Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .243 Win vs. .240 Weatherby

Besides cost. What are the advantages / disadvantages of each? What bullets do you prefer for each ?

4....any particular use? Critters, ranges etc...?

Dober

Say whitetail & Hogs , Hunting open field and woodlands out to about 300 yards.

I love my 6mm Rem and imagine it to be superior to any 243, but imagining is all it is, and the same goes for the Weatherby for deer or hogs out to 300yds. Obviously store bought ammo is a lot more money for the Weatherby- as well as availability. Same goes for brass if you reload. If you just like\want a Weatherby- no problem go for it. I would just tend to load more premium bullets for the Weatherby speeds. The 6mm splits the difference and is way cooler than both but maybe I am biased.

Stick with the .243..but I'm also biased like a previous poster....



Ingwe

I am kinda a Weatherby fan.....with that said this is one cartridge I would choose the cheaper one to use and that would be the .243

Mainly because this is one cartridge I would probably throw 1000's of bullets down the tube in one year....doing that with a Weatherbanger might get you a new tube every year.

I have never liked the 243- For deer sized game, the 270 is much better, and for varmits, the 223 makes much more sense. I knew all that without ever owning a 243. A couple of years ago, I made the mistake of buying one, and now it gets more use than any other of my rifles. I like it for prairie dogs because it handles the wind a lot better than a 223. It's murder on deer/antelope size game because it's so flat shooting,accurate, plus you can shoot it while hanging upside down by your big toe from a run away stage coach and not get scoped. I am now a big 243 fan.

Royce

Fred...you must have overheard me talking about my own personal favorite way to hunt antelope....

Ingwe

I have and had the .243 Win, 6mm Rem, 6mm AI, 6-284 and the 240 Wby my least favorite is the 243 Win. I really like the 6mm AI haven't had a whole lot of time with my new 6-284, but my 240 I had worked great. I mean what's not to like speed kills, just that simple.

I have rifles in all three cartridges 6mm Rem, 243 , and 240 Wby and i can't tell a dimes worth of difference in killing power between the three. Shoot them in the lungs with either one of the three and you have a dead deer. The 240 Wby on the chronograph is about 200 fps faster than the 6mm or the 243. I have a 6mm-06 Reamer and will be building me another rifle in this cal . I have killed over 50 deer with the 6mm's and only lost one.

You must be shooting light bullets? Go to the VLDs 107 to 115's stretch out the range you will see the difference. The bigger cases always show a advantage with the heaver bullets, not so much with lighter ones

i've never owned a 240 wea, but have shot a couple. fast and flat! i'm sure the wea would meet your expectations. i do, however, own and hunt deer/hogs with a 243 and i've never had to shoot anything twice using 100gr partitions. i'd guess barrel life would be longer with the 243 as well. i'd hunt with the wea if one was given to me. outside that, i'm satisfied with the 243. ymmv.

Out to 300yds you will never see the advantage of the 240wby. Your shoulder wants the .243win, plus you can usually keep the scope on the animal and see the shot.

Ingwe
And it's legal, because it's not a motor vehicle!

Fred

The 240 WBY is a fine round, but at the same time it's a real forehead slapper... a 6mm-06 the hard way.

Comparing approximate case capacities from memory:

243 - 53gr
6mm - 54gr
240 - 63gr
6-06 - 65gr
243 AI - 56gr

And you lose the short action benefit of the 243. 243 AI should satisfy that need for something more exotic and that also explores the practical potential of the 6mm.

What I like about the 243AI is that it is one of the few that will actually improve the basic chamber, but if I wanted something in a long action I'd go 25-06 100% of the time, and utilize the extra case capacity more efficiently.

TC

I have had several .243's and a .240 Weatherby and when the time came to choose, I actually went up to .25/06 on the basis that it would do anyhting the .240 would do, and offer a little mroe versatility than the .243.

Also, to be honest, I simply hate cleaning small bores. The bigger the better, and that is not a joke. It is te reason I don't own .224's any more, I hate cleaning the damn things.

JW

I've hunted with and killed lots of stuff with the .240 Wby. I've loaded for and watched the .243 do the same thing on the same classes of game with the same Nosler Partition bullets
If you need to reach way out there, say over 350-400 yds., the Weatherby round has the edge. But that's the only place it has any kind of edge.
The Wby's cases are ridiculously expensive. The rd. reguires at least a 24 inch barrel.
You are far better off, in my book, with the .243, the .25-06 or the various 6mm or .25 caliber wildcats based on either the .284 Win. or the .25-06 cases.
Currently, for instance, I use a .25-284 which I like alot better than the .240 WM. E

TC-just out of curiousity what did you mean by this?

Thx
Dober

To 300 yds I'd go 243 unless you wish to work with a fun to work with wildcat. For in the 300-600 range I prefer my 6/06. I'm on the second barrel on my 6/06 and I really like the round. Bottom line if you already have an action and it's a long one then go 6/06, if it's a short one then go 243.

Dober

This discussion (.243 Win vs .240 Wea.) is an apples/oranges comparison i.e. one does not relate to the other outside of they use the same bullet size. Does a Ferrari compete with a Yugo? After all, what the .243 Win can do the .240 Weatherby can do in spades!
One poster cleary stated the Weatherby has the edge on speed, cost of factory ammo, cost of reloadable brass etc. When was the last time you saw .240 Weatherby sold at Walmart? But, you can find .243 Win.
I love my .257 "Roy" but also hedged my bet by purchasing a .25/06 and reloading for both. Reagrds, Homesteader.