243 question
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Griz,
I believe that the bolt face would need to be opened up also. The 240 is a long shell and will not fit into a short action rifle. They are both 6mm so that part wouldn't cause a problem. It all depends on the rifle's action also. The 240 works at a much higher pressure than the 243. It may be cheaper and easier to buy another rifle.
I believe that the bolt face would need to be opened up also. The 240 is a long shell and will not fit into a short action rifle. They are both 6mm so that part wouldn't cause a problem. It all depends on the rifle's action also. The 240 works at a much higher pressure than the 243. It may be cheaper and easier to buy another rifle.
HWD pretty much said it all.... a .243 receiver is too short, and the pressure in a .240 Wby is almost certainly too high for a .243 barrel; if you look at rifles chambered for any of the Weatherby calibers, they have a very large diameter barrel back at the chamber where the pressure is the highest
Since you need a new receiver and a new barrel, the old stock won't work, either. All you're left with is the trigger, the sling, and the scope.
Since you need a new receiver and a new barrel, the old stock won't work, either. All you're left with is the trigger, the sling, and the scope.
look into this new highbred,30/06 case necked down to 6mm.That would have to be the killingest 6mm in town,any body uses one yet?A Remington with a heavy contour barrell only 22 inches.I'm waiting to here how it works.Remmember bulletts open at certain speed,will the 6mm hit a target at the size of a quarter,already expanded?Controlling the expansion of a given caliber that fast would have problems.How can it be done
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DP, Thats news to me. Sounds like a real screamer....
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guys,
It's called a 6mm-06 and has been improved since.The 6mm-06 ackley improved is the same case with a sharper shoulder. I was going to get my 243 rebarreled to 25-06 a few years ago,and a friend tried to talk me into this one. None of my reloading manuals have any references to it,but I'd imagine that it's along the lines of a 240 weatherby.
Oh, I didn't have the rebarreling done and didn't let him talk me into some wildcat load either. Still, it should be an interesting load.
HWD
It's called a 6mm-06 and has been improved since.The 6mm-06 ackley improved is the same case with a sharper shoulder. I was going to get my 243 rebarreled to 25-06 a few years ago,and a friend tried to talk me into this one. None of my reloading manuals have any references to it,but I'd imagine that it's along the lines of a 240 weatherby.
Oh, I didn't have the rebarreling done and didn't let him talk me into some wildcat load either. Still, it should be an interesting load.
HWD
I doubt that you can rechamber a .243 to 240 Weatherby, unless you are working with a custom Mauser or something with a very long action. The .243 is pretty short. Different case head too.
But, the larger question is: Why do it in the first place? The .243 is a good round. Shoots a .75 grain bullet plenty fast and you can work up to a 105 as I recall. I think Nosler stocks a 117.
Also .243's don't kick much. For the average guy and the average game a .243 will do anything that that little bullet is capable of doing.
But, the larger question is: Why do it in the first place? The .243 is a good round. Shoots a .75 grain bullet plenty fast and you can work up to a 105 as I recall. I think Nosler stocks a 117.
Also .243's don't kick much. For the average guy and the average game a .243 will do anything that that little bullet is capable of doing.
Good call logjam,my 243 stays the same.I had a friend that had his rifle rechambered from 30/06 to 30/06 ackley improved,it was just a soulder reshaping.He had to make sure he had enough ammo cause if you walk into a store and request 30/06 ackley improved,you out of luck.It gave the 30/06 about 50 fps over the factory 30/06 but when my friend died his son got the gun and didn't reload.I offered to reload if he bought the dies but he traded the rifle for a regular 30/06.6mm/06 is nice to ponder about but no thanks.Drop-Shot
Griz - I wouldn't waste my time with it. First, as mentioned above the cartridge length will be an issue. Second is cost. For what you'll pay to have the work done, you can buy a new rifle...and have both. 
P.S. Hey Huntswithdogs, I don't think you could reasonably re-chamber a 243 into a 25/06...again mostly due to cartridge length.
P.S. Hey Huntswithdogs, I don't think you could reasonably re-chamber a 243 into a 25/06...again mostly due to cartridge length.
I also think that we are talking about caliber reality here. While I love to read gun magazines which often tout new calibers, in achual fact the old standards are just fine.
If you have a .22 LR, a .222, a 270 (or maybe an 06, but I like the 270 a little better.) and maybe a 375 H&H you have all of the guns that you will ever need.
If you are going after Cape Buffalo you might want to get a 458,but I've read that many are taken with the 375 H&H.
Sure it's fun to talk about the new 416's and 17's, but are they necessary? I doubt it. I'm not against owning them, you want a boomer have at it. But me? Nope, I like the old guys and don't kick as hard and make less noise....not the 375 H& H isn't a lot of gun. I don't own one either, but I don't plan to go after Buffs either.
