Anyone have any experience with .243 WSSM

[thesurveyor]

I have a friend who wants to get his son a deer rifle. He asked what I knew about the .243 WSSM I told him very little. I know the .243 was a great cartridge, but the .243 WSSM I have not owned or shot.

Any comments are welcome, good or bad....

[Kieck]

I think I'd stick with the .243. As I understand it, the WSSM cartridges are or will likely soon be on their way out. Not too easy to find already, and likely more so in the future. "Really short and fat" seems to have been a short-lived trend. Of course, if you reload, availability of ammunition for a .243 WSSM is much less of a concern.

[danno]

the 243 win is and always will be a great round. It has been around for 53 years and will never fade away. You cant go wrong with this one. low recoil for kids and some adults. flat shooting and everyone makes round for it. My favorite is the 100grain nosler partition

[BULLSEYE BILL]

WSSM is an answer for a question that didn't need to be asked. It has some performance enhancements over the standard caliber but it really makes no difference in a basic meat gun.

The ammunition is more expensive and has fallen out of favor thus making the rifles a cheaper closeout item that you will regret buying.

Stay with the standard 243 caliber.

[NeilV]

Will a standard .243 put a whitetail directly on the ground if hit in a vital area? How about coyotes? (I want to stress the word DIRECTLY. I am coming from the perspective of somebody who is used to a .30-06 and 7mm Rem mag. but has a 4 year old who already is talking about hunting. I'm not taking him till he's older, of course, but maybe before he is old enough to want to shoot a higher caliber rifle.)

Not arguing, just asking.

ndvan

[Kieck]

That's a difficult question when you put so much emphasis on "directly."

Coyotes, almost certainly. A .22LR will usually do that, depending on range (most of the coyotes I shoot are at ranges of less than 50 yards. A .22-250 will certainly do that, so I see no reason a .243 Win would not do that.

Whitetails are considerably bigger. And range factors into this as well. From experience, I can tell you that a .22-250 at close range (less than 100 yards) can drop a deer in its tracks, if hit in the right spot. How frequently such shots could be made, I don't know.

But comparing the .243 Win to the .243 WSSM (the point of this thread), I think the .243 Win is just as likely to drop a whitetail in its tracks as a .243 WSSM is.

[Barry Digman]

Will a standard .243 put a whitetail directly on the ground if hit in a vital area? How about coyotes?
ndvan


Yes to both. Of course, one would not shoot a .243 under the exact same circumstances that one would shoot a .30-06. Range, accuracy, etc. all are factors. I would think that even a .223 would be fine for both if you're paying attention.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

I would think that even a .223 would be fine for both if you're paying attention.

Grampa used to head shoot deer in his front yard with a 22lr. Most of the time it would put them down, but I'm not grampa.

I love the .223 for varmints up to the size of a coyote. Up until this upcoming season the .223 has not been legal for deer here in Ks. I still question the rational for letting it be used, our deer get pretty large and those will be lost when using an inferior ammo selection. There are some good ammo choices out there but there are also a lot of people that shouldn't even have rifles let alone those that can pick out a proper ammunition.

.243 is just a necked down 308 to a 6mm bullet, very capable of killing deer at less than 200 yards.

[NeilV]

Bullseye,

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but it looks like its almost over anyway and this is directly related. I mainly deer and duck hunt (or at least I did before having two rugrats). For a first gun, I expect to get my kids a .22 rifle and then shotguns to learn to shoot and learn gun safety. A deer rifle would be later.

What do you recommend for youngsters for a deer rifle?

ndvan

[Michael Bush]

>What do you recommend for youngsters for a deer rifle?

Any of these work fine on deer with low recoil with factory ammo:

6.5x55 Swedish Mauser
.250 Savage
.243 Winchester

If you hand load, you can load lighter loads in most any deer rifle cartridges and a youngster could shoot them fine until they are older and start using regular loads.

My favorite is the 6.5.

[George Fergusson]

>What do you recommend for youngsters for a deer rifle?

Well here in Maine, the .30 calibre carbine is a pretty popular gun. I inherited mine from my mother, a Model 94 .32 Winchester Special. Unless you go out of your way to hunt power lines or large fields, it's all you'll ever need. All the deer I've shot were under 50 yards away. The small bore high velocity rounds can be flakey in brush whereas a heavy .30 calibre round can go through a small tree and come out the other side still packing.

[NeilV]

Thanks guys.

Now that you mention it, the first deer I shot was with a lever action 30-30 no scope, probably 80 yards. I think I was 15. That was back when deer were not as common as fleas in Oklahoma and you had to work at if (like me) you hunt public land.

Is the .30 carbine you're talking about different than a 30-30?

ndvan

[George Fergusson]

Now that you mention it, the first deer I shot was with a lever action 30-30 no scope, probably 80 yards.

