Was talking to a friend this evening and looking at his Hornady reloading manual and came across the .223WSSM. The velocities looked pretty impressive and that got me wondering why there doesn't seem to be much talk about it on this or another varmint hunting/reloading board I check often. Don't know that I have heard one person recommend it for a varmint load. Please explain guys. I'm thinking about building a custom varmint rifle maybe in 22-250AI but should the .223WSSM be an option?

I recently tried to buy a new Winchester Model 70 Classic Featherweight in .223. Found out they didn't make one...they only came in the .223 WSSM. I decided to buy a Remington 700 BDL in standard .223 instead because of barrel-life concerns and the increased cost of ammunition with the WSSM. I've been very happy with my purchase. For my use on varmints, the difference in velocity is negligible.

The same Hornady manual also states that in their testing they observed "significant" barrel wear in 350 rds. Thats less than two days of prairie dog shooting.
If you figure in load development, sight in and misc. other shooting it could be one of the most expensive varmint rifles on earth based on barrels/kills.
My personal opinion is that its too much of a good thing.

.223WSSM? My question was always "why"?

The .223 is fantastic at what it does; super accuracy, low/no recoil, low noise, good range, and cheap.

Bump up in velocity and out in range, and the .22-250 is splendid.

For about max on what the .22s can do, just look to the .220 Swift, or shift gears and go to the .243/6mm crowd.

IMHO, the .223WSSM will be the first of the WSSM/WSM crowd to die out and fade away.

I concur with VAnimrod. Go with the .22-250.

Rob

I checked with Cooper Rifles of MT and asked about the .223 WSSM as compared to the .22-250 AI and they said the former would have superior accuracy and inferior barrel life. Their rifles are single shots so barrel overheating would seem to be less of a problem.

1 flier

Single shot is not going to make the barrel run cooler. Even though the bolt will load quicker, you still have to get set up on your target for the next shot. I too would go for the 22-250, unless you want to replace barrels monthly. The accuracy difference would be so minimal, if at all with equivilent barrels, that I would't worry about it.

RO

I have heard that the barrels in Winchester and Browning WSSM rifles are chrome lined to help prolong barrel life. I don't believe that any other maker's barrels are chrome lined. Apparently Browning/Winchester is circulating the results of a study they conducted comparing barrel life in their .223 WSSM barrels and standard .22-250 barrels, which showed the chrome lined .223 WSSM barrels outlasting the .22-250. I think the test may have been "cooked" to some degree, if I recall correctly, as the .22-250 results included both 40 and 55 grain projectiles while the .223 WSSM was only 55 grainers.

At any rate, I thought the idea of chrome lining a high performance varmint caliber barrel was interesting. I'm not sure I find it interesting enough to plop down the $$$$ for a new rifle in a caliber that may not be here in five years. Still, I purchased a CZ 452 in .17 HMII this past December that is one of the most enjoyable rifles I have ever shot (I'm getting groups around .21 at fifty yards, and .5 to .75 at 100 yards), and it looks like that cartridge is struggling as well, so who knows what I might do.

Anyway, I have already blown my gun budget for the year, so I won't be able to purchase any more firearms for doomed cartridges until Christmas. If I was going to pick up a .223 WSSM, I would definitely get either a Winchester or a Browning, if they are in fact chrome lined. And, the advice others have given is good as well. I can't see that the .223 WSSM does anything significantly better than the .22-250 or the .220 Swift, and neither of those cartridges is likely to be going anywhere.