# .243 ballistics, new Hornady Leverevolution ammo, Mos.243



## Jcampbell (Jan 24, 2006)

I am considering buying a light deer/coyote rifle. Ive decided on getting a .243. A buddy was talking about his .243 super short mag he recently bought. Does any one know how the ballistics campare to that of the regular .243 win? How easy is it to find ammo for the .243 ssm? What different bullet weights are available for the ssm?

Does anyone know where to find the new Hornady "Leverevolution" ammo
for a 30-30. Has anyone tried it yet?

I'm concidering buying either the mossberg 100 series, or the stevens 200 in 243. I wasnt even aware that mossberg made a rifle and as far as I know the stevens is ultimately a savage. Theyre both about the same price. 250 to 300$. I'm looking for a low priced back-up deer rifle/coyote gun. Not looking to spend alot. I'm happy with both guns looks and how they feel (moss. alittle better, with the montecarlo stock). Just wondering how they operate. Can you use savage parts(stock parts in particular) on the stevens? Thanks.


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## mburgess (Aug 11, 2003)

Mossberg doesn't make a .243 yet in the ATR 100 only .270 and .30-06. I just purchased a mossberg .30-06 and I'm quite impressed with the feel and the look for $244 I just couldn't pass it up. I'm going to go shoot it this weekend if it warms up a little at the range and see how it shoots. On other forums most people are getting 1 to 1 1/2'' groups with factory loads so I'm excited to shoot it. If I can get that then I would say the Mossberg ATR 100 is the best deal out there and it comes with bases already.


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## pennsyltucky (Oct 30, 2005)

here ya go.... 
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... m=43127460
if thats too much money (and its really not much for the gun u get), keep looking on there. u find good ones from time to time.

dont waste ur time or money on the short mag. the reg 243 case is already shorter than the 270 short mag. how much shorter do u need to go?

the ballistics are nearly identical.


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## Kiwi98j (Sep 6, 2005)

Not to knock the Mossberg but their bolt action is a new design, per their ads. You are correct, the Stevens 200 is a re-badged Savage without the AccuTrigger and is a 45+ year old design. I would go with the Stevens as a truck/back-up rifle.


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## dennis_d (Feb 1, 2006)

the .243 wssm does have a slight ballistic advantage to the .243. the .243 wssm is identical balistically to the 6mm remington. if you reload the .243 wssm can be even more potent. factory 55 gr ammo is 4060 fps i believe. roughly 200 fps faster than a 55 gr factory .243 load.


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

In looking at the Winchester web site and comparing the .243 Winchester to the .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum there is 150 FPS difference between these two cartridges. In looking at the Hodgdon web site the loading data there shows virtually nothing to 100 FPS difference between the two cartridges.

Granted all things equal, you could take 3 different .243 Winchesters and 3 different .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum Rifles and chronograph them and get 6 different velocity readings as these cartridges are so close in performance I think the differences will really boil down to the individual barrels (fast vs slow barrel in either caliber).

Looking at it in a different way, you could probably shoot Deer and Coyotes the rest of your life with both cartridges and from the reaction of the game never know the difference.

I think either would be a great choice (as would be the 6mm Remington). I happen to be a huge .243/6mm Caliber Fan. I think with the proper bullets for the game the .243/6mm Caliber Rifles offer a lot of performance and versatility.

To me (I'm a cheapskate) the choice would come down to availability and price of ammo. In handloading this would be a moot point really. When all the smoke clears I like and use a .243 Winchester.

In regards to the Rifles in question, no I do not believe Mossberg offers the ATR 100 in .243 (but rather like has been stated just in .270 & .30-06). While I do not have a Stevens Model 200 in .243, I do have one in .223 and am totally pleased with the rifle. I found instructions on the net on how to hone and adjust the trigger, and mine took about 20 minutes to do. The result is a super crisp 2 3/4 pound trigger pull. Shooting Ultra Max Commercial Reloads with the 55gr. Winchester Pointed Soft Point Bullet accuracy has been great, with the largest 5 shot group at 100 yards fired so far has been 1". The smallest has been 5/8". So far I have not been able to duplicate this accuracy with any of the handloads I have tried, but have only worked with one bullet and one powder. For the record to get a rifle chambered in .243 WSSM I am quite sure you will be limited in the choices available and those choices will be way more expensive than either the Mossberg ATR 100 or Stevens Model 200.

Good luck with your choice.

Larry


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## Smitty0901 (Aug 21, 2006)

SDHandgunner said:


> In regards to the Rifles in question, no I do not believe Mossberg offers the ATR 100 in .243 (but rather like has been stated just in .270 & .30-06).


According to Mossberg's website they are now making them in .243 & .308

I also heard from a local dealer that more calibers are in the works.

Smitty


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## Invector (Jan 13, 2006)

I myself have been looking at the .243 and .243 wssm and find that the .243 wssm has a little advantage but not much, like stated, about 100-200 fps. With looking at a 95 grain Winchester BST the .243 gets a .393 for Ballistic Coefficient and the .243 wssm gets a .400 BC. (I looked at the Winchester BST since it is a deer load and I have found that bullet type to be very good) I find the only down fall I find with the 243 wssm is the lack of ammo made for it when looking at the number and types of rounds out there for the .243. IMHO the .243 wssm is just a bit better for deer then the .243 would be, however, the .243 has many many more ammo Co. that makes rounds for it (factory loads) and a .243 will cost less then the .243 wssm. The last time I looked a .243 wssm was made by Winchester guns and Browning. Now with Winchester guns going by the way side Browning might be the only Co. with a .243 wssm.


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## clampdaddy (Aug 9, 2006)

My buddy went through the same delema and ended up with a savage in standard .243 win. Ammo is a bit cheaper/easyer to find and the animals that he shoots don't know the diference. Plus you never know how long the WSSM family will be around---Look at what happened to the .225 win.


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## Invector (Jan 13, 2006)

I think it is more of a personal superstition having a gun with just a smidge up on the other might be better, with out actually going out shooting and comparing...what to do what to do. :lol: :lol:


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## pennsyltucky (Oct 30, 2005)

go with the stevens, then send it off to a good smith to make it a 243AI. then u can reload to beat any of the 6's mentioned (if thats what you want), but still can shoot factory loads if u get in a jam.


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## clampdaddy (Aug 9, 2006)

Good idea! But I'd spend a couple extra bucks and get the savage for two reasons. 1-to get the accutrigger, And 2-I don't know if it's true, but I read somewere that savage uses new buttons for thier rifleing process and after they make a certain number of barrels with those buttons they are then used to cut the rifleing for the stevens rifles. Probably no big deal but I'd feal better knowing my barrel was cut with new tools.


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