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Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

6.5BR

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Oct 6, 2007
809
2
LA
In terms of bore life, bullet cost, etc.

Curious what are the true total costs of shooting each.

Assume 260 or 47L.
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

My .243 and 6.5 Creedmoor use basically the same powder charge of H4350 and same primers. Bullets are about $120 for 500 115 DTACs and $140 for 500 140AMAX. Brass is where the .243 will save a little money if you go the Winchester route. $200 for 500 .243 Win brass and about $410 per 500 if you go Lapua. For $325 you get 500 pieces of Hornady 6.5 Creedmoor brass.

Once you have the brass the cost is pretty close to being the same.

As for barrel life, you will get a little more with the 6.5s than the 6mms but I wouldn't call it a deal breaker either way as far as cost. Basically a push.
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 6.5BR</div><div class="ubbcode-body">In terms of bore life, bullet cost, etc.

Curious what are the true total costs of shooting each.

Assume 260 or 47L.
</div></div>

This is an interesting question. Let's see if we can breakdown and compare each round:

I going to use current Midway prices, and figure costs per one thousand rounds fired for each.

First brass:

Lapua 243 100 rounds = $84.99
260 Rem = We will neck up Lapua 243 brass = $84.99
6.5x47mm Lapua = $109.99

Note: I'm using 100 cases and assume 10 reloads per case, to reach 1000 rounds.

Bullets:

243 Win 115 gr DTAC per 1000 = $240.

260 Rem & 6.5x47MM 140 Gr Hornady A-Max per 1000 = $ 280.

Primers:

243 Win & 260 Rem Fed 210M per 1000 = $ 37.99

6.5x47MM Fed 205M per 1000 = $ 36.99

Powder: Have to make some guesses here:

243 Win 41.0 grains H4350 for 1000 rounds = 41000 grains. 7000 grains to a lb, 5.86 Lbs @ $22.49 per lb = $131.56

260 Rem 42.5 grains H4350 for 1000 rounds = 42500 grains, 7000 grains to a Lb, 6.07 Lbs @ $22.49 per lb = $136.51

6.5x47MM
Harder to find solid load data with the 6.5x47mm Lapua, but I found a reasonable one using 38 grs of Varget. So.....

6.5x47mm Lapua 38.0 Grains Varget for 1000 rounds = 38000 grains, 7000 grains to a lb, 5.43 Lbs @ $22.99 per lb = $124.80

Next useful barrel life: All estimates....

.243 est: 2500 rounds
.260 Rem 3000 rounds
6.5x47mm Lapua 3500 rounds


Cost per barrel for all barrels estimated @ $500. fitted and chambered.

Net Cost per 1000 rounds in barrel life:

.243 = $200.
.260 Rem = $167.
6.5x47mm Lapua = $143.

Summary:

Cost per 1000 rounds:

243 Winchester
Brass: $84.99
Bullets: $240.
Primers: $37.99
Powder: $131.56
Barrel life: $200.

Total: $694.54

260 Remington
Brass: $84.99
Bullets: $280.
Primers: $37.99
Powder: $136.51
Barrel life: $167.00

Total: $706.49

6.5x47mm Lapua
Brass: $109.99
Bullets: $280.
Primers: $36.99
Powder: $124.80
Barrel life: $143.00

Total: $694.78

After all that calculating, Rob01 is right. Not enough difference in cost of ownership between them to be worth worrying about.

Bob
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

What we really learned from your post is NOT to buy brass @ Midway.
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

Does the .243 brass last approximately as long as the .260? I had heard it was significantly less, but that was probably a rumor.

-Steve
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

I can't get my lapua 243 brass to hold a primer but for about 5 firings. But it may just be a personal problem, or bad lot of brass. I bought 700 of the same lot
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: matchking</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What we really learned from your post is NOT to buy brass @ Midway. </div></div>

Glad you learned something
grin.gif
But I was not trying to find the cheapest prices for each component. Using Midway made it easy for me to build a cost analysis cause stuff is so easy to find there and they have a large inventory of products.

Yes, cost wise you can do better than Midway at a bunch of places, but not selection wise.

YMMV,

Bob
 
Re: Anyone done a Cost Analysis 243/115 vs 6.5/142??

That's VERY enlightening, as someone posted that shooting 115s would save a good bit over 142s, but it looks like the analysis show very similar total costs in shooting both calibers. I'd suspect the 708 would be a little cheaper on brass, and longer bbl life. SO, perhaps the 7mm would be a little more economical depending on bullets used.

Thanks guys for the scoop.