Harry Pope had opinions about this topic. John Campbell quotes a 1930 letter where Pope says, " That I think the Win. SS best is proved by the fact that I abandoned Ballards after shooting them for 8 years and since 1892, except for the time I was with the Stevens CO. and obliged to shoot their junk,all the fine shooting I have done for years was with the Win." He then quotes Townsend Whelen, " I consider this the strongest and most reliable rifle action ever made..." Pope of course is talking about target shooting, and Whelen about experimental cartridge development. For hunting rifles, the advantage of the HW seems clear.

Bill Ferguson