WSSM's

[Ladobe]

Anyone here tried out the new WSSM's yet? Are they cracked up to be what they are saying? How far out is brass and dies for reloading? Any comments appreciated.

Surfing the Internet tonight and was kind of pondering the 25 and 243 WSSM's for another new toy for varmints and coyotes. I scanned the Winchester and Browning offerings, but would probably have one built custom. Anyway, that's what stirred my questions.

Thanks,

Larry  :bye:

[Lawdog]

Ladobe,

I have a Winchester M70 Coyote in .223 WSSM and our new daughter in-law has a M70 Coyote in .25 WSSM.  So far they have lived up to everything Winchester has said about them and more.  The .223 WSSM is the new king of the factory centerfire .22’s.  It’s even faster than the .220 Swift and starts out more accurate than any of the other centerfire .22 that I have or had.  As far as our daughter in-law’s .25 WSSM it’s velocity is a hair under that of the .25-06, just as Winchester said.  Daughter in-law took her first deer this year with the .25 WSSM.  One shot at just over 200 yards did the job.  There is NONE of the rumored feeding problems or barrels wearing out after a few hundred rounds as also rumored.  If you are in the market for a new varmint/deer cartridge you could do way worse then either the .243 or .25 WSSM’s.  Lawdog
 

[Sourdough]

The advantage to the WSSMs is they can be used in a short action, making the gun shorter and lighter.  That is the only advantage, they will do nothing that the older cartridges don't do.  That is their purpose to be able to use shorter actions.  The major problem I have experienced is increased recoil.  I normally shoot a .338 win mag, so I am pretty immune to recoil.  This summer a young fellow came to the range trying to sight in a new .243WSSM.  He was flinching real bad and could not hit the target, let alone have a good group.  He asked me if I could help him out.  I shot his gun three times, It deffinately got my attention.  I would recommend to everyone shoot one before buying one.  You may decide you don't want one.

Case in point, the original short mag the .350 Rem Mag V .35 Whelen.  Ballistically twins, one will do anything the other will do.  But in the recoil department the .350 is very unpleasent to shoot, worse than my .338.  The Whelen is mild by comparison, very similer to a 30-06.

[Ladobe]

Appreciate your sharing some real world experience with the WSSM's gents.

This rig would be mainly for my treks in the desert and low hills around southern NV for coyotes. With the hard times they carry a lot of mange and injuries from fighting here, so the fur is not good most of the year with blow ups not a concern. Most are mercy killings - not for the pelt, and in doing ADC for ranchers. With all the pressure they get from newbie callers and locals/ranchers taking pot shots at them, fairly long shots are common in the open areas. You can see them coming a long ways off in this open country, but they tend to hang up and its not too unusual to be shooting 400-500 yards and more on the call shy ones. All of the "mortars" I currently have that will get the job done reliably and buck the winds at those ranges are just too heavy to carry on some of the 10+ mile treks I make. So I thought maybe a light sporter in one of the WSSM's just might be worth a go.

In this situation, not a lot of shots are taken in a day.   I've shot the big handcannons for over 3 decades, and used to have both a 416 Rigby and a 458 MAG just to target shoot and play with, so I too might  pass as not being recoil shy.

Just want to try something different I guess... an excuse to get another new toy or two to play with.   Made the commitment to do something today about a WSSM for sure by buying 1500 rounds of brass.   So 1 or 2 or 3 of them will have to be picked up just so it doesn't go to waste.   :wink:

Now if I can just figure out....

Browning?   Winchester?   Custom?   223WSSM?   243WSSM?   25WSSM?

Larry

(BTW, I learned a long time ago with the handcannons to over buy brass.   Why I am still stocked up well in things like 225, 307 and 356 Win for example.)

[Thebear_78]

I was just looking at one of the winchester model 70 stainless ultimate shadow rifles yesterday at a local gun shop in 25 wssm.  It was really nice and light and would make a great sheep gun, or walk around long range coyote banger.  

It is the only one of the WSSM cartridges that I see as a noticable advantage over the competitors.  THe 223 wssm isn't really that much shorter than a 22-250, and the 243 win is only marginally shorter than the 243 WSSM.  Both of those calibers already sit in a short action and I can't really notice any difference in handling with a short action vs a super short action.  There is a noticable difference between a normal long action and a super short action.  

Good luck, it definately shoulds like a fun project to start.

[Ladobe]

...
Good luck, it definately shoulds like a fun project to start....

Thanks for the input pard.   Action length might not be much of a plus, but the ballistics sure are.

Sighted in for 100 yards:

223WSSM 55 gr. is 6" flatter @ 300 yds with +610FPS and +528FP at the muzzle than the 223 Rem --- and --- 3" flatter @ 300 yds with +170FPS and +155FP at the muzzle over the 22-250

Comparing the 243 WSSM to the 243 Win...

With 55 gr the WSSM is 2" flatter @ 300 yds with +150FPS and +150FP at the muzzle.
With 95 gr the WSSM is 4.5" flatter @ 300 with +150FPS and +240FP at the muzzle.

Since much of my shooting is at long range and often in wind, the ballictic gains in both of these WSSM's is worth looking at (see, I did find an excuse to get some new toys).

Ballistically, the 25WSSM matches the 25-06 exactly in 85, 115 & 120 gr. (according to the publish data so far anyway), so the action length appears to be the only consideration.

Anyway, some fun numbers and I will be getting both 223 and 243 WSSM's (as soon as I can find them that is) to try out in the real world and see how they perform.   I'm leaning towards the Win 70 Coyote Classic for the 223WSSM to shoot off bench and bipod, and the Win 70 Classic Featherweight 243WSSM to carry.   Just can't get excited about any of the syntheic offerings from either Win or Browning, and the only Browning that might ring my charm is the A-Bolt Medallion, but it comes standard with their BOSS system on it which I wouldn't want.  Yeah I know it works, but just don't want it.

Finding or even getting them on order in this town of 2 million is about like hens teeth.   So I am surfing the web to find and buy once again!    :cry:

Larry

[prairiedog555]

my worry is that they will dissappear in a few years.  Remember the .225/.264/.284/.307/8mm mag/ ect. (i know I have left out a few)  I believe they are an improvement.  The short, fat case is superior.  but people don't change rapidly.  and if sales fall- sayonarrrra.   And brass is expensive right now. 
I think that mostly wealthy people, and gun writers buy these new inventions.  If you shoot a lot, money matters.  And rich people don't shoot alot, need to make more money.

[onecoyote]

Over the years I've shot em all, I love the Swift and the 22-250, killed a ton of predators with both BUT............I got me a 223 WSSM Win Mod 70 Stealth about a year and a half ago, been shooting 64 gr factory ammo tell I get enought to reload, probably killed about 60 coyotes so far with it. All I can say is I'm impressed.

[oso45-70]

I have not had the best of luck with my 223 wssm so far. Been leaving it home and shooting my 22-250 most of the time until i figure out a good load for my 223wssm. About 1" at one hundred yds is the best i can do, Yes that's plenty good enough for coyotes and sod poodles but its just the idea that i think it will do better........Joe..........