Help me pick out a caliber.

[RODDY]

I have a Win model 70 .243 sporter about 8 or 9 yrs old, shoots decent can get under 1 MOA but hasn't been consistant two touch (or close)then I usually get a flyer so I decided to bed the stock. I thought I had the stock done back when it was new but stopped shooting (just started again after 7 yrs)and forgot what I had done besides the trigger and crown. Well the bedding had been done but just a touch at the lug and tang and it looks like he enlarged the holes for the bolts and put some in there as i removed the previuos work I started thinking about a new barrel. :D Since I just bought a .223 and already have a 7mm Mag I figure I need something in between, so help me out.
I want a shorter light varmint style of barrel (Kreiger) around 20" with long range capabilities (600 yds) and modest recoil, very much open to wildcats with easy brass forming. I guess this will be a calling style gun with the ability to reach out and touch varmints (maybe small deer. I am going to ccamo this gun also.

[Jamie Young]

Between a .223 and 7mm Mag and you all ready have a .243? Is this a trick question?

[Glock4ever]

The only reason I am voting for the calibre is because I have been drooling over one for a very long time...

[Frohickey]

It sounds like you already have the caliber you need.

223 for shorter range
243 for medium range

If you need to hunt varmints at longer range than 600yards, I think you need to go 338Lapua or 50BMG. Wind is going to be your enemy.

[Art Eatman]

Before changing cartridges, I suggest doing some messing with what you already have.

For instance, I've always been able to improve the group size of a rifle by free-floating the forearm and then installing a shim out at the tip.

I usually use kitchen wax paper, although plastic oughta do okay. I cut a 1/2" to 3/4" strip and fold it back and forth until the thickness requires about a five-pound pull to separate the barrel and forearm to allow insertion. Trim with a razor blade. Shoot four or five quick rounds, and the heat melts the wax enough that it sticks in place.

The shim acts as a damper, like the shock absorber on a car. Makes the barrel vibrations more uniform from shot to shot. It's one of those "My uncle told me." tricks.

Cheaper than a BOSS, too.

:), Art

[BusGunner007]

Numerically, a .25 bore would be splitting the difference.
But a .26 would be close enough that a .260 Rem. would make a nice choice.
Isn't it a "factory wildcat" of the 6.5-08?

[Bob Locke]

.25-06...?

But I like Art's advice better.

[RODDY]

Art thanks for the advive and normally I would take it but I want someting differant. I like 260 Rem and 7MM-08 those are now in the lead.

[Art Eatman]

I bought a Rem 700 Ti in 7mm08. I'm very happy with it. Been able to get 3-shot, one MOA groups with a Weaver V3 on top.

It seems to be a very forgiving rifle. After sighting in, I decided to lighten the trigger. I discovered the action screws were not particularly tight. After proper re-tightening, I shot it again; same point of impact! And, same impact for either factory or handloads.

My only "shot fired in anger" wasn't such a much for a test. I killed a chunky, 50-pound feral dog at some 40 yards. The bullet blew right through, for an instant put-down.

Art

[Unkel Gilbey]

Don't know why, but I am currently leaning towards a 6.5 caliber catridge myself. Perhaps it's just that you are starting to see this caliber more and more. Could be because guys like G. David Tubb are really cleaning up on long range matches with a 6.5, or it could just be a metric thing. Who knows?

But the 6.5's do offer some fantastic downrange performance, and since you stated that you wanted something to reach out to 600 yards - it seems like a natural to opt for something along these lines.

The 260 Rem would be just fine for the shorter action, and if you were looking to go bigger there's the 6.5-06, the 6.5-284, and maybe you would want to resurrect the 6.5 RemMag??? There are quite a few choices here. You might even get an intermediate of sorts by going with a 6.5x57 Ackley Improved?

At any rate, there's something for you to think about.

Hold em hard!

Unkel Gilbey

[Fatelvis]

Your .243 is fine for what you`re looking for. I wouldnt spend the money, (unless you want to) on a different caliber for minimal improvements.

[Eagleye2]

The advice regarding the 260 Remington is excellent! This is a nice, easy-to-shoot caliber that performs well, even in a shorter barrel. The 7-08 is merely the same thing with more bullet. If a longer action is OK with you then the ballistic equivalents, the 6.5x55 and the 7x57 come to mind. The 6.5x55 Improved is a good performer and might fill the bill. The 243 is a great little cartridge, but does not compare to these larger diameter cousins. Those long 140 grain .264 bullets penetrate very well, and outhustle any 100 or 105 grain 6mm. Regards, Eagleye2 ;)

[Art Eatman]

The guys over at http://www.varminter.com have talked of their long-range success with the .243. And, think of all the posts here about folks winning long-range target competition with .223s and 6mms.

I've killed some 20 or so whitetails to 120 pounds, field-dressed, with the little Sierra 85-grain HPBT from my .243 carbine.

Really, it's not all that important whether it's 6mm, six-and-a-fraction, 7mm or whatever. The point is to figure out your primary use and then build up a rifle which will meet the needs. The specific cartridge, in a sense, is the least important part of the deal.

Heck, pick the one you think is "purtiest".

:), Art

[BusGunner007]

May I ask about the Winchester action?
Is it such that the magazine box inside the rifle can be adjusted/built for short or long ammunition?

I ask because the rifle being discussed, a Model 70 for a 'short-action' cartridge, might be altered to use 'long action' cartridges.

Can this same 'action' house both?
(...you are being asked by a Remington collector...what'd you expect?) :rolleyes:

As far as I know, the Winchester action is capable of housing both the short and long cartridges with the magazine box being the part that needs to be changed.

In the case of a 'full length magnum' cartridge, what happens there?

Please advise, just don't expect me to change brands. :p
(...sssh...I would buy a Featherweight in 6.5x55 Swede just to have one...sssh:D )

[Zorro]

6.5X55MM.

It just works.

[Whitefeather]

I just bought a Winchester Model 70 classic featherweight in the 270 WSm caliber and I Love it...at 100 yds I'm getting one hole groups with my handloads and to me the felt recoil is less than my savage model 10fp in .308 and the rifle doesnt weigh a ton...try one out..

[Art Eatman]

BusGunner, regardless of brand, rifles are being made in both long and short action style. Now, if you have a long action, and re-barrel to a short cartridge, feeding is more reliable if there is some sort of spacer used to fill the excess space down in the magazine.

But, if you have a short-action rifle, and rebarrel to a long cartridge, you ain't gonna stuff 7mm Maggies down into a 7mm08 magazine.

Hope all this makes sense, if I understood your question correctly. Trying to think, type and watch Auburn/SoCal can get me confoozed.

:), Art

[Crazyquik]

6 mm PPC?

[cratz2]

I had a 7mm-08 up until recently but sold it to get a similar rifle (both Savages) in .308 since I mostly shoot at paper at or under 300 yards. The 7mm-08 is a very impressive cartridge with little recoil but I do believe your .243 fills the gap just as nicely.

Actually, a heavy barrel .243 is on my (not so) short list of rifles to get.