which gun and why

[deserthntr]

I plan on buying a new rifle the day I turn 18. It will be either a 300SAUM 300 WSM 7mm WSM or 6.5x284. Who has what and how do you like it?

[jeffro]

Out of those listed, 7WSM by far.

[deserthntr]

Why do you like it?

[jeffro]

Better barrel life than the 6.5. Less recoil than the .308s. High BC 180gr bullets.

[roninflag]

for me the gun is more important than the caliber. if not a pre garcia sako then a rem 700 with a krieger barrel. i have two 6.5-284 and i like them. i shot a coyote 423 yards last january.

[sjvcon]

If you're going short magnum, I think the Winchesters are around for the long haul. The SAUM seems to have petered a bit, and doesn't offer the same performance anyway from what I understand. I've never been a big fan of those short stubbys, but they certainly have their following, and I'm sure that there are tons of guys using them and loving them. I know a lot of the ultra long range guys are doing the 6.5x284 thing. It will be harder on the barrels, but I'm not sure how much harder. Maybe talk to the guys at Krieger, or talk to Gary Schneider in Payson, or one of the other biggies and ask about their anticipated barrel life.

 

Honestly, you probably can't go wrong with any of those.

[weatherby1]

I have had a 300 win mag. 300 weatherby 338-378 weatherby and 30-378 weatherby. Of all of them I liked the 30-378 best it was and still is my go to gun, but now that my boys are getting old enough to hunt with I have fell back on a 7mm mag. It gets the job done with about the same recoil but is a lot less noisy and with the young ears around and I think that is very important. I have shot a friends 300wsm and I did not care for the recoil. For some reason it seems like the wsm recoi is a little more jerky to me. That is probably not true but that is my opinion. If I was a young man though I would buy a 30-378 and never look back. It might cost bit more to shoot but I love the gun and cartridge. I have used the gun for everything from a Duiker to a Moose and so long as I did my part it did its. Whatever you get the key to a good long range gun is PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. Good luck in the hunt for your new gun.

[deserthntr]

I've always kinda liked those 30-378. How is the recoil?

[weatherby1]

I have two loads for it 1 is 108grains of 50BMG and a 200 grain bullet the other is 121.5 grain 50BMG and a 180 grain bullet. The 200 grain bullet I used in Africa and loaded it down so that I could handle shooting it without the brake. The 180 grain bullet is what I use for pretty much everything else. I have shot that load without the brake and I hope that I never do anything that foolish again. With the brake on it is nice to shoot although it does make a lot of noise.

[sjvcon]

I have two loads for it 1 is 108grains of 50BMG and a 200 grain bullet the other is 121.5 grain 50BMG and a 180 grain bullet. The 200 grain bullet I used in Africa and loaded it down so that I could handle shooting it without the brake. The 180 grain bullet is what I use for pretty much everything else. I have shot that load without the brake and I hope that I never do anything that foolish again. With the brake on it is nice to shoot although it does make a lot of noise.

Uh ... yeah!!! I think that round is a BRAKE ONLY endeavor ...

[youngbuck]

If It was me, I would opt for the 7WSM in your list of choices. If you were going for a super-light rifle with no brake, maybe a 6.5mm. 7WSM won't need a brake for 162gr-ish bullets. I have never shot any 180s in a .284 so I don't know about that one. I would opt for a break with the bigger 7mms; STW or RUM . I would opt for a WSM over the SAUM, just because of the availability of brass. There is nothing in AZ a 7mm bullet won't handle; elk, deer, rabbits, whatever. There are a lot of good bullet choices in 7mm for hand loading. There are enough bullet choices to do what ever you want with it. There is also a good selection of factory 7wsm ammo, or there was 4 years ago when I last looked. It all depends on how much you are going to shoot it at rocks/paper, how much weight you want to haul around, whether it will have a brake or not, and how recoil sensitive you are. Hot-rods are not good for killing rocks often, if you want the tube to last. Light guns kick like a mule, and heavy ones aren't fun to lug around. Muzzle brakes are loud, you will need muffs, there won't be any jump shooting with a good brake that works, well at least if you want your ears to work after. Some guys develop a flinch, especially from going with a big boomer to start off with. 6.5mm are big with the recoil sensitive crowd. I think in your list the 7WSM is the best "cover all" chambering. There are better choices for very specific applications, but very few for a 1 rifle/chambering for everything.

[luvdemcoues]

Out of that list, go with the 7mm WSM. But if I could add one more to that list it would be the 270 WSM. Seriously an impressive caliber in that it'll shoot a long ways, fairly easy to find ammo, and maintains its knock down power at long distances. It is really close if not identical in its ballistics to the 7mm WSM, it just doesn't kick ya as hard.

[deserthntr]

I like the idea of the 270 wsm but I think I want a little bigger gun for the day I go to africa or Alaska. So the 300 wsm seems the gun I should go with but the 7wsm has better BC's from what I understand. So its a toss up right now. I also kinda want a 7wsm cause I don't hear much about those and like the idea of having something different

[sjvcon]

A .300 WSM is only going to get you so far in either of those locations. .338 is pretty dead minimum for a big brownie (though I've heard of guys going with a .300 RUM or .30-378, which have a lot more pop than a .300 WSM). I'd probably say that a Moose will go down to a good shot with the .300, but I'd still prefer something larger. As for Africa, well you are going to be facing a situation in which there are minimum sizes for caliber on several species over there, and a .300 ain't it. It will work most/all of the antelopes, and several non-dangerous species, but you don't want much smaller than a .375 H&H for dealing with anything large or with big teeth over there.

 

I'd get what you like for the lower 48, and save up for something else if and when you take one of those trips. If the .270 WSM fits the bill and you like the recoil, do that. If it's the 7mm, do that. Personally, if I was doing a 7mm, I'd probably stick with the 7mm Remington unless you just don't like a long action. It has long been on the list of "best all around" ... and though I don't have one, I am considering one strongly.

[DesertBull]

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunweek064.html