Whidden on Winning at Long Range: Part 2 — The Cartridge
John Whidden of Whidden Gunworks used the .243 Winchester cartridge to win the 2016 NRA Long Range Championship, his fourth LR title at Camp Perry. John selected the .243 Win because it offers excellent ballistics with manageable recoil. John says that, at least for a sling shooter, the .243 Win is hard to beat at long range. Yes, John says, you can get somewhat better ballistics with a .284 Win or .300 WSM, but you’ll pay a heavy price in increased recoil.
.243 Winchester — The Forgotten 6mm Cartridge for Long Range
by John Whidden, 2016 National Long Range Champion
My experience with the .243 cartridge for use as a Long Range High Power cartridge dates back about 10 years or so. After building a .300 WSM, I realized that the recoil was hurting the quality of my shots. The WSM shot great, but I couldn’t always execute good shots when shooting it. From here I built a 6.5-284, and it shot well. I also had a very accurate 6mmBR at the time, and my logic in going to the .243 Win was to get wind performance equal to the 6.5-284 with recoil similar to the 6mmBR. The experiment has worked out well indeed!
Championship-Winning Load: Berger Bullets, Lapua Brass, and Vihtavuori N160
For a load, currently I’m shooting Lapua brass, PMC primers (Russian, similar to Wolf), VihtaVuori N160 single-base powder, and Berger 105 grain Hybrid bullets. I switched to the Hybrid bullets fairly recently at the beginning of the 2015 season. Previously I shot the 105gr Berger hunting VLDs, and in testing I found that the Hybrids were just as accurate without having to seat the bullet into the lands. The velocity of this combination when shot through the excellent Bartlein 5R barrels (32” length) is around 3275 FPS.
For my match ammo, I seat the Berger 105 Hybrids well off the lands — my bullets are “jumping” from .035″-.060″. I only use one seating depth for ammunition for multiple guns (I know some benchrest shooters will stop reading right here!) and the bullets jump further in the worn barrels than in the fresh barrels. The bullets are pointed up in our Bullet Pointing Die System and are moly-coated. The moly (molybdenum disulfide) does extend the cleaning interval a little bit, probably 20% or so. The Lapua .243 Win brass is all neck-turned to .0125″ thickness.
Whidden’s .243 Win Ammo is Loaded on a Dillon
My loading process is different than many people expect. I load my ammo on a Dillon 650 progressive press using our own Whidden Gunworks dies. However powder charges are individually weighed with a stand-alone automated scale/trickler system from AutoTrickler.com (see below). Employing a high-end force restoration scale, this micro-processor controlled system offers single-kernel precision. The weighed charges are then dropped into the cases with a funnel mounted to the Dillon head.
The Lapua .243 Win brass is full-length sized every time, and I run one of our custom-sized expanders in my sizer die. The expander measures .243″ which yields the desired .001″ neck tension. In my experience, the best way to get consistent neck tension is to run an expander in the case neck at some point. When sizing the case neck by a minimal amount such as is the case here, I don’t find any negative points in using an expander in the sizer die.
In my experience, the keys to accurate long range ammo are top quality bullets and the most consistent neck tension you can produce. From these starting points, the use of quality components and accurate powder measurement will finish out the magic.
Great Ballistics with 6mm 105s at 3275 FPS
Running at an impressive 3275 FPS, Berger 6mm 105 grain Hybrids deliver ballistics that are hard to beat, according to John Whidden:“My .243 Win shoots inside a 6.5-284 with 142-grainers. Nothing out there is really ahead of [the .243], in 1000-yard ballistics unless you get into the short magnums or .284s and those carry a very significant recoil penalty. In the past I did shoot the 6.5-284. I went to the .243 Win because it had similar ballistics but had much less recoil. It doesn’t beat me up as much and is not as fatiguing.
With the .243 Win, there’s no tensing-up, no anticipating. With the reduced recoil (compared to a 7mm or big .308), I can break and shoot very good quality shots. I find I just shoot better shots with the .243 than I ever did with the 6.5-284.”
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- .243 Winchester — The Forgotten Long-Range Cartridge
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- Whidden Shares Secrets of Championship Long-Range Rifles
- New .224 Cartridge for AR Match Rifles
- Whitley Creates Accurate 6mm Cartridge with 22-250 Lapua Brass
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Tags: .243 Win, 6.5-284, 6mm, Anchutz, ballistics, Barnard Action, Berger Hybrid, Camp Perry, John Whidden, Leech Cup, Long Range Championship, Long-Range, Whidden Gunworks
Way to go! I’m a .243 fan. Have a varmit .243 I built with match chamber and shoot 1 hole groups all day long at 300 yds!
John know a lot about this cartridge but he is also a great shooter !
Michel
Great shooting, but my first thought was wondering how you got that centerfire action mounted into the Anschutz stock. Is there an adapter out there for that or did you have to modify the Anschutz stock directly?
Love my 243! While all of these new fad cartridges claim subtle improvements over the 243 (6cm, 6xc, 6×47, etc) they all give something up compared to the 243.
[quote]…but my first thought was wondering how you got that centerfire action mounted into the Anschutz stock. Is there an adapter out there for that or did you have to modify the Anschutz stock directly?[/quote]
Jason,
Anschutz 2018 Aluminum Stock Precise
This is the stock he used with modifications. The original action is round so he merely increased the diameter of the inlet to accommodate the Barnard action. The whole action is moved forward though as you can see in the opening photograph by looking at the bolt handle notch right through the ‘A’ in Anschutz. Not bad for a stock costing about $2,000.00!
Congradulations John!
Unfortunately I always found the 243 to be over-bore (1200 round barrel if you are lucky) and prone to elevation issues; especially in tail winds. Up until the late 90s, when there was no other choice, it seemed a viable proposition but with better, more efficient and easier to tune cartridges out there now, I’d have to say this is a case I smile at as I walk by.
As Richard says, the .243 burns a little barrel life — but Championships and records have come with it.
John has the .243 down to a science. He learns how to load fast and with precision. Many of the shots on the viewer target would have been in the center of the X ring — in the sling with iron sights.
The King of long range precision loading is a gentleman’s shooter and a silent warrior as well.
I am so proud of his shooting and his accomplishments as a man. John represents all of us. When John got back home, he talked about other shooters and his honor to shoot with them. WOW111
Jim Hardy
John, Just have to say Congrats! Everything is working for you!
Later, Frank
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