For 15-16yrs I used a 24" heavy barrel Olympic 243wssm AR upper on my Bushmaster lower. Of all of the predator rifles I owned. This was my ideal coyote rifle. It didn't kill coyotes any quicker than most high powers. But where it shined. Was it's wind cutting ability. I used only mfg Winchester 95 gr silver ballistic tip ammo. Most of my coyote killing was while shooting prone. The 95gr Win SBT. Cut through stout quartering & crosswind shooting. Making very tight groups @ 1/4 mile. 4.5" or less groups was the norm.
Unfortunately, Olin I believe was the only maker of the 95fr Win ammo. They suddenly they stopped making it. So I sold that upper & went back to using the heavy barrel 223 Bushmaster upper. Which was also very accurate. Shooting the win 45gr jhp(varmint pack) & the 55gr Win silver ballistic tip ammo.
Is that the rifle your camera replaced? :wink:
I still have my camera. I also recently bought a new 24" SS 243 AR. I did a test drive yesterday at 50 yards on a bench. 4 shot group a tad less than .5" I believe she will be a fine rifle.
Quote from: 1snafu on October 14, 2025, 09:54:02 AMI still have my camera.
No no...I wondered if that was the rifle... that the camera replaced. Meaning did you begin using the camera instead of the Bushmaster?
I sold that 243wssm upper a few yrs ago. Due to Olin stopped making that ammo. I gave the Bushmaster lower to one of my bros last year. I recently I bought a 24" stainless steel 243 upper & mounted in onto DPMS 308 lower. I also installed a custom adjustable trigger. Which I have adjusted to 1 & 1/2 lbs. With Win factory 80gr. It shoots a little less than 1-moa. Hey close enough.
I'm not in the same league as 1snafu, but I sure like the 6mm/.24 bores. Years ago when coyote prices were sky high, I got a heavy barreled custom Mauser 6mm Remington specifically for hunting coyotes. I lived in south central British Columbia at the time and besides coyotes killed several mule deer, whitetails, black bears and eventually a son killed a 6x6 bull elk with it. Loved to hunt with that round.
But finding an ideal fur friendly bullet in .243 was a challenge. After trying several bullets and talking with other fur hunters who shot .243, I settled on the 75 grain Hornady hollow point.
That 75 grain Hornaday consistently printed five shot groups of 5/8 inch. For deer and anything bigger than coyotes, I used 95 grain Nosler Partitions, which grouped an honest 3/8 inch, way the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. My son loves that rifle and it is his.
Continuing in .24 bore, I've acquired a Mohawk in .243 that two of my grandsons used on their first deer. That one is already a pre-death inheritance given to grandson Code.
And most recently I picked up a 6ARC in a Ruger American Gen II. That little rifle and round has put the fun back in shooting for me. It printed several 3/4 to one inch groups over a rolled up coat on the hood of my Zuki and seems to kill deer above its pay grade. I added a suppressor and it put two bullets within 3/8 inch. I was a little short of ammo so quit and called it good enough for hunting. Now I'm curious and want to take it to a real bench rest and see what it will do.
My meanders don't add much to the .243 WSSM topic :doh2:
I sold all my rifles and only hunt with my .17HMR now :biggrin: .
I always thought the 243 wssm would be pretty sweet for yotes but here in WV you can only use 22 cal or smaller at night. With that I figured a 223 wssm would be the ticket but with our terrain, shots are generally limited to under 200 yards and usually less than 100, so I figured my regular ol' 223/556 was fine. I haven't yote hunted for a couple of years, but generally I use a 6.8 during the day and my 556 at night. I purchased a DNT scope this spring for the latter. Kinda anxious to try it out. Just playing around with it is a hoot.
The 243 wssm doesn't kill coyotes any better than other coyote rifle I owned. What I liked most about using Win 95gr 243wssm SBTs. Was the ability of that round cutting through high crosswinds. Most of my shots were from 300-440yrd category. My farthest kill shot was right at 600yrds shooting prone. I shot 3x & hit that coyote 2x. Hey it wouldn't hold still. After the 1st hit :eyebrownod: