It seem browning Winchester and Hornady did thier testing in 24"&26" barrels but the only thing they are selling has a 21"-22" barrel . In fact they are no better than the 243 Win or 6mm Rem when barrel lenghth is taken into consideration . Add to that the feed problems and barrel erosion problems an it don't come up + in my book .

Thanks guys,
First off let me say how impressed I am by how many life members replied to this post. Let me try to reply to all of those in one short paragraph. First, I dont believe everything I read in magazines(hence me asking your opinions, hoping for some hands on replys, I respect yours much more) Plus when was the last time you read an article that trashed something new(they are all positive. I work in gun sales, I get the idea of marketing, why buy something new that does what something else already does. Toys for boys thats why . I dont own a varmint caliber, if i did I wouldnt buy a wssm. Everything was new at one time. The 6mm remington was mentioned multiple times. The 6mm remington is considered a failure by remington(ok, atleast by me. They marketed it as a varmint gun at the same time the 243 win came out that emphasized a gun that was dual purpose, so the 6mm never sold)The 6mm rem has its purpose, honestly, i cant remember the last time someone asked to see a rifle chambered in that round. Now maybe the 243 wssm will end up in that category, obviosly people like their 6mm rems, but it is by no means a commercial success. The WSM's sell like hotcakes (except for the 7mm, it sells but not like the 270 and 300). The rem saums, havent had nearly the request. I thank you all for your feedback. I know its a risk, but somebody once had to have the guts to give the .308 win, .22-250 a first try now they are classics. Look at the 17hmr, people laughed at that lil round. Now, its bar none the hottest selling thing since in came out. Does it really make a huge difference over the 22 wmr, no a dead ground hog is a dead ground hog, but those 17s are fun as hell and here to stay. Time will tell with the wssms, I think i might just try one out. we are all gun guys and need to stick together these days. Thanks again. PS I work at big retailer that starts with a C and ends with a 'S. just to let you know where i get my feedback from

If that was true we would all shot 223, 30-06, and 12 guage.

Boddington says a lot of good things about classic cartridges, but 90% of his hunting (non-gun/cartridge based) articles and books all say something along the lines of-My old standby always seems to be my .30-06, but on hunts like this a .300win mag is just a better choice-or something like-the .270 is an outstanding classic deer round, one of my favorites, but on this hunt I opted for the more powerful....Like I said, he says a lot of good about classic rounds, but all be danged if he's going to get caught hunting one-at least in one of his articles...although I was pleasantly surprised at his "Buffalo Classic" article in Petersons about the H&R 1871 Buffalo Classic .45-70, yes it's a big bore, but far from a magnum, although he pointed out that he was using hopped up loads and the newly arrived Garret and buffalo bore factory ammo.

And about the article's about the short mag's in P's H., like I said before, he's got as big of case of "magnumitus" as he does "bigboritus", so as long as it's fast, he'll claim to like it...AND, like I said before, there's no true way to tell whether he's endorsing something for free, of if Winchester is padding his pockets to sell rounds and rifles.

Now I don't really like reading gun mags for the most part. In one issue, sponsered by Winchester, those rifles are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Than in the next issue, that same writer won't shoot anything but Remington. See my point? Just an example, but true in most cases. I also work for a sporting goods store, and have played a little. My opinion on the Wssm's is controversal. People are lazy. Thats all. Unless were talking about a Model 70 Featherweight, or tikka T3 for a carrying rifle, most guys want a heavy barrel varmint gun right? I know theres more lighter ones out there but you see where I'm coming from. Now in a scoped rifle that weighs, say ten pounds, is that 3/4 inch shorter action going to save weight? Than guys will say the Wssms have a shorter bolt throw for faster follow up shots. But be honest, does that shorter bolt really help that much? I told you it was controversal. Now look at ballistics. The .223 Wssm will fly appox. as fast as a .220 Swift. And the .243? Guys think it shoots a 100 grain slug at 4000fps. But it's really a 55 grainer at about 4030 fps, factory loaded. Impressive yes but I loaded my model 70 Varminter in .243 Win with IMR 3031 powder, and 55 grain Nolsler balistic tips, and launched them at 4000 fps. No pressure signs, and lots of case capacity to go. Now you may say that you could probably stuff more powder in the short mag, but do you really need to go faster than that? Everything I shot out to 300 yards exploded almost instantly. I'm not sold yet. I dont know about the rest of you, but I'll stick with my tried and true, been around forever cartridges. Sorry if I've offended anyone.