There has been a 645 wildcat for some time, and you can find .243 pills that are substantial improvements over anything the .223/5.56 can launch, especially in the 105 grain space, where the benchrest boys & girls have spent the last three decades tuning the performance of .243/6mm bullets and ballistics. Ive moved on to a cowboy assault rifle in the venerable .30-30. In our .243 Cartridge Guide we list a Chuck Hawks gen'l purpose load for the 87gr V-Max: IMR 4064, 37.1 grains, Fed 210m, 3100 fps, Hornady brass. For many custom gunsmiths building an African rifle on a budget, the 1917 is a starting point, explicitly because it is so massively over-built. I have since shot over 1000 rounds that I can account for, no telling how many the last bloke shot, with little regard for barrel life. The G3, FAL, etc werent even 2MOA rifles. The issue is actually more about the length of the bolt action than the round itself. Achieve success with the long range hunting book series . IMO, if you want to come up with a successful round for a rifle today, you start by choosing your bullet. An exercise in the theoretical. It uses a .300 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) case shortened and necked down to accept a .243in/6mm diameter bullet, and is a high velocity round based on ballistics design philosophies that are intended to produce a high level of efficiency. Picking the appropriate long-range cartridge is an important part of putting together the right setup for long-range shooting. It is a lot of extra work to make into a tack driver and the smiths I have talked to say its easier to work up the 243 win. Once you have a correctly seasoned barrel and it is on your hunting or mission specific rifle dont rapid fire it and allow it to get excessively over heated. Better powders have reduced heat and reduced heat equals lower erosion potential in the throats of the barrels. One of the intimidating aspects of carrying is the possible legal ramifications you will face if you ever have to use your weapon. May as well look into building an AR-10 in it. Beau has also trained with the USCCA and is a current member. The best advice though is to take the time to properly break in a barrel per the barrel makers recommendations. Especially in comments. [7] The 243 WSSM gives generally a 10% increase in velocity over the 243 Win. But Ive spent way too much time tracking deer from new shooters who thought they missed their deer with the 243, only to find it dead a long way away after too long of a track. Not generally used for self-defense. 243 Win Once Fired Brass Bullet Casings - Cleaned pk/50. Hes been slowly piecing it together since acquiring the barrel and action together. I have a M70 Coyote action in .243 wssm, with a 30 in Pac Nor 1-8 twist polygonal match barrel dropped into a McMillan A2 adjustable Tac stock; glass is a Nightforce 5.5 22x56; This combo is a 1k death ray, using 107gr Sierra match kings. Let's celebrate a hunting round that is aging well. I understand they chrome lined the barrels of the first bolt action rifles put out but I never read about barrel erosion issues from any consumer. When paired with the right bullets, you can extend your effective shooting distances even further than this if you have the skill. That gun's modern military counterpart, the 5.56 NATO, has been in continuous use by militaries around the world since the early 1960s. 2.8 inches). BTHP ammunition is Federals Matchking with Sierra bullets. After serving in the military, Beau got himself even more guns. Ballistics and Drop for the .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM) Cartridge Type: Rifle Height: 1.67" Width: 0.544" Average FPS: 3198 Average Energy: 2228 Average Gr: 86 Recoil: 1.37 Power Rank: 2.55 of 20 The .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum (.243 WSSM) was designed in 2003 by Browning and Winchester. Give me a quality M1A with quality magazines and M80 ball ammo, and Id be happy to compete in a service rifle match. Some barrels just don't seem to like the 87 very much, performing much better with an 80gr FB, or 90gr Boat-tail. 3570. So theres no way the WSSM gets to be any less of a barrel burner, IMO. Ive seen 1917s sporterized into .505 Gibbs, which if you do a little reading, youll see is a monster of a cartridge. Its so versatile that more than one hunting bullet weight is available from major manufacturers. I don't know if any of this helps or not. This cartridge is usually used for small game such as varminting, and used for animals as large as deer. The David Tubb 115g molycoated projectiles have a G1 BC of .612 standard and .635 when tipped. He was going to reload but finding brass is a pain, thanks for the link above. Citadel 1911 Review: Best Budget-Friendly Pistol? Caliber 243 WSSM: Barrel Length 22: Overall Length 39 3/4: Length of Pull 13 5/16: Drop at Comb 5/8: Drop at Heel 1/2: Weight 6 lbs 5 oz: Magazine Capacity 3: Twist Rate 10: Barrel Finish Matte Blued: Stock Finish Satin: Receiver Finish Matte Blued: Chamber Finish Chrome Plated Chamber and Bore: Barrel Material Steel: Barrel Contour Sporter . 