Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors a winchester bullet inside a bullet? what is this?

30 cal. what was this used for? being this is a collectors forum....any value to collectors?

I see a case neck plugged with matter. Wax?

nothing plugged. just a shadow.

looks like it takes another casing inside itself........?

whats odd is its a 30cal rimmed cartridge?

Can’t imagine it having any collector value.

Looks like it might be a cartridge adapter. 32acp in a 30/30?

what would be the application?
military or just to save on expensive ammo of the time?

It's a Winchester "Supplemental Chamber". Can't tell if this one is .30-30, .30-40, or .32 WS. WW made them for indoor/gallery use. Most likely it will accept a .32 S&W (the original short version) or .32 Colt (if a .32).

Neat find. No idea on value.

Bingo. Kind of common a generation or three ago. Not so commonly found today. Collector's value in the $50 range, if it's pristine, which this one isn't. Looks like either a .30-30 or .303 Savage- it should say in the small print on it. Yeah, intended for shooting .32 S&W in the parent gun, either short or long- sometimes marked for such, sometimes not, drop a cartridge in and see if the long sticks out. They exist for .22 centerfires ( to shoot .22 RF's), .25 centerfires (to shoot .25 RF's) via self contained firing pins which detonate the rimfire cartridge when impinged upon by the centerfire rifle's firing pin. I wouldn't be surprised to learn they exist for larger calibers too- but if they do i haven't seen any.

I went on a binge seeking these things out a few years ago and acquired a bunch of them. Long story short, they don't really work worth a tinker's dam. Oh, they go bang, but don't expect great accuracy out of them. If you need to shoot a chicken from across the room with a .32 pistol bullet out of a .30 rifle it'll do the job but that's about it. Maybe an empty beer can at 20 paces. Maybe. At least in my experience.

I'm now secure knowing I have a dozen or more different ones in a drawer in case of an apocalypse wherein I'll run out of rifle ammo and have to resort to using pistol ammo of which I have little of that flavor. But seriously, one of these plus a couple .32 cartridges in the pocket would be just the ticket for administering coup de grace shots on a wounded hoofed animal, if one was of a mind to fumble the adapter out, load it with a .32, insert same into the rifle, and proceed with the deed.

sounds like something a trapper may carry so he wouldn't have to waste a big cartridge on small prey....and still be able to use the big ones in a big gun for bear, deer etc... thanks gang.

A GaugeMate for your lever gun……………

IIRC, those (or something just like them) used to be advertised in the back of Outdoor Life and/or Sports Afield when I was a kid.

I wonder if this is a genuine Winchester item...being it has Winchester pat dates on it? was it ever cataloged?

Winchester Supplemental Chamber ad

Scroll to bottom.

well...there ya have it! thanks gang.

I have a pristine example for 32 S&W in 3006. Never used it, just a neat curio. A good friend has one that must be one of the rarer examples, a 405wcf that uses 41 Long Colt, it is a nickel Winchester item too. Pretty neat if not practical

I have one for the 30-30

I carried a couple when using my dads 300 sav 1920 rifle. They worked but trying not to lose them in the excitement of the hunt was a problem...😊

There used to be a company who made chamber inserts for most anything that would fit. .32 ACP, .30 Carbine, .32-20 in any of the .30 Cal cartridge cases...and so on for other bore sizes.
I have seen them used as a quick switch for varmints while hunting big game. I always thought that's what a handgun was for, but hey; what do I know?

ACE adapter in Anchorage AK was a maker of them for a long time. I have a couple of his too I picked up somewhere. The ones I have are steel and chambered for the 7.62x25, they fit 308 and 300 Savage respectively.

im going to put it on gunbroker. based on the poor condition of mine...what should I tag it for?
or is it not worth it?