The .223 WSSM (

Winchester Super Short Magnum Winchester Super Short Magnum, or WSSM is a line of rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridges introduced by the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (''Winchester Inc''). It is a further development of the Winchester Short Magnum conc ...

, 5.56×42mm) is a .224 caliber

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with bo ...

cartridge created by

Winchester Winchester is a cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, at the western end of the South Downs National Park, on the River Itchen. It is south-west of Lo ...

and Browning based on a shortened version of the

Winchester Short Magnum Winchester Short Magnum, or WSM, refers to a family of rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridges developed in the early 2000s by the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, the maker of Winchester rifles and one of the oldest firearms man ...

case.

History

The .223 WSSM was introduced in 2003 by the Browning Arms Company, Winchester Ammunition, and

Winchester Repeating Arms Company The Winchester Repeating Arms Company was a prominent American manufacturer of repeating firearms and ammunition. The firm was established in 1866 by Oliver Winchester and was located in New Haven, Connecticut. The firm went into receiversh ...

. The .223 designation is a reference to the popular

.223 Remington The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...

. It is currently claimed to be the fastest production .22 caliber round in the world with muzzle velocities as high as 4,600 feet per second (1,402 meters per second), but this is not completely true. The .220 Swift still holds the record as the fastest .22 caliber centerfire cartridge with a published velocity of 4665 fps using a 29 grain projectile and 42 grains of 3031 powder.

Complaints

Even before the cartridge was commercially introduced, it was claimed that it would be extremely hard on barrels and high wear would lead to short barrel life. Another criticism is that, although the round is suited for long range varmint hunting, it is not good for medium game any farther than 200 yards. The Winchester made Model 70 in .223 WSSM has not been revived in the new Browning-made Winchester Model 70s, but Browning has chosen to use chrome-lined barrels on all of its guns chambered for .223 WSSM and has introduced the .223 WSSM cartridge as a chambering in its A-bolt rifles. Browning rejects the charge that the .223 WSSM round is especially hard on barrels: "The 223 and 243 WSSM cartridges are said to 'burn up' barrels in as little as 300 rounds. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Advantages

According to Browning, the .223 WSSM offers a gain with a bullet over the standard .223 Rem. It also offers a gain over the .22-250, a popular varmint round. This comes out to a gain over a standard .223 Rem, and a gain over the .22-250.

References

Browning Press ReleaseReloading info from Guns and Ammo Magazine

Super Short Magnums - The Rest of the StorySuper Duper Shortie

External links

The .223 WSSM at WSSM Zone
{{DEFAULTSORT:223 Wssm Pistol and rifle cartridges Winchester Super Short Magnum rifle cartridges

History

Complaints

Advantages

See also

References

External links