New Rifle......300 WSM or 300 WIN MAG ?

[jagermeister]

Hi Gents and Happy New Year to All of you !

I am thinking of buying a new rifle for long range hunting and occasional practice shooting.

I'm kinda oriented towards a .30 caliber and wanted to get the best one for my use.

It should be able to reach out very very far and have good knockdown power for big animals as well.
Bullet of choice would be in the 175-190 grs. range with good BC (AccuBond LR, Berger VLD...).
The Rifles I am considering at the moment have barrel length between 24" and 26".

Both are nice calibers, with pro's and con's each....
I love the 300 WSM and I know it is an awesome caliber also to reload (I do it for a Friend), but my concern is if it is closer to the WIN MAG with heavy bullets, such the ones I'd like to use...

300 Win Mag would push heavies better, although more a pain in the a** because of short neck and belt.

What are your experienced thoughts on this ?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Vince]

I've loaded for two .300 Wenches.
If I was wanting to go long I'd look at the .300 Weatherby and not look back.
Barring that I'd go with the .300 WSM but I've not played with one yet. If Nosler made one in a left hand action that's what I would've gotten instead of the 30-06. I'm not really a fan of the Win Mag but lots of folks are.

Vince

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[DrMike]

Ballistic twins--the difference in the two cartridges is insignificant. The 300 Win Mag is a classic; the "short neck" and belt never hurt a thing for those who shoot the cartridge. It performed pretty much as it was supposed to, and did so with aplomb. I've owned two 300 WSMs and loaded for about thirty others. The cartridge is a delight to shoot and it is easy to load for. It will do pretty much all that the 300 Win Mag will do. I've never really seen an advantage, but gun writers have earned a ton of money arguing about which of these cartridges is best. The opinions will ensure that gun magazines have material for future articles for many years to come.

 

[Anonymous]

I've used both and in the field you'll never know the difference. I've been shooting the WSM for about 9 years now and have done a lot of hunting with it- it just works. The WSM can be built a fair bit lighter with a shorter action and is just fine with a 24" barrel. Many of the .300WMs will have a 26" and require a longer action.

The WSM doesn't do as well with bullets over 200gr....but with today's really good bullets, those heavies are kind of pointless IMHO since many of the tougher 180s (ETip, TSX, TBBC) will out penetrate the 220s. If you really want to shoot the 200-240gr .308 bullets- I'd go to the RUM or WBY case since the .300WM just doesn't do anything better than the WSM with them.

The only drawback to using those newer "high BC" bullets like the VLD in the WSM may be magazine length...but that's a rifle issue. I've shot everything from 150AB to 190ABLR from mine without a hiccup but the 180AB is the load I've done all my hunting with. I've shot critters from 80' to 350yds and the results have been splendid. I toyed with the 190ABLR and still have some- but I worry about close range shots that seem to pop up now and again and want something tougher. The 180s expand really well, even at 350yds and still shot clear through a caribou without blowing up at 80'. If I wanted to shoot 400-500yds at critters, I'd likely just swap to the 180BT (same POI as the AB but softer) and call it a day.

I've had really good success using 4350 and RL17 powders...I'd lean to RL17 if forced to pick, but every rifle is a bit different.

 

[6mm Remington]

I think I would go with the 300 WSM. My son has one and it is a really good cartridge. As other's have said, not much difference between the two.

 

[Darkhorse]

I've been loading the .300 Win. Mag. since '97 and the short neck and belt have never been a problem at all. Of course I have a lot of experience loading for belted cases and that helps prevent problems before they become problems. My .300WM shoots sub 1/2 MOA with regularity.
As DrMike said it is a classic cartridge and perhaps that is a large part of it's charm to me, being an older shooter.
I can see the appeal and sense in a beltless .300 mag. But I am one who still feels that when shooting 180's and up the nod goes to the .300 Win. Mag.

 

[Elkman]

I bought my second and best elk rifle ever in 1970. Of course it's a 300 WM, as most here already know. If Dr. Mike says they are ballistic equals, then they are, he has a lot more experience with a lot, more cartridges than I do. The 300 WM is thought by many (including me), to be the perfect elk cartridge. It reaches out with authority and with well constructed bullets, penetrates beyond belief. It also works well as a mule deer cartridge, especially if you can miss the big bones.
It is extremely accurate, and many bench rest shooters still use it, or a adapted version of it. My smallest 100 yard group, with my off the shelf push feed Model 70, is .171. That was the first group I shot after installing and bedding a new composit stock in 1990. I doubt it will do that well now, but it consistently groups well under a MOA out past 600 yards. A large number of great rifles are chambered for it, for one reason, it's very popular. Survey's have show it to be the second most popular elk rifle, right behind the 06, currently carried by elk hunters. It comes in a standard length action, which takes off a few ounces from the total package.
I may have missed a salient point or two, if so someone here will cover it, or remind me.

