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.

2 questions:

1) ammo availability, Rimfire ammo isn't exactly easy to reload ?

2) I assume only makes sense for semi auto applications in NZ (goat culling?), as any bolt action could easily be chambered in the much more versatile 223 round ?

Ill just stick with my 22 hornets

your solving a problem that doesnt exist.......if the .22 magnum or the 17 isnt enough gun for it......you probably ARENT supposed to be using it in that area..... if the above 2 arent enough....the jump to 222 or above is more logical step
ammunition price means the .223 is pretty much the same as rimfire stuff..reloaded even more so.
you can down load a 223 to do what your asking but cant up load a rimfire to do hat a .223 can.....

Err,22 hornet.

yeah I thought of that too bud.... for a reloader its stupidly cheap to run..7grns of powder if memory serves me correctly.... but still not legal on DOC controlled land.... but your right it would be really in same territory as whats proposed

12.5gn seems to be the magic no for me

It's sort of been done before.
It didn't work out.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5mm_...Rimfire_Magnum

I’ve got a couple 17wsm from your list. I like the calibre if you accept the limitations which apart from using it on suitable targets only is the effect of wind on the projectile which is significant. On a calm day though it’s a lot of fun. I’ve got a 22hornet which is much better in the wind due to the heavier projectile. The price of 17wsm ammo has gone up a lot recently similar to the hike in 17hmr ammo. I’d still take the wsm over the hmr every time. If the wsm isn’t enough for what I want to do then I’ll just take a centre fire something. 223 is still reasonably cheap to feed if doing volume otherwise it doesn’t really matter if it’s only a few shots. Not sure what the chamber pressure would be with what you’re suggesting, definitely wouldn’t convert a 17hmr to a 22wsm if it existed nor a 17wsm as it has a lot more chamber pressure and some hmr actions are pretty light, the m77 might be up to it. 17wsm is quite a dirty round, wonder how much cleaning of the jard sa is required to maintain reliability. Got me thinking I should dust off the hornet and work up a load for it.

I have a 22 wsm , It absolutely smashes rabbits and feral cats.
Very loud though even with a suppressor on it (have a dpt supressor fitted).
I dont use it very often and when I do its down the back of the farm so the Neighbours dont get upset.
Ammo is quite expensive though.

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.

Originally Posted by norsk

It's sort of been done before.
It didn't work out.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/5mm_...Rimfire_Magnum

It was never offered in a semi auto, or even much of a selection of rifles at all.

Originally Posted by STC

2 questions:

1) ammo availability, Rimfire ammo isn't exactly easy to reload ?

2) I assume only makes sense for semi auto applications in NZ (goat culling?), as any bolt action could easily be chambered in the much more versatile 223 round ?

Reloading would be a no-go, as with the .17 WSM.
However, that is reflected in the price difference relative to most centrefire calibres.

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.