Range Report AR-10T .243 105 VLD

[esorensen]

I did some more shooting today. This time was with the .243 upper. I thought I found a good load with it but just a little less powder tightened it up a bit. Will load some more and shoot it a 1K and see what happens. Supposed to be very windy for the next few days so....

 

[JaneDoe]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Looks like a nice day in Pueblo, 65-70 degrees and on the range.

Is this from a factory 243 barrel with 1:10 twist or another barrel? Any more specs on the rifle?

Tim

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Factory 10 twist.

 

[BryanLitz]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Caution regarding the 105's from a 1:10" twist...

ffl medic is able to pull this off in Pueblo where the altitude is way above sea level (less dense air, favorable conditions for stability) but don't think you can do it at sea level.

Even the 95 grain VLD's have marginal stability in a 1:10" twist. A few thousand feet above sea level the air is thin enough that they fly ok. You have to go up even higher for the 105's to work in a 1:10".

Just wanted to put this out there in case someone with a 1:10" decided to try some 105's near the coast.

-Bryan

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Thanks for pointing that out Bryan. You guys really make some good flying bullets! Keep up the good work. This load or something close to it will be pointed at some game this year!

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

No shooting that last couple of days. Red flag warnings every day.

 

[shane45]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Bryan, maybe its common knowledge that I am missing and I was going to ask this very question today so since I walked into this thread, it seams a good a place as any to ask. I caught a little blurb in an article somewhere that stated bullet weight has nothing to do with twist. It only was relevent to length. Is this an accurate statement? Any light on the subject would be appr4eciated.

ffl_medic, if this is to much of a thread Hijack, let me know and Ill open another

Shane

 

[BryanLitz]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Shane,
Both the bullets weight and length are important factors in stability. Since they usually go hand in hand, the distinction isn't obvious, but they're both important.
A long light bullet is the worst case scenario and requires the fastest twist. A short heavy bullet doesn't need much spin at all.
If you're interested in a program that calculates bullet stability, send me an email ([email protected]) and I'll reply with the program attached.
Take care,
-Bryan

 

[shane45]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

THANKS for the reply. Email inbound.


Shane

 

[kingkyle]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Medic... i'm interested in your setup. This is a factory AR10 .243 upper? What make and components are you running.... very interested. Any pics?

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

This is a factory Armalite AR10T. It was discontinued a few years back due to lack of interest I believe. Dave, who is one of the armorers at Armalite, was quite fond of them and couldn't figure out why the lack of interest. He also said at one of the 1000 yd matches he attended some years ago, he watched a guy with one of "his" rifles in .243 take home the top trophy. He never saw the guy again.

The barrel is a 24" Wilson 10 twist, just like all the other Armalites. It shoots real well. Like Bryan said, I can get away with a little less twist up here.

Any other questions, I'll be glad to answer.
Eric

 

[kingkyle]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

ahhh I want one! I guess I could have someone custom build one in 243.

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

You might be able to get their custom shop to make one. I found mine(upper only) on GA a couple of years ago. ~$700 well worth it in my opinion. The guy had a couple more too.

 

[esorensen]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

So I finally went out and killed a buck with this combo. He was sitting in the shade of the pinon in the picture. The shot was 435 yards. Kind of anticlimactic using Berger VLD's.

 

[Papagallos]

Re: AR-10T .243 105 VLD

Sweet results thus far.