My G & A
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Rifles
The .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum
When properly stoked, this squat-cased fireplug of a cartridge can meet and beat the 4,000 fps benchmark.
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The short-magnum concept seems to have developed into the latest fad in the shooting world. This year Winchester has added three new short magnums to its inventory. The first of these is the .223 Winchester Super Short Magnum (WSSM). The other new calibers are the .243 WSSM and the .25 WSSM, which I intend to cover in future issues of G&A.
I'm sure that Winchester hopes that the .223 WSSM will develop into a modern replacement for the company's aging .220 Swift. The Swift was (and for that matter, still is) a real zinger. It soon developed a bad reputation, mostly undeserved, for burning barrels and erratic performance on game. The second complaint is simply because the bullets that were being fired weren't up to the task they were being asked to perform.
As far as barrel erosion is concerned, any high-velocity/high-pressure cartridge is going to be harder on barrels than, let's say, a .22 Hornet. If you want the super performance, you are going to have to pay for it. But today's powder selection is far better (some cool burning technology is available) than it was when the Swift was introduced, and the steel quality in barrels is better, too, so the erosion problem isn't nearly as bad today as it used to be.
| Bullet | Powder | Primer | Case | Starting Load (grs.) | Maximum Load (grs.) | Velocity (fps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40-gr. Berger | Win. 748 | Win. WLR | Win. | 40.0 | 45.5 | 4,250 |
| 40-gr. Sierra | Hod. Benchmark | Fed. 210 | Win. | 36.0 | 41.5 | 4,250 |
| 45-gr. Barnes | Acc. 2700 | Rem. 9.5 | Win. | 41.0 | 46.0 | 3,950 |
| 45-gr. Hornady | RS-TAC | CCI 200 | Win. | 37.0 | 42.0 | 4,050 |
| 50-gr. Nosler | Hod. Varget | Fed. 210 | Win. | 35.0 | 40.0 | 3,945 |
| 50-gr. Sierra | IMR 4350 | CCI 200 | Win. | 42.0 | 47.0 | 3,930 |
| 50-gr. Speer | VV N-540 | Fed. 210 | Win. | 37.0 | 41.5 | 3,910 |
| 53-gr. Barnes | Acc 4064 | Win. WLR | Win. | 33.0 | 38.0 | 3,800 |
| 55-gr. Berger | VV N0540 | Fed. 210 | Win. | 36.0 | 41.0 | 3,800 |
| 55-gr. Hornady | RS Big Game | CCI 200 | Win. | 40.0 | 45.0 | 3,820 |
| 55-gr. Nosler | Alliant Rl-19 | Rem. 9.5 | Win. | 43.0 | 47.5 | 3,840 |
| 55-gr. Speer | Hod. H414 | Win. WLR | Win. | 40.0 | 45.0 | 3,820 |
