Re: .223 WSSM What do you guys think???
Adam,
Initially I shied away from the .223 and .243 because I thought the ratio of bullet dia. vs. case dia. was too small. I was really excited when the .25 WSSM came out. I owned two and now only own my Stealth II. I typically shoot Berger 115's or Wildcat 115's bullets in it.
Anyhow, getting back to the .223 WSSM. The cases are like the rest in that they are thick. 210-213 gr. Which is more than a 30-06 case weighs. It does seem like they left too much material in the necks. However, that can be remedied by neck-turning. You will have to anneal the cases soon. I let some go five or six loadings and they started to crack.
The biggest reason I started to reconsider a .223 WSSM was that standard barrels came with 1-9" twists. Which at their velocities will stabilize 80 gr. bullets. Unlike, the 1-9" twist .223 Rem or the usual twist of the .22-250 of 1-12" or 1-14".
It will burn barrels a little faster than the .22-250 and about the same as a swift. The former has less case capacity and the latter has about the same. Both of which are known for being barrel burners. That said, on our last shoot up in Princeton, Greg was putting a 1-8" twist .22-250 barrel on for one of the guys (can't remember names, too many in too short of time), so that he could push 90 gr. bullets. Personally, that would be my choice. But, you would have to find an action chambered for
the .22-250 so you wouldn't have jamming problems because of the case taper. Or you could have the rails adjusted. The former works the best unless the person doing the rails has a jig for it.
Anyhow, that's what I'd do.