.243-06?

[henry1]

Hey there everyone, I was just thinking about this and decided to try it out tonight. I was able to neck a 30-06 case down to .243 diam. Well i mean its obvious cause the 06 case was a parent case to the .243 case if im thinking correctly. I was just wondering if anyone out there has ever seen a rifle built around these demensions. or if any of you have heard anything like this before. I was just curious. I know that the .240 Weatherby Mag is verry similar to this but my reloading book said that cases were kinda hard to come by. anyway if my questions sound uneducated, its because i am verry uneducated in the world of wildcating but its always caught my attention in the back of  my mind. anyways, let me know. thanks fellas. Henry.

[flintlock]

The .308 is the parent case to the .243 Winchester...And yes, there is a .243-06

[jpsmith1]

.243-06, 6mm-06.  Same thing, I think...  and yeah, the .308 is the parent case of the .243.

[henry1]

Oh ok. Yes i do see it now. Can you make .243 cases out of 06 brass? and say i had a 400 count of .308 brass. I would just have to neck the cases down to .234 diam. right? No hardening or anything right? Just neck em down and make sure that they arnt too long and if they are cut em, right? Im just curious cause every time Im at the range i see way more .308 brass than I do .243 brass. so if i can make em into .243s then Ill start picken em up.

On the other subject, the .243-06. What do you guys think of it? seems like it would be a good deer and varmint gun. Anyone out there have one? I'd kinda like to build one. What would it take? How much would it cost? Just a basic one nothing fancy. What is the barrel life of it? Anyone got any pics of em?

Hey thanks for all the info and input I really do appriciate it. Henry.

[jpsmith1]

I don't know the specifics, but what would you really gain with that cartridge?  The .243 and the 6mm are great dual purpose rounds as it stands.  I believe that the 6mm-06 would be a barrel burner with little gain over the stock cartridges.

Of course, if wildcatting is your thing, then the 6mm-06 is as good as any.  I've also heard good things about '06 sized cartridges necked to .224.  I just realized that this is the wildcat forum, so I guess that 'cats are your thing.

I remember reading an article about something like a .22-06 shooting 70+ grain bullets through a fast twist barrel.  The author was claiming that with select handloads, gallon jugs at 600-800 yards were not hard at all.

[Nobade]

You can make .243 Win cases out of 30-06. But you will need to anneal them, and turn the necks afterward because they'll be too thick to work. Now the 6mm-06 is another different animal - same body as a 30-06 but with a 6mm neck. And with it, slow powders, heavy bullets, and fast twist barrels are the deal. They do indeed work well at long ranges, but VLD bullets don't work well much past 3000 fps, and a regular 243 can usually do that anyway.

[Blackhawk44]

For attributes on your 6mm-06, look up .240 Weatherby.  Its the same powder capacity just a different shape.

[shaleetoo]

 i  have a  6mm-06 imp.  in a 1 inch  dia.  28 in. van horn barrel  with a  1 in 12 twist    shoots  70  grain bullets   better  than  4 grand . 5 shots  cover with a  dime  at 100 yds  love  it  .still  doing  more  load  developement

[GregP42]

i  have a  6mm-06 imp.  in a 1 inch  dia.  28 in. van horn barrel  with a  1 in 12 twist    shoots  70  grain bullets   better  than  4 grand . 5 shots  cover with a  dime  at 100 yds  love  it  .still  doing  more  load  developement

Is that a 40 deg. shoulder on your improved? I have been thinking about a 6mm-06 for long range shooting myself. But I have also not been able to find any load data for this round, Loads from a Disk and Quickloads both sort of balk at it, but maybe the person I had putting the data in didn't do it right, I wasn't there to see. What are your thought of the differences between the 6mm-06 and the 6mm-06 Imp?

Greg

[IOWA DON]

I have a 6mm-06 barrel for my TCR-87 rifle (break-over, single-shot, hannerless). The barrel is 29 inches long and it shoots the Nosler 70-grain Balistic Tips at 3,930 fps. I make my cases fron .25-06 brass. My gun is strong but somewhat flexible compared to a bolt action so cases stretch out and would fail after a few reloads. Therefore, making improved cases is too much of a pain for me compared to someone with a bolt action where the cases may last 15 reloadings. It is a great coyote gun and I've shot 3 deer with it, all with the 70-grain bullets. With this cartridge and 70-grain bullets you can zero in for 300 yards and have only a 2.7-inch maximum bullet rise. It would be about 7 inches low at 400 yards. - DON

[Lone Star]

A more modern approach would be the .243 WSSM, a ballistic clone of the .24-06.  Please note that I didn't say better, just more modern.

Realize that barrel life for the average .24-06/.243WSSM is relatively short unless the shooter is careful not to overheat the barrel.  30 years ago I washed out the throat of a 6mm Remington in one hot afternoon at the range, firing too fast and getting the barrel 'way hot.  I know better now.   


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[GregP42]

Don,

If I build the one I am thinking of it too will be on a break open action, but with a 24" bull barrel. Where are you getting your loading data from and what kind of pressures are you running with your reloads? Have you tried the heavy 87gr bullets? I want to use this for a 600 yard gun for varmints, maybe out to 800-900 if I have a safe place to shoot. I have a 600 yard range I shoot on at the club I go to, so practicing at that range is not an issue. Thanks for all the info and help.

Greg

[GregP42]

A more modern approach would be the .243 WSSM, a ballistic clone of the .24-06.  Please note that I didn't say better, just more modern.

Realize that barrel life for the average .24-06/.243WSSM is relatively short unless the shooter is careful not to overheat the barrel.  30 years ago I washed out the throat of a 6mm Remington in one hot afternoon at the range, firing too fast and getting the barrel 'way hot.  I know better now.   


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Lone Star,

Yes I did the same thing when I was young with a .22-250 one afternoon, burned out the throat for several inches, not a pretty thing. Now I take it slow, take a shot, check target, look for next target, if the barrel is still hot shoot a different gun, always take two with you if you can, three if you have them.

Greg