300 win mag or 300 wsm?!?

[BAG'N'TAG]

So I've decided i'm going to buy a new gun i just cant decide between a 300 win mag or a 300 wsm. I know they are ballistically identical but what do you all think?

Thanks,

Zach

[SO I HUNT]

Cost of ammo is a big differents, unless you reload Also if you go to rebarrel to another caliber you are stuck to the short mag. family

[BigBfever]

7mm mag,

[desertdog]

Cost of ammo is a big differents, unless you reload Also if you go to rebarrel to another caliber you are stuck to the short mag. family

 

Okay I will tell you first off I have never been a fan of the the shot mag idea. Sorry it just seems like a big gimmick to me to sell more guns, ammo, brass, dies, and so on. I mean just take a look at the two calibers you are considering. Can some one tell me the big advantage of the short mag. I know it is a shorter case and you don't have to pull the bolt back as far when cycling another round but come on is that it. That is the big advantage? Sorry not enough for me.

 

Go with the old standard win mag and be done IMO. You can always find ammo, it will be cheaper, bigger selection etc. On a side note can I ask why you have narrowed it down to these to choices, there are a lot of other great calibers out there to choose form. Not that a .300 win mag is a bad choice.

 

[desertdog]

7mm mag,

 

Love the 7mm mag. My dad carried one for years so I am a little partial I guess. However it is a great round with a great bullet. Cant go wrong with the old 7 Mag.

 

[SunDevil]

300 ultra mag - get a muzzle break and a really good recoil pad. 150 grain bullets smoke out of those.

[BAG'N'TAG]

funny that the 7mm came up... I've heard alot of good things about it too except that some said its too small for elk, just like the 300 because of the added power over the 7mm rem mag. How is the 7mm with elk?

[scoutm]

The advantages of the short mag include:

 

- equivalent ballistics with a little less powder (only important if you hand load)

- slightly lighter rifle due to the shorter action

 

The disadvatage:

 

- lose some of the "equivalent ballistics" when using heavier/longer bullets due to bullet seating constraints created by the short action.

 

If the gun's primary purpose is to hunt elk, I would say the benefits of the short mag don't out weigh it's disadvatages. If the gun's primary purpose is to hunt deer and you're not using any bullets over 180 grains then I would say it's pretty much a push.

[Red Rabbit]

*The same rifle model chambered in a 300 WSM will weigh about 1/4 pound less than in 300 WM.

*Magazine capacity will be the same= 3

*In looking at the Cabelas shooting catalog, Winchester ammo with the same bullet is equal. Federal ammo

costs about 3-4 dollars more in WSM than WM, possibly due to the royalty stemming from the Jamison

lawsuit. If you are worried about ammo costs, consider a 30-06.

*The 300 WM may have a 50 fps advantage over the WSM when handloading. Factory ammo is rated nearly

equal. In the field, 50 fps means little.

*There is a wide variety of suitable hunting loads available for each, most manufacturers offer the same bullet

for both WSM and WM; so no advantage for either.

*The Kimber in 300WSM stock feels much better than the 300 WM to me.

*Loading 180s in my 2 WSMs has not been a problem to me for powder space/magazine length.

*Initial feeding problems of the sharp shouldered WSM have been resolved. Have not heard internet scuttle of

new rifle that feed poorly.

*The sharper shoulder of the WSM may reduce case stretch, much like AIs do.

*Some may bring up the nonexistent problems of the short neck on the WM for seating bullets, or the belt for headspacing.

*The longer receiver of the WM may require you to use reversible bases for some more compact scopes.

*Both the WM and WSM are not going to fade off the gun map.

*Winchester, Ruger and Remington are in the business to sell guns. New rifles and chamberings will always

come out to stimulate new sales.

 

Bottom line to me, no real advantage for either. Get the rifle you want in either chambering.

[308Nut]

300 WSM = less recoil, longer barrel life, less over all length and weight on the complete rifle, less finicky than long skinny magnums including the 300 WM.

[Snapshot]

300 ultra mag - get a muzzle break and a really good recoil pad. 150 grain bullets smoke out of those.

 

 

Yes sir! The .300 RUM is next on my wish list. Great caliber for anything in North America and beyond.

 

I don't have any experience with the .300WSM.

[Kilimanjaro]

I have a 300WSM built by Match Grade Arms in Houston that will ALWAYS be a better gun than I am shooter.. It can drive tacks.

 

Also had a 300RUM built by Hill Country Rifles.. I took game with it ranging in size from pronghorn all the way up to giraffe bull. Great gun that I wish I hadn't sold.

 

Still have a 300 WBY as well.. just HATE buying ammo for it and havent taken it on any hunts in about 5yrs.

 

The WSM is a great round, and the ONLY disadvantage I can see it having is if you decide to take it to a country where getting diff ammo might be a problem. Other than that, potatoe, poTAtoe.

 

 

If I were you, I'd get a RUM and be done with it.

[308Nut]

The only dis-advantage to the 300 RUM is they eat throats faster than hungry pirana's eat a swimming pig. This isnt a problem for guys who shoot VERY little. For guys that like to shoot often, this can be detrimental to consistency, eventually accuracy and definately the pocket book.

[NRS]

Since Lark is not here today, GET A .270 and do not worry about kick, expensive bullets, throat erosion, or shooting out barrels. and yes, I have used mine to kill elk.

[billrquimby]

"funny that the 7mm came up... I've heard alot of good things about it too except that some said its too small for elk, just like the 300 because of the added power over the 7mm rem mag. How is the 7mm with elk?"

 

 

It reaches out there and kills them dead, and there is only one degree of that status.

 

My 7 mm Rem Mag has gone all over the world with me and taken a great many large animals up to the size of 1,200-pound eland (including a number of elk in Arizona, New Mexico and Mongolia), and I have never felt undergunned. I load 140 grain Nosler Partitions for animals up to 300 pounds or so, and 175 grain Nosler Partitions for everything above that.

 

The .300 Winchester Magnum is a great caliber, too, but it is at the very top end of my tolerance for recoil and I get the same results with my 7 mm mag without getting banged around.

 

If I had to choose between a traditional magnum or a short magnum, though, I'd stick with the tried and true.

 

Imagine yourself running around and trying to buy a box of short magnum ammo in Johannesburg, Buenos Aires, Madrid or Auckland after an airline lost the only supply you packed. You may not plan to hunt in those countries, but you never know what opportunities might pop up someday ...

 

Bill Quimby