I was very pleased when a long-time neighbor emailed me asking if I would be willing to answer a few reloading questions. I readily agreed and he came down for a visit. Since I have been reloading since 1960 and have made every mistake reloading possible, I felt confident to pass along some useful information. We spent some time looking over his problem reloads and several errors were immediately apparent. He had some cases that would not chamber in his rifle and the discrepancy was way too much bulged crimp on .243 Win. cases that did not require any crimp. I showed him how to properly adjust the seating die to avoid any crimp. He had other questions and they were easily answered. As a token of his appreciation, he gave me a cold six-pack of a wonderful IPA beer. I hope he comes back soon. All the best...
Gil

Why? Because you like to teach or is it the beer?

I, also, am more then willing to help others just starting the hab...Aah...hobby of reloading.

Good on you.

I think that's quite normal when you start to get a lot of years on the counter, you'll be happy when you meet somebody who is willing to learn.
Look at your attitude against your grandchildren, it's quite different compared to how you handled your own children. Now you simply know that when they start to ennoy you, it's about time to go home

And I myself never liked to reload the .243 Win. In my opinion it's a difficult cartridge to make the right load. I prefer the 6 mm Rem. And look at the .222, the .308 or the .375 H&H where it's difficult NOT to make an accurate load.
Maybe it's just between the ears...

Good for you, Gil. Passing it on is what it's all about. I started by cranking the handle on my uncle's old Herters shotgun press at the age of 8. By 14 I was loading for a sporterized .303 and a .222. Since then I have lost track of all the various cartridges I have loaded. Starting someone new is always a pleasure.

I was surprised at Aloysius commenting on the .243. I have always had excellent luck with this cartridge; as a matter of fact, the best 300-yard group I ever fired was with a .243 in a Ruger V/T (Just under .5" for 5 shots). Rifles include Remington 788s, Ruger RS, Remington 700s, Golden Eagle (Weatherby clone) and my current Savage VLP which makes tiny groups with Hornady 75-grain VMAX and 80-grain Noslers (.274" and .323", respectively). It just proves how each person's experiences can differ and make loading so much fun!

Well done Gil. There are two areas in which you have excelled mate...
#1 you have averted what could be a safety issue with the potential to cause harm to the shooter, and
#2 you have aided a fellow shooter to realise his desire to create cheaper than, and more accurate than, factory rounds thereby increasing his enjoyment of our chosen sporting activities.
This is how our sport will survive in this current climate of ANTIs who are hell bent on killing off firearm ownership.

SingleShotLover,

I agree with your comments on the ease of reloading for the .243 Winchester. My rifles in that caliber prefer 85 grain bullets, IMR4350 powder and Winchester WLR primers. Those rifles have performed well with whatever I feed them. In fact, the .243 Winchester has been one of the easiest rounds to reload.

Vince,

Thank you for your kind thoughts and comments. I am trying to pass on as much as I can to younger folks. Reloading manuals are wonderful, but cannot beat one-on-one training at the reloading bench. All the best...

Gil

Im yet to see a twoforfree/EBRG that doesnt like a load...... heck most anything chucked in them goes moa
mate has one that sits under 3/4" with every load he chucks at it....I could almost lower myself to use that rifle to hunt with...almost.
guys are always asking reloading questions on forums and its interesting to read replies as it shows just how many people have had same issue over the years....one of the most common ones is guys using lee lube/toothpaste and having stuck cases in dies or ripping dies out of press...... strange as I have great faith in all other LEE stuff.

The .243 is no more difficult to load than any other calibre...I reload it with ease...assuming you do everything correctly plus include a couple of extra steps.

After every firing I check the inside of the case for signs of head separation, which is something this calibre is prone to unfortunately. This is easily accomplished using a straightened paperclip with one tip flattened and bent into a 90 degree angle. You will easily feel a groove forming where the case is stretching. Another thing you need to do is religiously measure the length of your cases and trim when necessary.

Like Gil, I have found that my Weatherby .243 prefers bullets in the 85 grain range and shots under MOA using them, with the Hornady 87gr HP delivering the best groups using ADI Benchmark 8208 powder.

This is a pretty good bunch to learn from. I've enjoyed teaching folks about reloading, and I'm always learning more myself.

I will admit that I get frustrated with folks who keep asking questions about things found in every reloading manual. In my opinion, if you don't have the self discipline to read the manual you need to find another hobby.

I used to burn a lot of IMR4064 in .243s, but after extensive testing changed to AA2700 (15-20 year old lot for the 75-grain VMAX and H4350 for the 80-grain Noslers.) That's what reloading is all about...best loads for each rifle/bullet/cartridge combo. Keeps life interesting!

Pumpkin.....that is a symptom of the current "me me me now now now" generation...... even uncle google must get frustrated by thier constant lack of simple deduction capability....
read!!!!! that would mean put phone down for 5 minutes!!! shock horror couldnt do that as might miss out on latest crap posting on faceache.....

So it should be a mind-thingy...

I had the same feelings about bow-hunting but then I saw Stovey's enthousiasm... guess what I'm trying now... I already have good feelings about a cross-bow. Still not so sure that I ever can do without the "cross"-part.

Aloysius wrote:

So it should be a mind-thingy... I had the same feelings about bow-hunting but then I saw Stovey's enthousiasm... guess what I'm trying now... I already have good feelings about a cross-bow. Still not so sure that I ever can do without the "cross"-part.

Bloody stupid laws here mean bow hunting isn't legal in any form - this from the land of the longbow...

English Mike wrote:

Aloysius wrote: So it should be a mind-thingy... I had the same feelings about bow-hunting but then I saw Stovey's enthousiasm... guess what I'm trying now... I already have good feelings about a cross-bow. Still not so sure that I ever can do without the "cross"-part. Bloody stupid laws here mean bow hunting isn't legal in any form - this from the land of the longbow...

So we are only 1/3th stupid because it's allowed in the Southern part of the country (where they speak French). It's still not allowed in the Flemish part. And in the Brussels region all hunting is forbiden. And I myself don't even know how this is handled in the German speaking part of the country. Talking about keeping things simple? It's stupid...

Aah...Question Aloysius. What is the language of Belgium?