Was Anything Wrong With The .244?

Written by Sierra Bullets Ballistic Technician Paul Box

The year was 1955. A time of carhops, drive-in movies and Buffalo Bob. It was also the year that Winchester introduced the .243 and Remington counter-punched with the .244. The .243 was based off the time proven .308 case while Remington chose the old war horse, the 7×57.

We’ve all read countless times how Winchester chose the 1-10″ twist, while Remington adopted the 1-12″ for their .244. The first complaint in the gun magazines of that era was how the faster twist Winchester choice could handle 100 gr. bullets, and Remington‘s factory offering was a 95 gr. bullet.

The first complaint I remember reading was that the 100 gr. was better suited for deer- sized game and the 1-12″ wouldn’t stabilize bullets in this weight range. Now, let’s look at this a little closer. Anybody that thinks a 100 gr. is a deer bullet and a 95 gr. isn’t, has been drinking to much kool-aid. In all honesty, it’s all about bullet construction and Remington had constructed the 95’s with light game in mind. In other words, Remington got it right, but due to a lack of knowledge at the time on both bullet construction and stability, the .244 never gained the popularity it deserved. At that time, Sierra had the 100 gr. SMP and Hornady offered a 100 gr. RN that would both stabilize in the slower 1-12″ twist.

Another classic example of how the popularity of a cartridge suffered due to a lack of knowledge.