yards. 1.336" average three-shot group,
Nosler 55-grain BT Winchester at 100 yards.
Now, with a proper amount of
target paper work completed with both factory and handloaded ammo, it was time to pack up, load the truck, and head for Elk Mountain, Wyoming. Here I would hook up with Federal’s marketing people at the Elk Mountain Hotel in the little mountain town of Elk Mountain. Under the direction of guide Cory Lundberg, the top dog at CODA Hunts, Utah, we would get the new DPMS 243 and Federal 70-grain loads out and on some prairie rats. Working with my ride-along part-
ner, editor Anderson of TVHM, John and I cut up the tasks at hand regarding the review of Federal products. With my choice in the area of the new DPMS rifles, I planned on getting as much information as possible from hands-on time in the field. As it was to turn out, I would get enough information to last a writer for years … and a few surprises along the way. Weather Dictates results With the 243 Winchester, which
is only one of several chamberings offered in the Hunter Series rifle by DPMS, I could not have been in a bet- ter situation. Wyoming spring winds were off the charts, with gusts to over 50 mph, and a steady blast of air across the high ridge country of Elk Mountain that never dropped below a velocity of 40 mph over several days of shooting. With most of the gang at Federal being equipped with rifles chambered in 223 Remington, the smaller 22 caliber loads just were not cutting it in terms of get- ting one-shot kills at anything more than 150 yards. In effect, the 223 Rem. required as many as five or six rounds down range when trying to dope out the drift on a 200- through 300-yard dog. In contrast to the negative wind
effects surrounding the 223 Rem., the 243 Winchester with the Federal 70-grain SP bullet was tailor-made for just such wind-bucking work. With two cases of the 70-grain fodder on hand, I was in dog shooters’ heaven. I was, in short order, a popular guy at the bench rest with Federal engineers and writers wanting to take a few pokes at grass rats with the 243. First off when shooting the new
rifle, I noticed that regardless of range the 70-grain bullet, coupled with the de- sign of the rifle, produced very little felt recoil or through-the-scope observed recoil. I believe that the heavy bolt designed into the long action (LR) rifle, coupled with a good gas system and muzzle brake, aided greatly in keeping muzzle jump to a minimum. When reviewing the general op-
eration of the rifle, I can say for a fact that during the firing of two full cases of 243 Federal ammo the rifle did not produce a single malfunction of any
kind. I mean nothing even close to a feed problem. This well-machined shooter is a close-tolerance-designed class act. Everything from the magazine fit to bolt closing tolerance was nothing but top end all the way around. If I sound like I am a real fan of the DPMS, it is because it won my respect hands down over a bunch of other ARs. it is in the Details
Where Quality surfaces Hunter series rifles in 243, as well
as chambered in 308 Win., 204 Ruger, 223 Rem., 5.56x45 NATO, 260 Rem., 6.5
www.varminthunter.org Page 43
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