmint's, heavier bullets for larger game.  Each load on target with just a few adjustments on the scope. 

After confirming a few different loads, then I might go back for some intricate fine tuning.

 

[rifleman]

Old English,

Thanks for the input. I see what you mean, that does seem to be a much wider sweet spot or node. I probably knew that sometime in my reloading experience, but forgot. I probably have forgotten much more than I remember in my advanced years, LOL. That's kinda why I posted this info. It can't hurt to get other perspectives.

Evoc One,

Thank you also. I typically start with .2 or .3 gr steps, but I only had 21 matched pieces of brass that I wanted to work with(I've got more, but not known origin). I initially wrote down the charges using .3 gr intervals starting at 45 grs. The total span only went to 46.8. I decided that I wanted to cover a larger total range, so I switched to .5 gr intervals. I figured I could always go back to smaller intervals in future development.

This rifle is for coyotes and a back up deer rifle. I would basically be well satisfied with anything less than a .75" group. It's someday going to be for my new grandson.

Dave

[saltydog]

I recommend you consider a faster powder like Varget or 4895 as H414 generally does better with heavier bullets for me. You are at the bottom end of the lightweight scale and need a fast push. Look for 1 MOA with the rifle as it is not a varmit rig and smile if it is better.