223 WSSM - A bargain or a lemon?

Jetjock

Jetjock

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Have an opportunity to purchase a Winchester Model 70, wood stocked, in 223 WSSM caliber. This cartridge looks strange and has an extreme bottleneck shape. Like most calibers it has its fans and its detractors. From what I have read, it was developed by Winchester but has been discontinued since Browning took over. Concerns are that it is a real barrel burner, needs a new barrel after less than a thousand rounds, and is a pain to shoot as accuracy falls off after less than 10 rounds and then has to be cleaned. Ammo and brass hard to come by.

Proponents claim it is the fastest of the 22s and, when loaded down, throat errosion is not a problem. Seems counter intuitive to me to load down when speed is the objective!

Any thoughts or experience with this cartridge?
 
I had a Rem7 re-barreled to the .223WSSM shortly after the round came out. It was effective, accurate, and LOUD. A cool novelty, but as stated above, a complete waste of time and money when compared to the perennial .22-250. I'd never buy another one.
 
I had one in a browning A-bolt. Ran factory Winchester super x ammo through it and still a lot of pressure built on the bolt when expending cartridges. It did cycle the odd looking cartridges fine but accuracy was no better than any other varmint round could give you. Much happier with the 204 I replaced it with.
 
My experience is with the 243 wssm and I refer to it as the Lil-gun-that-could. It has taken deer out to 400 yards and "shoots flat". It's a go to cartridge when one wants to carry a light rifle and with little recoil that will reach out there and since the beginning has never created a situation which resulted in a flinch of any sort. If I were to consider a 22 wssm I would be inclined to rebarrel to a 243 wssm or a 25 wssm. Nice cartridges and they work for what they are.
 
I almost went down that road once, but what put me off is the super short action combined with a large bolt face. Doesn't leave you with many options if you aren't happy with the cartridge.
 
Jetjock said:
Have an opportunity to purchase a Winchester Model 70, wood stocked, in 223 WSSM caliber. This cartridge looks strange and has an extreme bottleneck shape. Like most calibers it has its fans and its detractors. From what I have read, it was developed by Winchester but has been discontinued since Browning took over. Concerns are that it is a real barrel burner, needs a new barrel after less than a thousand rounds, and is a pain to shoot as accuracy falls off after less than 10 rounds and then has to be cleaned. Ammo and brass hard to come by.

Proponents claim it is the fastest of the 22s and, when loaded down, throat errosion is not a problem. Seems counter intuitive to me to load down when speed is the objective!

Any thoughts or experience with this cartridge?
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I had a browning abolt in 223 wssm. Very nice gun, shot well for the times I did take it out. Had to cycle the reloads a certain way, and round nosed projectiles seemed to work best. Factory ammo cycled without issue, but had to be deliberate.

I wouldn't worry too much about the barrel burning out if it's in decent shape to begin with since both browning and winchester lined the barrels with chrome to address this issue.

I did end up selling both my 223 and 25 wssm, but only because my real vice lies with all things Sako. i have a bunch of brass, factory ammo and dies if you do decide to buy your self a new toy.
 
It would depend on the deal. If it was a good price, came with reloading components and it interested me, I would buy it. Resale value will be low so it's not something I would want to spend lots of money on.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I think I’ll pass as I have too many problems in my life already, don't need any more!
 
If the deal is cheap enough you could build a oddball off that action. Say a 458 bullet stuffed in a 300wsm case cutoff at the bottom of the shoulder, so its oal is short enough for the action. Something like a 16" barrel length, be a great little deer rifle. There would be some headaches to work through, but it would be something you dont see every day.
 
Had a Winchester M70 Coyote in .243 WSSM and it was a beautiful rifle. It shot very well with the 70-80gr projectiles with reasonable velocity....3600fps range. The WSSM's can run pretty fast if you load them that way, but don't believe everything you read about the .223 ruining barrels on the first day....bunch of crap. That being said if I remember correctly, the Winchester had a 1:10 twist which was tough on the lighter projectiles at the higher speeds. The brass is tough to work with compared to others as well.
 
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