short Magnum calibers , are there any real advantages ???

[buzzmagoo]

So here's the deal I have a trade thats being offered 300wsm cailber . As Per usual it hasn't been shot much ( 8 rounds) no scope or rings in original box . Not totally shure if I do trade will it be hard to move after ? Are they good seller ? Or have they jumped the shark ? I do know that ammo is at a Premium and can be hard to find . It has also got me curios about the other short magnums calibers ( I think there six other offerings ) do they kick less ? As a whole ? More accurate ? Not into reloading yet but whats available ? Like dies and cases availability ? The 22 and 25 shorts any good for hunting the 30 cal compare to what 30/30 or 30/06 in knok down power ?Thanks !

 

[thepolinator]

I shoot 300wsm. I have read that it is more accurate than 300wm. Not sure if that is true. From a reloading perspective it is a little cheaper for power and a little more expensive for brass. Availability of components and dies is good.

 

[brokenaxle]

The shorter action is the biggest advantage. I have a Savage 110 in 300 wsm and a Weatherby RC 300WM, slight advantage to the Weatherby in accuracy but not by much. The 300wsm is very close to the 300WM, the shorter neck on the 300wsm limits the longer heavier bullets. Factory ammo is a bitter harder to find in the wsm and Hornady does not make ammo since they refuse to pay a royalty to Winchester.

 

[Blegend]

My understanding to Hornady not producing was they had a deal with Ruger to produce their compact magnums.

300WSM and 270WSM are fairly well established, the others less so. I don’t have too much trouble moving short mags. I’ve sold two in them on here and both moved without much stress. If what you have isn’t moving, give the trade a shot.

 

[woodchopper]

My understanding to Hornady not producing was they had a deal with Euger to produce their compact magnums.

300WSM and 270WSM are fairly well established, the others less so. I don’t have too much trouble moving short mags. I’ve sold two in them on here and both moved without much stress. If what you have isn’t moving, give the trade a shot.

well the 325WSM is a bit of a bear to find any loaded ammo. Its a hand load only gun. Even that brass is difficult to find.

The 300WSM seems to be fairly popular.

 

[Sniper_485]

I helped a friend of mine develop a load for his 7mmWSM. We were burning more powder than the 7x57 for less velocity with the same slug. IMO short magnums aren't worth it.

 

[alberta tactical rifle]

The shorter action is the biggest advantage. I have a Savage 110 in 300 wsm and a Weatherby RC 300WM, slight advantage to the Weatherby in accuracy but not by much. The 300wsm is very close to the 300WM, the shorter neck on the 300wsm limits the longer heavier bullets. Factory ammo is a bitter harder to find in the wsm and Hornady does not make ammo since they refuse to pay a royalty to Winchester.

OK so now I am confused. A Savage 110 is a long action so could take either. Same bolt throw on all 110 actions.
I think the accuracy difference is simply different make of rifle. Weatherby's are not known for their accuracy. typically the savage rifles will shoot better.

OP Winchester marketed the WSM line for market share reasons only. The garbage about no belt, short and fat being better along with a hoard of other crap was peddled and bought by part of the public.
Comparing 300WSM with good old 300 Win Mag with 180 gr bullets is pretty much a velocity tie. Loading the Win Mag up with heavier bullets seems to work better than doing this with the WSM. Both are more powerful than 3030 or 30-06
Ammo is harder to find, less options and more money for t6he WSM.
Local makes a huge difference in how easy it might be to flip.

 

[Neilm]

Savage has both long & short actions except the Axis line

 

[alberta tactical rifle]

Savage has both long & short actions except the Axis line

That they do, BUT a 110 is a long action otherwise it would be a 10 series.

 

[prairie lover]

I helped a friend of mine develop a load for his 7mmWSM. We were burning more powder than the 7x57 for less velocity with the same slug. IMO short magnums aren't worth it.

my 7mm wsm burns 67 gr of powder and gets over 3200 fps with a 140 gr over the chrony. 23 inch barrel. probably my favorite of half a dozen big game rifles. carries and handles like nothing else. brass is difficult to find however.

