 Even before the cartridge was commercially introduced, it was claimed that it would be extremely hard on barrels and high wear would lead to short barrel life.Another criticism is that, although the round is suited for long range varmint hunting, it is not good for medium game any farther than 200 yards.The Winchester made Model 70 in .223 WSSM has not been revived in the new Browning-made Winchester Model 70s, but Browning has chosen to use chrome-lined barrels on all of its guns chambered for .223 WSSM and has introduced the .223 WSSM cartridge as a chambering in its A-bolt rifles.