 

[Oldtrader3]

They are ballistic twins but I had real problems getting the .300 WSM to feed properly in my Browning A-bolt (both of them). My middle son has it now because he does not handload. He does elk hunt where he lives in Wyoming.

 

[Teknys]

I lean towards the 300 WSM. We have three in our house. One is in a Long / Middle Range setup. Sav Mod 12 heavy barrel 26" and it is very accurate with loads up to the 190gn. Have not loaded heavier than that. So far no feeding problems with the WSM in Sako, Savage or Browning BAR. I did have a feeeding problem with a 300 WSM / 700 SPS Stainless and some oil and emery cloth fixed that.

I'm a RL17 user for our WSMs. Even a few loads with the 243 and 6MMs.

 

[Guy Miner]

Have had both. It's almost a flip of the coin...

Slight preference for the short-fat WSM case, but I've got no problem with the belted magnum case either...

Guy

 

[longrangehunter]

300 WM, the short neck excuse is a joke, and the belt gives it another place to center the case in the chamber as well as the shoulder. The real high BC bullets will only find there true worth in the 300 WM, that is unless you run the WSM in a long action. I did that and dropped the whole idea after 250 rounds and went with the 300 Jarrett.

The 208 Amax, 210-230 bullets work best in the belted magnum. Do it and never look back, resale is better as well.

 

[.300winmag]

Win. Mag. is my vote, then again, I may be (I am) bias. Been winning matches and killing game since 1963, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[Oldtrader3]

The Win Mag is proven, has more capacity and will not fail to deliver because of the short neck which it has in a hunting cartridge at normal hunting ranges. The .300 Win Mag has been in the field for 50 years now and is a proven entity.

The TIR of bullet seating runout is largely is a small factor if you have a least one caliber seating in the neck. The difference of .001 or .002 runout effects is largely theoretical in a hunting cartridge at normal ranges. I would not sell a .300 Win Mag to get a WSM which has its own theoretic feeding issues.

 

[SJB358]

Pick the rifle you like the most and also measure the magazine box. A 3.4" 300 Win Mag is more limited than a 3.150 300 WSM in regards to heavies. I ran 200 PTs at 2920 FPS from the WSM and 2950 from the 300 Win Mag. I am sure the Win Mag has more oomph when all of the other factors are kept aligned, but you'd have to do a bunch of shooting to find it.

 

[Guy Miner]

I stumbled into my .300 WSM after owning several .300 Win mag rifles. Got a great deal on the rifle, a Winchester Model 70 in the somewhat oddball "Controlled Round Push Feed" action.

Feeds those fat cases slicker than a greased brass doorknob!

Accurate? Oh yeah... Mine is best with the 210 Berger VLD over H4350 for 2815 fps, not a tremendously high velocity, but the factory barrel is good for 1/2 MOA out at 300 yards, and a 210 gr bullet at 2800 fps is not to be sneezed at... Particularly with a good BC so it holds velocity well downrange. Copied my load from a champion level 1,000 yard benchrest shooter BTW.

The .300 Win mag? Oh my goodness. Got my first one back in the early 1980's and promptly smacked a wild hog with it, sending a 180 gr Nosler Partition right through the heart. That's the way to do it! :mrgreen:

Have had a few other Win Mags since then, in Ruger, Winchester & Remington rifles. All did well. My last .300 Mag was sold to a fellow who took it to Africa and took all sorts of plains game with it, mostly with the 180 gr Ballistic Tip. He said it killed faster than the Partitions and his PH was so impressed, he asked him to just keep using the Ballistic Tips!

Cool.

I don't think you can go wrong with either cartridge. Buy the rifle you want.

Guy

 

[longrangehunter]

Honestly I think the 7mm WSM is a better cartridge then the 300 WSM. 30 caliber bullets have a tougher comparison to other calibers with better form factors or BC alone, and the 7mm is about as efficient as it gets with less recoil.

 

[SJB358]

Honestly I think the 7mm WSM is a better cartridge then the 300 WSM. 30 caliber bullets have a tougher comparison to other calibers with better form factors or BC alone, and the 7mm is about as efficient as it gets with less recoil.

I like where Kevin is going with that. You've gotta go up in case size to really beat the 7 WSM with 160-175 bullets. I had a 300 WSM and liked the cartridge a bunch but it didn't do much with 180's my 7 did with 175's. Granted you can get into the 200's some which in the right rifle should be awesome as well, but mine wouldn't shoot the 200 AB for beans but thrived on a 200 PT.

Good luck with whatever you pick. They are both great cartridges.