 

[buzzmagoo]

Thanks guys ! I have ended up refuring him to another gun nut . Hopefully it will work out for both parties . Here in my area dear and moose are the major game animals hunters here like the standard calibers . I had a real nice 8mm Mauser rifle ended selling it out west because of lack of interest here . The old ot 6 is still king here .

 

[CaberTosser]

The shorter action is the biggest advantage. I have a Savage 110 in 300 wsm and a Weatherby RC 300WM, slight advantage to the Weatherby in accuracy but not by much. The 300wsm is very close to the 300WM, the shorter neck on the 300wsm limits the longer heavier bullets. Factory ammo is a bitter harder to find in the wsm and Hornady does not make ammo since they refuse to pay a royalty to Winchester.

What was that you were saying about Hornady again?

https://www.hornady.com/ammunition/rifle/#!/

I've had a .300 WSM and a two .270 WSM's. While I've never needed more than two rounds while hunting, I do find it reassuring to have the 2 more rounds available in say .30-06 Springfield or .270 Winchester compared to the reduced capacity of any of the WSM offerings. I found the .270 WSM's to be less pleasant to shoot than my .30-06's in terms of recoil, the .300 WSM I had was in a Model 70 Featherweight so that worked against it was well. The claim of a cartridge being more accurate than another cartridge is pure BS to me, accuracy is more due to the rifles machining; its chamber, barrel and crown and of course the projectile, the shape of the powder column is low on that list assuming similar velocities and barrel twist rates.

 

[Eagleye]

I had 3 or 4 300 WSM rifles pass through my hands.
They did absolutely nothing my beloved 308 Norma Magnums could do,
so I sold them.
That being said, I own a very accurate M70 Winchester in 325 WSM. It
is a "Thumper", and does a great job where a bit more energy is needed.
Fits perfectly between my 8x57JS and my 8mm Remington Magnum. Dave

 

[Cameron SS]

my 7mm wsm burns 67 gr of powder and gets over 3200 fps with a 140 gr over the chrony. 23 inch barrel. probably my favorite of half a dozen big game rifles. carries and handles like nothing else. brass is difficult to find however.

Pardon me while I unzip...

My 300 WSM with 30" Krieger barrel can push 210 gr bullets north of 3250 FPS. Barrels don't last long at that speed.

300wsm is easily the most popular of all the short magnums, with 270 close behind. I think long after the others WSM have disappeared from the shelves, 270 and 300 will still be going strong.

300wsm definitely has more knock down power than 30/30 and 30-06, but thats not to suggest that either of those calibers are lacking.

I find that people who think they NEED big calibres for hunting are mostly just compensating for poor accuracy, but that is a whole other **** measuring contest.

Your factory ammo offerings for the 300wsm are fairly underwhelming, typically 150 and 180 gr, which don't really let the 300wsm do what it was designed to. All the exciting things happen at the extremes. Like shooting bullets that are waaayyy heavier than what the 308 and 30/33 can do, or doing the same or better as a 30-06 on a short action, or shooting very light bullets like the 110 gr at just shy of warp speed for varmint hunting.

32" 1-17 twist barrel with 110 gr bullets shoots almost as flat as a laser at 3900 FPS. Sometimes its hard to say if the bullet explodes before or after the groundhog.

 

[rifleman762]

That they do, BUT a 110 is a long action otherwise it would be a 10 series.

Precisely. I have a Savage 116 300 Win Mag. The 16 would be your short action Weather Warrior.

The only complaint I have about the Win Mag is the annoying belt and case stretching on initial firing. My Savage was close to SAAMI max on chamber headspace dimension and most ammo is close to the minimum spec. So the cases would stretch a LOT on initial firing, reducing your case life significantly. I got a few hundred once-fired, resized cases for free but the person had bumped the shoulder back for his Tikka M695 chamber. So in the Savage chamber the cases stretched again - that brass was toast after two firings. Cartridges that headspace on the shoulder also stretch but that dimension is held a lot tighter than a belted cartridge. My solution was to turn the barrel in 1/6 of a revolution to reduce the headspace dimension at the belt to SAAMI minimum. The shoulder dimension is also still within spec. Less case stretching is more better.