If you have a .22 LR, a .222, a 270 (or maybe an 06, but I like the 270 a little better.) and maybe a 375 H&H you have all of the guns that you will ever need.
If you are going after Cape Buffalo you might want to get a 458,but I've read that many are taken with the 375 H&H.
Sure it's fun to talk about the new 416's and 17's, but are they necessary? I doubt it. I'm not against owning them, you want a boomer have at it. But me? Nope, I like the old guys and don't kick as hard and make less noise....not the 375 H& H isn't a lot of gun. I don't own one either, but I don't plan to go after Buffs either.
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Bbanbury,
He wasn't trying to talk me into rechambering for a 25-06 but a 6mm-06. As you know, there's just a little difference in the 2 calibers. My rifle is an Interarms Mark X and it has a long action that they chambered from 243 on up to 375. It's kinda weird to see some one stuffing little shells into an action of this size but it shoots pretty good.
Logjam,
I'm with ya on the overabundance of unneeded but that's how these companies stay in business. Sorta like lure companies."Fishing lures catch alot more fishermen than fish" Look in your tacklebox sometime and start pulling out the lures,worms,jigs,etc. that you don't use and you'll see what I mean. There another sucker born everyday and thankfully I've been that sucker on more than one occassion. I've gotten some pretty fine shooters this way.
HWD
He wasn't trying to talk me into rechambering for a 25-06 but a 6mm-06. As you know, there's just a little difference in the 2 calibers. My rifle is an Interarms Mark X and it has a long action that they chambered from 243 on up to 375. It's kinda weird to see some one stuffing little shells into an action of this size but it shoots pretty good.
Logjam,
I'm with ya on the overabundance of unneeded but that's how these companies stay in business. Sorta like lure companies."Fishing lures catch alot more fishermen than fish" Look in your tacklebox sometime and start pulling out the lures,worms,jigs,etc. that you don't use and you'll see what I mean. There another sucker born everyday and thankfully I've been that sucker on more than one occassion. I've gotten some pretty fine shooters this way.
HWD
Re: re: 243 question
Logjam,
I'm with ya on the overabundance of unneeded but that's how these companies stay in business. Sorta like lure companies."Fishing lures catch alot more fishermen than fish" Look in your tacklebox sometime and start pulling out the lures,worms,jigs,etc. that you don't use and you'll see what I mean. There another sucker born everyday and thankfully I've been that sucker on more than one occassion. I've gotten some pretty fine shooters this way.
HWD[/quote]
Like I said, I think it's just fine that the gun companies make more rounds and sell more guns. I want those guys to stay in biz.
As for fishing lures. I totally agree with you. Those lure manufactures are out to catch fisherman. Their concern for achually catching fish is secondary.
I live on a little river in Central Oregon. River is full of trout. What to people who catch fish fish with? Flies and worms. Some luck with lures, but those guys are usually go home hungry.
I just love going to gun shows and walking around picking up guns and talking calibers, etc. I buy some sometimes too.
Logjam,
I'm with ya on the overabundance of unneeded but that's how these companies stay in business. Sorta like lure companies."Fishing lures catch alot more fishermen than fish" Look in your tacklebox sometime and start pulling out the lures,worms,jigs,etc. that you don't use and you'll see what I mean. There another sucker born everyday and thankfully I've been that sucker on more than one occassion. I've gotten some pretty fine shooters this way.
HWD[/quote]
Like I said, I think it's just fine that the gun companies make more rounds and sell more guns. I want those guys to stay in biz.
As for fishing lures. I totally agree with you. Those lure manufactures are out to catch fisherman. Their concern for achually catching fish is secondary.
I live on a little river in Central Oregon. River is full of trout. What to people who catch fish fish with? Flies and worms. Some luck with lures, but those guys are usually go home hungry.
I just love going to gun shows and walking around picking up guns and talking calibers, etc. I buy some sometimes too.
G
Guest
·re: Solutions to non-problems
Group,
I've read this discussion with great interest, and it got me intersted in doing a little research in the ol' sportin' library.
First off, the case head diminsion of the .240 Weahterby is 0.4720, while the case head of a .30-'06 and derrivatives is 0.4730, and the case heads of .308 Winchester and .243 Winchester are a little smaller, at 0.4570. On a Model 98 Mauser action or clone, like an Interarms Mark X, I wouldn't think the difference would be enough to merit changing the bolt face to accomodate a conversion and the extractor ought to snap right into the extraction groove of the .240 Weatherby case just fine.
The action length issue has already been addressed. If you've got a rifle with a standard ".30-'06" length action, then it will accomidate the .240 Weatherby, length-wise.
The "Knox Form" -that is the larger diameter of a barrel around the chamber- might indeed be an issue.
