thoughts on 223 wssm or any other long range 22 cal

[B Jordan]

i was interested in building a long range pdog rifle that would shoot the 80 gr sierras my problem was i dont want to fireform 300 cases so i decided on the 233 wssm ordered a barrel and a reamer (already had a suitable action)then i found out from another guy that sierra had a lot of problems with this caliber so much that they dont even publish reloading data on it i called them and found it to be true i was wondering if anyone else has had problems with this caliber ? and if there was any other caliber that would be a suitable choice that i could use that did not require fireforming any help would be greatly appretiated as i need to get this project moving before its to late for pdogs thanks,Brian

[hvyw8t]

I am not a fan of any of the wssms. In my opinion they are a dying breed. If i was going to build a fast twist .22 rifle to handle the 80 grain sierra with out fireforming, i would look no further than a .22-243 with a standard shoulder. You will have a litte more case capacity than the .223 wssm , it will feed very well, and you will be able to get extremely good brass.

[Varmint Hunter]

For problem free loading and shooting I would have went with the time tested and proven 22-250. I'm tempted to build a 22BR but high quality brass can be a problem. Plenty of Rem brass around though.

Hard to beat the .223 for P-dogs. Loads of economical, accurate ammo out there. Barrels stay cooler and throats last longer with the smaller cartridges.

For really looong range varmints its hard to beat the 22-243 with a fast twist barrel. However, I wouldn't recommended it for any fast pace shooting. You could toast the barrel in record time.

Just a few thoughts. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[EddieHarren]

Brian, I chamber a round called the 22DJ. It is a 22 BR with the shoulder moved forward .070" and blown out to 40 degrees. It is faster than a 22-250 with 2/3 as much powder.
I wouldn't worry too much about quality brass as long as Lapua is around. The new 2006 shipment is here and if not available now, will be soon.

[Carbonman]

Brian,
I built a budget long range varminter last spring using a Savage 16 (originally chambered in 300 WSM). I installed an 8 twist ABS barrel chambered in 223 WSSM. The round feeds without issues from the magazine. I tried 80 grain match kings, Berger 80 VLD's, Nosler 80 grain and got great accuracy but poor terminal performance on prairie dogs beyond 400 yards. I switched to 75 grain Moly Amax and had a great time launching prairie dogs out to 900+ yards last July. I get well in excess of 3650 out of the Amax using VV N560, sub 1/4 moa and got redmist out of the targets out to about 700. Between 700 and 1000 the bullets have much less explosive expansion but still kill quite well.
Accuracy was never an issue with the MK 80's. They were consistantly sub 1/4 moa, they just didn't give the explosive terminal performance I require.
Sure, there are issues with the WSSM. You have to be nearly right on top of max chamber pressures to get the case to obturate. With .018"+ neck walls go figure. However, this is a short fat powder column that exceeds the capacity of the 22-243. With a little load development and enough barrel length you can make it sing.
We were limited by terrain in the distances available last year and couldn't get past 970 yards. This year we are hitting a different town with opportunities out to 1500. I'll be shooting this stick again this summer at longer ranges.
Mike

[hvyw8t]

Carbonman, how much powder can you fit into your 223 wssm?

[Carbonman]

Up to 55 grains of extruded powder settled and compressed.