I have tried Nosler 95 gr. CT's and 90 gr. BT's, Sierra 85 gr. GK's, Berger 95 gr. VLD's, Hornady 95 gr. SST's and Speer 85 gr. Spitzer BT's. Most I could get to group around 3 inches if I allowed the barrel to cool to the point I could hold it with my hand.
I haven't got a clue on why at least ONE of those didn't get you something. But such is the nature of handloading.
All were under 100 grs. When I called Remington about the problem I've been having with this gun they told me I should be using 100 and 105 gr. bullets with a 9 1/4 twist.
They are pretty much spot on for that particular twist rate, but you shold still be able to shoot the lighter ones to some degree of good accuracy.
I have tried Varget, IMR 4350, H4831SC and IMR4895.
Any or all of these should be fine with the bullets you listed. While not my top choices they have worked great for lots of other folks. My two powders have for the most part been IMR-3031 for anything 85grs and lighter, and H-4350 for anything 90grs and heavier. But like ice cream, everyone has their favorite flavors. The latest loads I worked up were for my grandsons .243 and I used some of the newer Hybrid 100V. I have to say that this was one of the very few instances that the provided data coincided to within about 50fps all the way through the listed loads. IT shoots great in his rifle.
I clean my gun after each trip to the range. I normally only try one load group per session (this would consist of 10 rounds of each powder weight, starting at close to the recommended beginning load for each powder increasing in 1/2 gr. increments until I either reach the max recommended load or I notice excessive signs of pressure). I normally put 3 rounds down the barrel before I start testing a new load to fowl the barrel. I do not clean the gun at the range once I begin testing a new load.
When I work up a load, no matter the caliber, I usually try and clean the barrel about every 10 - 20 rounds max, but usually after about every 5 it gets a swabbing with patches, at the very least. It helps to cool the barrel and keep the fouling at a minimum. Some bullets, like I mentioned, just seem to lay the copper down a bit more than others. It is nothing detrimental, but once it builds up, it simply takes longer to scrub out. It's just easier for me to stay on top of it, than have to work on it longer when I am ready for a "cold drink".
Not sure a seating depth change would make a whole lot of difference in this gun. There is no way any .243 bullet is going to come close to the lands. On all loads for this gun I have marked a sample bullet at .243 from the bottom and this is the depth I seat the bullets. I am seriously thinking about still sending this gun back to Remington and at least have them look at it. I agree is should shoot 85 and 95 gr. bullets a lot better than what it does.
Just for kicks, set up your seater so that it is good and snug down on top of one of the Winchester loads. Then seat one of any other bullets you have tried in an unprimed case, and measure the difference between it and what you had tried previously. I realize that the profiles will be different, due to the differences in weight, but the seater should contact about the same diameter of the ogive on each bullet, and that will be somewhere close, but not exact. It might give you another tool to try out with your future loads. I have found this before, several times, where a factory load shot well, so I matched the base to ogive dimensions, and hit really close to the same groups with my loads.
I don't see a lot of copper when I clean the barrel but I suppose that could have something to do with shots 4 and 5.
I haven't given up yet, but getting pretty discouraged. The fellow that shot the 1" group with Winchester 100 gr Power Points was an ex-Army/LE sniper. He let the barrel cool for about 3 minutes between shots and shots 4 & 5 were still away from the group. I asked him to shoot a 5-shot group so I could send the target to Remington in case he had the same problem I was having. Here is the target he shot.
In reading through this and seeing the target, I am starting to see a trend I have found with all of my Remington rifles. While I realize they build the rifle and know how to build them, I have had every one of my rifles exhibit similar trends over the years. They shot great for a while then slowly spread out. I highly suggest checking the action screws, as well as sanding that infernal hump down in the front of the stock. Remove the barreled action from the stock. Look closely at the area around the action and recoil lug. If you see any particular area or one particular spot, that shows signs of pressure in one spot over another like an uneven pressure point then you have probably found your issue. Usually this is a blackened spot, or a real shiny spot on one side or in one particular area. It might be as simple as removing the pressure hump or taking a dremmel tool or wood chisel and squaring the lug area, but something is binding and causing the shots to stray. If simply checking the torque use one of the clicker type IN/LB torque wrenches. Here is a link that has some great info on just this,
Torque Specs for Gunsmiths
The thing about removing the pressure hump is that it is a quick and easy deal. Simply roll some emery cloth around a wood dowel and sand it down. If this doesn't help you can always put one back in using cut layers of a business card soaked with epoxy. Simply measure what you have before you remove it and you know how much will be needed if you put it back in. Personally I have removed all of mine and they shot like a different rifle when done. They were way more consistent and tightly grouped a wider range of load combinations.
While I cannot guarantee any of the above will absolutely do the job, I feel that some if not all of it is contributing to your grouping issue. I would definitely look at the internal area of the stock for looseness or something not sitting right, and torque the screws at the very minimum. One thing when you start to torque is to slightly snug the screws by had then bump the butt on the floor so as to settle the action in the stock. Nothing hard just to simply settle things before the final torque. This helps the recoil lug settle in place against the stop in the stock.
Good luck and hope some of this helps. I know how frustrating it can be to want something and have one simple little thing throwing rocks in the cogs.
I was told that it would do no good to bed the stock as the accuracy of these guns comes from pressure of the stock on the barrel and that taking the stock off can change POI. Should I try removing the barrel out of the stock?