Plus when you only bump the shoulder back a thou or two, the die doesn't size the case right above the belt. So it keeps expanding until it's too tight to chamber. Larry Willis makes a collet die to size it back down but I haven't bought that yet.

What I really want is a beltless 300 Win Mag. Something like a 300-375 Ruger. Short actions are cool but I'd rather have more performance.

Edit: I suppose a 30 Nosler would fit the bill. But how long will it be around? Better availability than a wildcat, though...

 

[alberta tactical rifle]

Precisely. I have a Savage 116 300 Win Mag. The 16 would be your short action Weather Warrior.

The only complaint I have about the Win Mag is the annoying belt and case stretching on initial firing. My Savage was close to SAAMI max on chamber headspace dimension and most ammo is close to the minimum spec. So the cases would stretch a LOT on initial firing, reducing your case life significantly. I got a few hundred once-fired, resized cases for free but the person had bumped the shoulder back for his Tikka M695 chamber. So in the Savage chamber the cases stretched again - that brass was toast after two firings. Cartridges that headspace on the shoulder also stretch but that dimension is held a lot tighter than a belted cartridge. My solution was to turn the barrel in 1/6 of a revolution to reduce the headspace dimension at the belt to SAAMI minimum. The shoulder dimension is also still within spec. Less case stretching is more better.

Plus when you only bump the shoulder back a thou or two, the die doesn't size the case right above the belt. So it keeps expanding until it's too tight to chamber. Larry Willis makes a collet die to size it back down but I haven't bought that yet.

What I really want is a beltless 300 Win Mag. Something like a 300-375 Ruger. Short actions are cool but I'd rather have more performance.

Edit: I suppose a 30 Nosler would fit the bill. But how long will it be around? Better availability than a wildcat, though...

Personally i have never experienced any issues due to belt or just neck sizing and I have quite a number of belted magnums that I use.
Gotta say though that the 300 Norma is quickly becoming my favorite big 30 cal. Short, fat and has a lot of thunder.

 

[rifleman762]

Personally i have never experienced any issues due to belt or just neck sizing and I have quite a number of belted magnums that I use.
Gotta say though that the 300 Norma is quickly becoming my favorite big 30 cal. Short, fat and has a lot of thunder.

Re-reading what I wrote, I just realized that my problem wasn't the belt - it was a chamber that was on the loose end of SAAMI spec. Sure to cause case stretching no matter if you have a belt or not! I haven't had cases fail to chamber after expanding above the belt. I just noticed that they had expanded a bit and *some* people on the internet said it will eventually prevent chambering. Maybe those people run their pressures too high.

The 300 Norma is a powerhouse but with the .585" cartridge diameter can it be chambered in a normal 1" to 1.06" barrel shank? If not, I can't use a standard/low cost action. If you use the minor thread diameter in a hoop stress calculation it gets pretty close to the yield strength of 32 HRC 4140 steel. Or am I running the numbers wrong? I think Sako does the 338 Lapua with an M27x1.5 thread which is about 1.06"x17 tpi. I'm no expert; I'm just starting to delve into this hoop stress and bolt thrust stuff.

 

[Dogleg]

If you like short actions there's an advantage. The 300 WSM will eat a 308 Win alive. You can't change that; and how much it beats a stiff loaded 30-06 or comes up short of a 300 Win is sort of beside the point. They don't fit in the short action.

The 270 WSM checks a couple of boxes. First off its a short action cartridge in a field that isn't exactly awash with short action 270s. The other is mine does 3400 fps with 130s and a bunch of 7828. My 270 win's can't even pretend to do either.

The 7mm WSM was doomed from the start because it was tossed into a sea of 7mms. Nothing wrong with the cartridge though.

I don't know how the 325 even got out of the gate.