What do people think of the 7mm WSM?

H

Huntin' Gun

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
21   0   0
Location
Eastern Edge of the Foothills
Just wondering what the CGN consensus is on this cartridge. I know it’s not a market darling, but neither is the .280, yet people seem to love that cartridge. The 7wsm was gaining ground in long range target shooting for a while it seemed. Did that fizzle out?
How do people like this black sheep of the WSM family?
 
While I have never owned a 7mm WSM, I have owned a 270 WSM (sold as it was rh and I am a lefty), and still own a custom lh 300 WSM (built when the cartridge was first announced); I do know that it is a great cartridge. It is too bad that it has not become more popular. I think the initial problems with feeding the WSM's scared people off of them. A problem that was easily solved by a divot in the magazine follower that allowed the short, fat cartridge to feed properly. Also, I think that the 7mm Rem Mag is just too entrenched in this category, and for the average person, the fewer options in factory ammo also deters them from the 7WSM. I am a huge faan of the 280 Rem too!
My Rem 700 B&C in 270 WSM had a slow barrel, and even with the 26" barrel only provided regular 270 Win velocities with the 140 gr bullets.
My 300 WSM is a 1/2 MOA rifle and has performed very well over the years. If I hadn't already had the 300 WSM and a big 7 (STW), I would have went with the 7WSM, as I personally prefer the .284 caliber over the .308 caliber.

The old timer I have been hunting with for the past 20 years has all 4 of the WSM's (Model 70 Featherwieghts) and his 7WSM is the most accurate of the four (and has the most beautiful wood).
Another friend in the Yukon has a 7WSM in a BLR and loves it for mountain hunting.
I too have read about all of the shooters in the target shooting sports that were having great luck with the 7WSM, as the more efficient case on the short action, with less recoil was performing very well.
I think that the current fad with the Creedmoors and the new 6.5 PRC is getting the most attention today, and the WSM's are fading in popularity right now. A shame, as they are pretty darned good!

At the end of the day, if you want a 7WSM, and you believe that it will provide you with what you are looking for, then you should go that route.
 
The 7mm WSM is the best of the bunch IMO, I have owned and loaded for three 7WSM rifles, and they were all accurate, smooth to feed and eject. The 7mm family is jammed with entrenched competition, as said above, but so is the .30 cal group... so it is somewhat unclear why it has not done better. I don't think you will regret buying one.
 
I've done some shooting with a m70 Ultimate Shadow. Accuracy was good with both factory ammo (Fed PS 150gr, Fusion 150gr, Premium 160gr TBT) and handloads with 162gr ELDx / RL23 & 175gr Nosler Partition / H4831sc. I like the more balanced design of the SAUM, with a longer neck, 30 degree shoulder and I have warm & fuzzy history with that cartridge.
 
WSM, WSSM, SAUM, all are absurd and ridiculous, only serving to dupe the customer and thin their wallet with marginal gains, high cost, limited availability and poor resale value. Buy something that has some staying power and that you’ll be able to get ammo for in the future.
 
Blastattack said:
WSM, WSSM, SAUM, all are absurd and ridiculous, only serving to dupe the customer and thin their wallet with marginal gains, high cost, limited availability and poor resale value. Buy something that has some staying power and that you’ll be able to get ammo for in the future.
Click to expand...

I have a .270WSM for nostalgia reasons. :) Gotten to the point every time I see brass, I buy it and it is pricey.

Grizz
 
Blastattack said:
WSM, WSSM, SAUM, all are absurd and ridiculous, only serving to dupe the customer and thin their wallet with marginal gains, high cost, limited availability and poor resale value. Buy something that has some staying power and that you’ll be able to get ammo for in the future.
Click to expand...

You need caffeine...
 
All the short mags are neat, but I think it's hard to introduce a cartridge these days with the premise that they simply duplicate the regular magnum performance.
I certainly am not one that gives 2 poopies about action length, if the first round doesn't hit it or kill it, you would be better served by a semi then any bolt action if quick follow up is the goal. That extra millisecond it takes to cycle a long action vs a short one isn't really an issue between action lengths.
If you were just getting into the hunting game and had no guns, then by all means there is no reason to overlook the short mags. But to think someone would dump a 7mmRem for any short mag 7mm just to have the same performance and a lighter wallet seems like a no win proposal to me.
 
Huntin' Gun said:
Just wondering what the CGN consensus is on this cartridge. I know it’s not a market darling, but neither is the .280, yet people seem to love that cartridge. The 7wsm was gaining ground in long range target shooting for a while it seemed. Did that fizzle out?
Click to expand...

It's still very well respected in the F-class community as far as I'm aware.

As a related rambling, it's been odd to me to watch the market in the last year or two move towards bullets with increasingly poor BC's but having them marketed to long range competitors. Of course, I suppose that's the nature of people trying to game the rules, but I digress.
 
I like it. Want one. Already have the dies (they were $9 when WSS closed lol)

Settled on a 7rem mag for the time being because the price was right, but I still yearn for the WSM, if for no other reason than to be different.

Ballistically the two are practically identical, I had someone run the numbers through quick load and they were within a few feet per sec of each other with a few different bullets.
 
Blastattack said:
WSM, WSSM, SAUM, all are absurd and ridiculous, only serving to dupe the customer and thin their wallet with marginal gains, high cost, limited availability and poor resale value. Buy something that has some staying power and that you’ll be able to get ammo for in the future.
Click to expand...

Great article here....

http://www.6mmbr.com/7mm284.html

For general hunting 7mm Saum and 7mm WSM provide little advantage....except for lighter weight actions(short vs. long).

On the target range there are probably ZERO shooters using 7mm Rem Mag.....

The 7mm SAUM is superior to the WSM because it has longer neck. The 7mm-300 WSM is a better choice.
 
350 Mag said:
Great article here....

http://www.6mmbr.com/7mm284.html

For general hunting 7mm Saum and 7mm WSM provide little advantage....except for lighter weight actions(short vs. long).

On the target range there are probably ZERO shooters using 7mm Rem Mag.....

The 7mm SAUM is superior to the WSM because it has longer neck. The 7mm-300 WSM is a better choice.
Click to expand...

I have a heavy barrel 700 in 7mm mag that is my go to for 1000m shooting. I shoot 162gr ELD-M with H4831 at 3000fps with single digit ES. The guy I shoot with uses a 300 Winmag in a similar set-up. With brakes they recoil less then a light 243.
I'm not convinced anything else would net me better results. We shoot slowly, not the 20 rounds in 5 minutes crowd here. I won't argue there are better cartridges for shooting faster strings, but for long range accuracy and precision I won't be trading my 7mm anytime soon.
Big difference though when the 300 hits steel with the 208's vs my 162's...they pack a punch a long way out.
 
The 7 WSM is a great cartridge if you want a short action. There is really no other reason for it in a already crowded 7mm market. That doesnt make it bad; but does make it doomed.
 
Dogleg said:
The 7 WSM is a great cartridge if you want a short action. There is really no other reason for it in a already crowded 7mm market. That doesnt make it bad; but does make it doomed.
Click to expand...

How dare you.

ALL 7mm's are special in their own way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom