J.M.Spencer@newcastle.ac.uk (Jonathan Spencer) (06/28/91)
Well folks, I finally bought my .243. It was a long (painfully long :-) wait before I decided. At the turn of the year, the dealers were asking around 500 pounds for a Ruger M77MkI or a Remington 700, and about the same for a Browning A-bolt. So I asked a friend in Georgia (USA not USSR :-) if he could mail me one. HM Customs and Excise said that if he mailed me one through the normal mail service, it would be delivered to my door and I would simply have to pay the import duties to the postman. Sounds pretty good considering the cost in US (around $400 is what you guys suggested). Add some mail, insurance, and import duty, and it should still be a lot cheaper. But if the gun came by a carrier (UPS etc) then I would need an import licence. (You have just *got* to see the application form - all the answers are specified in Chapter_93_ of the Customs Tarif.) And I would need an import agent to collect the gun, present the licence etc etc. However, my friend tells me that mailing a gun overseas isn't allowed in the US unless it's a FFL who sends it. So happens his father in law holds the FFL and could do it for me. But then my friend became a father and so rifles took a back seat. In the meantinme, the Ruger M77MkII was released in UK but only in .223 to start with. I must have at least a .240 calibre for deer (it's the law :-). Two weeks ago, I saw a dealer offering an M77MkII Stainless in .243 for 372 pounds which is a whole lot better than 500 pounds. (It's $1.65 = 1 pound today.) I gave him a call and he offered the wooden stocked gun at the same price. Seeing as I'd just got an extra 300 pounds which I wasn't expecting, and the roebuck season had opened, I couldn't resist it :-) :-) :-) It's a very fine gun and fits me really well. (That's what comes of being of median build :-) The Steyr Mannlicher Stutzen I handled last Saturday was nicer, but it should be at 1114 pounds. Now some questions. 1 Assuming normal factory loads firing, say, 100 grain bullets, how many rounds should a barrel last? I've heard 5,000 rounds given. 2 As the barrel heats up, the point of impact will change. How soon will this occur, after 2 rounds, 4, 10? The magazine is 4 rounds, what sort of grouping should I expect from 4 rounds fired in succession at 100 yards starting with a cold barrel? (That question assumes that _I_ am shooting straight :-) How long should I leave the barrel to cool down? (let's assume ambiant temperature is around 15-20 degrees C.) 3 I'm planning on reloading (10 rounds of Norma costs 5 pounds and Priva Partisan (Yogoslavian - cheap and looks it) costs half that). I've seen bullet weights ranging from 65grain to 100grain. What's the heaviest bullet available for a .243, I heard mention of 120grain bullets but haven't seen any. Does anyone have any ballistics for the lighter bullets? I'm keen to shoot red fox in the mountains at fairly long range - up to 250 yards if I'm up to it :-) 4 I can get a Lee complete reloading kit for around 60 pounds, or for that price, just an RCBS press. What do people feel, is it worth the extra money? I reckon I won't be firing more than 100 to 200 (max) rounds a month at the very outside. 5 Precisely what do I need to start reloading? (Is this a FAQ?) For example, I've seen advertised various 'vibratory cartridge cleaners'. 6 Assuming normal loads, how many times can a cartridge be re-used? Well, that's enough for now. --Jonathan
srg@quick.com (Spencer Garrett) (07/01/91)
In article <36024@mimsy.umd.edu>, J.M.Spencer@newcastle.ac.uk (Jonathan Spencer) writes: # Well folks, I finally bought my .243. ... # Now some questions. # # 1 Assuming normal factory loads firing, say, 100 grain bullets, how # many rounds should a barrel last? I've heard 5,000 rounds given. That sounds reasonable to me, but keep in mind that the barrel doesn't melt on the 5001st shot. Accuracy just slowly decreases. Benchresters change their barrels at 1500 rounds. You and I probably couldn't tell them from new. You could probably take deer almost forever with your gun, but the prarie dogs would consider themselves safe after those 5000 rounds or so. (But then, prarie dogs are an awfully long shot from England, anyway! :-) # 2 As the barrel heats up, the point of impact will change. How # soon will this occur, after 2 rounds, 4, 10? The magazine is 4 rounds, # what sort of grouping should I expect from 4 rounds fired in succession # at 100 yards starting with a cold barrel? (That question assumes that # _I_ am shooting straight :-) How long should I leave the barrel to cool # down? (let's assume ambiant temperature is around 15-20 degrees C.) Most of the change occurs in the first few shots. Benchresters like to fire a few "sighting" shots between each round even if their scopes are well centered just to get the barrel warm for their record strings. For hunting use I'd be paying attention to where the first shot went. You might even try to keep records of the first 3 or 4. You'll have to let the barrel cool at least 20 or 30 minutes between strings to simulate cold firing. Another thing to remember is that the first shot after the barrel is cleaned is likely to be a flyer. Before a hunt take your gun to the range, sight it in, and then just dry-brush it and put it away. (Assuming you didn't drop it in the mud, of course! :-) # 3 I'm planning on reloading (10 rounds of Norma costs 5 pounds # and Priva Partisan (Yogoslavian - cheap and looks it) costs half that). # I've seen bullet weights ranging from 65grain to 100grain. What's the # heaviest bullet available for a .243, I heard mention of 120grain # bullets but haven't seen any. Does anyone have any ballistics for the # lighter bullets? I'm keen to shoot red fox in the mountains at fairly # long range - up to 250 yards if I'm up to it :-) 100 grains is the "standard" heavy bullet for .243, and it's plenty heavy for red fox at 250 yards. I have loading data up to 120 grains, but I've never seen any bullets that heavy, either. The .243 is a fine cartridge. Recoil is modest and trajectories are unbelievably flat out past 300 yards, yet the bullets are heavy enough for deer-sized animals. # 4 I can get a Lee complete reloading kit for around 60 pounds, or # for that price, just an RCBS press. What do people feel, is it worth the # extra money? I reckon I won't be firing more than 100 to 200 (max) # rounds a month at the very outside. If this is your only weapon I wouldn't recommend spending a lot on equipment. The Lee presses aren't exactly awe-inspiring, but they do work. Lee dies are first rate, though. You should be just neck-sizing your cases (I recommend the Lee Collet Dies for this) so you won't need such a beefy press anyway. Then again, a good press will last you forever.... # 5 Precisely what do I need to start reloading? (Is this a FAQ?) # For example, I've seen advertised various 'vibratory cartridge # cleaners'. 1. You need a way to clean the fired cases. Vibratory cleaners run from $40 to $200 here, plus $20 or so for a batch of cleaning media and $6 or so for a bottle of polish. You can also use an ordinary rock tumbler if they are cheaper or more readily available. You could get by with the smallest model easily. If you have a friend with a tumbler you might consider spending the money on extra cases, then buying him a beer once in a while to tumble a batch of cases for you. 2. You need a press and die to (neck-)size and decap the cleaned cases. Boxer-primed cases are much easier to deal with, but people do reload berdan-primed cases. You'll probably have an easier time getting advice about that on your side of the pond. 3. You'll need some way to trim and debur the cases. I recommend the Lee case trimming toolset, which runs about $10 for the first caliber here. I don't like the Lee deburring tool. The RCBS type is much better. 4. You need something to insert a new primer. A primer pocket cleaning tool is nice, too. I like the Lee auto-prime II (the hand-held version) best, but for the volume you've mentioned almost anything will be acceptable. 5. You'll need some way to weigh the powder. I recommend a small scale, powder trickler, some powder scoops, and a powder funnel. Don't get a powder measure. You aren't loading enough, and they don't work so well for rifle cartridges anyway. I strongly disrecommend the Lee scale. Get the bottom of the line from almost anyone else (they're all made by Ohaus, anyway....). 6. You'll need a die to seat the bullets. This should come with the sizing die above. A loading block or two would be nice. Calipers or a cartridge guage would save you the trouble of trimming most of the time. You'll need a book of loading data, of course. Your expendables will be primers, powder, and bullets. You'll eventually need to replace cases, too, if you shoot much. # 6 Assuming normal loads, how many times can a cartridge be # re-used? 20 or 30 times if you're neck-sizing only and not abusing your cases.