Decided to add a .243 (or two) to my stable for long range varmint shooting. My main intention for .243 is for my prairie dog trip to have a round that is ballistically superior to .223 for shots from 300-500 yards but with lower recoil than my 6.5CM to make spotting the hits / misses a bit easier and for a little less shooter fatigue. Hornady Custom Lite .243 87gr SST is kinda perfect for this.
So, I was really wanting the CZ 557 American (new 2019 model) but CZ-USA couldn't give me any timeframe when they would be available in the US, so being impatient, I went ahead and bought a Tikka T3x Hunter in .243. Literally, the day the Tikka arrived, I got a notification that the 557 was now available, which of course meant, I needed to buy it immediately. So, now I have these two beauties and finally got them out to Brookhaven this morning to check them out. Both are topped with Vortex Diamondback Tactical 6-24x50 FFP MOA scopes. Both rifles have sporter barrels, 1:10 twist, the CZ has a 24" barrel, the Tikka has a 22.5" barrel. The fit and finish on both guns is superb. The CZ weighs about a 0.5 lb. more than the Tikka. Here's how they compare on aesthetics, ergonomics and function.
- Bluing on both guns is excellent, I'd give the edge to the Tikka for a more even finish. The Tikka has a recessed crown, the CZ does not.
- The wood stock on the Tikka is nice but feels a little thin, the CZ stock is much more solid; the pistol grip has a nice palm swell that makes the grip on the rifle feel more stable. Really like the stock on the CZ over the Tikka.
- Trigger: Out of the box, the Tikka has one of the best single-stage triggers there is. I have adjusted it down to about 2 lbs and it is fantastically crisp. The CZ also has an adjustable trigger, but I haven't touched it as it has just a TINY bit of take-up that makes it almost feel like a two-stage trigger.... I really like that.
I tested both rifles with Hornady Custom 87gr VMAX and Hornady Custom Lite (reduced recoil) 87gr SST. I plan to test other factory loads but this is all I had time for today. I like these loads because they have the same B/C and even though the velocity on the reduced recoil is lower, they zero at 100 yards with the same POI. Nice to be able to go back and forth between the two with the same zero and just calculate different trajectory. I was shooting at 100 yards with little to no wind. Here's what I got.
Tikka: Cold bore 5 shot group with the 87gr VMAX was 0.57" at 100 yards; as the gun heated up, the groups opened up to about 1.25"... still pretty respectable with a hot barrel. The 87gr SST with a "warm" bore produced a 4-shot 0.42" group with a one-shot flyer that made it 1.13", but three of the four shots were touching holes.... my worst group with this rifle was 1.34".... very impressive.
CZ: Cold bore 5 shot group with the 87gr VMAX was 0.65" at 100 yards; The 87gr SST with a "warm" bore produced a 5-shot 0.90" group. My worse group with this rifle was 1.27"... also very impressive.
CZ 557 American on left, Tikka T3x Hunter on right.
Last edited by HyFiveGuns; 03-20-2019, 02:14 PM.
Kind of a long story, but I ended up with a third .243, a Savage 11-VT. Yesterday, I got back to the range and did some extensive ammo testing with all three rifles. All three rifles were sighted in with Hornady Custom 87gr VMAX. I tested the following loads.
I've recently acquired a savage model 10 in 243 but it's only been to Mitchell Field . Been reloading small batches from 85 gr to 105gr but haven't been to the range yet to try them out. Last night reloaded 85 gr Sierra HPBT using 40 gr of IMR 4350.
Really nice write up. Thanks for taking the time to do it. .243 is one of my favorite calibers.