But pressure-wise, Norma, who loads Weatherby's proprietary rounds, lists maximum working pressure for the .240 WM at 55,100 PSI (according to the Speer Manual) while the .243 Win tops out at 52,000 C.U.P. -probably not enough difference there to get exited about, given that one is in PSI and the other is in copper units, and not that far apart when you convert one unit of measure to the other.
In my view, the question as to whether or not conversion from a .243 built on a standard length action to a .240 WM which also takes a standard length action isn't one of whether or not such a conversion can be done but a question of why would anyone want to do it.
There is a reason why the .240 WM never exactly set the shooting world on fire in terms of acceptence. In many ways, it's a solution to a non-problem.
It is waaaay over bore capacity in terms of the size of it's combustion chamber. As a result, the expansion ratio isn't that great and is far from being as effecient as a .243 Winchester is. In theory, the .243, being short and squat, should be more accurate than the .240 WM because of it's higher expansion ratio, greater effeciency, and more consistant igniton that comes with the shorter powder column. With a 6mm on big game, it would seem to me that shot placement is even more critical than it would be with a larger caliber, so I'd rather have accuracy over the additional velocity. In this case, I'd most definitely rather have it because most 6mm component bullets are designed for cartirdges in the .243 / 6mm Remington class and are intended to perform best at the velocites that those cartridges generate.
Then, with the .240 Weatherby, you also get that silly belted case, but I digress... In this case, on this round, the belt is strictly cosmetic, offering no real advantage while offering all of the disadvanteges of belted cases simultaneously.
And you're still stuck with 6mm bullets,which lack mass and sectional density at the same time.
It's amazing what happens, though, when you take that same size of combustion chamber and open it up to take .277, .284, or .308 bullets. Do that, and you get the ability to deliver bullets that have the mass and sectional desnity to get the job done when hunting non-dangerous game.
You basically get a .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, or a .30-'06.
Taste is relative. Before I went off trying to drive 6mm bullets with a .30-'06 combustion chamber, or something very close to it in the form of the .240 Weatherby, I'd try one of the less daring alternatives first.
Who am I kidding? I actually wouldn't do any of that. I'd stick with my .30-'06. By doing that, I never have to ask if my cartridge shoots flat enough to hit game at ranges that I am comfortable shooting it at. I never have to worry about whether or not I have enough downrange energy to cleanly harvest the animals that I pusrue. I never have to worry about whether I have enough penetration to reach the vitals if my shot angle relative to the target is less than ideal. I don't have to worry about obtaining loaded ammunition or compnents for reloading.
Boring? Yes. But effective? Most definitely. In my view, the old .30-'06 is still the greatest thing going in big game hunting rounds. It's still the standard by which everything else is judged. Some rounds might shoot flatter and offer less recoil, some might use a shorter, more effecient case and offer a tad more accuracy, and some might offer more power, but the '06 to me is still the perfect blend of trajectory, accuracy, managable recoil, and stellar downrange thump, all rolled into one commonly available package.
That's why doing things like trying to drive 6mm bullets with a .30-'06 combustion chamber doesn't make as much sense to me as just shooting a .30-'06 to begin with does.
Others, or course, are free to do whatever it is that they feel will best trip their trigger.
-JP
Group,
I've read this discussion with great interest, and it got me intersted in doing a little research in the ol' sportin' library.
First off, the case head diminsion of the .240 Weahterby is 0.4720, while the case head of a .30-'06 and derrivatives is 0.4730, and the case heads of .308 Winchester and .243 Winchester are a little smaller, at 0.4570. On a Model 98 Mauser action or clone, like an Interarms Mark X, I wouldn't think the difference would be enough to merit changing the bolt face to accomodate a conversion and the extractor ought to snap right into the extraction groove of the .240 Weatherby case just fine.
The action length issue has already been addressed. If you've got a rifle with a standard ".30-'06" length action, then it will accomidate the .240 Weatherby, length-wise.
The "Knox Form" -that is the larger diameter of a barrel around the chamber- might indeed be an issue.
But pressure-wise, Norma, who loads Weatherby's proprietary rounds, lists maximum working pressure for the .240 WM at 55,100 PSI (according to the Speer Manual) while the .243 Win tops out at 52,000 C.U.P. -probably not enough difference there to get exited about, given that one is in PSI and the other is in copper units, and not that far apart when you convert one unit of measure to the other.
In my view, the question as to whether or not conversion from a .243 built on a standard length action to a .240 WM which also takes a standard length action isn't one of whether or not such a conversion can be done but a question of why would anyone want to do it.
There is a reason why the .240 WM never exactly set the shooting world on fire in terms of acceptence. In many ways, it's a solution to a non-problem.
