243, 6mm rem or 240 weatherby

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Belle 3006

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I am looking for some feed back on the 243, 6mm rem and the 240 weatherby. I am currently looking for a long range varmit gun which could knock down a deer if one happened to step out. I know that all these use the same bullet but I am interested in how in your opinoin they perform.
 
My advice is to go with a .243 Win. Reasons:

1) If you're going to shoot varmints, a .240 Weatherby is going to get hot fast, and barrel life will be fairly short. Mind you, a .243 isn't going to last too long if you abuse it too badly either.

2) Availability and cost of ammo/components gives the .243 the nod on the basis of lowest cost

3) Despite the naysayers, a .243 is adequate for deer with careful shot placement. I've used mine to take several animals from 150 to 300 yards, and all went down with one shot.

Just my 2 cents...
 
Belle 3006 said:
I am looking for some feed back on the 243, 6mm rem and the 240 weatherby. I am currently looking for a long range varmit gun which could knock down a deer if one happened to step out. I know that all these use the same bullet but I am interested in how in your opinoin they perform.
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I am a 6mm Remington fan, but realize the other two have virtue as well. If you are a reloader, then the 6mm or the Weatherby meake sense, with the caveat that the Weatherby is a lot tougher on throats/barrels than is the 243 or 6mm. If Factory fodder is what you are going to use, then the 243 wins, hands down, since good variety is available. The 6mm with a 24" tube will make 4200 with the 55 Ballistic tip, and 3150+ with a 100 partition. I have shot a lot of deer with the 6mm, and some bigger varmints as well.(coyotes, wolves) It is quite effective for anything up to big muleys, as long as the range is not too far. I would hold off on a big deer outside of 350 yards. As far as varmints go, the 6mm with the right bullet will reach wayyyy out there and smack em!! Regards, Eagleye
 
There's notihing sadder than getting out someplace only to find you left your ammo on the kitchen table. .243 ammo and brass is everywhere. 6mm ammo may not be available in smaller places. The .240 Weatherby certainly won't be.
Remember that varmint bullets are not suitable for deer sized game.
 
Jamie said:
243 are barrel burners

Jamie
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Please explain......

I have an old pre '64 Winchester in .243 with thousands of varmint rounds down its 22" barrel and it still shoots 3 shot groups in the .7's" and .8's" with my pet loads for it.

Tim
 
It all depends what your standards are. .7's and .8's are insufficient for benchresters, that barrel would be considered totally shot out.

Plus, 100 yards groups aren't really indicitive of much - what does it do at 300?
 
TReX300 said:
Please explain......

I have an old pre '64 Winchester in .243 with thousands of varmint rounds down its 22" barrel and it still shoots 3 shot groups in the .7's" and .8's" with my pet loads for it.

Tim
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ok look at it this way....the 243 is a great round for long range 1000meters shooting with 115VLDs or 115 DTAC's at 2960FPS your barrel will last about 1000/1500rounds,a 308 pushing a 175SMK at 2600FPS will last out to 5000 rounds with groups under or at 1MOA

Jamie
 
i shoot a 243 with 87grain v-max bullets. it shoots .4's at 100 and in the 2" range at 400. i haven't shot it farther than that yet.

i did try some 105 a-max, they shoot .5" @ 100 and a little over 6 feet at 400. ya, thats 6 foot groups at 400. the 1:10 twist doesn't stabilise the heavy bullets.

400 yards is about the limit for deer sized game, make sure you make a good shot at that range. if your planning on shooting deer farther than that you should consider a larger caliber.

keep your barrel cool at the range and use moderate loads and you'll have no problem getting 2000 or more rounds out of a 243 barrel.
 
The 6mm Remington has been my favorite long range varmint cartridge for years, and it is known to be exceptionally accurate. The 6mm also holds more powder than a .243, and with handloads will always be 50-150 fps faster (similar to .243 AI) than the standard .243. The longer necked 6 mm will also have less throat erosion than the .243, which has a rather short barrel life, sometimes less than 1500 rounds. For long-range varminting, sending light bullets at ultra-high velocities, IMO the 6mm Rem has better case design than a .243 Win. And in a 7-8" twist, it is the best standard 1000-yd varmint caliber you can get your hands on period, IMHO.

The one caveat is the short action 700 is too short for longer bullets seated out in a 6mm Remington, but in a varmint rig you usually single load anyway.
 
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PGW Steve said:
I used to have a 6mm-284. I'd shoot 107's at 3450 and 70's at 4100. Barrel was good for 500 shots then it was a tomato stake.
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what was your come ups for 100ometers?



Jamie
 
dude that is/WAS sweet..I need 48 to get too 1000meters with my LTR in 308 with the 175smk:rolleyes:





Jamie
 
I am looking for some feed back on the 243, 6mm rem and the 240 weatherby. I am currently looking for a long range varmit gun which could knock down a deer if one happened to step out. I know that all these use the same bullet but I am interested in how in your opinoin they perform.
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Use a short action with a 308 boltface diameter, and a custom barrel chambered for 6mm br, 1 in 8 twist. Get the brass from Hirsch Precision, and the barrel from Gaillard. Accuracy and barrel life for this cartridge is wonderful.
 
Another one to consider is the .243 WSSM. Lots of bullet selection, extra fps over standard and a nice short case. I'm a big fan of this round.
 
Epoxy7 said:
Another one to consider is the .243 WSSM. Lots of bullet selection, extra fps over standard and a nice short case. I'm a big fan of this round.
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and again are real barrel burner and like Terry said 6mmBR is a great round and barrel life is good


Jamie
 
I don't think it's that bad on barells. I usually shoot the heavier 95 to 105 grain stuff though.
The 6mmBR is a nice round. No arguing that.
But... the .243 WSSM has advantages too.

If you're going into the full custom stuff and want a 300 yard plus competition rig then yup I'd go with a 6mmBr. If you want a very nice rifle factory rifle that has decent accuracy and a nice round. Then the .243 WSSM fits the bill. I have the Winchester M70 coyote in this calibre. I love the rifle and it's fun to shoot.
Two different levels though, the 6mmBR and the .243. Not everyone is into what it takes to get a really decent 6mmbr rig up and going. Usually that would be the next step or two later.
 
Jamie said:
and again are real barrel burner and like Terry said 6mmBR is a great round and barrel life is good


Jamie
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No more than any 6mm with that kind of capacity.
I was told my 6.5WSSM will burn barreels a,also, but it is just a bit bigger in thee case than thee .260!
Cat
 
This whole barrel burner thing gets way overplayed in my opinion. Unless you're shooting something heavily overbore (7mm RUM for example), and doing a LOT of shooting in a short period of time, it happens a lot more slowly then people seem to think. I have 6mm Rems with 2500 rounds through them and no loss in accuracy, a 240 Gibbs that has had at least 1000 rounds down the tube, again no issues. A couple of 243s, ditto. I have a 6mm Mach IV project gun going together, and I don't expect issues with that either. 22-250, 22-243 Middlestead, same thing. These are varmint guns you use sparingly. If you plan on going to work on a prairie dog town, then let the thing cool down between shots. In other words, take more then one rifle with you. FWIW - dan
 
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