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WSSM Barrel Burner
mljackso
Member Posts: 297 ✭✭
I recently bought a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Classic in .223 WSSM caliber. Is there any easy way to tell if it has the special barrel material to resist barrel/rifling damage due to high muzzle velocity and heat build-up? (I do not see any barrel material call-out stamped on the barrel.)
Comments
http://forums.gunbroker.com/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=351095
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quote:Do you know what "special Bbl. material", you are talking about? Yes I am talking about chrome lining. From Wikipedia: "It should be noted that Browning has chosen to use chrome-lined barrels on all of their guns chambered for .223 WSSM. Browning has dropped the .223 WSSM cartridge as a chambering in their A-bolt rifles. The Winchester made Model 70 in .223 WSSM has not been revived in the new Browning made Winchester Model 70s." Based on this, I do not think any Model 70 with .223 WSSM is chrome lined...
The last I knew there were still NIB Browning A-Bolts for sale on the auction side, in 223 WSSM, and some Winchester Model 70's. They seem not to be drying up at this time yet. The last Winchester Model 70's were made in 2006.
Browning is and has not ever made any Winchester rifles period. Though John M. Browning sold the production rights of several of his rifles to Winchester. The same parent company(FN) owns both Winchester and Browning. They can dictate what manufacturer can make what guns as such. Actually Browning never produced any of their own long guns, they were all made by FN in Belgium or Miroku in Japan. The Winchesters as of 1981 were not made by Winchester anymore. They were made by USRAC or US Repeating Arms Company in the old Winchester plant. Now that the plant is closed as FN has not renewed the contract with USRAC and the IAM union workers, the FN plant in the Carolina's are making limited numbers of overpriced Model 70's, and Miroku under license from Winchester still is making some 1885, and 1886's, and possibly some 1892's.
I am sure if Bert H. sees this he will step in and update anything I might have missed or mis stated.
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Bert, where are you?
However, at the time that your Winchester was made, FN may have not owned Winchester.
I only mention this because, Browning seemed to see the need for the chrome lining of the barrels, but Winchester may have not. At least at the time.
I would agree with the earlier posters. Further, on warmer days, it is very dangerous to let a cartridge sit in a hot chamber, let cartridges sit on the dash in a vehicle, etc. The WSSMs I believe, operate at up to 65,000 CUP, and, as temperatures rise, either because of ambient temps, or because your chamber and barrel are hot, your risk of spiking pressures increases dramatically!!
I have never had a problem with this, but my gunsmith recently warned me about it. Please be careful. Your eyes, hands, face, etc. are too valuable to risk. Be even more cautious about wearing eye protection, etc. in warmer weather when hotshooting varmints, etc.
"The WSSMs I believe, operate at up to 65,000 CUP,"
As a point of clarification, the WSSM cartridges have a SAAMI suggested operation level of 65,000 PSI. Now, this may seem to be a tiny oversight but in the real world, there is a significant difference between the two terms.
And before anyone asks, there is no exact conversion, there is a 'method' that helps to explain a relationship between the two or better, a correlation between the two. The real point is that the PSI correlation to CUP would be significantly higher than 65,000 and potentially very dangerous.
Best.