30.06 Vs. 300WSM

B.Ruddick

B.Ruddick

Regular
Rating - 100%
39   0   0
Location
Vancouver Island, B.C.
Well there you have it;

The mighty 30.06 Vs. the 300WSM, which on do you prefer and why? Cartridges only not rifles.

I did do a quick search on the category, yielded nothing through the search option.
 
.30-06. One to two more bullets in the magazine. Ammo at half the cost available everywhere, including your camp buddies which will likely have one. Plenty powerfull, accurate, and flat shooting for all game in North America (outside of the very large bears...and even then). Nice long neck on the casing that can take long heavy bullets if you reload. A touch less recoil, but if you can shoot one, you can probably shoot the other.

...and I don't like short and fat! I like long and slender!
 
You burn a lot of extra powder to achieve a slight velocity gain with lighter bullets however with 180s plus give the 300 wsm a bit more advantage.
I do not own a wsm but have some 300 wm..

Based on balistics for the average hunter the 300 wsm would be my choice if i had to choose!

You can argue this one either way and it comes down to personal pref!!

I will just throw this in if i was to by a wsm i think it would be the 270 wsm
 
Well here's the kicker, I was intending to find a stainless rifle in 30.06, however someone has pointed out a 300WSM for sale, it's still a .308 caliber (lots of bullet options here), yes it does take less in the mag, and yes, I do reload, so I could load the 300WSM to 30.06 specs.. and for the longer ranges I could load it up to max.

I haven't been a fan of the WSM's at all, but I did take a look at the numbers in the reloading books and compared them with the 30.06, seems the WSM can handle the 06 performance and then some if need be, so it is burning a hole in my brain as I think it over.

I can't see myself using more than 165g bullets @ around 3000fps.
There appears to be approx... 4 grains of powder difference between the 30.06 load that I currently use and the books suggestion for the 300WSM using the same powder for the same velocity. not too bad, plus there is room to grow with the 300WSM where the 30.06 stops.

I would have to purchase a new set of dies and a few boxes of ammo or fresh brass to start out with, no biggy. The 300WSM ammo at Wal-mart was around $25/box average for store bought ammo.

I guess what I'm looking for here is how do you like the 300WSM if you have used it and have used the 30.06 also. Pros & Cons (other than less in the mag)
Case life, barrel fatigue, accuracy traits, etc...?
What about reduced loads in the 300WSM, how do they preform?
ie; matching the velocity of the 30.06 with a 165 grain bullet at 2900fps.
or is the 300WSM one of those cartridges that preform better when filled to the top, like a Weatherby load?
 
Last edited:
If you hand load, then the 300 WSM, you can load it down to 30-06 or 308 specs, but you can't load the 30-06 up that high. I have had both..... More efficient for a magnum than the 300 win mag. Just as the 308 is more efficient than the 30-06.
 
I've loaded for both and the one thing you need to be sure of doing is to full size the WSM case and bump the shoulder back...otherwise loading into the chamber can be difficult. The 300 WSM I loaded for a Tikka T3 loved the 180 AB but hated the 200 AB as it is a very long bullet that stuck way back into the powder charge. H4350 is the powder for the 300 WSM and a 180 from my experience. Hey same as the 30-06 with 180's. For every critter smaller than a moose or elk ...say deer, black bear and antilope...I would choose the 30-06 as there really is no need for extra pepper over what it delivers..and yes a couple extra rounds in the box sure can help in S.Ontario party hunting.
 
The WSM is pretty versatile, as well as the 06. Either will do the job you want, the wsm a little faster. As far as the mag capacity, if you need more than 3 shots in a bolt action, you need more practice.;)
 
The con for the '06 is the vanilla taste you get in your mouth when you buy one, but then again, I like vanilla. At the same time, every 300 WSM I owned shot very well, and the recoil isn't hard to control in a 7lbs rifle. If you go with the 300 WSM, try 180 TSX's with 69-71gr of H4831sc. It does about 2950fps out of a 24`bbl and had a long string of sub-moa groups in two rifles for me.
(if I was building/buying a light/ultralight rifle I would opt for the 30-06).
 
i like the extra velocity of the 300 short. my 3oo shoots flat to 300 yrds with 180 scirrocos. my personal limit. as to less rounds in the mag i could care less. i often only load two in my mag anyway. either the animanl is down in one or two or its gone.
 
You have to compare apples to apples. The real comparison should be between the .308 Winchester and the 300wsm.

Both are short action cartridges that can be chambered in rifles that can be shorter and a bit lighter than those chambered for the "standard" length cartridges. The 300 wsm in this case has about a hundred yard advantage over the .308.

If you are trying to choose between a 30-06 and a 30 calibre magnum the logical debate would be between the '06 and the 300 Winchester as they come in rifles of similar weight. Once again the 300 WM will give the shooter an additional ~100 yards reach over the older 30-06.

With All that said I have to say I am really impressed with the 300 wizzum. It will do everything my 300 WM could do and it does it with less powder. Case life is good and it does well with a wide range of powders. A good "one bullet for all game" in this cartridge is the 165gr TSX. The 180 Partition is also a great all-rounder for everything from goats to moose.
If you have the chance to snap up a used rifle in 300 wsm for a decent price I would not hesitate to grab it. If you don't care for it it will be easy to resell.
 
This is more about finding a Stainless Rifle, which I was hoping for in 30.06, but one has been pointed out to me in 300WSM. Still a 30 cal.

pharaoh2 said:
.256 Mannlicher :evil:
Click to expand...

LOL:D I have a 257Roberts, never heard of 256 Mannlicher, before.

blargon said:
As far as the mag capacity, if you need more than 3 shots in a bolt action, you need more practice.;)
Click to expand...

I agree with you there.
When I'm at the range I only shoot two rounds per group and that's all that is needed.

MTM said:
If you've already got an 06 get yourself a 338 or 375.
Click to expand...

Yes, I already have an odd6 but not in Stainless that's really what I'm after is a Stainless rifle (for the non-stop pissing rain over here), I had a 375H&H (Interarms) once before, but now the big heavy work is left for my 340 Weatherby
 
Last edited:
I agree with rem338win, the wsm is great but you must find the load for the
gun to shoot sub-moa( I found that factory loads were horrible in my Savage 12 BSS). The '06 is good because you can get ammo everywhere for it.
 
I like both, but the 30-06 shoots plenty fast to make it an effective 350-400 yard cartridge, which is a distance that 95% of game is shot well within.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom