pros @ cons of 223 wsm

VarmintSniper30

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Ive heard from some ppl. that it wears out the throat really bad? So has anyone experienced this with theres? Or with any of the wsm rifles?
 
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THey are fast but not any more than a .204 or a .22-250 or a .300 Mag or a 7mm Mag. I believe the "barrel burner" "throat wearer outer" rumors are just that, rumors.

The good things????
It is a Fast and accurate round that can be used in a short action rifle so carry weight of the rifle can be less.

7mm has a LOT of choices in bullet weights and styles.

Kills stuff DEAD

The bad part

For whatever reason the 7mm WSM did not really take off in popularity like I wish it would have therefore brass is expensive and sometime hard to locate.
 
I believe the 7mm WSM is the best of the WSM rounds. It is a very good Deer/Elk/Bear/Pig round that would also serve very well for Antelope and African Plains Game.

It is my back up rifle I take for my .338 Win Mag when I go Elk hunting.
 
The 7 WSM is a sweet round but the problem with them just like any other short mag except for maybe the 270 wsm, is that you run into problems when you load them with a heavier bullet. Especially if you try to use a Berger Bullet VLD. The heavier bullets will be limited by the seating depth and load density. Over all though its a sweet round. I have heard of people getting around 2950 fps out them, with 168 gr bergers. Good luck !
 
Pros-

Spits out a 7mm bullet.
Works in a short action Magnum rifle.
If you can find one, usually on sale...
If you reload, ammo not an issue.

Cons-

Hard to find ammo for in BF Egypt.
Heavy bullet problem as described above.
Stories of hard brass.


I have a 7 SAUM, great cartridge.
 
Hornady handbook shows the 223 WSSM firing a 40 gr. V-Max at blistering 4600 fps, with significant throat erosion after roughly 350 rounds. So,yep ,kinda hard on barrels. Barrels are like tires, meant to be replaced,& high performance wears them out quicker.
 
Originally Posted By: sumrifleTHey are fast but not any more than a .204 or a .22-250 or a .300 Mag or a 7mm Mag. I believe the "barrel burner" "throat wearer outer" rumors are just that, rumors.



They are ALOT more then a 22-250, like 500 fps faster wth a 40gr bullet so they are quite a bit worse on barrels then any of those.
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I have a browning 223 wssm and I love it. Browning puts a harder steel in the barrel to reduce throat wear. I shoot a 50 gr v-max at 4050 fsp and that is not even loaded hot. My gun shoot best at around 3800 fps with a 60 gr barns tsx. My wife and I shot our antelope this hear with it both lopes went down in there tracks. Her lope was 200 yds and mine was 350 yds.



The gun is hard on brass. I have found that the Winchester brass last much longer than factory brass. Most barrels have a 1-10 twist which means you will not be able to shoot the lighter bullets.


My browning shoots most loads under moa

In short if you reload it is not a bad option. The 22-250 and 204 are almost as fast. And rounds and brass are easier to come by.
 
"Barrel burners" are generally the over-bore chamberings. What happens is that as you increase the powder load behind a particular bullet, you get less and less of an increase in velocity until eventually you reach the point where you won't get any more velocity no matter how much more powder you put behind it.

How can that be? More powder equals more energy, and as long as you are burning all the powder in the load that energy has to push the bullet faster, right?

Nope, that energy also develops as HEAT!! You reach the point where little to no increase in velocity is achieved, but LOTS more heat is developed. That burns barrels.

Remember that it's the rapidly expanding gases that push the bullet down the barrel. Past a certain point (velocity of deflagration) you can develop more energy, but the VOD is a fixed upper value for any chemical compound.

That's why while a .223 isn't considered a barrel burner, a 22-250 is a (marginally) overbore semi-barrel burner, and a .223 WSSM will be a definite barrel burner.

The 300 WSM and 7mm WSM are the (approximate) equivalents to the 300 WM and the 7mm Rem mags in performance, but use a little less powder. They should have about the same or a little more barrel life, all things being equal.

Having said all the above, I personally wouldn't own a WSSM or a WSM in anything but an AR platform.

Loaded ammo can be hard to find and expensive, and reloading the wsm and wssm cases can be a bit of a pain. Not worth the trouble in a bolt gun when the long action mags are so much more convenient IMHO.

On the other hand if you want a .308/.243 performing round in an accurate sweet handling semi-auto, get a WSSM in an AR 15.

If you want magnum performance from an AR, get an AR 10 in WSM.

If you prefer bolt guns, stick to the .243, .308, 300 WM, or 7mm Rem mag (or other mag chamberings).
 
Originally Posted By: sumrifleTHey are fast but not any more than a .204 or a .22-250 or a .300 Mag or a 7mm Mag. I believe the "barrel burner" "throat wearer outer" rumors are just that, rumors.

The good things????
It is a Fast and accurate round that can be used in a short action rifle so carry weight of the rifle can be less.

7mm has a LOT of choices in bullet weights and styles.

Kills stuff DEAD

The bad part

For whatever reason the 7mm WSM did not really take off in popularity like I wish it would have therefore brass is expensive and sometime hard to locate.

The 204 is the only one you mentioned that is close. A 243 wssm a 220 swift are both right there with it. A 22-250 with a lighter bullet might come close. But speed they arent many to beat it. I think the downfall is why do you need 4000 fps when a 3600fps 22-250 is fine. Bullets are hard to find unless you reload. When you get tired of it nobody is going to want to buy it because they are not that popular. If I got a wssm it would be a 25 wssm or a 270 wssm.
 
Originally Posted By: foxxpro I think the downfall is why do you need 4000 fps when a 3600fps 22-250 is fine.


Why do some guys drive Corvettes and Porsches, instead of a Civic? Because, for now, this is still the United States of America, and we can!


The 223wssm is the fastest factory 22cal out there. My son owns a Browning and it shoots a 60gr BT sub-MOA @ +3,700fps. The con is that it is hard on brass, normally getting 3-5 reloads out of each case.
 
I bought mine on a whim.. and I got a good deal, a Browning A Bolt with 600 rounds of new brass. Very flat and fast, but Ive noticed that after about 3 shots the carbon starts building up and the accuracy starts to wander. The Thick brass of a necked down 300 Mag case makes it hard to bump the shoulders back, and the brass starts getting harder to chamber. I have got 4 reloads out of the cases, and never got a split neck, or loose primer pockets either. After annealing, the brass gets easier to trim, but as I mentioned It gets harder to close the bolt the more you reload it. " Anyone have tips for this"? I got it for shooting Coyotes, but have not shot at one yet. To my knowledge No one is making this rifle anymore so it most likely will fade away like some other cartridges have. If I use it for what I bought it for, I should get many years of use from it. I have had success with Varget and H 335 in the 50-60 grn Bullets. I think that there are better options out there besides this one. JMO
 
I have one in a D-Tech AR; not a lot of people own one, but are quick to point out their faults....? My personal experience is 1) You can push it faster then you probably should. 2) Reloading isn't any more difficult then most other calibers (easier then my .17 Mach IV) 3) Depending on the bullet choice, speed you push it and range of the critter getting shot it can be very hard on pelts. And as far as accuracy, I can't speak to anything other then my AR; Very Accurate!

Would I buy another one, probably not. I didn't expect the caliber to last when I had the gun built, so I bought 500 rounds of brass. It's a hunting gun, not a target rifle; if the barrel goes after a couple hundred coyotes it's earned it's keep.
 
I'm with you, TD. I'm LOVING my .223Wizzer AR. But pleez, keep your fondness of the .223Wizzer to yourself! I kinda like being the 'odd man out'...

Barrels are meant to be burned
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