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.243 Winchester Super Short Magnum

Cartridge

Field	Value
name	243 WSSM
image	Wssm2m.jpg
caption	A comparison of the .243 WSSM with .243 Winchester (second from left) and with .22-250 and .223 Remington (far right).
origin	USA
type	Rifle
designer	Browning / Winchester
design_date	2003
manufacturer	Winchester
production_date	2003–present
parent	[.300 WSM](300-wsm)
case_type	Rimless, bottleneck
bullet	.243
land	.237
neck	.291
shoulder	.544
base	.555
rim_dia	.535
rim_thick	.054
case_length	1.670
length	2.362
rifling	1-10 in
primer	Large rifle
bw1	58
btype1	VMax
vel1	4068
en1	2132
bw2	70
btype2	BT
vel2	3707
en2	2136
bw3	80
btype3	BTSP
vel3	3545
en3	2233
bw4	90
btype4	SFT
vel4	3280
en4	2151
bw5	100
btype5	BTSP
vel5	3136
en5	2184
test_barrel_length	24 in
balsrc	Hodgdon

The .243 Winchester Super Short Magnum or .243 WSSM is a rifle cartridge introduced in 2003. It uses a .300 WSM (Winchester Short Magnum) case shortened and necked down to accept a .243in/6mm diameter bullet, and is a high velocity round based on ballistics design philosophies that are intended to produce a high level of efficiency. The correct name for the cartridge, as listed by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI), is 243 WSSM, without a decimal point. Winchester has discontinued the manufacture of 243 WSSM ammunition. As of the first half of 2016, Winchester/Olin did manufacture and release for sale some WSSM ammunition. The product is only manufactured periodically, often at inconsistent intervals.

Design

The .243 WSSM is an addition to the Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM) family of cartridges, which also include the .223 WSSM and the .25 WSSM, and the idea behind the .243 WSSM was to develop a compact, higher velocity version of the well-established and internationally popular .243 Winchester unveiled by Winchester in 1955. The .243 WSSM was first introduced in 2003.

The .243 WSSM's case is unusually short and fat in profile, contrasting markedly with most other rifle cartridges, and is intended to take advantage of what ballisticians have shown is the more uniform and efficient burning of propellant powder when it is held in a short, fat stack by the cartridge case.

Performance

In their ballistics tables, Winchester list a very high muzzle velocity of 4060 ft/s with a 55 gr projectile for this cartridge. Based on Hodgdon reloading data typical velocities should range from approximately 4000 ft/s with a 58 gr bullet to approximately 3000 ft/s with a 100 gr bullet. The percentage gain in performance over the older .243 Winchester is around 10% or less.

This cartridge is usually used for small game such as varminting, and used for animals as large as deer.

Advantages

Compared to other factory 6mm sporting cartridges the .243 WSSM is capable of functioning in the AR-15. Other factory produced 6mm cartridges like the .243 Win and 6mm Rem are both too long for the AR-15 and require the AR-10 platform.

The .243 WSSM is 3/8 in shorter than the .243 Win, giving the .243 WSSM the ability to fit in a super-short action rifle. Thus .243 WSSM rifles can be lighter, have stiffer actions and have faster actions to cycle.

The .243 WSSM gives generally a 10% increase in velocity over the .243 Win.

References

Cartridge Dimensions at Steves Pages

References

".243 WSSM data at Hodgdon Online".
"Browning WSSM info".
[http://www.saami.org/ Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute] {{webarchive. link. (July 13, 2008)
(2007). ".243 Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM)". Terminal Ballistics Research.
"Winchester Super Short Magnum". Browning Arms Company.
Guns and Ammo Magazine [http://www.gunsandammomag.com/cs/Satellite/IMO_GA/Story_C/Short+Mags+Magic+Or+Myth Short Mags Magic Or Myth] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-02-05)
"Winchester .243 WSSM Ammunition".
{{usurped
"Browning WSSM rifle info".
"Ballistics Comparison".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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