Help, Why the 243 WSSM sucks...

Actually I've had an almost lifetime love affair with Sako .243's, I had both a Forrester and a varmint barreled one, and a Sako varmint barreled .22-250 as well.

Last year I picked up a model 70 .243 WSSM, and I have to say this thing puts down the heat with the .55 grain factory Elites. They shoot consistent half inch and under groups and the rifle has a heavy enough barrel that it maintains that level even by the fourth or fifth shot. That said this rifle hates the heavier factory bullet and won't shoot under an inch and a half or two inches, which is absolutely not acceptable to me. If it weren't for the way it shoots the 55's I'd have gotten rid of it and bought a .243 Win.

I have to say I like it a lot, but if I were going to reload I'd go with a .243, not this. It is a blast to hit coyotes with, it decisively sacks them. Between the two this thing is noticeably faster, the bullet just plain gets there faster out at 450 yards, and there is less drop out there between 400 and 500.
 
Anything that has wssm behind it is just worthless in my book, I had one, smoked the barrel in it, I should have dumped the whole thing but got talked into rebarreling it with a nice Lilja and I still wasnt happy with it and the brass issue, so the moral of the story is I lost my behind in a huge way cuz I couldnt get out of it what I had in it and wanted it gone.
 
Originally Posted By: EJ ReichenbachAnything that has wssm behind it is just worthless in my book, I had one, smoked the barrel in it, I should have dumped the whole thing but got talked into rebarreling it with a nice Lilja and I still wasnt happy with it and the brass issue, so the moral of the story is I lost my behind in a huge way cuz I couldnt get out of it what I had in it and wanted it gone.

For my use, which is pretty much just for coyotes and some occasional fun shots here and there it will take me 10 years to shoot 500 shots. I have treated the bore with something that I know from past history takes early barrel burnout out of the equation so that should be at least 1000 or better.

I'm not going to bother reloading for it, I sold the 2000 Federal cases I had gotten a great price on. It isn't necessarily even a cartridge I'd recommend, but I have one that's very accurate with an Elite 4200 6-24 mildot that is a great scope for it, nothing for me not to like.

It puts the hammer down on coyotes and does it out to 500 and makes figuring drop easy.

FYI
The local AR manufacturer here (Newtown Firearms) has played around with them and says easy 1500 to 2500 on barrel life, they are making high end AR's that shoot ridiculously tight groups at 600 yards. They keep track of how many rounds are through their law enforcement full autos. That said they lean toward an Ackley Improved.
 
I'm not a fan of the 243 WSSM. I have one and it's been a nightmare reloading for it. It shoots okay I guess but not what I would consider accurate. I've been limited on what bullets I can shoot out of it because of feed problems too. That short stumpy little case is pretty awkward and just not worth the hassle for the extra velocity you get over the regular .243.
 
I have one one and I like it. I don't try and push 4000 fps. You do that with any weapon and you'll burn it up. I run 85gr Sierra game kings at about 3300 and it shoots great. I have a 1-4x on it and is perfect. To each his own, I'm rebarreling my 243 and I'll keep the wssm. The only feed issue I had came from name not sizing my brass hard enough. Since then I've not had a hitch.
 
Surprising to see so much hate on the .243WSSM for barrel wear, when there are posts kicking around the X-284rnds without the same criticism. The 6-284, 6.5-284, .25-284 are all 1500rnd torches, who cares if the WSSM's are as well?

Barrel burners do exist, not everyone punches paper that often, not everybody hammers colony vermin.

I've played with a Dtech in .25WSSM and in .243WSSM, dying to get my hands on a .243WSSM Dtech of my own in the near future.

Frankly, this isn't so different in comparing what the .308 was to the '06, or the .300WSM was to the .300Win Mag. No, it's not apples to oranges because you're usually talking about different pressure classes, and no, barrel life won't be phenomenal, but nobody's getting hurt to have a little extra variety out there. I'll wear my boots, you can wear yours.

When it comes to arguing with your step-dad about whether Ford or Chevy makes a better pick-up, I really don't think either of you win, make sense?
 
It is not the same frame. Ar-10/DPMS LR308 is a bigger frame than the AR-15. That is why you can do 243/308 etc in an AR-10 size frame and why you can't do those larger cases in an AR-15. Also why 243 WSSM is some what popular around here because it will fit in a lighter AR-15 frame.
 
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A few years ago I was seriously hunting a .243 WSSM AR. My research backed me off when I factored the cost of cases and the brass resizing issues. Just wanting something with more energy than a .223 AR cabine could produce, I decided to go with a 6.8 SPC II. While it doesn't have the open country range of my .243 Winchester and .22-250 bolt rifles, it is a perfect fit when hunting close cover, and think a lot easier to live with than a .243 WSSM.
 
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