Best single powder for .243

[westbrooklawn]

Just getting back into reloading and want to keep it simple. I will be reloading .243 with 85gr. and 95gr. bullets. I may load an occasional .270 also. I am wanting your opinions on what would be the best single powder for me to purchase. I am mainly loading for hunting and target practice. If throwing the .270 in the mix creates a problem for a single powder choice, then focus on the .243 only. Thanks in advance for any advice!

[flyguy958]

It's hard to beat IMR 4064. It will do both calibers very well.

[Doodlebugger45]

There is quite a bit of overlap between the 2 cartridges in terms of what works well. And actually, both cartridges are not very picky about what works well. I agree with the 4064 recommendation. If you want some more options though, consider these because sometimes your favorite dealer only tends to stock 1 or 2 different brands and not necessarily all the options within that brand. All of these powders work very well in both cartridges:

Hodgdon H-4350
Hodgdon H-4831 (or 4831sc)
Ramshot Hunter
Alliant RL-19

[Doodlebugger45]

OH! And if you like ball powder (it measures SO much easier) then Winchester W-760 works very well also.

[Mike Irwin]

Another vote for IMR 4064.

[Red_Eagle]

Hodgdon Hybrid 100V is my new favorite powder for both.

[Rifleman1776]

H414

[westbrooklawn]

What about Varget or 4895?...

[wncchester]

There are no 'secrets' in reloading. In fact, not only are there no secrets, many people loudly tell more than they know! So, perhaps there is a 'best' powder for the ..243, et al, but no one has yet proven it to be so.

However it has been proven there is no specific best powder for any specific rifle and that means we have to experiment for ourselves. No matter the cartridge, no one can tell me what powder or how much of it, or what bullet or primer or OAL my rifle will prefer.

[Jim243]

wncchester pretty well covered it. There is no magic powder. I try to keep things simple and use H4895 for almost everything. 223, 243, 270 & 30-06 but usually with heavy for caliber bullets. 75 grain for 223, 105 grain for 243, 130 grain and up for 270 and at least 150 grain bullets for 30-06. Will it work for you, I do not know, it depends on the rifle and what it likes.

It does give me consistant results on my loads.

Jim

[GWS]

In my Remington .243, I get very good accuracy with IMR 4350 and Winchester 760. IMR 4350 is probably the most used and most popular powder for both .243 and .270, for the last 40 years I've been reloading. That said, other powders work for people too. I found sweet loads I'm happy with, before I tried others...so I saw no need to waste time. IOW I have no experience with other, probably just as accurate loads. The Winchester 760 meters best in a powder measure...but velocity is a bit higher with the IMR 4350.

[westbrooklawn]

I really appreciate the time everyone took to respond to my question. I used to load quite a bit 40 years ago, but I have been away from centerfire rifle reloading for that same amount of time. I know the ideal process is to try different components (including powder), and come up with the most accurate load for each particular rifle. Unfortunately, at this point in my life, I don't feel I can justify spending the money needed to follow that procedure, and that is why I was looking for a single powder recommendation. I'm also not familiar with any of the newer powders which have cropped up in the last 40 years... Varget seems to be one that is frequently mentioned.

At this point it seems that there is a consensus that 4350 and 4064 are both good powders for my use. I will check the load data for both of those, and, and then decide which one to purchase. If anyone else would like to chime in, I would appreciate any additional advice. Again, thanks to all for your responses.

[DANNY-L]

For the 95-100gr.bullet I have excellent groups with 41gr. imr 4350,cci 200

[reloader28]

IMR 4831
I used to use IMR 4064 in both then tried IMR 4831 and now from two 243's and a 270 I'm getting 1/2" groups. Your guns may be different.

[GWS]

You won't go wrong with those two choices.

Some of the best info on the web is at 6mmbr.com. They have a page devoted to just what you're looking for. These guys are serious. Check it out...

http://www.6mmbr.com/243Win.html

Page down to the "Preferred Powders--Match Your Propellant to Bullet Weight" section. Enjoy the whole page...even the Ackly stuff is interesting, tho not relevant to what you need.

There is a link there to Sierra's .243 pages where you will notice that the heavier the bullet the better IMR 4350 and 4064 works. Varget's forte is with smaller bullets.

We are assuming your .243 is a bolt action, but if by chance you are shooting a DPMS semi-auto gas gun (.308 AR-10 clone) chambered for .243. (or the Remington R-25 version of it) then you need to consider the gas mechanism which is sensitive to powder speed banging it around too hard...for that Varget (on the edge of the range) or better yet IMR 4895 may be preferable. IMR 4895 was created a long time ago for gas guns...specifically the M1 Garrand.

[FrankenMauser]

The perfect do-all, and classic powder for the .243 is IMR 3031.

However, it is difficult to find .270 Win load data for that powder.
I think the best compromise would be IMR 4064, followed by 4350.

[crowbeaner]

If I had to pick just ONE powder for the 243 it would be H414/WW760. Made at the same facility and packaged by Hodgdon these days. Meters smooth as glass, excellent SD and ES, and very predictable when working up loads. See Hodgdon #26 or #27.

[t45]

In my 243Ack I use H4831SC and H1000 for Berger 95's and 105's

[Sidewinder72]

My best powder for 243 is H 4831sc. It works great in 270 also. and 25-06 and 7mm mag.

[Scorch]

I used to use H450 way back when, but it is long gone from powder lists. Reloder 19 pretty much duplicates it.

[ricehombre]

RL 22 gives my 243 & 270 great groups and fps.