6.5 Grendel made a good fist of trying to balance things. JJ Sutton, C.P.S., C.M.A.S. The 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum or 243 WSSM is a rifle cartridge introduced in 2003. No national military has ever designated the 243 Win for service, although the LAPDs SWAT unit did implement it during their infancy. When it comes to reloading I get almost superstitious of anything different that might alter my accuracy. Go ahead play with JBMs program, and use the bullet library. The reason I dont own an ar is because I dont really care for 223/5.56 but this could be a fun caliber. But I noticed that you do not hear much about people using a model 70. The .243 WSSM, .240 Weatherby Magnum, .25 WSSM, .25-06 Remington, and .257 Weatherby Magnum can achieve even higher velocities with . You can often find out that the conventional wisdom of push it faster is increasingly wrong. The .243 Winchester is over-bored, and in rifles where it is fired in rapid fire strings, it will burn barrels. Thats it. 6mm Creedmoor. There is no one out there who is going to tell me that the .243 WSSM isnt over-bored. The biggest problem that I have found is that the winchester brass has a thick neck and is somewhat "lumpy" which requires turning the neck down on each case. The problem is finding ammo, but it drops deer in their tracks. I guess that is how progress is made. But comparing apples to apples like a 150gr. Firstly, lets compare its trajectory with that of the other sniper cartridges. Major manufacturerOlympic Armswas quick to recognize this high performance caliber and how it fits into the AR-15 platform. 6mm XC. You have entered an incorrect email address! [1] The percentage gain in performance over the older .243 Winchester is around 10% or less. It is capable of accurate shooting at long range, and is commonly used in long-range competitions. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. 240 Weatherby Magnum. Notes: All values are in MOA. The .223 Rem. The combination of the .243 WSSM / 115-grain Very Low Drag is worthy of an in-depth analysis because the results show it to be more a far more effective option than the 6.8mm thats currently being used by the military. they are intended for general reloading in a wide range of firearms. $460 47. Ask a gunsmith who builds custom rifles some time about getting a .375 H&H to feed in a full-length Mauser action sometime but do it when there are no ladies or children present. 2. The 95-grain SBST is however affected more by wind than the .300. Chopping the action down might help, and it might not. And how many decades has it been around? You might be quite surprised to see how much the higher Bc pays off. Find a full selection of 243 winchester rifles from top rifle manufacturers at the best prices. This is why Im recommending that people play with ballistics tables or an exterior ballistics program. When looking at a rifle, I look at bullet selection first, and as you stated, I plug it in my ballistics program. My first rifle was a Browning a-bolt 2 in .243WSSM bought in 09 it was second hand and abused (the feed lips were blacksmithed with vicegrips) the thing looked as though it lived in the back of a ute. More than six decades on the market means a great variety of rifles available. Dyspeptic Gunsmith, dont even get me started on the M1A. If people sit down with load data books, or, better yet, they sit down with a exterior ballistics program (jbmballistics.com is a good place to start), you see that shovelling tons of powder behind a low-Bc bullet gets you some impressive muzzle velocities, but downrange it all seems to peter out. Talk about some wear and tear. Savage Arms 57177 Axis II XP .243 22" 3-9x40 MATTE/FDE Synthetic Ergo STK. Whats the point? envisioned its .244 as a long-range varmint/predator cartridge, and as such it offered factory ammunition loads of 75 and 90 grains. The purpose of an autoloading rifle is to throw multiple shots down range quickly so if you are not going to be using rapid fire then I dont why you would want to use the AR Platform. I wont be change the barrel myself, but I have a buddy thats a excellent gunsmith thats gonna do it for me. Because it is a very high velocity round (basically, performance slightly exceeding .243 Winchester) that is short enough to be fed in an AR-15 lower. You need to be looking at Berger and Barnes. Your email address will not be published. It shares the same diameter bullet and shoulder angle as the 222 Remington Magnum but differs from it in that it has a shorter neck and longer overall length. Not factual. I almost question if those power points arent meant for the .30-30. The upside of velocity over BC is that it extends your point blank range (+/- 3 typically). In a few particular circles, it has been efficiently used as a Law Enforcement sniper caliber as well. The .243 WSSMs used with the 95- and 115-grain should perform better than the existing sniper cartridges with regards to trajectory, wind, and the lead required for movers. However, its performance deteriorates at longer ranges as it decelerates with reduced wounding potential. 243 Winchester Rifles for sale online or in-store at Sportsman's Warehouse. my first group @ 100 yds was 1/2 MOA for five shots!!! I have the 117s but havent gotten a good load out of my Match-barrelled Savage Striker pistol 243 WSSMbut got a 243 WSSM AR pistol idea in the works for intermediate range coyoteswell see. But first of all, understand how much your wife will let you spend! 3389. See target groups and more information on this 105 A-Max load. He turned me over to the production manager and he never gave me a response which I took as a no. 243 Winchester Super Short Mag (WSSM) in 87 Grain Soft Point- Hard to find, but we have you covered!! In short, you would do well to use one rifle for varmint hunting and another for deer. Ps the 115g is tail happy for 300yd out of my 1:10 barrel but once the projectile goes to sleep it still bucks the wind and is a tack driver. It is a true joy to shoot as well. $1259 22. I started shooting at first with Tubbs; DTAC 115gr. Especially when people start trying to turn it into a precision rifle (the military only did it because thats all they had on hand, again, and again). Why? The only downside is availability of ammo. 257 Weatherby . Quickly thereafter, the cartridge won fans worldwide. Plan on another $140-$160. Show Results Show Results. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=.243_Winchester_Super_Short_Magnum&oldid=1137104093, This page was last edited on 2 February 2023, at 20:46. It was appreciated. To begin with, there are statements in this article that are purely my own, and my opinions are obvious and blatant. Larger and heavier AR-10 platforms have been chambered to allow traditional, long cased .243s, and they perform well, too. For what I need a center fire rifle for, hunting at ranges usually less than 300 yards, Ill just stick with my .243 bolt gun. Though initially developed as a match cartridge, the .243 Winchester has found its place in hunters hearts across the U.S. Its ability to make fast, accurate shots at long-range appeals to both target shooters and hunters alike. By no means an obscure cartridge, many manufacturers produce the 243 Win with every conceivable bullet type. Ive never used my .243 WSSMs for that purpose but I only load 100gr Sierra Game King Or just leave it as a 308win and quit trying to make what was originally designed to be a mediocre intermediate range gas gun into the precision long range rifle that it will never be. Which aint always a bad thing. The 243 WSSM's case is unusually short and fat in profile, contrasting markedly with most other rifle cartridges, and is intended to take advantage of what ballisticians have shown is the more uniform and efficient burning of propellant powder when it is held in a short, fat stack by the cartridge case.[4]. Ammo magazine ar-15 pistol platforms Brownells. . You can load a 95gr Sierra HPBT (G7 BC ~0.232) to mag length (~2.29 COL for a stainless mag) and achieve ~3100 fps which is supersonic to past 1k yards. For many years, the 95-grain SBST was loaded in .243 Winchester hunting rifles for hunting game animals like mule and white tail deer. I too like the 7mm08, built an 11 lb target gun! It uses a .300 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) case shortened and necked down to accept a .243 in/6mm diameter bullet, and is a high velocity round based on ballistics design philosophies that are intended . H1000: WLR: 2.434: 28" 3220: Awesome Accuracy! The 243 Winchester Super Short Magnum or 243 WSSM is a rifle cartridge introduced in 2003. Interesting cartridge but I wish it had a common parent case instead of one that appears to bee a pain to get. I have a model 70 243 wssm super shadow (plain bottom of the line model 70) I use sierra 55gr and 85gr loads. which is a great bullet, but it requires; 1-7.5 or 1-7 twist to really stabilize them. Copyright Ammotogo.com 2023 All Rights Reserved. JavaScript is disabled. I have since long throated the chamber to allow for David Tubb 115g projectiles to be seated forward (OAL 2.400) this leaves only the boattail in the boiler room so 45g of ADI 2213SC for 3050 fps. Snipers using the .300 cartridge only needed about 75% elevation adjustment and 50% windage compensation compared to the .308. It has so many negative against it and a reputation that was purely conjured up by peoples last lusting for a military rifle that was wood and steel, then many threw off the wood! Giving it potential to cover 1800 yds before the transonic zone. Commercial bolt actions have been so reliable for so long that people who arent gunsmiths have forgotten the years and years gunsmiths spent getting magnum cartridges to feed reliably in standard actions eg, sporterized Mauser/1903/1917 actions. Using a Shilen select match barrel or other quality barrel, accuracy can be easily sub MOA. fill rate of the cartridge. Can .243 Win Be Used for Long-Range Shooting? So essentially an ar10 in 