300WM or 300 WSM?

multiman

Well-Known Member
Hi guys what are your thoughts on 300 win mag vs or 300 win short mag? I have looked at the ballistics and they are more or less the same.

What would you buy given the choise? pros and cons please

Regards Multiman
 
I used a 300WSM on a sika stag last year and just this week I used my 300WM for this bloke below.

Never mind either calibre,the game cant tell the difference and contrary to owners of both calibres there is bugger all in performance,perhaps re barrelling or reloading there may be and in that case the WM is the one!

Same rifle below pre MWO.

Jackiecopy.jpg


debsdebut-2.jpg
 
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I've had the 300 WIN MAG , 300 Weatherby , 300 SAUM and the 300 WSM . At the moment I still own a 300 WIN MAG and a 300 Weatherby .

The 300 SAUM and 300 WSM are nothing more then a hot 30-06 . It's been my experience that the 300 WIN MAG and 300 Weatherby easily exceed the WSM or SAUM .

Now with that being said I've killed about a dozen or so deer with a Remington Model 7 stainless synthetic in 300 SAUM and it did a wonderfull job .

The 300 WIN MAG and Weatherby can be loaded down to the same as the short action ones but the short action ones cannot be loaded up to equal the bigger boys !


My 30 cal rankings are like this as far as shear power and velocity are concerned ,

1.30-378 and 300 Ultra Mag

2. 300 WIN MAG , 300 Weatherby

3. 300 H&H MAG

4. 30-06 , 300 WSM and 300 SAUM

5. 308 WIN and 300 Savage
 
Of the thirtys i have only experience of the .30 Wetherby mag , .30 RUM, .308 so really irrelevant to your post. Im certainly no ballistic guru but will share what i have found in the field with my super magnum should if you ever go down that route, bullet choice is key i have yet to find one that dosn't create massive meat damage on light bodied deer.
Im pulling my hair out as i love the accuracy and flat shooting of my ultra magnum up to now iv tried sst's bt's accubonds partitions all have had the same effect un acceptable meat damage.
After advice im going to try barnes tsx although of the above offerings i have found accubonds quick killing and stiff medicine for lowland reds but at super mag velocitys nearing mid 3000's efficient on light deer they are not.
 
I'd go for .300 Win Mag. Quite popular here sur le continent. You do see the WSM chamberings but not with the frequency of the .300 Win Mag. Also if you look at a dealer's shelves for ammo, .300 WM appears from several manufacturers in several weights and loadings. You don't really see the WSM stuff so much if at all.

ATB,

Scrummy
 
I'd go for .300 Win Mag. Quite popular here sur le continent. You do see the WSM chamberings but not with the frequency of the .300 Win Mag. Also if you look at a dealer's shelves for ammo, .300 WM appears from several manufacturers in several weights and loadings. You don't really see the WSM stuff so much if at all.

ATB,

Scrummy

That was my thinking. I have seen a few rifles in 300wsm for sale cheeply, maybe there is a reson for that! If ammo is hard to come by it will be a problem.

Thanks for the comments guys keep them coming
 
That was my thinking. I have seen a few rifles in 300wsm for sale cheeply, maybe there is a reson for that! If ammo is hard to come by it will be a problem.

Thanks for the comments guys keep them coming

I live in elk country and one of the most frequently seen used gun calibers in our trading post is the 300 WSM. Ballistically it is a fine caliber, but just one that no one wants to invest in. I was in the City thursday and saw a new stainless Tikka T3 for a ridiculous low price: 300 WSM.~Muir
 
Muir,
Thats why I was asking I have beem quietly looking for a win mag but have been offerd twice now a short mag last one being a howa with thumbhole stock stainless barrell for £350. Both were good clean rifles...

Multiman
 
multiman,

Speaks for itself if they were any good they would not be advertised so cheap

ajr
 
multiman,

Speaks for itself if they were any good they would not be advertised so cheap

ajr

ajr

i dont think there is any thing wrong with the round or the rifles. My thinking is that because of the cost of ammo in wsm and the difficulty in finding it lack of choise etc is the reason the rifles come up cheep.
I have looked at the ballistics and reloading data and the wsm and wm are very close but the wsm uses a tad less powder.... Does this mean the barrell will last longer before becoming shot out?
 
I wanted a short action and I wanted a .30cal. that wasn't a .308.

I didn't want to haul around a long action magnum like the winmag so I had my rifle chambered in .300wsm. Close to winmag performance, certainly with the 165's anyway.

I would not want to have to buy factory ammo for the wsm or the winmag. Luckily for me a friend of a friend works for Norma in Sweden and I got sent 600+ new cases for nowt!

I'm more than happy with my choice it certainly performs well and combined with the 165 accubonds it has dramatic effects.

very accurate, light, powerful and a bit different from the norm but, factory ammo at £70 a box, no thanks!

Atb
Moses
 
Moses,

I think you are the man to talk to if I do go down the wsm road with regards to buying cases!

Multiman
 
I own both 300win mag and 300Wsm, the latter I much rather prefer...shorter, less powder, same performance! Reloading is good to once you've got your dies and cases!
 
As you can gather by my SD Tag I love the WSM range of calibers and definately wouldn't go back to standard chamberings. I've taken deer with both 300 and 270wsm and have never had a problem with "the lighter animals" with velocities over 3000fps.

Winchester developed the wsm range to fill a gap in the market, they were looking for a cartridge that would produce the same ballistic and terminal performance as the standard chamberings but in a shorter action, theoretically making a quicker and easier cycling round. They chose the .404 jefferies as the donor case as it's wider than the standard 300wm and so can hold the same volume of powder, but in a shorter case. In doing so and altering the shoulder angle, Winchester developed a range of cartridges that are far more effiecient than the standard calibers, they even pushed the idea further with their WSSM loadings in .223 and .243 both of which make the standard rounds look like rimfires. After the orriginal offerings of .270 and 300 and their subsequent success they added others such as .25 and 7mm.

Unfortunately the wsm's have never really caught on as much in the UK as other countries, this drove ammo prices up making them expensive guns for people who don't reload and pushed the second hand value down, which is a pity as they are extremely versatile chamberings. There is no shortage of brass as most of the major brands produce brass for them plus nearly all of the major rifle manufacturers list wsm calibers.

Al, if the rifles you have seen are clean and you are prepared to reload for them my advise would be to go for it, you'll get more rifle for your money.

Ade
 
One of my rifles is chambered .300 wsm and I have found it fantastic !
Bought it for Africa last year and wilderbeast zebra and other smaller animals all fell to it with no problems at all
Shot every wild deer species in this country with it and never had a problem
the only drawback with it is as its a blaser rifle and the round is very fat I can only get two rounds in the mag and one in the chamber
would it do anything the .300 wm wouldn't ? I doubt it would but it is a sweet round to shoot in a moderated rifle
regards andy
 
Thanks guys I saw another Howa on wednesday stainless/ synthetic it was mint like new all for £300 good to hear some posative comments about the wsm been looking at some reloading guides and found with a 150 grain bullet the fps on the wsm is faster (only just) but with less powder, and yes it was the same powder as well.
may have to buy one and be different
 
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