.243 WSSM Rifles

D

Djbuttolph

Inactive
Hey guys i have been looking at getting a .243 WSSM, and had some questions about what manufacturers still make .243 WSSM, i know win 70s were made and browning a-bolts. i would love an A bolt, but didn't know about if they were still made. I know there are some ARs in 243 WSSM, but an AR is out of my poor college kid income now!
 
I believe all manufactures have dropped the WSSM line. I would look on GunBroker and other similar sites for one. I would be afraid ammo will get scarce in the future unless you reload plus cost of ammo will go through the roof.
Hope this helps
roc1
 
You'd be better off going with the 243 Winchester, tons more factory ammo to choose from and usually at a far better price. The 243WSSM was an attempt to take advantage of the short fat craze. Since it got very little velocity gain and the 243 Winchester is a very accurate cartridge with a huge following, shooters are quickly ignoring the new round.
 
200 fps or more over the standard 243. 55gr bullets near 4200 fps.

Factory dead. Reloader's dream. I just looked for one myself. Can't believe it didn't catch on. Predator hunters perfect cartridge.

I do a know a place that has some brand new A-bolts in stock.
 
Peetz, where did you find the new A-bolts in 243 WSSM? I can find plenty of used ones and am thinking that is what I will end up doing. And I do plan on reloading shells for this gun.
 
Kjergaard Sports in Minnesota.

I might be mistaken about them having them... My uncle just bought an x-bolt, carbon stock 243 from them and I thought he said they had the 243wssm a-bolts but he just told me he's not sure if they did.
 
You better get all the brass you can find now..... or figure out how to form it...... that cartridge, loaded to the eye popping levels it was advertised at, would be hell on brass, I would think.
 
If you want ballistics close to the .243 WSSM, look at a 6mm Remington... Not nearly as common as the .243 Winchester, but infinitely more common than the nearly abandoned .243 WSSM...
 
In the 6mm class, the 243Win is so close to the top of the heap that nothing beats it by a margin wide enough to offset it's availability and decades of proven performance, IMO, except the WSSM.

No other 6mm cartridge beats the 243Win by more than roughly 1-1.5% velocity. 50 fps just isn't worth the trade offs of stepping away from one of the most common cartridges in America.

The WSSM beats the Win by 200fps or more (about 5%), bringing 55gr bullets up to some of the fastest speeds of ANY cartridge with ANY bullet. It matches .204 Ruger 32gr speeds with a bullet 71% heavier.

For me, that makes it worth it.

The other one that's amazing is the 223wssm. Published velocities with 35gr bullet at 4,600+ fps. :eek: Another factory dead marvel. :(

I can't believe how quickly they abandoned them either. They weren't even introduced until 2004 and they're long since gone. You'd think you'd give them more than a couple years. Now some of the guns are selling for more than they did new. There must be some demand.
 
Do you think that could be due to most people not wanting to shoot the lighter weight bullets? When Remington introduced the 6mm (244) it was ballistically superior to the 243 Winchester but they gave the barrel a slower twist rate in an attempt to better stablize the lighter bullets. In the end they created a gun that would not shoot the heavier bullets as accurate and now the 6mm is gone.
 
One of the problems with the 223WSSM it need a chrome lined barrel. If you look at the loading data for the 223WSSM it's using 45gr of powder and has H20 capacity of 53gr. You could build a 22-250AI use less powder(5gr-7gr) maybe be 100fps less and 200fps less with the 22-250 using (5gr-8gr) less powder.

Same thing with the 243WSSM/243 both have the appr same capacity H20 54gr and if you look at the Nolser data the 243WSM has appr 100fps advantage but the 243WSSM has a higher PSI spec 65K vs 60K for the 243.

Plus/Minus with everythng
 
Peetz, I called Kjergaard's in Lake Benton and no such luck...Called some other places with no luck...Happened to be on the local fishing forums and what do you know, a guy had just posted a Browning A-Bolt Medallion in 243 WSSM. There are 3 small scratches on the forearm from a loose bipod, but I couldn't pass it up! Got 20 rounds and 20 once fired brass too!
 
Will give you a range report Monday, got 21 shells with it too + some once fired brass! Might pick up a box of 55 grainers tomorrow too
 
Took the gun out today, 20 mph head wind and sleet wasn't gonna stop me. Took 3 shots with the gun, found out the guy put a POS scope on it without zeroing it so all 3 shots at 100 were off the target. Even worse, the bolt was sticking after each shot, took the bolt out and checked it and it looked fine. Ended up dropping the gun off at a local shop, and having him check it over so we'll find out in time what happened, really hoping its nothing serious! Time to get a new scope for it too!
 
Just an update guys. Got the gun back, took it out to the range with some 55 grainers...Shoots like a dream now! Couldn't be more happy with it!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top