.25 WSSM vs .243 WSSM vs....

[BlackWolf]

Alright, I've been posting a good bit and fishing for data, as some of you may have surmized by reading my posts - I pretty much have the itch for a new gun but can't even begin to decide which one I'd like..... Currently have a .270 as my only rifle.  I've considered going much bigger (300, 325 wsm, 358, etc) and now I think im more settled on going much smaller (mostly thanks to all of the superb writing that chuck hawks has done).  I started looking at the two calibers above and would like some opinions on these.  Currently for rifle hunting we only have lots of deer and black bear here in western PA (some very large bears I might add, 400+ and 662 lbs pulled out of my valley in the last 3 years).  I think that the .270 covers those areas pretty well.  I thought about the .25 wssm for a lightweight/low recoil (browning composite stalker) deer rifle or possibly the .243 wssm as a combination lightweight deer rifle/ground hog rifle.  Any good opinions on this topic out there?

Graybeard- I think you have an absolutely great thing going here, I've found more valuable data on these forums than anywhere else on the net.

[longwalker]

Why not just go with a 243 and be done with it. Light weight less report good on deer and excellant on varmints. Less expensive ammunition and less expensive to reload for.

If you wood chuck hunt from a table the muzzel blast won't be a problem. If you shoot from the ground the wssm will kick up a fair amount of dust which always ends up in someones eyes.

longwalker

[The Sodbuster]

If it's primarily for groundhogs and secondarily for deer, go with a .243 Win or .243 WSSM.  But if I wanted a light deer rifle, I'd go for the .25 WSSM.  If someone other than Browning had offered that caliber for lefties, I'd have given it serious consideration (heard too much about feeding problems with brownings on this forum; especially with handloads).

There will always be comments to the effect of "Why get this-n-that when such-n-such will do the job just as well with less recoil, wider bullet selection, cheaper to shoot, etc."  It's all well intended, but if you've got your heart set on a super short magnum or any particular caliber, don't give up too easily.  They all have pros and cons and in the end, most all will get the job done (unless you're going after seriously big and/or dangerous game).

[GregH]

I own the 25 WSSM as well as a 243 and 25-06.   If you want light and all around nice little rifle by all means get the 25WSSM.  Just my opinion but I kills deer plus shoots the 75 grain Vmax as rather nice velocities.  No perfect rifle exists but for all around groundhog to deer, it would be difficult to beat in a short, light package.
GregH