The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

Browning_grrl wrote:And, let us not forget that the .243's Daddy is the OUTSTANDING .308, without a doubt the finest and most effective deer, bear and moose cartridge ever put onto God's green Earth.......

I'll second that - I've hunted deer & boar with .222, .223, .243, .270, .308, .30-06, 6.5x54MS, 7x57mm, 7x64mm, 9.3x62mm and 9.3x74R, but .308 Win is still my favourite of all.

I had a 70 Stealth in 243 WSSM. MVs are only marginally above a hot 243 Win load (same case capacity, it's only the 65,000 psi MAP that gives the extra performance), really hard bolt-lift on both factory and handloaded ammunition. OK accuracy for about 500-600 rounds then straight downhill with barrel knackered well before 1,000. (So rough it chewed bullet jackets badly enough to see the bullets' passage in the damp Diggle air from the moisture trace they created!)

Expensive, hard to get incredibly thick brass. (I've got some in both 223 and 243 if there are any desperate WSSM shooters out there.) Because it's so thick, anything short of a maximum load sees poor case obturation and soot everywhere on the bolt and case.

And when you've knackered the barrel, you can only rebarrel to another WSSM thanks to the 0.555" magnum bolt-face dia. plus super-short action.

Not easy to sell if/when you change your mind about it.

It's got to have some good points you say. Well, the short, fat round's appearance always interests people - a PPC on steroids. It keeps gunsmiths, barrelmakers, and manufacturers of barrel cleaning copper solvents in gainful employment too, I suppose. Can't think of any others.

Browning_grrl wrote:And, let us not forget that the .243's Daddy is the OUTSTANDING .308, without a doubt the finest and most effective deer, bear and moose cartridge ever put onto God's green Earth.......

Sure you don't mean 30-06?

The daddy of the .308...

Sim G wrote:They're cheap, but by all accounts, burn barrels. My local RFD won't take them or any other WSM or WSSM in part-ex because of this.

Aye - wot Sim said

The only cheap, wide bodied things with narrow necks he gives house room to are his spousal units....

saddler wrote:

Browning_grrl wrote:And, let us not forget that the .243's Daddy is the OUTSTANDING .308, without a doubt the finest and most effective deer, bear and moose cartridge ever put onto God's green Earth.......

Sure you don't mean 30-06?

The daddy of the .308...

Well, yeah, I guess, if you're into antiques.