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.243 mag

vipereater
I was browsing the local gun dealer today and looking at varmint rifles in either .223 or 22-250. The dealer suggested that I hold off until the .243 mag arrives. He said this would be a very desirable caliber and should be considered. Is this going to be a production caliber and could it possibly be as good as the .223 or 22-250 for shooting varmints?

Vipereater
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • treedog
    If your reffering to the .243 wssm the 55gr bt is pushing 4060fps. It should blow any groundhawg in 1/2. The .243 wssm is coming out after the .223, however i saw a post today by a fella on the shortmag site and said he just recieved his .223 so the .243 should be out anytime.
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  • ohioghog
    are you talking about the .243wssm? i have not had the opportunity to shoot one yet. i'm sure others will jump in and give you some specifics. i have looked at the ballistics and they are impressive.
    personally, i really dont care for the super shorts for reloading.
    if you need to set your case overall length way out like on a custom barrel, i would think it tends to get a little tricky. as far as being as good as the 223 or the 22-250, time and testing will tell.
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  • vipereater
    He must have meant .243 wssm. Is the .243 wssm necessary when there is calibers such as 220 swift, .223 & 22-250 to contend with? How could the .243 wssm possibly be better?

    Vipereater
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  • ohioghog
    i think that gunmanufacturers are merely filling a "nitche" in the market( .17hmr/wssm). i seem to recall(someone correct me if im wrong), that the wssm has a 10% decrease in powder charge with the same or better on the velocity end.
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  • buckdeer
    according to a recent article in guns and ammo or maybe shooting times the 243 wssm is getting almost exactly the same velocity as a 6mm rem. althougth it does it by burning less powder and should be a more accurate case do to its shape. my guess is it is more or less a marketing scheme
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  • Sunray
    The .243 WSSM is very similar to the 6mm PPC. It ain't no magnum, but it certainly is interesting. And yes, I think it's a marketing thing too. It won't do anything any other round won't do and I haven't seen any other companies jumping om it.
    The manufacturers have to come up with new stuff regularly or they'll go out of business. The sad thing is they always announce new stuff before it's available.
    Vipereater, I wouldn't wait. I'd consider what I was going to do with it and buy either one. New calibres are notorious for ammo/brass being hard to come by with no gaurantee it'll be there in 5 years. Look at the .41AE as an example. Lots of demand but not enough for IMI to make any ammo or brass. Jumping into a brand new round is a very risky business, unless you buy a big pile of brass when it's new.
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  • bolthandle
    I think the big draw for the 243WSSM is the fact that the cartridge is shorter in overall length, thus making of the receiver shorter by about 1/2 inch. under that of 300WSSM. I think I saw article in one of the gun mags. that the Browning Abolt has this receiver for 243WSSM as well as the 223WSSM.

    Bolt


    PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER
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  • PRZNCOP110
    G&A had an article on the 223wssm back in April and the latest issue has an article on the 243 wssm. I am not able to quote G&A (mag is not with me right now) but I think I remember some of the details. The velocities are equal to and a bit faster thatn the originals. The shorter, fatter case creates a shorter powder column that burns more efficiently with less powder. I think the 10% reduction mentioned earlier is accurate. A big advantage that G&A pointed out is that with a shorter case, you will have a shorter action. This means a stronger action less prone to flexing and in theory will be more accurate. Of course as ohiodog mentioned, only time and testing will tell if these new chamberings are going to last.

    BTW, if you wait for the 243wssm to become availiable AND there is a big demand like what happened with the 17hrm, you could be in for a very long wait. My opinion, get the 22-250 now. I have a 223 and a 22-250, love them both, cant go wrong with either.




    "SOCIETY PREPARES THE CRIME, THE CRIMINAL COMMITS IT"
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  • vipereater
    Thank you all. I'm going to stay with my original thought. 22-250 in the Remington 700 VSSF. The only downside to the 22-250 is that the ammo is not as available as for the .223 and it costs a little more. I intend to take long shots and the 22-250 is flat shooter.

    Vipereater
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  • GPWEAPON
    viper the rem is a fine choice but my thoughts would be the 22-250 in savage if available. the nice thing about that would the simple barrel change/ conversion's that will shurely follow the release of those new chamberings. the short efficent cases like the 6 br,ppc, etc. are incredible performers at the longer ranges since the velosity spreads between shots is typeicly 2-3 fps. With a properly tuned load it means very few droped shots from the shot spread. Make sure the twist is fast enough if you choose to shoot the heaver bullets at those extended ranges. I shoot a .223 with the 75 gr Hornadys in an AR and find them excellent out at 600.
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