Hi all. Im hoping to bring back some 240 WM brass from the US when im over in August, and was just wondering what options i might have for building a rifle. A very uncommon calibre in New Zealand, so i wont be able to buy anything chambered in this off the shelf. Is it possible to buy an off the shelf rifle say in .243, and have it re-chambered in 240 WM? Any other options other than a complete custom rifle build? Any help appreciated

The 240 WBY is a long action cartridge, the 243 is a short action, in most guns. There may be some companies that have the 243 in a long action. I am a sako and Rem fan and their 243 s are in short actions.
I have a custom 240 wby and like it a lot.
I bought a Rem 700 270 Win and had it rebarreled to a 240 wby. I had some other custom work done, trued the action, and a mcMillan stock. However it can be just a simple barrel job if you have a 25-06, 270, 280, 30-06.

Before I chambered for the .240 Weatherby, I'd chamber to the .243 superrockchucker.

It's a .25-06 case necked down to .243 with a 25 degree shoulder angle. Very much like a 6mm/06

This will require a long action such as a .25-06, .270, 30-06 etc......and a new barrel.

The truth be known.....you won't substantially improve on the performance of the standard .243 Win or 6mm Remington....maybe 200 FPS and the same can be said for the 240 Wby!

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The truth be known.....you won't substantially improve on the performance of the standard .243 Win or 6mm Remington....maybe 200 FPS and the same can be said for the 240 Wby!

+1 I have nothing against the 240Wby. But for the most part you will just burn more powder and your barrel for small gains. I built a 240PDK years ago. A blown out shoulder forward 280 case. Slightly bigger than a 240Gibbs. I burned a lot of powder and my gain was less than 100fps over my 6mm.

A 240Wby is simply an 06 case with a belt and radius shoulder. Like Vapodog said a 6mm-06 or even 6-284 will give you the same or larger capacity.

If I wanted to put that much powder behind a 6mm bullet I would look to a 6-284. Fantastic brass is available. And it will give everything a 240Wby will. The 6-284 has been built on short actions. I happen to prefer a long. I have a 243 MKX I'd thought about sticking a 6-284 in.

All that said if you really want a 240Wby don't let any of our comments keep you from the toy you want. I own a number of rifles that something else would have worked just as well or maybe better.

Go 6/284. You can take a short action like a Model 7,trim the bolt stop, build a box from a long action 700 magazine box and seat bullets to flush with the neck, It is a great cartridge.

Cheers guys. So with a 6mm-284 could i use an off the shelf .243 since they are both short action and rechamber?

240wm has cool factor & less over bore than anything 06 or 284 based.
consider finding yourself a Weatherby lightweight or Ultralight in 240wm,work up some loads and go hunting!
Dont underestimate the capability of fast small bores.
even the somewhat diminutive 260rem with 95gnHV, will clock near 3400mv.

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240wm has cool factor & less over bore than anything 06 or 284 based.

I don't have either here to measure however with a 95gr bullet QL calls the net capacity of the 240 as 58 the 6-284 as 59. You will have more difference than that between manufacturers.

I have a 9 lug Weatherby MkV in 240 that gives great performance from a pencil barrel. I shoot the 80gr Barnes TTSX with IMR-7828 that gives me less than 1/2" groups if you keep it cool. Only downside ot a 240 is expensive brass.

that was a VERY beautiful rifle.

Agree with Trax, I have an old japan 9 lug deluxe that is too pretty to hunt so I got an ultra light some time ago and it is tops. It shoots bugs with most bullets I have tried in front of 4831 and with 85 grain TXSs penetration is seemingly limited only by how thick the animal is. 243 WSSM is a pretty fun number as well, but the super short case loses cool points after .22 cal.

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Originally posted by heavydman:
Cheers guys. So with a 6mm-284 could i use an off the shelf .243 since they are both short action and rechamber?

My 6mm-284 started out as a heavy-barreled Remington 700 in 243; I never shot any 243 in it, went straight to a smith and had it rechambered and the lugs lapped. It shoots 1/2" groups with 85-grain Noslers of both flavors, but won't stabilize 117-grain VLDs ( I have almost a whole box of those bullets someplace in my stuff, if anybody wants to trade for something smaller). I didn't make any changes to the magazine and it doesn't feed quite perfectly, but I usually carry it empty and single-load it anyway. I sold the original stock, now use a slightly modified synthetic stock with an aluminum bedding block, more weather-resistant than the original.

Thanks for all the info. Do any of you USA guys happen to know anything about getting brass out of the country? its fine from my end but i cant get a reply from US customs about whether there will be any problems when i go to leave. Dont really want any hassles at the airport. Cheers

Literally thousands of Americans leave on airplanes every year with loaded ammo.....many flying to Johannesberg hunting. It sure looks like it's fine leaving the country with this stuff.....entering another country is where I'd focus my concern.

Some countries may be difficult to even bring in reloading components such as brass!

Don't worry about getting the brass though customs. You should be able to fit about hundred pieces in your body cavity. The customs agents will never know.

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Originally posted by heavydman:
Thanks for all the info. Do any of you USA guys happen to know anything about getting brass out of the country? ...

You might consider buying all you want and then stopping by a UPS store to send it to yourself at home. You could call UPS while here with the approximate weight and box size to see what the Rate would be.

First off though, I'd call your airport and ask one of the Security folks if there are any Restrictions about bringing "Empty non-primed" Cases inbound within the "Checked" Baggage. You may be concerned about something that doesn't bother them at all.

Best of luck to you.

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Originally posted by duckboat:
Don't worry about getting the brass though customs. You should be able to fit about hundred pieces in your body cavity. The customs agents will never know.

I like the 240 WM but i dont like it that much Lucky im not getting a 50cal bmg otherwise things could get really uncomfortable

Ibuilt a 240 W on a 243 some years ago-you do need to rebarrel,you cannot rechamber the 243 unless you cut some thread of the barrel.It is great little round,and a rifle in a factory round will allways be easier to sell