silly question

[Rustywreck]

Ok, this may be a silly question: I looked at a bullet chart for a 243. The bullet ranged from a short 58gr to a tall 115gr. Since the case is only so big and the chamber is only so big how do these things fit? Some of the bullets are twice the length of others.
How does this work? Do the smaller bullet have to jump a long way to reach the barrel?
See I told you this was a silly question; unfortunately I don't know the answer.

[BILLY D.]

Well we will make this real simple. The long bullets, 100gr on up protrude into the case and the 55> 70 gr bullets have a long jump to the lands.

I have a 243 AI and I have always prefered the 100 gr bullets. Especially for Deer.

I have friends who use the 80>95 gr's for varmints. Some of the smaller bullets work well also when you dink around with them and find a suitable Powder charge. Remember to seat at least one caliber length into the case. You can produce very accurate loads with them. It takes time to develope them.

Best wishes, Bill

[Dom]

Yes, what Billy is saying, meaning all the bullets will be seated to various depths inside the case mouth, the longer ones will probably compress most powder charges. The shorter ones will have a longer jump to reach the lands. There are instruments specifically catered to measuring the distance off the lands, but often magazine length is the determining factor in OAL, except for single shots, etc.

One shortcut for a load is do some research and forget trying to develop loads for those bullets that just don't cut it in the caliber you're loading for. Look for common loads and what one considers optimal bullet weights for calibers, i.e., 150-200 for 30-06 means you might just have a bit of trouble trying to get a load for bullets under or over 150-200 grains in that particular caliber. Start with 100 grainers in your .243 and vary from there. Or you might find just what you're looking for right off the bat with the 100 grainers! Waidmannsheil, Dom.

P.S. After reading your post again, the only way they can get such large weight variances and stay .243 caliber is by the length of the bullet. Same principle for other calibers.

[gumpokc]

another thing you can do with the shorter/lighter bullets is fireforming.

Just like making wildcat ammo brass, make a nice moderate load with the shorter bullet, fire it, now you have brass fireformed to your particular chamber. only do neck/shoulder resizing but keep track of OAL.

as long as you arent pushing hot loads through it, you'll get some decent milage out of them.

this is just one of the things i do from time to time and it works fine, just keep an eye on the brass itself, if it looks like it's atarting to stretch, full length resize it, check it for all dimensions, and if it looks good, use it, if not, scrap it and start with new brass.

[Cossack]

However bullet weight is only part of the equation, how it's made and what it is made of is equally important. For example, one can load a monolithic bullet, made entirely of copper, that is 85 grns in weight. But , because copper is lighter than lead, it will be as long as say a 100 gr lead core bullet so jump to the lands isn't an issue. Equally important, it will retain weight and give terminal performance (penetration and shock) equal to or greater than the 100 gr lead bullet. Yet it's velocity will be greater resulting in flatter trajectory.
Is such a bullet available now? Yes the Barnes TYSX.

[Cossack]

Finger jitters, that should be TSX.