Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing .243 wssm

Have been offered a Browning in this caliber for a very reasonable price. How long will case's be around
to make ammo from ? What other caliber could be a possible conversion be made to, all things considered
bolt face magazine length and the action itself?

243 WSSM is already on "Seasonal Run" status, which means that they may make a run every so often but you can't expect to buy more whenever you want some.

Because of the large bolt face and feed rails in the super short action that's the entire point of a WSSM, there isn't anything else you can convert it to except possibly another WSSM cartridge.

If you really want it, I'd make the purchase contingent on securing a large supply of brass first.

If you find brass, you'll be very happy. They shoot good. It's my favorite coyote rifle....

The best cases available for reloading, IMO, have been the Federal 223 and 243 WSSM brass, as the necks aren't as thick as the Winchester/Olin brass. I have around 1K pieces of Federal WSSM brass, both 223 and 243, in service, all of which has been necked up to 25 WSSM. Some of this brass has been loaded as many as 9 times with stiff loads under 75 grain VMax and Sierra HPs for pdog shooting.

Besides the three commercial WSSM cartridges, there are a variety of WSSM-based wildcats, including the B&M 500 and 458, and the commercial 500 S&W that will fit into your super-short action.

www.b-mriflesandcartridges.com

The 500 S&W is an interesting notion. It would make a very nice woods rifle. 500 grains @ ~1800 fps would stop just about anything.

Thanks for the help, this is looking like a 219 Donaldson wasp.I want life simple, I think I am going to pass. I own 38 sets of reloading dies, its not the reloading its the hassle, thanks to all for the help.

I bought out every .243WSSM Winchester case I could find when they were available. Same with the .348 Winchester. Gotta buy when they are available. .243WSSM is one of the most accurate cartridges ever made for varmint. Mine is a Savage Precision Target Action barreled with a Brux 1:8" twist 26" barrel. While I can't speak to a Browning factory rifle, in my rig it's worth all the hassle. Neck thickness doesn't mean a thing, tried them turned and just out of the bag, with no difference. Then I'm a rifle loony with well over 100 die sets, some I forgot what they were for, and others bought when I forgot I already had one.

Still, tomorrow I'm assembling a couple of Savages in 6mm PPC and 6mm BR Norma, just to complete the troika with the .243WSSM.

If you go over to the B-M site and look at their Winchester/USRA 70 WSSM based rifles. Pretty sweet units. I have the parts for put together an 19" S&W 500 on a Winchester/USRA 70 WSSM Super Shadow based parts gun.