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?

I would price it at $20-30 and see what happens. 5-10 years ago when I paid attention to the things a nice one would fetch $50 or so.

will do. thanks.
https://www.gunauction.com/buy/16982762

Is this the same as a cartridge called “the accelerator”? I had a box of them years ago. Not sure where they went to? Where they accurate? They were a 30-06 case with a 55 gr bullet attached which had a plastic form around the bullet. Anyone seen this before?

I think you are thinking of the Remington factory rounds which used a .224 bullet incased in a sabot and loaded in a normal case. IIRC they were loaded in .30-06 & .308, maybe a couple of others. I never tried them, most reports I've read said they weren't terribly accurate.

Yes, thank you. It was the green box. I just remembered buying them because I had just gotten a 30-06 and they were the strangest bullet that I had ever seen. I never did shoot them but will have to find them. Did not even think of them until I saw this thread.

I had one that allowed firing .30 carbine ammo in .30-06, I used it to plink with my Sedgley Springfield rifles which were low number rifles. Mostly shot at targets of opportunity, never put it on paper to see how accurate they were.

Just out of curiosity I turned on out of common steel to use a 22 LR in a 22-250. It worked but not well I tossed it out after the novelty wore off.

Or .32 Colt or S&W. Popular back in the day for small game and practice.

Marble Arms made quite a few of them .....

I have the 30/40 i an take pictures if you need it

I have a Winchester adapter and 3 Marbles adaptors for the 30-06. Have used them with some success for potting a grouse while deer/elk hunting.