243 WSSM VS. 25 WSSM

Actually, this brass is superior even to Lapua or Norma. It's just way too thick in stock form for consistant shooting.
Turn the necks though..Chamber your barrels tight...All the difference in the world.

The 243wssm is a bit too much of a good thing. Low barrel life.
The 257wssm is a great cartridge IMO. This is where Winchestor should have started the lineup. But there aren't alot of 25cal bullets that are worth bothering with.

Best in my view(and my safe) is a 26wssm. It rocks.
 
243wssm = 243ackly,257wssm = 25-06. The short ctgs have had feeding problems and in the extra short actions the bullets have to be seated very deep into the powder space.Most new ctg developements are for marketing and $$$$ for the makers of same.
 
Old Bear is right. Use of a standard 243win case(regardless of cal) get's you there in factory actions. The wssm isn't really an improvement over other cartridges in this capacity.

My 26wssm works great because it's in a custom, single shot action. The necks are turned/fitted to a custom chamber. I found this brass to be very, very consistant in thickness variance and h20 capacity(better than typical Lapua brass). The gain for my trouble is super low ES(usually ~8fps) using IMR4350 powder.
But truth be told, a 260 has the same capacity, and would perform as well overall.

I just naturally do everything the hard way.
 
I to have an interest in these two cartridges. I have Win M70 Stealth II available for both.
Brass seems readily available, priced, Win 243 for comparison--about a third more. Quality, have no idea.
Bullets for both don't seem to be a problem.
The 243 WSSM is about the same as the 6mm Rem. Why would there be a problem with barrel life??
Toying with the idea of trying some F-class. Not that far from Bodine Pa.
 
Mikecr is right. They should have started with the 25 and gone UP from there. I love the idea of a 26 wssm. A friend of mine improved it and gets 6.5x55 swede ballistics with less powder and it shoots scary, little groups.

I have worked on one 25 wssm thus far and found that while it would get into the mid range 25-06 speeds, it shot much better about 100 fps slower. Deviations were normally pretty good and accuracy from the little Browning pencil barrel was surprisingly good once I let it cool. Once the proper load was found, I could hold 4 inch groups at 650 yards with the Nosler 115 BT. Energy was still enough to kill any deer living.


The 243 wssm has nearly identical case capacity to a regular 243 win except it usually will go slightly faster, have better standard deviations, and wider charge nodes according to the fellows that have them. But I would still rather have a 6br. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

The 223 wssm is a complete waste of time in anything other than an 8" twist and even then it is VERY hard on barrels.
 
They will both work very well. With turned brass in the 243 wssm its just like a 6 br on steriods. It will work and there is a place for the wssm on proberly set up rifles. If the brass wasn't any good , the 1000 yard shooters wouldn't be shooting small groups with them. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Alot of comments have been made so far. I have worked with both these caliber from a loading stand point because some friends have purchased them. The 243 and the 25 wssm brass is horrable to work with there are 2 ways to get around this 1.) anneal the necks to begin with. 2.) Like someone has already said turn some of the thickness off but unless you have a tight chamber this may accelerate brass life. I've took a good look at alot of things with these cartridges but I feel (like a few others do) that we already have comperable rounds availiable. the 6mm rem is a great round and gets real good if you ackley improve it. for the 25 selection the water volume is almost the same as the 257 roberts AI
 
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