..243 Win with 105 Horn Amax bullets

[Wallyl]

Have a Rem 700 with a 1 in 12 twist. I purchased a box of Horn 105 Amax bullets, which have a boat tail. I have used Speer 105 SP bullets with success but have read that a 105 BT bullet may not stabilize in my rifle. Can anyone share their experience using this bullet in a 1 in 12 twist barrel?

[reynolds357]

Shoot it and see. The A max is hard to stabilize anyway. Push it fast enough and it might stabilize.

[std7mag]

I had called Hornady about the 105gr. Match bullets shot out of my wife's Rossi R243 with a 1:10 twist. They informed me that they would not stabilize.

You can always plug your info into Bergers twist rate calculator.

[Wallyl]

I will try them...looks like I will be out of luck...my rifle is very accurate with Hornady 87 SPs...as it is with 100 grain SPs.

[taylorce1]

You can't push the 105 Amax fast enough with a .243 to reliably stabalize the bullet.

[Wallyl]

Sadly I ordered a box not knowing that on the box is stated you need a 1 in 9 twist to use them..ouch!

[Don Fischer]

What did you use before attempting to go to this game changer? What was wrong with it?

[Deaf Smith]

I see you can make over 3000 fps with 105 grain bullets if you reload. Might want to try that route.

Go to http://www.hodgdonreloading.com for the loads.

Deaf

[taylorce1]

Originally Posted by Deaf Smith

I see you can make over 3000 fps with 105 grain bullets if you reload. Might want to try that route.

The bullets will not stabalize at 3000 fps in a 1:12 twist .243 rifle. It's a waste of time to even try.

[reynolds357]

Never know. I am shooting some Bergers that should not stabilize and they are shooting good at 1k.

[joed]

Originally Posted by Wallyl

Have a Rem 700 with a 1 in 12 twist. I purchased a box of Horn 105 Amax bullets, which have a boat tail. I have used Speer 105 SP bullets with success but have read that a 105 BT bullet may not stabilize in my rifle. Can anyone share their experience using this bullet in a 1 in 12 twist barrel?

Are you sure that rifle has a 1:12 twist? I thought the 700 in .243 was a 9 something twist.

[Wallyl]

I will have to check....I bought the rifle 40 years ago (1977) and never checked....

[T. O'Heir]

It's not about a BT stabilizing or not stabilizing. It's about the bullet weight. However, do not use A-Maxes for hunting anything but varmints. They're match bullets and don't expand reliably.
Remington may or may not have made a 6mm barrel with anything but 1 in 9.125. That's the twist they use now. I'd be kind of surprised if they ever did make anything else. Most commercial hunting rifles are rifled for deer weight bullets. Even 40 years ago.
Check by putting a solvented patch on your cleaning rod and stick it in the chamber. Get a Sharpie and put a dot on the top centre of the rod at the handle and at the chamber. Push the patch through the barrel for one complete turn of the handle dot and mark the chamber again. The distance between the chamber dots will tell you the twist.
Oh and those Speer 105's do astounding things to a ground hog. snicker.

[taylorce1]

If it's a factory barrel from what I've found it could be a 1:9, 1:9.125, or 1:10 as all three have been offered on the M700. 1:9.125 is the current twist rate being used so a 1977 model will more than likely be one of the others. If it is a 1:10 it shows you can only marginally stabalize the 105 A max at 3000 fps.

[Wallyl]

I measured twice: 9.5" twist .. the marking is a bit coarse so it may well be at 9.125" as I don't think they made any with a 1 in 9.5" twist.

[T. O'Heir]

Don't think anybody ever made a 9.5 twist. Either way you should just try 'em. The same load as your Speers should be close.

[MarkCO]

I shoot 105s to 115s in my .243Win match guns. 100s do okay, 95s much better in the hunting guns with the slower twists.