Regular vs. Short?

[ndaniel]

Pardon my ignorance on this subject but I'm just curious and clueless on this topic. What's the difference in ballistics between regular mags and short mags. Is there much of a difference? I'm a bow guy so this is new to me, I've been looking into buying a rifle for the longest time and as soon as I think I find one I learn something else. So any info is appreciated.

 

Nate

[firstcoueswas80]

for the most part, the short mags do what a long mag does, in a shorter gun.

 

The barrel can be 2 inches shorter, and the action 1/2" or so shorter.

 

the 270wsm beats the regular 270 by 200-300 or so, and nearly matches the 270 wby.

 

I love my .270 wsm!

[Red Rabbit]

No real effective difference between the 270WSM & 270WBY, and the 300WSM & 300WM. The regular magnums will have a slightly greater powder capacity, and get you 50-100 fps more than the short mag, if you handload. The factory ammo between the 300s is a tie. Some short mag rifles, especially the first ones manufactured, had issues with smoothly feeding the cartridge, but this issue is mostly rectified now. The WSMs come in a short action, which might save you a whopping 6 oz in rifle weight.

 

Unlike Remington's SAUM, the Winchester Short Mag is likely here to stay, especially the 300 and 270 WSMs. Both offer a wide selection of factory ammo. The 300WM and 270WBY are not going away either, although factory ammo selection is more limited for the 270WBY.

 

You can compare Federal factoy ammo here:

http://federalammo.com/ballistics/Ammo_Sea...earm=1&s1=1

[ndaniel]

Thanks for the info. I've been looking at several .300 win mags and it looks like that's the way to go.

[.270]

first off, "magnum" is a jug o' wine. it just sounds cool. i've tinkered with these short mags some. from what i see, the .270 wsm is the only one that offers much advantage. you can get several hundred fps more from it than a .270 win. not quite what a .270 weatherby does, but who wants one o' them things. and it gets close with a lot less powder. the .300 and 7mm short mags are a little better than an '06 and a .280, but are a couple hundred fps slower than their big brothers. there was a real craze about em when they first came out, but i can see most of em goin' the way of dodo birds and the 7mm/08. if you want a .300 mag, get a .300 win or weatherby. or step to an ultra or a .300/.378 and really have a hard hittin' hotrod. if you want a 7 mag, get a 7 mag or an stw or some other deal. the .25's and .32's and whatever else they make ain't ever gonna make it. and the super shorts don't feed for $h!t in most actions. but i do see some advantages in the .270 wsm. it ain't a reall .270, but it's close. Lark.

[TAM]

I pretty much agree with what every one said. I own a .270 Weatherby mag and get average velocities 3,550 feet per second with a 130 grain Sierra Game King bullet. It took quit a bit of trial and error to find a load that it would shoot well, but I've got it dialed in with 3/4 inch groups.

 

For me the compairson between a .270 wsm and a .270 Weatherby mag is like a Corvette and a Ferrari. They're both super fast, the Ferrari is usually a little faster, but it also comes at a cost. In most practical senses the added cost of the .270 weatherby is not going to pay for it's edge in velocity.

 

I would not recomend this caliber unless you plan to spend a lot of time working up new loads. For me it was a frusterating experience, but now that I've got it shooting well I love the raw killing power that the caliber/load/bullet provides.

 

I'm having a new custom .300 RUM built for this Falls hunts, so my .270 Wby will probably take a back seat for awhile.

[catclaw]

Well, what did you get?

[carguy]

i went thru this last year bud.i did alot of comparisons as far as ballistics weight etc. i went with a savage .270 wsm.the savage in my opinion is a very good value for the dolla.one thing i failed to look into was cost of the ammmo! not only the cost but availibility do yourself a favor call or visit the place where you buy your ammo and check the prices they may not even carry em! good luck

[TwoGuns]

i went thru this last year bud.i did alot of comparisons as far as ballistics weight etc. i went with a savage .270 wsm.the savage in my opinion is a very good value for the dolla.one thing i failed to look into was cost of the ammmo! not only the cost but availibility do yourself a favor call or visit the place where you buy your ammo and check the prices they may not even carry em! good luck

 

 

+1 on the Savage .270 WSM. I love mine, shoots straight and I really like the accutrigger.

