.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 bullet, delivering muzzle velocities around .
Development Winchester, in conjunction with Savage, introduced this cartridge at the 2013 SHOT Show.
The brass case for the .17 WSM is roughly 50% thicker than the .17 HMR, and has a chamber pressure of 33,000 psi, compared to the chamber pressure of 26,000 psi for the .17 HMR. 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 Winchester 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 chambered for 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. 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.
See also 4.5×26mm MKR .17 HMR 4 mm caliber Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
References 6. "http://17wsm.com/setting-the-record-straight-about-the-17wsm-with-a-faq/"
External links Super .17 WSM: Savage B-Mag Review