i made up a "test round"(empty case and hornaday 95 gr sst) for my mod 70 tonight. i left the round at about 2.9" and chambered it to get the actual col of my rifle, and it"s coming out at 2.855". i"m worried about this rifle, as it"s a winchester westerner which i think was only made in the early eighties. this makes my rifle over 20 yrs old. is 2.855" overly long for a .243 win, is the throat burnt out on this gun,is this normal, or do i need a new rifle? any help or advice appreciated.
ps, i might have a rifle for sale if anyone wants one!

Brass Thief.

l'm away from my books and bits (stuck at work) at the moment so l can't help you with the COL for your Winch' but if you're worried about the barrel then find a gunsmith with a bore scope and take a peek down the pipe

Dave.
....

You usually run out of mag. length (at least in a M700SA) before you hit the lands on a factory bbl. I would have to single load a 2.90" round in a M700SA. A COL of 2.800" is norm.

Throat wear is not something to worry about unless accuracy is an issue.

My 6.5x55 has lengthened to the extent that bullets that previously seated close to the lands with calibre length in the case now fall out by some margin - accuracy is still stellar.

It is not allways necessary to get close to the lands for good accuracy.

One thing to be aware of however is that there is some conjecture that the 243 is more prone to throat wear related pressure excursions ie it might be an idea to stick to book loads.