I was just looking at the ballistics for the new .243 and .223 WSM's. Not having shot them, all I have to compare is "paper"!
I'd like to hear from those who have any experience with these new calibers.
What I see doesn't impress me any more than any of the other new WSM's and Ultra's that I have seen! Not enough difference in the old standard calibers to justify the prices or the hype!
As for the 2 newest offerings, I am really disappointed in the .243 WSM! Certainly not enough improvement over the .243 or 6MM Rem. to justify anything!
As for the .223 WSM, it may be the best of the WSM's on paper anyway.
It is a good improvement over the .223, and it even tops the .22-250 quite a bit too! However, for what I would shoot with any .22 centerfire caliber, the old .223 or the .22-250 will do fine, without the added expense of a new gun, higher priced ammo, and the risk of having an obsolete caliber in five years.
As I said, this is "paper" comparisons, I'd be happy to hear from experience! I'm still not moved by the WSM/Ultra mag hype! I guess if it is good for the gun industry, then its good for the gun owners too!

I have to tell you that I haven't seen these two new calibers on the streets yet. I'm by no means into the magnum craze, feel the 06 will do anything I need it to do. Come the think of it I haven't even seen them on the auction sites yet. I usually checkout gunbroker, gunfinder and a few of the others on a regular basis. I guess I'm one of those guys that prefer tried and true over something new. Like you said it may be obsolete in a few years and even if it isn't ammo and components such as the brass are going to be real expensive for a while. The only real advantage is the short action, but the vendors don't take advantage of this by giving 2 more inche of barrel which would do more to help substantiate what they claim it will do. I have however had the opportunity to shoot the 7mm and the 270 wsm. Recoil I would say was about on par with their long action counterpart with a Pachmeyer Decelorator, so maybe a bit more kick. Otherwise I don't think it offers any thing to make me want to buy one.

isnt there super short mags(wssm) out now too?? i dont think that garbs needed...why call it a short mag or a ultra mag?? call it something else!..i really feel the standard mags and the regular calibers are perfect and weve proved it for years..dead is dead and when i hit em with my 06 thats dead enough...i actually feel the 06 overkills at the ranges i shoot deer...(no farther than 50yds) but hey i have a chance to be walking down a wide open path like i do for 2 miles to get to my spot that i can see a deer 200yds away..even that far i know i can hit it and kill with my 06...who needs a short mag??

Well some of you might not like the "new magnums", But I don't like the "old magnums". I have never liked a belted case on anything. Had a 7mm mag once and sold it. Now use a .270 for just about everything. Also what if this is your first gun. Should everyone use a 30-06 and call it good. Yes the 30-06 will kill anything out there, but that would get pretty boring wouldn't it. I would rather get very similar ballistics out of a short action rifle then use a long action belted magnum. The rifle is lighter, cycles faster, burns less powder, and head spaces on the shoulder instead of the belt.

In the same respect I guess that we should all be driving cars from the 50's. How many of you have a truck or car that was made after 1998? You are typing on computers to say that the old tried and true is just fine. Just call up your buddy on the phone and talk there, but oh yeah wait, that too was a new invention at one time also. Heck maybe we should go back before we even had guns, cars, and computers and just hunt with spears, after all they have been killing animals for tens of thousands of years. If that's not tried and true then I don't know what is!

Ya will not see them on the shelf untill the end of Feb. even then they will be few and far between. Most will be given to the top end dealers and used for test shoots. Around a year from now you will start to see them more often. I myself would like to shoot a few rounds from the .223 and.243WSSM. It would be like test driving a new car before anyone else.

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Bigbulls, the .308 is really a short action 30.06! No belt, no magnum label!
It's not that I don't like anything new, it's just that I don't see anything improved! At least not enough to justify the hype or the cost.

Just like the 300WSM is a short action 300 Win mag. Very little differance in performance (velocity) but there are definite advantages as listed in my first post. You can only propell a certain weight bullet so fast w/o blowing everything up. You can however propell it to the relatively same velocity more efficently, with less weight, and the real possibility of better accuracy.
Just like a 67 camaro will do a 1/4 mile in XX seconds and so will a 2003 camaro but the new one does it more efficently and with less emmissions. What is the extra cost in these cartriges besides the slight cost of the ammo? The guns cost the same, the scopes cost the same, the rings. A box or .270 Federal HE TBBC costs me $35 a box and considering the cost of an elk hunt the cost of a slightly more expensive box of ammo is nothing. Also considering the cost of Weatherby guns and ammo that argument doesn't hold much water with me.
The only thing in life that is constant is change.