Thread: Would you buy a .22 WSM?

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.