243 wssm, Barrel burner?

J

Jacob_Hanan

New member
I have heard that this caliber has a bad rep for beinfg a barrel burner. Approxamatly how many rounds before a barrel replacment is needed?
 
The answer can vary greatly from one shooter to the next. Many factors such as how hot of load you run, IF you're going to push over the 4000fps all the time, it'll take fewer shots, and IF you shoot enough consecutive shots that you get the barrel hot over and over, it won't take long to burn the barrel, and IF you don't clean the barrel on a regular basis, probably will also shorten the barrel life.

BUT IF you run your loads down in the 3700 fps range, don't over heat the barrel, and if you take proper care of the barrel, it should last for a few thousand rounds, much like a .220 swift or the 22-250 will.
 
Why don't you just consider the standard 243. Lots of brass available, lots of good rifles on the market. Not near the feeding problems the WSSM's seem to be plagued with. Good barrel life and probably the best reason is a deer or coyote won't be able to tell the difference between being hit with the standard 243 or the WSSM. Add to that the WSSM's are basically a dead issue market wise.

I'm shooting 55 grain .243 Nosler's at 3950 for coyotes out of a standard 243 and they seem to work very well.

My 2 cents.
 
The WSSM is no more a barrel burner than the 243 Win, 22-250 or 220 swift. These are were reputed to be when they came out as was as I recall the standard .223 Rem. What was said before about care of the rifle and the type loads rapidity of shots fired ect. has more to do with barrel life than chambering will. Look for the WSSM's to come back on the market in a few years, maybe with a slightly differant designation. Or at least some of them, Market hype killed the 243 WSSM, nothing else.
 
I agree with you Bob- to a point. The .243 win is here to stay. You're right about that. I just put a new scope on my rem 700 and took it to the range today, having just got it back from getting accurized- and I'm real happy with it. So you're spot on there. You're also right about WSSM's out of bolt rifles. A lot of people have had a lot of problems with them. The only item I have to disagree with you on is I think a blanket statement regarding feeding problems doesn't take into consideration that the .243 WSSM is a great round for an AR platform. My Dtech has zero feeding problems and I haven't heard of anyone else ( Dtech or other manufacturers) having problems of any sort. Using this round keeps you from having to go to the heavier platform to shoot regular .243's. For this reason, I say the .243 and .25 wssm's are here to stay as well- but I do agree that they will never share the popularity of the regular .243 and will always be a pigeon-holed but viable round with AR enthusiasts.
 
Quote:
I have heard that this caliber has a bad rep for being a barrel burner. Approximately how many rounds before a barrel replacement is needed?



The 22 version.. 223 WSSM IS a barrel burner, but the 243 WSSM is just a tiny bit smaller than the 243 (by ~1 grain) so it will have the same barrel life as the 243.


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243 win would be a better choice. I have a 243 wssm in abolt. The barrel is chrome lined. This will give the barrel a little more life. The ammo you shoot also plays a role. If you shoot 55gr. at over 4000 fps barrel burn out can happen, but if you increase bullet weight and slow the velocity its only shooting approx. 100 fps faster than a 243 win. FPS does not translate into accuracy though, but if your a speed freak youll love it. The only reason I say 243 win is a better choice is because more factory load options. There are 3 before you get into custom ammo in wssm. I hope that helps.
 
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