[huntswithdogs]

My wife called me last nite and told me that she had bought a Browning micro Medallion in 243 wssm.It seems,that after 25 years of marriage to yours truely,she's decided to start hunting again.

I don't know much about this cartridge,other than the case looks like or is very similar to a 6mmPPC. I looked it up in the newest Hornady manual and found out that this is gonna be one of those scary shells to reload. They reported reaching max pressures with no warning signs SUDDENLY. If your loading manual states cases like that proceed with EXTREME caution.

Luckily,I have quite an assortment of 6mm bullets and the powders look to be basically what I use already. I just gotta find brass, dies and get to loading.
What really hurt was when I got this little speech from her," Now, you need to understand one thing right now. This is MY RIFLE,not yours.I'd better not catch you with it either!" Man,that cut me plumb to the bone! HEHE!! She got twisted here recently when I returned from squill hunting with her Ruger MarkII pistol. Something about asking for permission to use it or something like that.I kinda tuned out that conversation(lecture) as I went upstairs to clean it.

Anyhow, If any of ya'll know much about this cartridge,let me know. If not,then I reckon I'll find out first hand and pass along any info ,good & bad.

THANKS For Listening(reading,Laughing with me or at me, or whatever)

HWD

 

[markIVbigblock]

well its no wonder i have trouble with women because i would tell her that i only reload for guns I get to shoot and that i either get to shoot it too or she should prolly buy me one just like it :twisted:

Aaron

 

[huntswithdogs]

Aaron,

Beings as how she's been helping me with my reloading since I started,She'd just march her fanny right into the gunroom and load her own.

HWD

 

[markIVbigblock]

wow i need to find a woman like that thats into guns and reloading my girlfriends family is into hunting and owns many guns but they r rich and she was pretty priviliged and lived in city life so she was never around it and really has no interest in it but i have got her out to shoot targets a few times we'll see where that goes im just starting to get into reloading myself maybe i can get her interested

Aaron

 

[huntswithdogs]

I'm putting a Nikon 3x9 on this THANG(aka HER GUN)tonite. We will(notice that I said "we",not I) be taking it to the range in the morning to try it out. I'll let ya'll know what happens.

Have any of ya'll seen the ballistics on this thing? It's flat moving! Hotter than my 243 win. Of course,I gotta contact Midway to get brass and a set of dies for it. She liked to have flipped when I told her how much factory ammo was. The cheapest that I found was $24.99 for a box.It'll pay to reload this one! Might as well order some brass and dies for the 25-06 that I gonna buy myself.Maybe I'll tell her that it's all mine and she can't shoot it! HMMM?? Probably not a good idea. If MAMA ain't happy,ain't nobody(me) happy. I reckon I'll just keep my mouth shut.


HWD

 

[uglydog]

The 243 WSSM is pretty similar to the 6mm Remington, the factory loads are within 50 fps of each other. The one reloading manual I have that has loads for both shows very comparable ballistics. I would hazard a guess and say that if a person were happy with the performance of the one, they would be happy with the other.
The cost for these rounds does not seem to be greatly outlandish around here, at least not any more than for comparable 300 Win mag or 7mm Rem mag ammo. The Wal-Mart I was at last Monday had much of their centerfire rounds on sale, the 243 WSSM was running $14 a box which was cheaper than the normal price of 6mm and only $2 more than what they were charging for .243 Win, 30/06, and .308. Too bad it is so far from my home, they often have sales at greatly reduced prices.

 

[Drop-Shot]

HWD keep us posted as the one thing I was warned about is underloading the 243 wssm.I thought the 243 was short but this new wssm is real short,Im real short and I say short is great.In some loadings it uses less powder to achieve the velocity than 6mm,since the harmonics of a spent round of the shorter cases stays equal more than longer ones,it most likely be very accurate.It doesn't matter what amplitude the vibration harmonics are, but they have to be the same level shot after shot.The benchrest shooters know the short cases can be accurate and you want find long cases on a benchrest shooters rifles.I was told that in 20 to 30 years from now most all guns will be chambered in short cases,and ssm cases,and long cases will be custom made only.Oh well,getting old has one advantage,you can look back.Drop-Shot

 

[huntswithdogs]

We shot this gun on Sat. I did a better than usual job of getting it on the paper. If I'd buy a boresiter,things might be easier but I,m kinda old fashion and don't want to relearn some things. 2 shots by, my wife,at 25 yds was one hole. 3" high and 2" left. Did some adjustments,cleaned it well and handed it back to her. Notice here that I said"HANDED IT BACK TO HER"!! I didn't even get to shoot it! 3 shots at 100 yds under 1 1/2 inches. I was pretty pleased with it and her. She was all grins. As she gets used to the trigger and I get to reloading it,she'll do better. One of our "kids" got to shoot it and put 3 shots under an inch.I'll probably get to shoot it on Sunday.Maybe!!


