.17 Winchester Super Magnum

.17 Winchester Super Magnum, commonly known as the .17 WSM, is a rimfire rifle cartridge developed by the ammunition company Winchester in 2012. It descended from a .27 caliber nail-gun blank cartridge by necking down the blank case to take a .17 caliber (4.5mm) bullet. Initial loadings were with a 20 grains (1.3 g) bullet, delivering muzzle velocities around 3,000-foot-per-second (910 m/s).^[2]

17 Winchester Super Magnum
.17 WSM (left), with .17 Hornet (center) and .22 Hornet (right)
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Winchester
Designed	2012
Produced	2013–present
Specifications
Parent case	.27 caliber nail gun blank cartridge
Case type	Rimmed, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	.172 in (4.4 mm)
Neck diameter	.197 in (5.0 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.269 in (6.8 mm)
Base diameter	.269 in (6.8 mm)
Rim diameter	.333 in (8.5 mm)
Rim thickness	.066 in (1.7 mm)
Case length	1.200 in (30.5 mm)
Overall length	1.440 in (36.58 mm) to 1.590 in (40.39 mm)[1]
Primer type	Rimfire
Maximum pressure	33,000 psi (230 MPa)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 20 gr. (1.3 g) 3,000 ft/s (910 m/s) 400 ft⋅lbf (540 J) 25 gr. (1.6 g) 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) 375 ft⋅lbf (508 J)

Development

Winchester, in conjunction with Savage, introduced this cartridge at the 2013 SHOT Show. ^[3]

The brass case for this round is roughly 50% thicker than the 17 HMR, and the max average internal pressure is 33,000 psi, compared to the 17 HMR's 26,000 psi. ^[4] The 17 WSM is not compatible with firearms chambered in 17 HMR and vice versa as the two cartridges have different dimensions.

Factory ammunition

Factory ammunition is available from Winchester, Federal, American Eagle. Federal Ammunition American Eagle 17 Win. Super Magnum cartridges are currently only available with 1.3 gram (20 grain) polymer-tipped projectiles rated at 914 m/s (3,000 fps) at the muzzle.

Several options from Winchester are available, including Varmint HV 17 Winchester Super Magnum with a 1.3 gram (20 grain) polymer-tipped projectile rated at 914 m/s (3,000 fps), Varmint HE 17 Winchester Super Magnum with a 1.6 gram (25 grain) polymer-tipped projectile rated at 793 m/s (2,600 fps), and Varmint-X 17 Winchester Super Magnum which is available with a lead-free 1 gram (15 grain) polymer tipped projectile, rated at 1,006 m/s (3,300 fps).

Firearms

Currently, rifles firing the 17 WSM are the Savage B-Mag bolt action, heavy barrel B-mag target edition. Ruger Model 77/17, Winchester 1885 Low Wall single shot, and the semi-automatic Franklin Armory F-17.^[5] The F-17 is the first gas-piston operated rimfire firearm designed to handle the higher pressures of this cartridge. Also recently Jard Inc. joined this list with their J71 17 WSM AR 15 rifle. ^{[6][better source needed]}

See also

• 4.5×26mm MKR
• .17 HMR
• 4 mm caliber
• Table of handgun and rifle cartridges

References

1. "American National Standard Voluntary Industry Performance Standards for Pressure and Velocity of Rimfire Sporting Ammunition for the Use of Commercial Manufacturers" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
2. "The 17 Winchester Super Magnum". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
3. "Savage .17 Winchester Super Magnum Rimfire Rifle – SHOT Show 2013". 18 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
4. "World's Fastest Rimfire Round: Winchester .17 Super Magnum". 17 January 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
5. "Franklin Armory". franklinarmory.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-15. Retrieved 2021-10-23.
6. "First Ever Functional Gas Operated Rimfire from Franklin Armory". 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-01-20. Retrieved 2014-01-21.

External links

• Super .17 WSM: Savage B-Mag Review