Thread: Would you buy a .22 WSM?

For those of you saying .22 Hornet, centrefires aren't going to be an option for semi autos until we get some significant legislative change. Until then, a .22 WSM would make sense for semi auto applications.

Semi autos arent the be all and end all. Plenty of guys are quite proficiant with a bolt or lever

There are some guys that are crazy fast with a bolt but the majority of us are not. Semi was pretty helpful for us average guys.... ok maybe slightly below average. I'd have a look if these came to pass.

The big issue is lack of firearms. There are currently bugger all done in 17wsm, with varying stages of quality and cost. The same would go for a 22 version.
They are almost centerfire pressures for a rimfire and as such don't lend well to existing actions.
The 17wsm was just a bit hit and miss when it came out, pretty much ammo related.
People that love them do so, others have suffered through a lemon and hate them.
I would own one but I'm still getting my head around if it is going to survive long term

It's generally accepted that the WMR is marginal on goats. A .22 WSM would be enough of an improvement that if a suitable semi was available I would buy it.

Ammunition manufacture is the problem… the reason it is dying is a lack of ammunition being produced.

Ammunition demand is so high currently that manufacturers are closing lines down to make more popular calibers.

Also, 22 hornet, 218 bee all do what your asking

Not in a semi it won't.

Originally Posted by Got-ya

Not in a semi it won't.

in a semi it WOULD...BUTyour not allowed a centrfire semi......you fudge the lines too much and you risk the rimfires going the same way...you could of course remake yourself a .44 rimfire but risk the same...

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

in a semi it WOULD...BUTyour not allowed a centrfire semi......you fudge the lines too much and you risk the rimfires going the same way...you could of course remake yourself a .44 rimfire but risk the same...

Someone should make a .223 rimfire.....


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@Got-ya well they do for the 17wsm. Jard semiauto that looks like an AR 15 but is dear as poison.
Plus all the ammo for the 17 is made in the same factory just different packets/branding.
Really needs a competitor to come along and have a go to help it out

Shower thoughts have turned to the same idea - necking up 17wsm to 20 or 22. A 20wsm seemed like a good idea - the 40gr .20 projectile at 2800fps would be worth a look. plus you could use it in a semi. And dreaming up something new is always stimulating.

But then the mental conversation ends up going round in a circle, and the good old .223 seems to win every arguement. I think last time i went down this mental minefield i convinced myself i should build a .20 vartag or 20 practical. And then I wake up and remember i already have a .223, and the .plain old .22lr still works perfectly fine for knocking possums out of trees, quietly and cheaply.

Its a great campfire discussion thou.

If ammo existed and it wasn't horrendously priced, and someone made an AR in it that was legal here. Yea.

If it was bolt action only na I'll just shoot 223.

If it was in a semi it would need to be AR pattern and not some janky bespoke 10/22.

You'd ideally be looking for 22 Hornet performance from a rimfire.

I had a 17wsm upper for a while. It was significantly more fun to shoot than a 22lr. Unfortunately the ammunition quality was rubbish.

I know of guys that have used them with great success on goats, pigs and fallow. The muzzle energy essentially matches 9mm fired from a handgun. But it is going a lot faster.

Originally Posted by Kiwigunguy

Back in 2012, Winchester released the .17 WSM, a .17 calibre rimfire cartridge made from a modified .27 calibre nail gun blank. It immediately became the most powerful rimfire cartridge, and Winchester makes 20 and 25 grain ammunition which is sold under the Federal American Eagle and Hornady brands, as well as Winchester. It performs quite well, but is not without its drawbacks. The bullets are too light to be used on game much larger than rabbits, possums, etc, and it looses a lot of its velocity and power in shorter barrels.

My idea is for Winchester to solve that by making a .22 WSM, by simply necking up the .17 WSM to accept .22 WMR projectiles in the 30 to 50 grain range. That would enable it to be used in the same actions, while generating significantly more velocity and power than .22 Magnum, even out of shorter barrels. It would become the new most powerful rimfire round, and would likely generate up to 500 ft lbs(680 J) of energy, depending on bullet weight and barrel length. For those of us who love the .22 WMR, this would be like the .22 Magnum turned up to 11. It would also become the most powerful semi-auto calibre in jurisdictions that restrict semi-auto centrefire rifles.

Based on the current market, the rifles available in or able to be converted to .22 WSM would be the Winchester 1885 Low Wall, the Ruger 17/77, the Savage B-MAG and A17, the Franklin Armory F-17, and the Jard J71/J72.

So my question is this: Would you buy one? Especially, would you buy one instead of a .17 WSM, or would you replace/convert a .17 WSM with a .22 WSM. If you would never buy either, this question isn't really aimed at you. Let me know what you think.

No

this whole idea........
its the same shit with a different flavour...we get a new improved set of rules to abide by...and some body who starts out with idea and good intentions works right to the edge of the line of whats still legal....and then that becomes somewhat mainstream for awhile then others push it a bit further and a little bit further than the powers that be..wake up and go...hello WHF is going on here,this wasnt supposed to look like that we got rid of that ..and WHAM down comes the ban hammer again.
if you make/create a rimfire with same power as a centrefire and use it in a semi..........you may as well use a centrefire in a semi...with me so far???
we arent allowed centrefire in a semi anymore (lets not go into reason why...its just how it is) nope not allowed
so if you make rimfire as potent as centrefire..the rimfires will get axed too and this time the whole lot will go.....I can hear it now...you lot had your chance and blew it..tough tittie. nobody to blame but yourselves
and then....oh boohoohoo woe to be me XXX store threw us under the bus XXXperson threw us under the bus XXX store threw us under the bus XXX PERSON THREW US UNDER THE BUS BOOHOOHOO woe to be me.

and quite frankly.....we will have no one but ourselves to blame if we chose to go down that road.....AGAIN.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

this whole idea........
its the same shit with a different flavour...we get a new improved set of rules to abide by...and some body who starts out with idea and good intentions works right to the edge of the line of whats still legal....and then that becomes somewhat mainstream for awhile then others push it a bit further and a little bit further than the powers that be..wake up and go...hello WHF is going on here,this wasnt supposed to look like that we got rid of that ..and WHAM down comes the ban hammer again.
if you make/create a rimfire with same power as a centrefire and use it in a semi..........you may as well use a centrefire in a semi...with me so far???
we arent allowed centrefire in a semi anymore (lets not go into reason why...its just how it is) nope not allowed
so if you make rimfire as potent as centrefire..the rimfires will get axed too and this time the whole lot will go.....I can hear it now...you lot had your chance and blew it..tough tittie. nobody to blame but yourselves
and then....oh boohoohoo woe to be me XXX store threw us under the bus XXXperson threw us under the bus XXX store threw us under the bus XXX PERSON THREW US UNDER THE BUS BOOHOOHOO woe to be me.

and quite frankly.....we will have no one but ourselves to blame if we chose to go down that road.....AGAIN.

Humans gonna human though...if there's a work around and its legal, why not.....??



Give it time they're gonna ban em all anyway....

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