Doe Dumper

I am wondering what would be considered good in the 200 yd 3 or 5 shot group. My shooting range only goes to 200 so thats about tops for practice. I took my 243 and 270 M700's to the range yesterday and the .270 grouped better at 200 with its fav factory load than the 243 did at 100 with 3 diff loads. The 243 shot 1.75-2.00 groups with 80 gr Rem and 100 gr Federal SBT's. It shot 3 inch groups with the 85 gr. Winchesters. Those groups were at 100 yds. Meanwhile the .270 was under 2 inches at 200 with the Fed Classic 130 Hi-Shoks. This was done using 2x7x32 scopes. I would think the .243 should group tighter than the 270 and far better than what it does.


Neither gun has ever been bedded...both are factory stock except for having a trigger job on both. I wonder if its worth the trouble on the 243 and possibly make the .270 group even better. It does wonders for confidence when you have a gun that groups as well as that .270 does. Is there any website or anybody on here that can explain how to do it properly or is this a gun shop job?

stubblejumper

For factory rifles shooting factory loads you realistically can't expect any better accuracy.For the equipment that you are using you groups are much better than average.

rkbo

I think that is excelent. You see 200 yd target shooting needs a good target scope. I cut my 200yd groups in half with a 6x18 target scope. You must set up your targets with a plumb bob. I use targets that have the bullseye inside a box. I aim at the corner of the box. Line verticle crosshair with verticle line of box and horizontal crosshair with horisontal line. This will keep you from canting your scope and all that.

Doe Dumper

I hadnt thought about the box deal. Thats a good idea. I have always been happy with the 270 accuracy i was just thinkin maybe the 243 should shoot better. When I first got away from open sights I had trouble getting game in the scope. So thats why I used the 2x7's. Tried to use a 44 Mag scope the year before and had a close encounter with a small buck and couldnt see anything but a blur...so I went smaller and started leaving it on 4 unless i was sitting.

Nomercy

I'm guessing you're not familiar with MOA? Minute of Angle, 1MOA is approximately equal to 1" per 100yrds (it's actually the value that a one degree deviation produces at a given range, if I recall correctly it's something along the lines of 1.047" per 100yrds). Having a sporting rifle come from the factory and shoot better than 1MOA at 100yrds is impressive, getting better than 1MOA groups at 200yrds is outstanding (2" groups) from a factory sporter using factory ammo.

BTW, you mentioned "you would think" the .243win should be more accurate than the .270, I'm going to try to be nice: there's no real reason that you should necessarily expect one high velocity round to drastically out perform the other....In factory rifles, what is called "inherent accuracy", the tendancy for a round to be relatively more accurate on average than another, pretty well doesn't matter much for the rounds in question, when you compare something like a .30-30 and a .308, yes, you'll likely notice a difference, but only likely so, I've got a buddy that runs a pure stock .30-30 Marlin 30A that throws bullets into a quarter at 125yrds, while getting that out of my stock Ruger M77 .308 is mostly luck (while I can take his rifle and shoot one ragged hole at that range-so it isn't the shooters in this case). Factory rifles, regardless of proclaimed quality controls, are still mass produced, and there's no way around having sketchy accuracy in them...you may find that you can't get another rifle in the same make and model to shoot groups any better than twice what you're getting, and you may find some that shoot groups half the size.

Factory hunting rifles are just that, they're made to get the job done, not to be tack driving accuracy machines, some get lucky and turn out that way, I've got a .30-06, pure stock, that I can get .5MOA out to 200yrds, 1MOA at 450yrds, and only out to 4MOA at 1200yrds (48" or better groups)-should a factory standard bbl hunting rifle shoot this well, no, I got lucky. I've also got an SKS-rifles known for terrible accuracy, that throws 2.2" groups at 150yrds and 3" groups at 250yrds.

Long story short, there's honestly no reason to believe that your .243 should out shoot your .270.

AND as stubblejumper said, you're getting better results than you probably should for what you're using...I don't know that there is a rifle manufacturer out there that claims their stock hunting rifles will be of quality enough to produce 1MOA or better at 100yrds, let alone at 200yrds-I've taken back rifles that shot worse than 3MOA and they were reluctant to do so, and they pretty well only took it back because they knew it wasn't my fault it shot so poorly. I'd say keep what you've got, maybe upgrade your glass to a 3-9x or a 4-16x and have fun with it.

Doe Dumper

Well I can assure you the post wasnt made to be a smart aleck..lol. I wouldnt have asked if I didnt know. I always read that short-action calibers were inherently more accurate than the long action. That was the point to the post. Getting rid of the guns was never an option...lol...once they get here they dont leave. Thanks for the info...and I dont really read up on the tech stuff as much as I should. I just want the guns I have to shoot as well as they possibly can....which I would think probably so does everyone else who ever totes 5 guns at a time and a duffel bag of shells to the range...lol.

bigcountry

I think your 243 needs some work. Seriously. You should expect to see 1.5" groups out of a 243 with three different brands of ammo. Good news, is I usually see the same things with factory guns and fixing could be very easy. A nice bedding job, with a free floated barrel should do the trick. Your gunsmith might check the crown for straightness. Maybe, a quick no go headspace test.

As far as the 270, from previous expience, don't mess with it. Its a nice shooter, not a benchrest gun, and seems to be doing more than its spec'd to do.

What range do you shoot at? I used to shoot near pineville, WV when I lived in Mingo County.

Doe Dumper

Bigcountry I'm probably shooting the same range as you did. Its only bout 2.5 miles from my house. The one on the trash compactor straight heading towards Baileysville. I live in Rockhouse so its a fun thing to do Sat evenings...lol. I have almost convinced myself to start reloading as much as I enjoy shooting.

Power

Tikka guarentees MOA for all their rifles (actually they guarentee 1" at 100 yards, which is better than MOA). Weatherby guarentees 1 1/2" at 100. Just FYI...

I would suggest trying a lighter bullet in the 243. Depending on the twist of the barrel it might shoot the lighter bullets better. The 80 & 100 grain bullets are pretty heavy for the caliber and most 243's aren't designed to shoot them as well.

Glass bedding them both will likely help the accuracy although your 270 is shooting very well. Might not want to bother with it as it might make it worse. More powerful scopes would help too as you really need better magnification in order to hold the rilfe more true to the point of aim out to 200 yards and beyond.

bigcountry

Doe Dumper, one of my best buddies is from Baileysville. But he followed a little lady up to Boston. Believe it or not. He is Bob Cochran. Maybe you might know him. Good Guy.