How to make an H&R 243 shoot half decent?
#11

Truth is I am taking my son on a mulie hunt in Idaho in Oct and the gun shoot well enough to kill a deer at 100-150yrds i just would hate to have to second guess a rifle on a shot. Especially on where we are going on an outfitted hunt. I would let him shoot my Ruger but its just to big for him.
#12

I am wondering, just out of courosity. Are you placing the forearm on the sandbags at the same place each time and with the same pressure? The forearm pressing on the barrel at different locations and pressures can change the harmonics which would change your POI.
The first thing I would do is be aware of these aspects. I had a H&R Handi Rifle in .223 with a bull barrel that would put a box of ammo into a ragged hole at 100 yds no problem. Thr rifle was as ugly as sin and way too butt heavy for me so I traded it in on a 7-08 T/C Encore that wouldn't shoot worth crap. I got rid of that rifle ASAP and traded it for a Browning A Bolt.
The first thing I would do is be aware of these aspects. I had a H&R Handi Rifle in .223 with a bull barrel that would put a box of ammo into a ragged hole at 100 yds no problem. Thr rifle was as ugly as sin and way too butt heavy for me so I traded it in on a 7-08 T/C Encore that wouldn't shoot worth crap. I got rid of that rifle ASAP and traded it for a Browning A Bolt.
#13

Have you tried different ammo? I have an H&R in 243 (and one in 223)...the 223 will shoot ragged hole groups @ 100 yards with handloads (which took awhile to fine tune). The 243 isn't as accurate, but still shoots 1" groups @ 100 on a good day. I have found it much prefers 100g bullets over the lighter ones. I have had good luck with 90g Nosler Ballistic Tips and 100g Nosler Partitions out of it. Try different brands/bullet weights is all I can suggest. Isn't much you can do to accurize it other than that...the barrel can't be floated because of the forearm design...maybe professional work on the trigger. Like Co Dog has said, it isn't gonna be a tack driver for you...but they will shoot consistently enough to take game out to 150 yards.
#14

Pretty sure its mostly a bullet seating depth issue. Seems the throat is a little long to the lands. Gonna try the Berger 6MM VLD match 115 that is a longer style bullet and see if it get any better. If not its a 100yrd woods rifle from here on out.
#15
Spike
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 27

I have the dame 243 and it is wicked accurate at 100 yards with Winchester 190 grain soft points. They are like 15 bucks a box. I can shoot a.67 in. Group at 100 yards off a bench and will not hesitate to throw lead at 300 plus. Cheap but not pretty at all, but accurate. I do have one in a 44 mag and can barely keep them on a paper plate at 50 yards.
#16
Typical Buck
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East Pa.
Posts: 526

The guys talking about the forearm are probably right about it affecting it. I shoot a lot of 99 Savages and if you tighten the forearm screw too much it really has a bad affect on accuracy. 3" groups are ridicules at 100 yards. I have a 6mm(.243) I built with a take off .244 barrel that gets 1-1/4 groups on a bad day with 100 grain RN. That is really saying something with a .244 twist rate. Sell it before you sink a million into it.
#17
#18

The guys talking about the forearm are probably right about it affecting it. I shoot a lot of 99 Savages and if you tighten the forearm screw too much it really has a bad affect on accuracy. 3" groups are ridicules at 100 yards. I have a 6mm(.243) I built with a take off .244 barrel that gets 1-1/4 groups on a bad day with 100 grain RN. That is really saying something with a .244 twist rate. Sell it before you sink a million into it.
#19
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,518

You can see my response on my opinion of this gun in the other thread about them. However, in here I will keep my opinion of it to myself and tell you my experiences. The one I've shot got 2" groups or so with Winchester Power Points in 100 grain, but that was about it. I sometimes got 1.5" groups or so, but I'd say 2" is more average.
I did try some handloads in it with 40.3 Grains of IMR4831 and a 95 Grain Hornady SST bullet with the OAL set to 2.616 and CCI primers. They to my surprise shot about 1" groups. What was weird is in this rifle it shot 4" below the factory Winchester Power Points, where in the other rifles I've tried them they shot to an identical POI as the Power Points. However, they were decently accurate, and the most accurate bullet I've seen shot in this thing.
Just a suggestion, and use that load data at your own risk.
I did try some handloads in it with 40.3 Grains of IMR4831 and a 95 Grain Hornady SST bullet with the OAL set to 2.616 and CCI primers. They to my surprise shot about 1" groups. What was weird is in this rifle it shot 4" below the factory Winchester Power Points, where in the other rifles I've tried them they shot to an identical POI as the Power Points. However, they were decently accurate, and the most accurate bullet I've seen shot in this thing.
Just a suggestion, and use that load data at your own risk.
#20
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Southeast Missouri
Posts: 2,178

Have You been keeping the barrel clean...?Maybe You need to shoot a few rounds,clean the barrel shoot some more and clean it again just to see if the barrel isn't fouling and causing problems?I have found that the shorter barreled Youth Guns can be less accurate and will end up having a lot more felt recoil because of the shorter/lighter weight barrel and stock.....get a decent 22 to 24 inch barrel length Rifle with a twist that will handle heavier bullets and set up a padded rest,Bi-pod or shooting stick so the Youth can steady their Rifle and make better more accurate shots!I use a Caldwell Leadsled to sight in my Rifles then I shot them on the same bench with a padded rest or sand bag.
Savage makes a Light weight Hunter in a Model 11 and 111,Browning has the Micro-Hunter Rifle for Women and Youths that is lighter,shorter and easier to handle.I have a Rossi .243 single shot Rifle in the .243 and have found it needs to be cleaned after 3 or 4 shots to keep it accurate!
Another Rifle by Savage would be the Edge/Axis that is reasonably priced abd a pretty good shooting Rifle for around $300.00-$350.00 with the Combo package sporting the Bushnell 3X9X40mm scope.
Savage makes a Light weight Hunter in a Model 11 and 111,Browning has the Micro-Hunter Rifle for Women and Youths that is lighter,shorter and easier to handle.I have a Rossi .243 single shot Rifle in the .243 and have found it needs to be cleaned after 3 or 4 shots to keep it accurate!
Another Rifle by Savage would be the Edge/Axis that is reasonably priced abd a pretty good shooting Rifle for around $300.00-$350.00 with the Combo package sporting the Bushnell 3X9X40mm scope.
Last edited by GTOHunter; 09-08-2011 at 07:05 PM.