Uglydog,
Where do you live? I paid $21 a box at Wallyworld on Friday nite. My wife liked them cause they were the nickle plated ballistic tips.If I could get them foe $14a box,I'd buy em all. I did get some 270 shells for a good price though.

Dropshot,
Man, we ain't short! We're just built lower to the ground.HA HA! I kinda resemble these shells,short and round.Of course they aren't near as good looking as me, in my opinion. My wife was talking about how they were so short and cute and it kinda hurt my little purple feelings.:{ hee hee!


HWD

 

[uglydog]

HWD,
Sorry to not respond sooner, I did not notice your question. The Wal-Mart I saw those prices at was in Pine City, MN. I'm not sure what bullets were used but I believe they were Supremes as they were in a black box. I stop in there most every time I venture that way as they do store sales quite often. I bought out their 170 gr Winchester 30/30 ammo to give my in-laws as Christmas presents. At $5 a box I felt I couldn't go wrong and stock up on Biologic products as they go on sale, often at 50-75% off.

 

[Drop-Shot]

ugulydog wait till monday after christmas and ammo goes on sale.My wife works at walmart as a pharmacy tech and we get the lowdown when things go on sale.The sporting goods manager told my wife that I need to make it there monday,my wife said were saving for a downpayment on a house.But ole drop-shot will wander over there any way and look if the weatherby mark 5 is still there.It was 475.00 then450.00,I may be able to get it right.And it is a nine locking lug weatherby.I'll check on shells also,it's a 30/06 and they have another just like the one I want,the other is a 300 weatherby mag and I already have one of those..Drop-Shot

 

[huntswithdogs]

We went bsck to the range on Sunday. The rifle started shooting all over the place.I'm talking 3-4" groups! My wife was getting upset because her rifle wasn't shooting like it had previously,so one of our younguns shot it and got the same results. We got her settled down and let her shoot a couple of other rifles(Rem 710 270,Rem 700 300 Ultra Mag,Rem 700 7mm Ultra Mag and a Browing 243 Win). She did well with these even though 2 of them kicked pretty good. That took the bad groups off her shoulders,much to my relief. I FINALLY got to shoot it! "Somethings wrong,here,you figure it out". Four shots went all over the target. I put the gun back in the case and waited til we got home to disassemble it. I checked the screws prior to removal and found them all to be tight. The barrel is free floated so there was no problems with it touching as it heated up. The action is bedded from the factory and the barrel was completely cleaned prior to me shooting it.
No problems found! I was sitting there scratching my head and for some reason shouldered the rifle and pointed at a calendar across the room. I couldn't make out anything on the calendar and checked the scope to see what power it was on. As it was sitting on 9x,I tried to turn the little dial thingy back to 3x. Little dialy thingy wouldn't move.HMMM!! It might be because the scope had slid BACKWARDS in the rings. It turns out that the guy who installed the scope and rings( a local shop owner,not yours truely) when I bought them,didn't tighten the ring screws very well. I got it all straightened out, tightened down and went downstairs to tell the wife. One peice of advice from someone that should have known better...DON"T EVER WAKE MAMA UP TO TELL HER STUFF LIKE THIS!!! Mama's don't seem to appreciate us much at times like this.

Well, I reckon this gives me(us) another excuse to go back to the range next Sunday. Hopefully this'll get it fixed.If not,I'd sure hate to be in the customer service dept. at Browning come Monday morning.Somebody will get an earful.

Til the next installment of as the Browning Shoots....

