Why did the 6mm have to disappear? It was everything the .243 is not!

I have a 6mm and really enjoy using it (when I use it). Like many others it gets left behind and other calibers get used instead. To many guns and not enough hunting seasons to utilize them all.
 
243 WINCHESTER was chambered in the Model 70, 244 REMINGTON was chambered in the Model 722, which would you buy?

The action length arguement is pretty much a non issue in the 1950's, how many lengths did the Model 70 come in? The 243 would fit in the Savage 99 though.

Remington messed up with the varmint angle, the 244 is too much for varminting.

I would like to build a 6mm on a Brno 21 action sometime or even get a 742 chambered in it.
 
MiG25 said:
243 WINCHESTER was chambered in the Model 70, 244 REMINGTON was chambered in the Model 722, which would you buy?

The action length arguement is pretty much a non issue in the 1950's, how many lengths did the Model 70 come in? The 243 would fit in the Savage 99 though.

Remington messed up with the varmint angle, the 244 is too much for varminting.

I would like to build a 6mm on a Brno 21 action sometime or even get a 742 chambered in it.
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I agree with MIG25. The .244 Remington was aimed at varmint hunters with a slower twist and 75 and 90 grain bullet. The Remington 722 was a bargain priced bolt gun and couldn't compare with the pre 64 Winchester model 70 though the 722 had a shorter action than the 70 at the time. The Remington 725 WAS a rifle that could compete with the model 70 having better wood, checkering and fancier stock but few were made. The 721, 722 and 725 were discontinued in 1961 and I have read that the last year or two of production of the .244 Remington were changed to 1 in 10 inch twist but the damage was done. It was reintroduced as the 6mm Remington but with proper twist and 100 grain bullets but by then the .243 had such a market share that it couldn't be caught. Both fine deer/ varmint rifles though. Here in N.B. the .24 bores are illegal for varmint hunting(fear of deer poaching) which doesn't make sense to me as the .223/.22/250 class of cartridges will flatten a deer as easily as a .24 calibre. But that is another topic.
 
You could widen the question to ask why was any new caliber developed after 1906 when the 30.06 Springfield hit the scene.

It can do anything any North American shooter could ever ask of any caliber whether hunting varmints, big game - shooting paper or defense of self.

Even today we have the 6.5 Creed, 26, 28 and now 30 Nosler that didn't exist 10 years ago.

New calibers come out and replace others not because they are "necessary" but because someone makes and markets them and if they convince the "audience" that they are better/stronger/faster than what they were using or what the competition is building, they will take hold.
 
I think I have six 243s right now, shows you what a crappy cartridge it is when a guy needs 6 rifles in the same cartridge to get the job done............I guess I should sell them all and buy a 6mm Rem, problem solved. Actually I have had a 45 year love affair with the 243 and have completely shot out 2 rifles in this cartridge. By my rough calculations I have fired somewhere approaching 50,000 bullets down different 243 barrels over the years, and for what it was designed to do I have never found it lacking. Yes the 6mm may get a few more fps but it really is insignificant in the overall picture. And yes, I have owned a 6mm or two and a 6mm AI and a couple 6mm-284 Win, which I really like and would have to say is a significant step up in 24 caliber cartridges, but I still seem to buy every deal I find in 243 Win.........I have 3 full stocked ones, no one needs three 18-20" barreled 243s but none the less I have them.......Then I have a very nice old Browning/Sako one with a fairly heavy two step 24" barrel, a 22" barreled 700 Rem, very old but in a new CDL stock, and I know I have another 1 or 2 but can't think what they are right at this moment........and close to 1000 brass for these rifles, some of it more than 50 years old made from DA, LC and newer IVI military 7.62 cases........still loads and goes bang every time without fail.
I love my 243s and have killed a "trainload" (as Eagleye says) of coyotes, crows, pigeons, badgers, gophers, jack rabbits and other varmint type critters. Think I have only shot 2 wolves with them and 1 big black bear and a couple or three antelope.........not much in the way of big game but every thing else sure caught hell.............
 
There is a whole range of "short magnums" and "ultra magnums" that had much less success then the 6mm Rem...
Now one thing Rem sucks at is marketing, and they make some dumb ass decisions. Look at the budget 783 and what it's chambered in....3 Rem cartridges (223/22-250/7mm Mag) and 6 Winchester cartridges. Why no 260rem, 7mm-08rem, 280rem?
 
Hitzy said:
There is a whole range of "short magnums" and "ultra magnums" that had much less success then the 6mm Rem...
Now one thing Rem sucks at is marketing, and they make some dumb ass decisions. Look at the budget 783 and what it's chambered in....3 Rem cartridges (223/22-250/7mm Mag) and 6 Winchester cartridges. Why no 260rem, 7mm-08rem, 280rem?
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Because when you are making a budget rifle you chamber it in the calibers that people can easily/affordably buy. Newbs don't want a cartridge that are hard to find and/or expensive. Each new caliber you offer is that much more work to produce, and you need to keep production volume high to keep budget rifle prices low.

I wanted a 7mm-08 but went with a 270 because ammo is easier to find and cheaper, not to mention the variety available. If you are lucky you might find 2-3 types of 7mm-08 in the same store that you'll find 8 options for 270, and it's easy to go to CT or Walmart for some cheap federal blue box or winchester super x, whereas cheap 7mm-08 ammo is much harder to find.(If it even exists lol)
 
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