Anyone have any info/experience concerning the Winchester 223 Super Short Magnum & the new shorter action rifles being chambered for this round? I have a friend who is checking into this rifle/round & he asked that I check the forums to see if there is any good info on them. In particular he is interested in the rifle actions, feeding/extraction & if the brass suitable for reloading after being shot. Also ballistics. If anyone can provide any feedback on this topic, it would be appreciated. Thanks, Doug
Winchester 223 Super Short Magnum?
- Thread starter Doug S
- Start date
- Status
sumpnz
Member
I don't know much (and nothing firsthand) about the .223WSSM, but from what I've read I can't see much reason to get it rather than a 22-250, or 220 Swift. I really don't see how the savings of a half inch or so on action length would really matter. I mean, seriously, would you choose an overall 39.5" rifle over a 40.0" rifle? The shorter action does not, from all accounts I've seen, offer any improvement in real world accuracy. If you don't already have any .22 centerfires, then a .223WSSM might make sense. But doubt I'd ever trade a 22-250 or 220 Swift on one.
Feeding and extraction are not likely to be an issue with a bolt gun, or least no more of an issue than with any other caliber in that rifle. I think there were some problems with that on the early test rifles, but I would imagine they've licked any that were there by now. The rifles featured in the few articles I've seen on the cartridge have all been bolt actions, though if it's properly designed an autoloader should work OK.
As long as the brass is boxer primed, and it is essentially guaranteed to be so primed, then it will be reloadable. Brass life probably won't be as long as with non-magnum .243 though.
At least in terms of the .243WSSM, what I've been seeing is that it really doesn't buy you anything in terms of performance over the 6mm Rem cartridge. And, with it's higher powder capacity it will burn out barrels faster than the 6mm. The .240 Weatherby Mag does actually give a performance advantage though.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/243wssm.htm
If you choose to subscribe you can view the entire article, rather than the exerpt above. In it he lists a factory load of a 100 grain bullet at a 3110 fps MV. For the 6mm, the 100 grain factory loads are listed at 3100 fps. That's a meaningless difference.
Feeding and extraction are not likely to be an issue with a bolt gun, or least no more of an issue than with any other caliber in that rifle. I think there were some problems with that on the early test rifles, but I would imagine they've licked any that were there by now. The rifles featured in the few articles I've seen on the cartridge have all been bolt actions, though if it's properly designed an autoloader should work OK.
As long as the brass is boxer primed, and it is essentially guaranteed to be so primed, then it will be reloadable. Brass life probably won't be as long as with non-magnum .243 though.
At least in terms of the .243WSSM, what I've been seeing is that it really doesn't buy you anything in terms of performance over the 6mm Rem cartridge. And, with it's higher powder capacity it will burn out barrels faster than the 6mm. The .240 Weatherby Mag does actually give a performance advantage though.
http://www.chuckhawks.com/243wssm.htm
If you choose to subscribe you can view the entire article, rather than the exerpt above. In it he lists a factory load of a 100 grain bullet at a 3110 fps MV. For the 6mm, the 100 grain factory loads are listed at 3100 fps. That's a meaningless difference.
Thanks for the info. I did speak with my friend this evening & we discussed the issue he is having in more detail. It seems that the fired brass from his newly purchased Winchester Model 70 223 WSSM has significant fouling on the brass after extraction. The fouling goes 360 around the case and it goes as far back as the head of the casing. He is concerned that the head space may be off, or that something is out of spec. It seems that the brass is not expanding in the chamber. He was wondering if any on these forums have experienced anything similar with the SSM’s. Is this a brass issue, the rifle, or just the norm? Thanks, again for any help. Doug
Last edited:
WonderNine
member
.223 Remington is ALOT cheaper and kills those prairie dogs and coyotes just as dead. 
Steve Smith
Moderator Emeritus
Barrel life will be measured in minutes.
Well, the shorter powder column should theoretically lead to improved accuracy.
However, though I'm sure USRAC and will tell us the extraction/feeding issues in the Winchester Model 70 are not an issue, I still wonder. The "Model 70" is now a brand, and not really a "model." If the M70 you're interested in (there are three distinct models within the M70 brand) is the Controlled Round Feed, then personally, I'd pass.
Think about the angles involved: a short, fat case grabbed by the extractor when coming out of the magazine. It's "controlled," right? That means it doesn't point up towards the chamber much, and since it doesn't bend much either, that means the short, fat cases will have more feeding problems than the longer, slimmer ones do. That being said, the M70 "Push Feed" and the "Controlled Round Push Feed" models should not suffer from this particular problem.
Jaywalker
However, though I'm sure USRAC and will tell us the extraction/feeding issues in the Winchester Model 70 are not an issue, I still wonder. The "Model 70" is now a brand, and not really a "model." If the M70 you're interested in (there are three distinct models within the M70 brand) is the Controlled Round Feed, then personally, I'd pass.
Think about the angles involved: a short, fat case grabbed by the extractor when coming out of the magazine. It's "controlled," right? That means it doesn't point up towards the chamber much, and since it doesn't bend much either, that means the short, fat cases will have more feeding problems than the longer, slimmer ones do. That being said, the M70 "Push Feed" and the "Controlled Round Push Feed" models should not suffer from this particular problem.
Jaywalker
Red_SC
Member
From what I've heard, barrel life is unbelievably short. But, I don't have any firsthand experience.
- Status