It is waaaay over bore capacity in terms of the size of it's combustion chamber. As a result, the expansion ratio isn't that great and is far from being as effecient as a .243 Winchester is. In theory, the .243, being short and squat, should be more accurate than the .240 WM because of it's higher expansion ratio, greater effeciency, and more consistant igniton that comes with the shorter powder column. With a 6mm on big game, it would seem to me that shot placement is even more critical than it would be with a larger caliber, so I'd rather have accuracy over the additional velocity. In this case, I'd most definitely rather have it because most 6mm component bullets are designed for cartirdges in the .243 / 6mm Remington class and are intended to perform best at the velocites that those cartridges generate.
Then, with the .240 Weatherby, you also get that silly belted case, but I digress... In this case, on this round, the belt is strictly cosmetic, offering no real advantage while offering all of the disadvanteges of belted cases simultaneously.
And you're still stuck with 6mm bullets,which lack mass and sectional density at the same time.
It's amazing what happens, though, when you take that same size of combustion chamber and open it up to take .277, .284, or .308 bullets. Do that, and you get the ability to deliver bullets that have the mass and sectional desnity to get the job done when hunting non-dangerous game.
You basically get a .270 Winchester, .280 Remington, or a .30-'06.
Taste is relative. Before I went off trying to drive 6mm bullets with a .30-'06 combustion chamber, or something very close to it in the form of the .240 Weatherby, I'd try one of the less daring alternatives first.
Who am I kidding? I actually wouldn't do any of that. I'd stick with my .30-'06. By doing that, I never have to ask if my cartridge shoots flat enough to hit game at ranges that I am comfortable shooting it at. I never have to worry about whether or not I have enough downrange energy to cleanly harvest the animals that I pusrue. I never have to worry about whether I have enough penetration to reach the vitals if my shot angle relative to the target is less than ideal. I don't have to worry about obtaining loaded ammunition or compnents for reloading.
Boring? Yes. But effective? Most definitely. In my view, the old .30-'06 is still the greatest thing going in big game hunting rounds. It's still the standard by which everything else is judged. Some rounds might shoot flatter and offer less recoil, some might use a shorter, more effecient case and offer a tad more accuracy, and some might offer more power, but the '06 to me is still the perfect blend of trajectory, accuracy, managable recoil, and stellar downrange thump, all rolled into one commonly available package.
That's why doing things like trying to drive 6mm bullets with a .30-'06 combustion chamber doesn't make as much sense to me as just shooting a .30-'06 to begin with does.
Others, or course, are free to do whatever it is that they feel will best trip their trigger.
-JP
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JP,
I was wondering how long it would be before you entered the fray on this one. As always,you've looked at things from the outside and then expressed yourself nicely. Thanks for joining in!
HWD
I was wondering how long it would be before you entered the fray on this one. As always,you've looked at things from the outside and then expressed yourself nicely. Thanks for joining in!
HWD
G
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·how close would the 25.06 be to the proposed 240 weatherby?
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Mr Shelton-
Danged good info. Sir, join our site, you have a great knowledge in the posts I've seen. I'd love to see you stick round.
TXVA
Danged good info. Sir, join our site, you have a great knowledge in the posts I've seen. I'd love to see you stick round.
TXVA
The first high powered rifle I have owned was a Remington Model 600 in .243. I traded if off on something else (damn), but while I had it I had a great time with it. It shot straight, and was easy to pack into and out of the pickup as we hunted Coyotes.
While the .243 doesn't look that grand on paper it's somehow a good killer. It shoots flat enough, and tends to be accurate and easy to reload for. Also it doesn't kick all that much and isn't a ear drum breaker either.
Truth be known, however; I like the 257 Roberts better. Mine is an old Ruger 77 (paid $129 for it bran new). I like the little heavier bullet, but it can just about be interchanged with a .243 when hunting; same game pretty much the same trajectory.
While the .243 doesn't look that grand on paper it's somehow a good killer. It shoots flat enough, and tends to be accurate and easy to reload for. Also it doesn't kick all that much and isn't a ear drum breaker either.
Truth be known, however; I like the 257 Roberts better. Mine is an old Ruger 77 (paid $129 for it bran new). I like the little heavier bullet, but it can just about be interchanged with a .243 when hunting; same game pretty much the same trajectory.
PJ mentioned that the 30/06 is a wonderful round. I couldn't agree more; albeit I like the 270 just as well or a little better; but not much better.
Achually therefore; you can use the 30/06 for just about any varmit and big game on this continent and in Africa as well. The 06 has such as wide range of good bullets that it can be used for game from varmits and moose.
So, while we all love to discuss the myriads of calibers available now, they are really superfluous. If one is really a serious hunter, and not just a gun nut (I'm a gun nut) the aught six can do it all.
Achually therefore; you can use the 30/06 for just about any varmit and big game on this continent and in Africa as well. The 06 has such as wide range of good bullets that it can be used for game from varmits and moose.
So, while we all love to discuss the myriads of calibers available now, they are really superfluous. If one is really a serious hunter, and not just a gun nut (I'm a gun nut) the aught six can do it all.
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