243WSSM

[Diago]

Hi everyone:

I am thinking of buying a 243WSSM in the Browning A-Bolt for deer out west. The Ballistics look good on paper. Anyone have any experience with them? Also, with a hot load I am worried about the barrel heating up and "walking" thus ruining the accuracy. Any advise would be appreciated.

Jim

[Steve Foss]

Diago:

Can't speak for the cartridge. Never fired it. Sorry. But walking shouldn't be a factor with any round unless you're loosing several rounds quickly at a deer, and that's rarely recommended. First couple of rounds through a cool barrel shouldn't be a problem with any weapon.

I used to fire five rounds as rapidly as possible through my Ruger M77 .22-250. It was a standard factory barrel, not the bull barrel, and it never felt like it went off line from overheating. Of course, that round wasn't considered a magnum, but it was plenty hot.

While sighting in the rifle, which requires many shots, simply wait between firings to let the barrel cool, or cool it with a wet towel or rag draped over it, like the old-time buffalo hunters used to do.

------------------
"Worry less, fish more."
Steve Foss
[email protected]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 11-22-2003).]

[This message has been edited by stfcatfish (edited 11-22-2003).]

[Guest]

well, first off, if you are going to be shooting alot of rounds at the range be prepared for barrel burn-out at about 700 to 900 rounds I have heard. If your only going to sight it in and hunt the gun could very well last 10 or more years without a problem and by then you could rebarrel it or buy something different.

When sighting any hunting rifle always wait 10 minutes between two shot groups. You want your scope set so its zeroed on a cold barrel.

The 243wssm is supposed to be a hot lil one but if your going for a particular type of hunt there are better choices.

[Iceman77]

The ballistics of the .243WSSM are nearly identical to that of a 6mm. A 6mm should be a cheaper find along with the loads. I do my own custom loading so I really don't know if 6mm rounds can be found rather easily in Minnesota. If you are looking for a faster gun I would recommend a .240 Weatherby Magnum, .243-06, or a 6mm-06. The latter two you would need someone to make custom rounds for you. With a .243-06 one can achieve hot and highly accurate loads shooting up to 3700 fps. In summary I would choose a 6mm over the .243WSSM for price(both rifle and casings) and the proven accuracy of 6mm rifles.

[Guest]

the 243 is the same as 6mm
just as 284 is 7mm and so on

the standard 243 is an excellent round but if you want to jump onto the "super short bandwagon" go for the 270 WSM, its an excellent round and has the downrange punch that the 243 lacks.

in more traditional chamberings I would reccomend:
25-06, 270 & 30-06 (all based on the original 06 case)
or the 308, 7-08 or 243win (all based on the 7.62NATO short case)

I shoot the 25-06 and the 308, my next will probably be either the 300wsm or the 270wsm which is a severley shortened 404jeffery case necked down with a rebated rim.
Good luck.

[Iceman77]

The .243 is not the same as the 6mm they are definately different. The 6mm is a faster round(slightly larger case... more powder). Therefore, many of the target shooters that I know will go with the 6mm over the .243. The .25-06 is a nice rifle and I might get that for my wife next year. I had a .308 but I didn't like the kick, could shoot a long ways, but very prone to wind drift. I'm 6'4" 250 lbs and I just didn't have much fun shooting that caliber, although I shot most of my longer 1000+ yard prairie dogs with this caliber. Deer hunting in the prairies you will have long shots, running deer and wind to deal with. Therefore a light, slender bullet with speed is critical. I would stay away from the .30-06(just look into it's ballistics for long range shooting). The .270 is probably the most common round used in N.D. and S.D. but is slower than the .25-06, .243-06, and .240 Weatherby magnum. The extra speed that you will get while shooting at a running deer will help tremendously and is definately worthwhile.

[Guest]

UMM .243 and 6mm Are the same...
I load both, look at barnes, hornady, sierra....

the casings and chamberings for this bullit are different!!!!

6mmBR
6mmREM
6mmPPC
6-06
.243 is a 6-08 (308case necked down to 6mm or .243")
6-284
243wssm
and the 6x52 are all the same 6mm/.243 bullet. The combination of chamberings are what make these different as far as powder charge / neck angle / case length and so forth.

If he wants the best vareity of commercially available loads, go with the 243win, or a similar "standard" round, If you want to reload and not concerned about commercially produced ammo go ahead the 6ppc is a beautiful round (220 russian formed to a .243" bullet)
have fun, but for long distances, the heavier and larger projectile will be less affected by wind drift and will retain down range energy.

The hottest 100 & 200 benchrest competition round is the 6mmPPC, but the 30 caliber rules the 800 to 1000 yard competitions, the current up-and-coming round is the wildcat 6.5-284. The 7mm-08 pretty much dominated most 200 to 600 yard sillohuette matches.

[Guest]

If you really want to see what the guys are shooting goto:

--Had to remove your links, but thanks for all the info your sharing.

[This message has been edited by Sarge (edited 11-23-2003).]

[Diago]

Thanks Guys for the interesting opinions. I also reload and have owned a 6mm and currently own a 25-06. According to the balistics charts I have read, the 243WSSM is definatly hotter than a 6mm. I am getting tired of the recoil of the 25-06, although it is a great long range caliber. I own a 22-250 and really like not having much recoil. The past two years I have shot three whitetails in South Dakota with the 22-250, but would like to use a 24 Caliber bullet for more energy at longer ranges. I wish they made a 23 caliber round. How is the recoil on the 240 Weatherby? I have been considering that caliber also.

Jim

[Guest]

the weatherby has radiused shoulders so reloading can be a pain.

as far as recoil goes heres a list:
223 = 3.2pds recoil
22-250 = 4.7
243win = 8.8
6mm Rem = 10
243wssm = 10.1
240WbyMag = 17.9
25-06 = 12.5
270WSM = 18.9
7mm-08 = 12.6
308 = 17.5

so you see the 240Wby actually has 5.4 pounds more recoil, it actually feels more like twice the kick though, my 308 even has less recoil. Man if you already have a 25-06, thats one of the best guns I could recommend. But if your itchin for a new gun inbetween the 25 and the 22 I would say 6mm or .243" would be your only choice, but if it were me Id go larger maybe a 270WSM or 7mm-08 of sorts.

Good luck on your search

[Iceman77]

Yep... .243 case is different than 6mm. In your first post a lot of assumptions could be drawn and for someone who doesn't know much about the calibers would also assume ballistics are the same. Which they won't be.

[Royce Aardahl]

I killed many dear over the years with a 243. I switched to a 270 for a bit more shocking power. Very flat with a 130 grain bullet. I just use the Remington core lokt bullet that's east to find.