.284 Winchester or 7mm WSM

[Kelly Timoffee]

Thinking about my next plinker for medium range target and varmint.1000 yards absolute maximum.

I haven't owned a .284 but do have the other.

After doing my loading and testing and playing and research, I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two , not an amount that matter anyways.

Do the shooters out there see any advantages of one over the other??

I am not concerned about availability of anything or cost of anything.

Strictly from a performance standpoint.

 

[Mystic Precision]

200 to 300fps separate the two. Lower wind drift for the bigger.

And almost 70% better bore life for the smaller case.

That's it.

Jerry

 

[gunrunner8]

At 1000m the 284 will do a good job, 7mm WSM is to much of a good thing if it comes to barrel accuracy life, IMO moderatelly loaded 7mm SAUM would be a winner in my book.

 

[Blackcloud]

I'm running a 284 built on Rem 700 LA. 24" barrel. Powder and load dependant, I get 2814fps from the Berger 168gr VLD running H4831Sc, about 100fps faster with RL17. I haven't run the 180gr Berger with H4831Sc but I can get 2820fps with RL17.

When I re-barrel I think I would likely go 26" but I'm still getting respectable speed from the 24" barrel, just running loads at the hotter end of the spectrum.

Long action is a must to get the most out of this caliber.

I have a good friend running a 7wsm. I think they are both great choices, the 7wsm gets good speed from the 180gr berger VLD with ease, however this does come at a cost of barrel life.

Having shot both side by side its almost apples to oranges. You will never get the juice from the 284 that you will from the 7wsm, but you get close and its not as hard on the barrel, thats about it.

All that being said, I have shot mine a fair bit now out to 1000M. Between the 168gr Berger VLD @ 2814fps and the 180 Berger VLD at 2820fps there really isn't much difference in elevation. With the 168gr it takes 30 MOA to 1000M and in 10 MPH full value wind 6 MOA correction.

I would suggest it should boil down to what you fancy the most. Both are great, capable choices.

 

[Jordan Smith]

As with most things in life, you have to pay more for extra performance. This case is no different. If you want a bit larger margin of error in your wind call, as well as a bit more range, then the 7WSM will do the trick. If you're more interested in keeping costs down, then the .284 will still get the job done, but any error in your wind calls will be a bit more exposed and accentuated.