It was a hard sell when 220 swift, 22-250, and 243 winchester loaded ammo, brass and dies was always cheaper.Yep, the .223 WSSM missed it's mark because Winchester and Browning decided to chamber this wildcat in a bolt gun with standard ramp angles. With the sharp shoulders of the cartridge, the feeding problems became an issue with shooters. It fell quickly out of favor which is sad. Very few cartridges to this day have the potential this wildcat could produce. Some custom guns were reaching 5000 fps.
It had rounds suitable for hunting from 45 to 87 grain.
Once it faded, the AR builders discovered the feed ramps in the AR platform were perfect, and off they went. The round can run reliably. Modifications to the standard AR platform include having to mill the ejection port more open eliminating the dust cover to accommodate the fat case.
BCG has to be special as well for the big brass.
There are several gun builders out there that can custom make one for a buyer. Twist dependent on the bullet weight.
The round came out in several different calibers. .223 WSSM. .243 WSSM, 25-06 WSSM and maybe one other I don't' remember.
All offered factory ballistics loads about 100 FPS over standard long action rounds. The 25-06 offered zero difference in FPS.
The ability to be used in the AR platform is where that round should have shined, but it faded because of the bolt gun issue. Winchester and Browning do not deal in the AR platform, so they let it die in their line-up.
My favorite round in that caliber is the .243 WSSM. Two uppers in the 1:8 twist for heavies and 1:12 for the 55 grain rocket ships.
Just used the 55 grain to take a doe Sunday. Speed kills. 4150 FPS with a 55 grain Nosler ballistic tip.
I bought hundreds of rounds of brass in 2016, some of which has never been used. The 100 grain in the .920" bull barrel upper run 3400 fps. Winchester makes a brass run every three or four years for that caliber.
Dennis shared 1 photo with you
www.amazon.com
Not to mention everyone knew the above mentioned 3 above had years (decades) of production behind them and a guarantee of future components availability.
Not to mention those fat wssm suckers meant a loss of capacity in your rifle.
Dont they hold 3 in a winnie model 70 where the three I mentioned above held 5?
Swear that was how many they held.
And most likely chances are if you had a bolt gun in 220 swift, 22-250, or 243 winchester you saw no reason to change!
