Caliber question
Question:
> So what is a .244, and is ammo still available?
The 244 Remington is now known as the 6mm Remington and ammunition most definitely is available. Sort of. When Remington brought out the 244, they viewed it as a super varmint rifle and selected a twist rate that worked just fine for light bullets (90 grains and under), but would not stabilize larger (100 grain) bullets like the 243 Winchester it was supposed to compete with. Remington corrected this mistake a few years later and renamed the cartridge. The kicker is that a rifle labeled 244 *MAY* have the old, slow twist barrel and show accuracy problems when using larger bullets. Kind of tough to say without knowing more about the particular rifle in question. If it turns out to have come from Remington, I’d bet that this is the case. This should still be a usable rifle, however. There are high- performance 90 grain bullets available from several sources if someone wants to handload for this cartridge. Factory ammo may be a bit more problemmatic. Remington doesn’t list a suitable load, and I’d be surprised if anyone else does either. You might suggest that the youngster try some of the 100 grain factory loads and see how they group. If he’s lucky, the rifle was fitted with a faster twist barrel at some point, but I wouldn’t count on it. If he’s really lucky, it will shoot decent groups at hunting distances in spite of the twist rate. Stranger things have happened. –steve –steve Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
> I know a boy who wants me to come over and see his "new gun." He just > inherited his grandfather’s .244 rifle. I asked if he really meant > .243, and he assured me that it says .244 on the barrel. I’m not > familiar with it. The gun is a semiautomatic, I don’t know make or > model. So what is a .244, and is ammo still available?
Eric, The .244 Remington is the predecessor of the moribund 6mm Remington (or essentially a 6×57 or .257 Roberts necked down to 6mm). Same case, same chamber, but loaded with 75 or 90 grain bullets and equipped with a 1:12 rifling twist that did not stabilize the longer 100 grain spitzer bullets. Remington gave the .244 a makeover; changing it name to 6mm Remington and the rifling twist to 1:9. A selfloading .244 is most likely the Remington 742. In factory ammo if the boy’s rifle won’t stabilize 100 grain 6mm Remington loads then he may be stuck with the 75 grain V-Max, which is described as a frangible varmint slug instead of a game bullet. He may need to learn to handload if he needs a deer gun. Good hunting! Michael Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
I know a boy who wants me to come over and see his "new gun." He just inherited his grandfather’s .244 rifle. I asked if he really meant .243, and he assured me that it says .244 on the barrel. I’m not familiar with it. The gun is a semiautomatic, I don’t know make or model. So what is a .244, and is ammo still available? Thanks, Eric Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
Response:
Eric, The .244 Remington is now known as the 6mm Remington. When first introduced it was apparently conceived as purely a varmint cartridge. Their rifles had a slower twist that did not stabilize heavier bullets as well as the .243 Winchester (Whose rifles had a faster twist) introduced shortly thereafter. Therefore, the .243 got a name quickly as a dual purpose cartridge. Remington changed the twist in their rifles and renamed the cartridge the 6mm Remington marketing it as dual purpose. However, Winchester apparently had a better start out the gate on the dual purpose claim and Remington never caught up. I have known a few, and heard of other, owners of the original .244 rifles claim to have no problems with accuracy using 100 grain bullets. I would advise the young man to try them and see how they group for him if he intends to deer hunt with the rifle. The 6mm case has more capacity than the .243 Winchester and is just a bit faster. Basically one will do what the other will. Visit the rec.hunting and rec.hunting.dogs FAQ Home Page at: http://sportsmansweb.com/hunting/