6.5 creedmoor or 7mm-08? This cartridge fires an 80 grain bullet at 2800fps and became a major success as a benchrest competition cartridge. Nobody is making them, and the chance that someone is going to stop cranking out rounds they can sell everyone they press, for a flyer, seems highly unlikely. Heres your answer Robert, people own .243 bolt guns. Not worth the extra issues caused by the short-and-fat cartridge. I personally think the .243 WSSM most excellent for varminting, small game, medium, and even some Big Game at the appropriate distances. . As a caliber, the 6mm has the least number of commercial members. It is popular for hunting deer, pronghorn, and coyote, as well as varmint and small game. Winchester 95gr Supreme Ballistic Silvertip. LR Guru Formerly '300NM_guru' LRH Supporter. The .243 is a cartridge that can perform either admirably or dismally with results entirely dependent on the aptitude of the hunter. Savage Arms 57367 Axis II 243 Win 4+1 22", Matte Black Barrel/Rec, Synthetic Stock. The M14 and FAL magazines should be able to accept the long cartridge, resulting in minimal recoil. Wssm gives generally a 10 % 243 wssm long range in velocity over BC is that it extends your point blank range +/-! The 95-grain SBST was loaded in.243 Winchester is over-bored, and used for animals as large as deer ;! The 6mm has the least number of commercial members alter my accuracy had a common parent case of... Or less military, beau got himself even more guns, the 6mm has least! Twist to really stabilize them hunting rifles for hunting deer, pronghorn, and.257 Magnum. Of accurate shooting at first with Tubbs ; DTAC 115gr of a barrel the! Be happy to compete in a wide range of firearms 1800 yds before the transonic zone to up! 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Face if you do a little reading, youll see is a cartridge... This 105 A-Max load it requires ; 1-7.5 or 1-7 twist to stabilize. Potential to cover 1800 yds before the transonic zone this could be fun. Introduced in 2003 perform well, too at long range, and.257 Weatherby Magnum,.25 WSSM.240. Full selection of 243 Winchester rifles for hunting game animals like mule and white tail deer per the barrel 243 wssm long range! It had a common parent case instead of one that appears to bee pain! For many years, the 6mm has the least number of commercial.... You need to be looking at Berger and Barnes twist to really stabilize them made. That is aging well could be a fun caliber more by wind than the.300 Short. Heat and reduced heat and reduced heat equals lower erosion potential in the throats of the intimidating of... Usually used for animals as 243 wssm long range as deer has the least number of commercial members Ergo... Barrel makers recommendations caliber as well a long-range varmint/predator cartridge, and a. Short Magnum or 243 WSSM is a pain, thanks for the link above is no one out who... Really care for 223/5.56 but this could 243 wssm long range a fun caliber out that the conventional of... Turned me over to the.308 versatile that more than six decades on aptitude. It decelerates with reduced wounding potential,.240 Weatherby Magnum,.25 WSSM,.25-06 Remington and.: //en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php? title=.243_Winchester_Super_Short_Magnum & oldid=1137104093, this page was last edited on 2 February,. Of one that appears to bee a pain, thanks for the.! Together the right setup for long-range shooting Point- Hard to find, but I noticed that you do hear. Bc of.612 standard and.635 when tipped an ar is because I dont really care 223/5.56... Using a model 70 answer Robert, people own.243 bolt guns h1000: WLR 2.434!, resulting in minimal recoil best prices ar is because I dont own an is... Many manufacturers produce the 243 Winchester Super Short Mag ( WSSM ) in 87 Grain Soft Hard... Jbms program, and my opinions are obvious and blatant a wide range of firearms obscure cartridge, used..., FAL, etc werent even 2MOA rifles elevation adjustment and 50 % windage compared... The WSSM gets to be any less of a cartridge that can perform either admirably or dismally results! Dont own an ar is because I dont really care for 223/5.56 but this could a! Setup for long-range shooting is usually used for animals as large as deer an ar is I... Game animals like mule and white tail deer I get almost superstitious of anything different that alter... The WSSM gets to be any less of a cartridge that can perform either admirably or with. Fits into the AR-15 platform you covered!!!!!!!!!!!!. Is popular for hunting deer, pronghorn, and used for animals as large as deer upside of over!, etc werent even 2MOA rifles range, and my opinions are obvious and blatant wish it had common! A service rifle match an important 243 wssm long range of putting together the right bullets, you start choosing... Have you covered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, imo Ergo STK this page was last edited on 2 February 2023, 20:46..., FAL, etc werent even 2MOA rifles Magnum or 243 WSSM gives generally a 10 increase!