 

[ndaniel]

I'm still looking, several guns catch my eye but we'll see how it ends up

[Bird Dog]

Short mags are a good example of modern day cartridge, but the old laws of physics must be considered inorder to say a WSM will match long action mags is not true. Kinda like saying a V6 puts the same horses down as a V8 or V8 to a V10.....it doesn't add up. I am not saying that a short mag isn't more efficient but look at a 300 ultra mag to a win mag in the Nosler reloading book verses the wsm. All three a great flat shooting but the WSM can not keep up with the heavy bullets the other two do. Simple physics say you get out what you put in...... So that is why I shoot a 300 win in a stainless ruger no. 1. This allows me to push the bullet out the lands and not worry about the cartridge fitting to the magazine and therefore yields greater case capacity and better accuracy.

My favorite load

79 gr. Reloader 22

3.355 OAL

168 gr Nosler Balistic Silvertip

3277 fps.

Put the hammer down men! Shoot it and shoot it well it doesn't matter.

[firstcoueswas80]

You must keep in mind the design behind the WSM line of guns... Match, or nearly match their "grown up calibers" in a shorter, lighter, easier to handle gun... Basically, cut 2" or more off the barrel, a 1/2 inch +/- from the action, and loose a pound or so yet still have the same basic ballistics. I believe the WSM's have done just that! Then, if you run a WSM with say a 24" barrel, instead of a 22"barrel ( like my 270wsm) it comes even closer to matching even the best larger companions... ie. my 270wsm pushes a 140 accubond to roughly 3200 fps (one load pushes it to 3250 with slight pressure signs, another pushes it at 3175 with no pressure signs).. That is heavily breathing down the neck of the fastest factory produced .270 around.. the .270 wby mag, and still in a lighter, shorter action and barrel!

[JasCald02]

Seems like everyone has a little bit to say on this topic.

 

I don't want to ruffle any feathers out there regarding which caliber is superior over another......but I will offer a small piece of advice (as related through my own personal experience).

 

I purchased my first rifle 3 years ago from our "warehouse" here in Abq. Please note that this was the first rifle I purchased. I have been shooting guns on and off throughout my whole life prior......but they had always been my fathers or grandfather's weapons. I settled on a Remington 700 BDL in 300 Rem Ultra Mag. This caliber decision came through many excel calcs and graphs of various ballistic performance. Hindsight is always 20/20 and one thing that I learned after my first range trip was that my calculations failed to factor in recoil. Having said that let me protect myself and everyone else on here from the harsh judgment of the manly men police by saying that none of us would ever flinch, or admit to flinching, even from the results of firing a 500 nitro express.....but the truth of the matter is that this particular ultra mag came at a cost....

 

I was never comfortable shooting the rifle and I realized after my third trip to the range that no matter how munch I tried to convince myself; I just wasn't having fun. I traded in the gun last week for a '06 which is something I should have done a long time ago.

 

Above all else make sure that you will be comfortable shooting the gun for long periods of time at the range (and off the range).

 

If you find yourself this fall spotting a monster buck @ 350 yards while carrying a "standard" caliber, just get closer......we are "hunting" after all.

[ichiban43]

So that is why I shoot a 300 win in a stainless ruger no. 1. This allows me to push the bullet out the lands and not worry about the cartridge fitting to the magazine and therefore yields greater case capacity and better accuracy.

My favorite load

79 gr. Reloader 22

3.355 OAL

168 gr Nosler Balistic Silvertip

3277 fps.

Put the hammer down men! Shoot it and shoot it well it doesn't matter.

Boy Bird Dog--

Great minds think alike. I shoot a 308 Norma Mag on a sporterized 03 Springfield--built it in the mid-60's.

I use 79 1/2 gr of H4831 with a 165 Nosler Partition and a CCI Mag primer. Love the load!!!!

 

BOB

[Bird Dog]

So that is why I shoot a 300 win in a stainless ruger no. 1. This allows me to push the bullet out the lands and not worry about the cartridge fitting to the magazine and therefore yields greater case capacity and better accuracy.

My favorite load

79 gr. Reloader 22

3.355 OAL

168 gr Nosler Balistic Silvertip

3277 fps.

Put the hammer down men! Shoot it and shoot it well it doesn't matter.

Boy Bird Dog--

Great minds think alike. I shoot a 308 Norma Mag on a sporterized 03 Springfield--built it in the mid-60's.

I use 79 1/2 gr of H4831 with a 165 Nosler Partition and a CCI Mag primer. Love the load!!!!

 

BOB

I love the 168's it has been awesome!