Are the 223 WSSM, and the 243WSSM going obsolete?

C

coyota1

New member
I have noticed that niether Winchester, nor Browning show rifles chambered for the 223 WSSM, and the 243 WSSM. Am I missing something, or are these cartidges being quietly dropped?
 
What do you mean "going"? They already went!

Nobody makes rifles, and ammo is virtually nonexistant. If you do find some, it's way over-priced.
 
Already went... I remember when I first saw the 223 WSSM at Cabella's I told the clerk they wouldn't last. Only so many ways to skin a cat. That must have been 10 years ago already. Do you know when they were dropped?
 
Both were very good rounds in my opinion, the 243WSSM being a near ballistic twin of the 243AI and the 223WSSM being the fastest (or very, very nearly) 22 caliber round ever made.

I think their demise may have had something to do with the shutdown of the New Haven facility but I'm not sure.
 
There were some feeding issues with rounds that short and fat. Winchester had to modify their actions and even then they were less reliable than other rounds. From a performance standpoint they do offer some advantages. Just not enough to justify the negatives.
 
If I wanted short and fat, I would pick the 22 PPC. Why would shutting down the New Haven plant cause Winchester to discontinue production if it were successful?
 
Like I said, I'm not sure. I don't think they ever had time to GET successful. They'd only been out a year or two before the plant closed. Winchester firearms and Winchester Ammunition aren't even the same company and I don't know which one designed the round. I suspect it was Ammunition, since Browning jumped in with making rifles so quickly. The plant may have had nothing to do with it.

Anyway, just like businesses, far more cartridges fail than succeed, regardless of what they are or are not, it's just the luck of the draw.
 
Thats too bad. Even if they were having some issues I think an upper reciever for an AR in 243wssm or 25wssm would be excellent deer and hog rifles. Maybe they could have spent a little more time making it work especially in the AR platform and it maybe would have been more sucessful. Who knows.
 
There were several issues with the 223WSSM and the 243WSSM. One already mentioned, the cartridge was short and fat with a sharp shoulder, which can cause feeding issues. Another was barrel erosion: Browning and Winchester had to chrome line the bores on the rifles, and even then the bore erosion was extreme. And neither really offered any more than shooters could already get from other cartridges that were already available. The 223WSSM did not really do a whole lot more than the 224 Middlestead or 224 TTH wildcats, except it had a lot more bore erosion. The 243WSSM offered little improvement over a 243 AI or 6mmAI, and the barrel life issue was a major setback for Browning and Winchester. I think most shooters are seeking some kind of balance between accuracy, velocity, and barrel life, and the WSSM cartridges did not offer it.

Also, Winchester got sued by the developer of the WSM cartridges, and dropping the WSSM line may have had something to do with that.
 
pretty much the only 243's still in existence are the 243 winchester and 243 weatherby mag but even the WBYMag seems to have died in it's tracks. there is just no real demand for a magnum round that only fires a 100 grain projectile.
 
The WSSMs are obsolescent because nobody makes rifles for them anymore. They are not yet obsolete because ammunition is still available.

For now. If you own one, stock up on plenty of brass while you still can.

There were some technical issues and since rifle were no longer available after the closure of the Winchester factory in 2006, it's difficult to pinpoint an exact cause. Demand was underwhelming in any case.
 
What are the presumed advantages of really short fat cases?

The ammo would be unhandy, to say the least. So asking from the ignoramus position, are there substantial accuracy, efficiency, velocity, or consistency benefits?
 
The short stubby cartridge in theory should lend to accuracy cause the receiver is shorter and stiffer. The shape of the case should like the ppc cartridge lend to a more consistent even burn.
 
I would say the 22 250 or the swift would be the the best choice if you want the hottest 22 centerfire round. I like the 22 250 myself. The WSSM are not even ballistically superior (less than 200 fps). Not worth burning up a barrel for that. A good example of the law of diminishing returns.
 
Unless things have changed, the 22 Earsplittenloudenboomer was the fastest 22 cartridge made. It was made to see if they could get the majic 5000 fps mark.
 
sc928porsche said:
Unless things have changed, the 22 Earsplittenloudenboomer was the fastest 22 cartridge made. It was made to see if they could get the majic 5000 fps mark.
Click to expand...

Usually when someone says "ever made", the context implies a quantity. Not a one-off, custom item. If every one off custom were counted, it would be pretty impossible to ever say anything was best/fastest/biggest since we'd never even know what we'd never heard of.
 
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