SEE YA
HWD

 

[markIVbigblock]

HWD I had that same trouble I bought my 300 win mag and scope for it and paid the local gunsmith to bore sight it for me and he didnt tighten the rings when he was done. I took it to the range to site it in and first shot it slide back in the rings. I was so mad I coulda spit fire.Now I just take it to the range and go for it the hell w/ boresighting new guns and i havent been back to that idiot since ( I know people make mistakes and I usually give people another chance but i have heard horror stories about this guy so he will nver touch another one of my guns)

Aaron

 

[Drop-Shot]

Hey aaron if you have a bolt action,pull bolt out look through the bore and find a straight line,line up the bore at 10 - 20 feet with a straight line(I tack up a target),fix gun so without touching the rifle the target is centered down the bore.Now look at the scope,still not touching the rifle,the bore is still centered,adjust the scope for side to side,then go to the range,you are close to sighting in,just a couple rounds will put you on target.adjust the up and down and your there.Another way to quick sight in use looking down the bore to a target method.at 50 yards,put the rifle in a rifle vise,natcheszz.com has them for 24.00.Shoot for the center,if the bullet is off, and it might be,using the rifle vise center on the center and adjust the scope up or down to the hole in the target.Now you are ready for 100 yard shots and with a few bullets you will be on target.I learned that 20 years ago when I missed packing my reloads and factory loads shot to a different POA,so I use the 2 shot sight in procedure,That only works on bolt guns.I recently bought a laser site bore sighter and when I went to the range,at 100 yards I was right on,no adjustment.You may already know the 2 shot sight in but I posted it for anybody else that didn't know.Drop-Shot

 

[huntswithdogs]

The wife got sick on Sat.nite so I got to take the "New Baby"(her name for HER rifle ) to the range. The 95 gr ballistic tipped factory rounds are grouping about 1 1/4. I stopped by Wally World going over the mountain and they had 4 boxes of the 100 gr SP that were marked down to $12 a box. Needless to say,these 4 boxes took a ride with me. I got a surprise when I shot them. They shot almost the same on the target as the 95 gr ones, but they grouped under an inch! The difference in recoil was a little more noticeable,but still pretty light. I was glad to try these. This weight bullet was what I want to reload when my dies arrive.

HWD

 

[huntswithdogs]

Okay guys,

HELP! I've been giving reports on this rifle,some good and some not so good,but..... This little gun is fixin' to piss me off! It's been a while since she shot it, but last weekend my wife shot her rifle again. The 100 gr bullets, that "I" shot under 1", aren't shooting worth a piss. Thinking that it might be her,one of our younguns shot it also. 2-3 inches with both shooters!

I'd think,being a Browning,we should be getting better from this rifle. I've tried reloading for it and haven't gotten any better results. 1-2 inches has been it so far. The one thing that shot real well,was a 100gr hornady RN. It wouldn't feed from the magazine(single shot only). I shot 2 different 100 gr Sierra loads,some 87 gr Hornady hp, 75gr Sierra hp, and even some 60 gr hp. Nothing REALLY works yet. I have some 105gr Hornady bullets loaded now that I'm gonna try first chance I get. This one is starting to fret me.
You don't have much room to mess with over all length on this gun due to the box mag length. I've tried different powders and weights. As stated above,different bullets. With all this,the accuracy that should be there, just AIN'T!

Do ya'll think I should try a different scope before calling Browning? Or just make the call and see what they say?

I open for any suggestions.....

HWD

 

[Drop-Shot]

HWD it sounds like some thing came loose,the scope don't have to feel loose to be loose under recoil.I know it's a bugger but pull the scope off and see if the mount screws are loose.I use an inch pound torque wrench to make sure they are even,since I was a mechanic I already have one.You can buy a sears scale type and that would be fine,the rule is to make sure all base mounts are the same.I use a set of alumium 1 inch bars that are pointed,I mount them in the rings and if a mount needs shimming I do it.I use a shim set I got from Brownells,once I get perfect alignment I mount the scope and retorque the screws.The amount is not as important as all being the same,I think the last scope I mounted was a leupold with the leupold torquex head screws and with my torque wrench I torqued to 15 inch pounds,I have it all written down.The scope might be the problem.One other thing I do is mount a 1 inch wooden dowal 24 inches long to make sure the front mount is perfectly straight with the barrell,if not the stress on even a good scope can cause drift from pressure.If it shot sub 1 inch groups before then something happened.The times that happened to me was I had uneven pressure on the mount base screws and it under recoil moved slightly,not enoug to see but enough to widen my groups.You mabe do all these things I mentioned and if so then the rifle barrell may have moved.My brother had a brand new remington 700 BDL in 30/06 and it shot terrible groups,the gunsmith said the barrell was loose,he tightened it but the writing on the side was under the fore arm.He checked headspace and the gun shot 1 1/4 inch groups so any thing can happen,the scope mounts is where I would start.Drop-Shot