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.223 wssm

ChetStaffordChetStafford Member Posts: 2,794
edited January 2008 in Ask the Experts
Re: The new .223wssm does anybody know what the parent cartridge is?
This is an interesting looking round,and may be of some use on the farm.

You'v gota kill it to grill it

Comments

  • ChetStaffordChetStafford Member Posts: 2,794
    edited November -1
    Does anybody have any experience with this round?

    If so how well do you like it?

    local sporting goods store has a new A-bolt 22" barrel for $340 and I was thinking it would make a good coyote rifle [}:)]

    I think that the barrels on the Browning's and the Winchester's are chrome lined is this correct?
  • mondmond Member Posts: 6,458
    edited November -1
    great round, great rifle, well balanced,nice flat & fast......[;)]

    give the rifle a test !!
  • sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    csjs1194,

    For that price it's a good deal. I think the body of the round is too fat for the bullet diameter to make it as effective as the case capacity allows. But that doesn't mean it can't do as much as anything else in it's class, i.e. 22-250.

    EDIT:

    22hipower,

    I have to ask what does the inside of the barrel look like? If it still looks good and you see nothing that would/should affect accuracy on the crown, then I wouldn't say it was the rifle. Possibly the scope got dinged? MAybe came loose after trips out in the hot and cold? Because unless you are seeing a lot of erosion in the lands I wouldn't think this sudden change in accuracy is rooted in the rifle.
  • ChetStaffordChetStafford Member Posts: 2,794
    edited November -1
    I think I am going to go ahead and get it just to hard not to at that price[;)]

    Heck after the barrel is shot out I'll have a good donor action for another project[:D]
  • 22hipower22hipower Member Posts: 619 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have a Browning Stainless Stalker in 223 WSSM. First year I had it accuracy was great; 55 grain VMAX, 60 grain Nosler partitions, Speer 70 grain; with H4831SC mostly and all shot nice tight one inch or better groups. This year accuracy as fallen off with the above bullets and several others with a variety of powders; H4831SC, Varget, IMR4350 and H4350. All loads at "suggested" grain levels to one to two grains below max. Nothing shoots better than 1.5-2 inch at 100 yards and some are worse. Same problem with winchester 55 grain ballistic tip factory loads. Have probably put about 150 rounds through the gun.

    Thought it might be a barrel fouling problem and have cleaned it thoroughly using brass brush, Gunslick's foam/liquid and lots of patches. A clean barrel shoots as poorly as a dirty one.

    I have a friend who has the same gun (a little newer with another inch of barrel) and is having the same problems with accuracy. Last year I thought the gun was great (shot turkeys in the neck at 100+ yards and it worked well on deer too with the heaver bullets). Accuracy is so bad this year though that I don't dare shoot it at game.

    Anybody else having this problem? I really like the gun but if I can't find reliably accurate loads its got to go to a gun show.

    Any suggestions will be welcomed and tried. At this point I can't counsel buying a Browning A bolt in 223 WSSM even though I love the balance, functioning, etc.
  • ChetStaffordChetStafford Member Posts: 2,794
    edited November -1
    22Hipower,

    How many rounds have you put through it?

    Did you let the barrel get hot alot?

    The only reason I want it is I Rem 700 VLS .223 it is an awsome shooter but it wieghs 11 pounds and is a bear to carry if you have to do a lot of walking

    So when I came across this rifle i was thinking 22-250 performance without the cost of most of the rifles I found in this chambering
  • 22hipower22hipower Member Posts: 619 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    CSJS1194

    Yesterday I shot five different loads from a clean barrel; three shot groups with each separated by ten minutes to allow barrel cooling. Made no difference; best group was 1.5 inch and worst was at least 5 in (70 grain speer). As I said in yesterday's note, I really like the short rifle, balance, "feel" and everything else except I can't duplicate the accuracy I was getting last year. Good enough for deer at 100 yards but I want to shoot coyotes at 300 and turkeys in the neck at 100+.

    I have the heavy barreled Rems in other 22s (22-250, 220 Swift, 223)and accuracy is consistently less than an MOA. But, as you note, they're heavy and somewhat unwieldly. Also have an old Sako Vixen in 223 Rem that is light, short, etc. and will also shoot in to an inch all day long. Just would really like to get 220 Swift performance from a comparably weighted rifle.

    The price you mention for the A Bolt is really good (by Dallas standards anyway) so you can probably get your money back if you're not happy in the long run. I'd be more optimistic if my buddy wasn't having pretty much the same experience I am. He has the 22 in barrel (also Stainless Stalker model) and was with me yesterday. He was using 60 grain noslers with H4831 and had about the same size groups I was getting.

    Hopefully someone has had the same experience and can suggest a solution.
  • vdms55vdms55 Member Posts: 298 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    has anyone tried bedding the action, floating the barrel, or even checking the tourque on the bolts the hold the action in the stock? i recently aquired a .223 wssm in a winchester mod. 70 (used) and i have been experiencing similar problems with accuracy. suspositly it had been shot less than a box full of shells.i thought my next step would be to load under the velocities recomended in the books to see if it would patteren before i started bedding, floating, and so on. any advice will be appreciated.
  • nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    csjs1194,

    First and foremost, go buy that rifle! You can't possibly lose at that price, it's cheap! Enjoy the .223 WSSM, it's great cartridge that is under appreciated by most folks who don't understand how to load for it.

    Best.

    22hipower,

    I have found that your problem is common for most folks shooting the .223 WSSM They get to a certain point in their shooting and then can't maintain any accuracy. In some cases it's sooner than later in the number of shots fired. I would do the obvious things first like check the scope, mount and rings. Then do the action screws and look for chips and foreign particles in the bedding that is supposed to be standard for these rifles. Make sure the barrel isn't touching the sides of the barrel channel.

    The most common problem that I've found is that your barrel may appear to be clean but upon close (and I mean CLOSE) examination with a good borescope, you'll find a ring made from hardened carbon fouling that didn't get scrubbed out with your barrel cleaning procedure. It should be close to the front of the throat. This hard ring is extremely difficult to get rid of using standard cleaning practices.

    I would use a black powder foaming bore cleaner followed by a good brush and if necessary use a tight patch on a worn brush coated with something like JB or USP bore scrubber. Keep checking with a borescope and repeat the process until all of the carbon ring is gone.

    Using a powder like H4831sc aggravates the problem because it's too slow for this cartridge and bullet combination. I suggest using AA-XMR-4350 and maybe a Ramshot product or VihtaVuori powder, both of which are noted for clean burning characteristics.

    Best.
  • cattle buyercattle buyer Member Posts: 532 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have two wssms and love em both, Coyote lite in .25 wssm that is a tack driver after doing trigger work and with good glass ,almost 1/2 moa with factory fodder. A Wally World Super Shadow, .223wssm,3x9 simmons that was less than $400 out the door with manager escort, it is a perfect back floorboard truck gun,light handy fast pointing fast shooting mini rocket,every three months it gets wd40 and windex, it is a cold dirty barrel two shot,one holer with the third shot always being a 1 1/2 inch drunk flier!but it never takes over one shot per varmint! Im gonna take my fathers same gun and build a true long range lilja barrel tack driver! very best ps, after 50 k miles with the fore arm laying on the hump I had to take my pocket knife a refloat the left side of the tupperware stock,the trigger unlawyered to a real nice 2#withno creep.
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