AR 243 WSSM owners - educate me

greenheadwoody

greenheadwoody

New member
I see alot of posts about the D-tech ar-15's in a 243 wssm.
Let me start by saying I am not fond of ssm, sm, and ultra mag cartridges but still would like to learn from the guys who love these carts. The reason I don't really like them is because it seems to me that most of them are just marketing ploys to get people to buy new guns. Most of the ballstics that they are stating have already been done using other names whether factory or wildcat. (ex: 240, 270, 300 Weatherby, AI cases, etc.)

So what I want to know is. Are the 243wssm's reliable? Do the feed & eject shells 99.9% of the time? The reason I ask if there is loads of stuff on the internet about the bolt guns have feeding and ejecting problems due to the sharp angles of the neck and the fat short cases.
Are you able to use an existing 223 lower with a 243Wssm upper? Do you have to have 243wssm mags or can you use 223 or 308? How much do the mags cost? Are you limited to any certain bullet weight/length due to magazine length? Or can you load 55 grain bullets up to 105's maybe 115's?

I love the 6mm bullet and it just plain wacks yotes so tell me why I just must have a AR 243wssm. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
I think most of the WSSM stuff is marketing hype, but the big thing is, you can shoot it out of an AR. The WSSM uppers work on an unmodified lower. You can switch from .223 Remington to .243 WSSM in .20 seconds. I have said many times and I will say it again: I would starve to death building custom bolt-action rifles on the WSSM line. The fact that you can fire it from an AR-15 is awesome!

The feed and function has been excellent. You have to remember that a bolt-action rifle is loaded from the top. The case is held between the follower and one feed lip. When you start to push the bolt forward, the case can pop-up and cause feed problems. In the case of the AR magazine for the WSSM, BOTH feed-lips hold the case until it completely leave the magazine. When the bolt starts to push the case out of the magazine, the bullet and neck of the case enters the chamber before the case leaves the feed-lips. There is NO WHERE for it to go, it has to go into the chamber.

I have not done anything with the real heavy bullets. I have shot a fair amount of 100 grain bullets for feed and function tests but have no use for anything heavier than what I am currently shooting. Some of the long-ojive bullets probably would be a problem for magazine length. Berger makes some nice length-tolerant 6 mm bullets that should work well with the magazine.

The magazines are just modified .223 AR mags. They are made so that if you put a .223 Remington mag into your WSSM AR, the bolt won't close. If you put a WSSM mag into a stock .223 upper, the bolt won't pick up a shell from the magazine.
 
Sir,

I don't have any experience with the 243Wssm but maybe this will help you with some info about a Wssm cartridge in an AR configuration.

I bought a Dtech 25wssssssssmmmmm upper second hand from a member here on PM and am very happy I did. It is an absolute pi**er to shoot and very accurate!
I also had the same concerns as you and called Mike directly at Dtech. He was very forthcoming and honest with information which I am used to from being a repeat customer of his.
I have not reloaded for it yet, but have had NO problems so far with shooting Winny factory 120gr ammo as far as feed & function is concerned. And the upper matchs up perfectly to my Bushy lower.
Mags are available from Dtech...mine have Magpul followers and are 5 shot capacity to remain legal for deer hunting here in NY.
Coicidentally, I just switched over uppers this morning in prep for deer season and weighed my complete rifle. With Bushy lower and ACE stock, Dtech fluted stainless 25wsssssssssm upper and mounted Burris 4.5-14x42 scope it weighed exactly 10.0lbs unloaded.
As far as ballistics goes, the traditional cartridges are equal to or slightly better than their Wssm counterparts. But the real beauty of the Wssm cartridge is that is CAN be shot from an AR platform whereas a .243 or .25-06 can't. And Mike's (Dtech) skill has these uppers shooting on par or better than most bolt guns in the same caliber.

I'm sure you've read here over & over that the sheer fun factor of an AR cannot be beat! And having a quick followup shot for predators is nice insurance to have.
 
From my research the WSSm's have the same BC and so the same trajectory as the non WSM cartridges ie the 243 Winchester will shoot the same trajectory with the same bullets at the same velocity. The 270WSM (the rifle i own now and am handloading for) shoots the same as a 270 Winchester rifle if loaded to the same velosity with the same bullet. BTW I am at this time building two AR's one will be in 243WSSM Mainly because i do not care for the 223 as a hunting round. The other build I am doing in the 458 Socom, mainly because i really love my 45-70 and think a ballistic twin to the 45-70 in an AR would be a real hoot as a brush gun
 
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BTW I am at this time building two AR's one will be in 243WSSM Mainly because i do not care for the 223 as a hunting round.



