300 win mag or 300 wsm?!?

[Distance]

I've been shooting 300 RUM for close to 8 years now. Awesome round.

[Coach]

Well, you can probably tell now by all the great input here, this one is going to come down to personal preference. Numbers-wise, they're very close. The pros and cons are pretty much negilgible for both.

 

I switched from a .300 WBY to a .300 WSM and found I liked the WSM better. Different rifle, so it's hard to compare "apples to apples". I reload and found my .300 WBY to be more finicky - I've heard the same about .300 RUM. I think if you get either of the those two (WBY and RUM) to like a certain load, you're in a good place. But both are belted Magnums, which some find harder to resize and reload.

 

The .300 Win Mag is also a belted cartridge, but it is based on the .375 H&H, whereas the .300 RUM (and I think all RUM) is based on the .404 Jeffrey.

 

The concept behind any "Magnum" offering is stick more powder behind the same projectile. As I'm sure you can deduce, the .375 H&H and the .404 Jeffrey were designed as "super big game" loads meant primarily for African game. How many big scopes do you seen on African hunter's guns? Many are open sight double rifles, some have 4x, because the game is usually close, usually dangerous and requires a heavy bullet behind a lot of powder to knock it down. Most of the super magnums are designed on these powder-hungry cases, but necked down to put that power and energy into longer range shots.

 

The .300 WSM is a little different in that it sticks more powder in a shorter, fatter casing. Not being a physicist, I think the idea is you burn the same quantity of powder putting absorbed pressure more on the barrel than the bolt, and doing it quickly without building excess pressure.

 

So, what does all this mean? Not much to be honest. Your dead deer on the ground, meat in the freezer, head on the wall, whatever, is not going to come down to whether you shoot A vs. B, in the vast majority of cases.

 

If you find a gun you feel comfortable with and can shoot accurately, 90% of hunting situations, the gun and bullet will take care of the killing, and that's .243 through the super magnums at ranges under 400 yards, beyond which, most people don't practice enough to worry about.

 

 

Super long range guys shooting larger animals have to really be concerned about foot pounds of energy at point of impact over 800 yards, blah blah blah, I'll likely never be a good enough shot to be concerned about some of the minute details that go into which round is better at those ranges on certain animals.

 

A .270 will kill almost everything most of us will hunt at ranges we are capable of. Some of the magnums give you a little more energy with a little less accuracy (generally). I've settled on .300 WSM, .270 WSM for pretty much everything I or my kids will hunt. I can load those two up or down enough to cover anything from pigs to elk, and have them hit where they are aimed without blowing my kids' shoulders off. Also have dad's .270 Win. a heavy 25-06 and an AR in .223 when recoil considerations take over ballistics, and all have killed game.

 

Shoot what you like and can hit with - don't worry about the gun as much as the time you are having with friends and family, and ultimately the skills required to get into place for the shot.

[sherman]

I saw someone say .270 I agree with that look at the balistic chart it has almost the same drop and engary as a 30-06 and a 7mm out to 500 yards without the recoil. I have used mine on elk and would not even slow down to take it on a moose hunt. If you are looking for something different I would go with a 25-06 remington. I got one last chritmas and love it. It has less recoil then .270win and is great engery out to 400 yards on Coues, Mule deer and some even say Elk. I drew a Mule deer tag this year and took my med. sized Muley ant almost 200 with a 117 gr hornady sst with one shot. I even went out and got a 25-06 for my daughter to start hunting with. And how trys a shoot over 400 yards anyway.

[ruffcountry]

300 Weatherby

[azslim]

Ballistically they are equal out to about 400 yds, then the WSM starts dropping a little more.

[308Nut]

I switched from a .300 WBY to a .300 WSM and found I liked the WSM better. Different rifle, so it's hard to compare "apples to apples". I reload and found my .300 WBY to be more finicky - I've heard the same about .300 RUM. I think if you get either of the those two (WBY and RUM) to like a certain load, you're in a good place. But both are belted Magnums, which some find harder to resize and reload.

 

 

Just to clarify, the RUM has no belt. Maybe thats what you meant?

[az_shooter]

7 mm or 300 ultra, both are sweet guns and are more than capable of taking down any deer or big game

[Coach]

I switched from a .300 WBY to a .300 WSM and found I liked the WSM better. Different rifle, so it's hard to compare "apples to apples". I reload and found my .300 WBY to be more finicky - I've heard the same about .300 RUM. I think if you get either of the those two (WBY and RUM) to like a certain load, you're in a good place. But both are belted Magnums, which some find harder to resize and reload.

 

 

Just to clarify, the RUM has no belt. Maybe thats what you meant?

 

No, 308 Nut, you caught me red-handed. I was sure the RUM used a belted case, but I stand corrected. The .404 Jeffrey that the Ultra Mags are based on is not a belted case.

 

A good read on magnum rifle evolution can be found here...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/evolution_magnum_cartridges.htm

 

Thanks 308Nut for keeping me honest.

[STOMP442]

Get something in a 6.5 Cal. A standard .260 Remington with a 140gr bullet at 2700 fps will duplicate the trajectory of of a .300WM and do it with half the powder and half the recoil. Not to mention the sectional density of a 140 6.5 bullet is the same as a 190gr .30 cal bullet. The 6.5's give you all the benifits of the big Win Mags without having to deal with the added cost of reloading components or the added cost of having to put a muzzle break on a rifle just to be able to shoot the dang thing. A 6.5-284 or or a .260rem Ackely improved pushing the same 140gr bullet at 3000fps is even better and will kill anything just as dead as a 300WM or 300 ultra and will do it more effeciently, cost effective and is more shooter friendly as far as recoil is concerned.