Convert .223 WSSM to .223 Remington?

B

Beepy

New member
Long time largely casual observer more than an active participant here.
A buddy recently asked what I was actually going to do with my 6.5 WSSM project rifle that has been languishing in the back of my safe.

Soooo, I have this Browning A-Bolt that once was a .223 WSSM and was converted to 6.5 WSSM. I have been considering converting it to .223 Remington. The action size/length is very appealing to me for the smaller .223 Rem. cartridge and there is no doubt .223 Rem. brass will be much easier to find in the future than any of the WSSM's.

Can somebody here provide more information regarding what all will be entailed in performing such a conversion? Can it even be done going from the oversized diameter of the WSSM to the petite diameter of the .223 rem.?

Thanks in advance for your time and attention.

BP
 
You'd be far better off to buy a new rifle in 223.
You see, opening up bolt faces and magazine boxes as well as feed lips is WAY easier (and cheaper) then making them shrink.
You are trying to go from a shell head of the 404 Jeffery size to a 222 Rem size. And the magazine is far to large to work not to mention that the mag-well on the action itself is 404 size too.
 
Not even remotely practical. As stated, it's hard to make a bolt face and feed rails get smaller and you'd need a complete new barrel. Anything is possible, but you'd probably spend more in the conversion than the cost of a brand new 223.

A 6.5 WSSM would be a terrific deer / antelope rifle. I'd pay whatever it costs for some WSSM brass and go hunting.
 
A 6.5 WSSM would be a terrific deer / antelope rifle. I'd pay whatever it costs for some WSSM brass and go hunting.
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Which was my thought initially when I began the project. However, the the magazine is so short the bullet has to be seated deep in the case and thus displaces powder space. I can get 6.5x55 performance out of the 6.5 WSSM, but in doing so, it becomes a single shot rifle because the rounds will not fit the magazine.
 
Which was my thought initially when I began the project. However, the the magazine is so short the bullet has to be seated deep in the case and thus displaces powder space. I can get 6.5x55 performance out of the 6.5 WSSM, but in doing so, it becomes a single shot rifle because the rounds will not fit the magazine.
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Ouch. A 140 grain .264 bullet is pretty darn long. Have you considered using 120 - 125s?
 
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