I rest my case :)

>Is the .30 carbine you're talking about different than a 30-30?

Not substantially. Ballistically they're similar with the .32 packing a little more downrange punch and a little more kick. Compared to my 30-40 Krag, it doesn't hardly kick at all. The 30-30 and 32 Special are both lever action carbines with iron sites. Most 30-30's eject shells out the side, the Model 94 flips them out the top. They're both still pretty popular around here.

[cow pollinater]

George,
Where do you get ammunition for your 30-40 Krag? My dad hasn't hunted in years and now that he is close to retirement, I'd like to get him into SOMETHING that doesn't involve lots of work and he does love his old rifle. It's kind of an odd caliber around here and we don't re-load our own.

[George Fergusson]

Jeez it's probably been 10 years since I bought any 30-40 Krag ammo. At that time, Remington still sold a 180 grain soft point cartridge in that calibre and they were available at most sporting goods stores around here. Maybe it's a regional thing- a lot of 30-40 Krags were sold cheap by the government and many of them they were sporterized, as mine is.

My boss reloads 30-40 Krag with his own cast bullets and black powder, and I've shot some of those at the range last fall.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>Bullseye, What do you recommend for youngsters for a deer rifle?


All the following youth models have a one inch shorter stock and in the Remington 770 has a 20 inch barrel. I would recomend a synthetic stock for a youngster as they tend to be hard on nice wood. The prices quoted are what I would sell them for, suggested retail is much higher. Go to the Remington and Savage web sites for more detailed information. The Savage model numbers that end with 'P3' are package guns that include scope, mounts, sling, and hard case.

Remington Model 715 Sportsman
Black synthetic stock. Detachable magazine holds four standard cartridges and three magnum cartridges. Six groove button rifled ordnance-grade steel barrel (22 inch standard calibers and 24 inch magnum calibers).
About $300.

Remington Model 770
New black synthetic stock design with molded sling swivel studs. Factory mounted and bore-sighted 3-9x40mm scope. Smoother-camming 60 degree bolt. Updated magazine latch. Detachable magazine. Ultra accurate 6-groove, button-rifled, ordnance-grade steel barrel.
Youth Model
About $385

Savage Model 11 & 111 Package Series Without AccuTrigger
Blued bolt-action package gun with 3-9x40 black matte scope mounted and boresighted. One inch nylon sling and black synthetic stock. No AccuTrigger.
Model 11FYXP3 Youth
About $385.

Savage Model 11 & 111 Package Series
Packages include bases, rings, sling and are fitted with a 3-9x40mm scope. The scope is mounted and boresighted. Just do a final sight-in with your chosen ammo and you are ready to go hunting.
Model 11FYCXP3 Youth
Detachable box magazine, black synthetic stock with cut checkering, no sights and standard blue finish. Short action.
About $385.


Savage Model 11F & 111F Hunter Series
Dual pillar bedded and floated. Standard contour barrel with detachable box magazine and AccuTrigger.
Model 11FYCAK
Black synthetic stock with cut checkering, detachable box magazine and adjustable muzzle brake
About $550.

Savage Model 10GYXP3 Youth Package
Wood stock. Short action, dual pillar bedded and floated package rifle. Includes Simmons 3-9x40 scope. Factory mounted and bore-sighted. Internal box magazine. AccuTrigger.
About $550.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

Jeez it's probably been 10 years since I bought any 30-40 Krag ammo. At that time, Remington still sold a 180 grain soft point cartridge in that calibre and they were available at most sporting goods stores around here. Maybe it's a regional thing- a lot of 30-40 Krags were sold cheap by the government and many of them they were sporterized, as mine is.

My boss reloads 30-40 Krag with his own cast bullets and black powder, and I've shot some of those at the range last fall.

R30402 REM CFRF 30-40 180 PSPCL 20 $39.91
X30401 WIN SUPX 30-40 180 PP 20 $35.95

The above prices are suggested retail.

George, if you shoot black powder be sure to clean that fouling out asap, it's terribly hard on bores and actions.

[Rogerio]

As usual MB is right on the money. The 6.5 by 55 Swedish is one of the great cartridges ever designed. Loaded with the 140 grain bullet, it will take down a moose, but the recoil is mild enough for just about any body to shoot it. It was the one of the favorite cartridges for the 1000 yard shooters until it was superseded by the 6.5/.284 wildcat load.

The Swedes actually did a study comparing the effectiveness of the 6.5, the .308, and the .30/06 for moose and found that the 6.5 was every bit as effective as the /06. And if you're looking for a winter project, you can pick up one the original Swedish military rifles for about $100-$150 and sporterize it. My wife shoots a customized Swedish military rifle and it is a tack driver.

Roger