Saw a new Winchester 243 WSSM at the gun show.

Greg, do you know the story behind Graf & Sons winding up with a BUNCH of FC 243 WSSM brass in Winchester bulk cartons back in 2012? The clerk at warehouse thought it had something to do with a lawsuit between Winchester and Federal??

Regards,
hm
 
Originally Posted By: hm1996Greg, do you know the story behind Graf & Sons winding up with a BUNCH of FC 243 WSSM brass in Winchester bulk cartons back in 2012? The clerk at warehouse thought it had something to do with a lawsuit between Winchester and Federal??

Regards,
hm

I never heard the reason that occurred. There was one outfit that had over 100,000 FC pieces about the same time or slightly later.

The Jamison patent deal was an out and out extortion attempt IMHO that backfired. His prominence as a writer took a big hit. I knew about some of the machinations behind the scenes. Oddly enough it got very little publicity.

This is a pretty well written summation on the cartridges and the manufacturers pretty much told RJ to pound sand via production cessation.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.ammoland.com/2016/06/243-wssm-winchester-super-short-magnum/amp/

I have an OLYMPIC 25 WSSM that is a hoot. I also bought 500 pieces of brass after I got it in 2007. It was a retirement gift to myself along with a 20 Tactical and a CZ Ringneck 28 gauge.

Greg
 
I went through Mexico on way home from NRA Annual meetings in St. Louis (via some friends home in northern MO) in 2012. Had just ordered my 243 from Dtech knowing the probability of brass availability down the road was not too bright. Bought several hundred Win. cases at Graf's retail store but they didn't have enough on hand to fill the order and sent me to the warehouse to complete.

Was really fortunate that the warehouse clerk told me he could double the number of cases if I'd take FC instead of Win. so we swapped. Been really happy with the FC brass; may be (probably is) softer than the Win. but that doesn't hurt a thing IMO. I have not lost a case to splits (either Win or FC) and since I bought one of Reb's brass catchers haven't lost any to the weeds.
grin.gif


Sure wish I could still use it for coyotes, but guess I can re-learn to shoot a bolt gun again. That 87 gr. hp was a stopper!

Regards,
hm
 
I'd like to see the brass become available. Sure would like to have another one if there werr brass available and not sky high on the price
 
I doubt the bulk of these "new" cartridges would have caught on, regardless of how the whole Jameson deal went, either way. Especially in .223 and .243 because they are so ridiculously overbore, and so poorly shaped, they almost always have feeding issues.

I remember reading about the .223 WSSM in an article some years back. They checked the barrel after just 400 rounds with a bore scope, and found that it had severe barrel erosion in the throat area. And after 600 rounds accuracy had begun to noticeably deteriorate. There are varmint hunters that shoot more than that in a weekend.

Why anyone would choose a .223 WSSM over a standard .223 / 5.56 MM NATO is beyond me. Most all of these are nothing but gimmick cartridges. Even the standard Winchester Short Magnums are not that popular. You can tell because most every time you come across a factory new rifle where the price appears too good to be true, it's because they're usually chambered in one of those dogs with fleas. Brass for the most part is unobtainable, even at places like Cabela's. I doubt when the patent expires that will change much, if at all.
 
Originally Posted By: billtI doubt the bulk of these "new" cartridges would have caught on, regardless of how the whole Jameson deal went, either way. Especially in .223 and .243 because they are so ridiculously overbore, and so poorly shaped, they almost always have feeding issues.

I remember reading about the .223 WSSM in an article some years back. They checked the barrel after just 400 rounds with a bore scope, and found that it had severe barrel erosion in the throat area. And after 600 rounds accuracy had begun to noticeably deteriorate. There are varmint hunters that shoot more than that in a weekend.

Why anyone would choose a .223 WSSM over a standard .223 / 5.56 MM NATO is beyond me. Most all of these are nothing but gimmick cartridges. Even the standard Winchester Short Magnums are not that popular. You can tell because most every time you come across a factory new rifle where the price appears too good to be true, it's because they're usually chambered in one of those dogs with fleas. Brass for the most part is unobtainable, even at places like Cabela's. I doubt when the patent expires that will change much, if at all.


Yes. Feeding issues aside it would have been smarter to load for off caliber rounds rather than the .223/.243 calibers. They didn't offer enough difference from the standard .223/.253 to make enough people switch over to them.

Or, had they introduced them into a semi auto AR type platform that could have taken advantage of the shorter OAL then maybe they stood a chance but the names really didn't define them as something that gave a reason not to buy the established caliber.
 
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