Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 243 WSSM vs 6mm Rem

Considering either one of the calibers. Pros and Cons of each? Will be used for range shooting mainly and varmints. Will be handloading. Thanks for any help.

6mm all the way. been here for 50 years be here 50 more. The ssm who knows? The win is way over rated anyway. IMO

Whelenman just about nailed it. The two cases have almost exactly the same case capacity and will do the same things. But from what I hear the WSSM's aren't selling too well and it might be tough down the road to buy brass. 6mm Remington is easily available.

MD

Mule Deer,

Do you or some of the folks in the industry that you've talked to, have an opinion as to why the WSSM's might not be selling so great?
[bleep]

This is only my guess, but the .223 WSSM got a false rep as a barrel burner, thanks to some stuff published early on that reported visible throat erosion after only a few hundred rounds. The same report, however, did not say whether accuracy was affected! I have seen "visible throat erosion" through a bore scope in less than 100 rounds from some conventional cartridges. Some of the same barrels are still sending bullets into tiny groups thousands of rounds later.

My guess about the .243 and .25 WSSM is that they didn't do anything already existing cartridges didn't do--except work in a slightly shorter action.

Also, the market was primed and ready for a .25 on the full-size WSM case, not the super-short. I believe that would have sold some rifles, since it would have beaten any commerical .25 round other than the .257 Weatherby, and in a short action. They boys who wanted one were severely disappointed in the .25 WSSM, which is basically a .257 Roberts loaded up to modern velocities. Rifle loonies who wanted a .257 Roberts already had one.

From what I can gather, the .300 WSM is really the only one of the short mags that sold a considerable amount, to the point where it looks like it will be a standard cartridge throughout the industry. The .270 WSM is a very distant second, and there really is no 3rd place.

MD

I was pretty interested in the .25WSSM because I really like the .25s. I'm not a handloader (shame on me) but I've been real impressed with the .250 Savage and .257 Roberts on game, just using factory ammo. I've only killed paper with the .25-06, but it was a delight to shoot as well. I was just hoping that the .25 WSSM would catch on and offer someone dependent on factory fodder a wider choice than what is currently available to .25 cal. shooters. I've shot the .270 WSM while helping a friend's son sight in his gun. I know one gun doesn't represent much of a test base, but this particular Winchester Featherweight was not uncomfortable to shoot at the bench and it was quite accurate. I thought that I had read that the WSM's and WSSM's were supposed to theoretically offer great accuracy potential due to being shaped more like benchrest cartridges. Better accuracy is always nice if you can really get it.

I agree with Mule Deer on his general take on the current WSM rounds and how well they have sold.I do belive the .270 WSM might be a bit more popular than one would think in non Elk hunting areas....

I, too thought a 25 WSM would have been the cats meow on the .300 case.Basically a short action 257 Weatherby on a short stroke gun.A factory version of what .25-284 shooters had been trying to do for years..

One thing that has been overlooked by those who have never handled a .25 WSSM rifle on the super short M 70 action(.223 lenght) is the "cute" factor of the mini m70 rifles themselves...

Like the Sako Vixen, the Brno Fox and the "Kurz" length commercial Mausers, you have to admit that the "mini" length m70 is sort of slick ,especially in a featherweight stock..

I think if Winchester was smart,they would also get that cute Super short m70 action chambered in a bunch of the .223 familly rounds pronto to expand the sales base of that action and help pay for tooling,rather than depend on "the three little pigs"(the .223,243 and 25 WSSMs)to do it on their own..

But then again... that would make too much sense... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Jim, I agree, that would make much sense. Add the 6.8 SPC, the 6PPC, the 6 and 7BR, the 223, the 204, and the Fireball.......

You know why it won't work? For the same reason the 223 and 243WSSM are struggling. You need ACCURACY to make these things shine, and a "2 inch" factory accuracy standard doesn't make the 6BR shine..... FWIW, Dutch.

I agree..If they won't shoot well,folks won't buy them in any chambering..

I have a lightweight .243 WSSM Browning and it has never shot a group larger than 1" at 100 yards. My typical 3-shot groups are 5/8" to 3/4" at 100 yards.

With the 95 grain Winchester factory load, critters fall over like plastic toys when hit mid-chest at the back edge of the shoulder.