What are you going to build it out of? What upper receiver? What barrel-extension?
 
Mike when I get the lowers done and some $$$ saved up you will be building the upper for me then I will put your upper on my lower unles I get in to much of a hurry to get it done and just get an upper from Olympic
 
My 243wssm upper is attached to one of my standard AR15 lowers but it dosen't cycle 99.9 percent of the time, sorry, it cycles 100 percent of the time. I have never had a single failure except for a few way too light hand loads that I tried, won't go there again either.

Mine has very good accuracy and recoil is minimal, it's something that can easily be shot all day. It is not a Dtech built upper either, rather the plain ole Oly Arms upper that I found on a table at a gun show.

I really like the caliber, it's near perfect for the AR15 platform but I need to send it to Mike at Dtech and have him flute the barrel to lose some of the nose weight a bit.

20 round M16 mags can be modified to hold 5-6 rounds but Mike has them available for sale if you want the best performance.

These are fun calibers for the AR, the 25wssm is another great choice. Call Mike, he'll set you up and give you tons of info about them.
 
Mike,
What bullet do you normally shoot out of the .243WSM and what type of velocity can you get? I am contemplating on getting the 6mm-AR
How does it compare performance wise ?
 
Get the 25 WSSM AR. I did.

When you go to relaod the 25 WSSM for your AR.

I have been around the block a bit with it so send me a PM if you have any questions. If I can answer them I will if I can't I may know who can.

Blinddog-I know of some good lowers you can get for cheap if interested.

I've built 3 on them now and I've been pleased.
 
It's difficult to compare what I build to what they have on their website. Number one, I haven't shot any of the 105-107 grain bullets. Number two, they are listing all of their velocities using a 26" barrel.

That being said, the one bullet that I can compare, even though they are using the 26" barrel and I was using a 22" barrel, was the 87 grain. They said they were getting 2800 fps, my first, good load was just under 3400 fps. The load that I use now is using a powder that is really too fast, but yields good accuracy, reliable neck-seal and about 3200 fps.

I really don't know how fast I could launch a 105 grain bullet with the case capacity that the WSSM has. All I know is I can't sell a 26" AR to any of my customers.
 
I have a 24"HB Oly .243WSSM upper, on my Bushmaster lower.
I've also used quite a few different centerfires on coyotes.
This AR is a very good wind cutter, as I often hunt/shoot coyote in high winds. Mostly strong quartering head-winds. 95gr Win BT, drifts very little out to 1/4 mile.

I don't reload, just use factory Wichester 95gr Silver Ballistic Tips[hogs] /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
I also use U.S.G.I, modified 30rd .223 mags. My 7rd Oly mag, would not feed properly.

The 95gr Winchester BT's knocks them hard off of their feet out to 600yrds. My farthest kill with this new rig.

Of all the rifles, I've used on coyote. This is the only one, I'll ever use from now on. She is a lug, but an excellent coyote rig /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.
 
Blammer thank but I already have two Stags(consecutive numbers) I am waiting on LPK's and Stocks for them. I figure this project is going to take the best part of a year start to finnish. My biggest problem was deciding on what to build the first one was pretty easy after comeing here for a while then i started reading about the 458 Socom and found 458.com website so the second decision was made.
Like I said i really didn't and don't care for the 5.56/.223 for anything more than Prarie Doggin. I may get an upper just for that eventually but my main interest is Coyotes, Hogs, and Deer. The 243WSSM and the 458 Socom will do them both nicely I think.When they are done and I get a camera I will post pictures.
 
To get 87g going 3300FPS out of an AR indeed is impressive.
It looks like the 26” barrel they use is tailored for cross course, a longer barrel is necessary in order to achieve the optimal distance between the front and rear sight.
For my self, I find a 20” is a sweet spot for an 223 AR Varminter, but if a longer barrel complements the performance of .243 WSSM or 6mmAR, I don't see thats a problem (to certain extent), but the weight of a long bull barrel may stress the upper, have you seen many problems related to this ?
 
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but the weight of a longer bull barrel may stress the upper, have you seen many problems related to this ?




No. I sell very few un-fluted bull barrels for one thing, and I also "bed" the barrel-extension into the receiver with red Lock-tite. The barrel, barrel-extension, barrel-nut and receiver are, basically, one piece. Since I started using this assembly procedure, I have seen many typical AR problems go away.
 
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