What's your experience with short mag calibres?

npowell

npowell

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What's your experience with any of the short mag calibres - 300wsm, 270wsm etc?
In huntings situations (vs. accuracy at the range) Better, worse, no difference than your fav's?

Thanks
 
I've used my 7mm WSM on deer. Didn't see a noticable difference between it and my .280 or .270 rifles. Just louder. That's all.

I've used my 300 WSM on Elk. Didn't see any difference between it and my .308 Norma Magnum. Nor should I. They both send 180 gr bullets at 3050 to 3100 fps. It's just that the 300wsm is in a much lighter rifle, so it's nicer to carry. And really, the recoil is only stiffer at the range. In the field it's not noticable.

I've not killed an Elk with less than a 30 magnum, although I have CARRIED non-magnum rifles when looking for elk. I just didn't see any when I was carrying them.
 
Out of all of them my fave is the 325 WSM, I think it is highly underrated. I have a Browning X-Bolt in 325 and it is my to to rifle for any and all large game, it's shoots VERY well, hits hard, has a decent trajectory with 200 grain bullets, compact action, the list is long.

I just stay away from the rest as I tend to run away from the bandwagon and I like to think outside the box.
 
Have a 7mm WSM BLR with open sights , couldn't ask for more in a light weight ,accurate ,fast handling set up that I would be comfortable taking ANY N.American game with.

My tested loads where doing right around 2MOA with factory open sights.
 
Have not read the replies yet, will give my 2c.

I've found my WSM, to be quite a energetic little case, when the trigger is pulled ALOT is goin on inside of there an it tends to re act accordingly.... Fast pills and sharp recoil.


I was fairly inaccurate with it until i went down to 150gr projectiles and also a KikEEZ recoil pad on the end of her...

Now its fine to shoot an i quite enjoy it.
 
I owned a 270WSM in a L/H win. M70 with an Mcmillan edge that weighed 7lb 4oz and it was accurate as hell with 130gr partions, great mule deer rifle. It is the one rifle I wished I never sold out of the 40 I have owned.
 
270 wsm in a Kimber Classic, it is a great shooting lightweight rifle that I enjoy carrying, the fact that it
lays down deer (3) with great authority also has alot to do with it, my 270 win is also a great rifle but about
2 lbs heavier to carry.
BB
 
Got a .270 and I'm not impressed. Nothing wrong with the way it shoots, other than it prefers the lighter bullets, but it's a pain in the ass. Empty cases cost a premium. Gotta full length size every time, cartridge boxes are tough to find and are huge compared to the normal mag calibers. Rifle is a Savage with detachable mag that only holds 2 and doesn't feed dependably. Let's just say I'm not comfortable packing it, where there may be a pissed off Grizz around the corner.:)


Grizz
 
I have a m70 extreme weather in 300 wsm. Very accurate rifle, nice and light, 3 in mag +1 in chamber, feeds and ejects perfectly don't have to trim often due to the shoulder angle. Nothing wrong with long actions I have but it's nice to be able to put a cartridge holder with a pouch and cheek padding on the butt and have the bolt not pump into the padding for the cheek weld. My 300 wsm works, 7mm rm can't pull the bolt all the way back with the cartridge holder on.
 
While my Remington 700 XCR RMEF .300WSM was the most accurate rifle I've owned (but took extra work - recoil lugs lapped, UBCed, and Tubbs Final Finish), like the same Remington 700 XCR .300 WSM that preceded it (sans Camo Stock), it could only fit 3 rounds reliably. Also, my first "regular" 700 XCR .300WSM would also inexplicably leave "chatter" marks on bullets when ejected (i.e., unfired rounds that were ejectied from chamber - was sent to Remington and was sent back with problem unresolved). The Sako 85 .300WSM that replaced my second, Remington 700 XCR RMEF has its own issues - I had to order larger optiloc rings and bases (and then a new 50 mm scope - 40 mm scope looked weird sitting so high off barrel) because ejected cases would hit the windage screw covers and fall back into the chamber. Based on my "internet research", I think all the issues I've had with .300 WSM rounds can be traced back to the short, fat design of the cases.
You may be wondering why I have stuck with the .300 WSM - I've invested too much $$$ on Redding Bench seating, sizer dies, WFT trimmer, and other assorted reloading tools to abandon my efforts. If I was to start all over again, I probably would have simply started with 30-06 or 300 win mag (moose is by far, my major quarry).
 
Been extremely pleased with my Kimber Montana in 7WSM so far. Long range, short range, deer, moose, hiking, sitting, it does it all and leaves a smile on my face.
 
BearClan said:
While my Remington 700 XCR RMEF .300WSM was the most accurate rifle I've owned (but took extra work - recoil lugs lapped, UBCed, and Tubbs Final Finish), like the same Remington 700 XCR .300 WSM that preceded it (sans Camo Stock), it could only fit 3 rounds reliably. Also, my first "regular" 700 XCR .300WSM would also inexplicably leave "chatter" marks on bullets when ejected (i.e., unfired rounds that were ejectied from chamber - was sent to Remington and was sent back with problem unresolved). The Sako 85 .300WSM that replaced my second, Remington 700 XCR RMEF has its own issues - I had to order larger optiloc rings and bases (and then a new 50 mm scope - 40 mm scope looked weird sitting so high off barrel) because ejected cases would hit the windage screw covers and fall back into the chamber. Based on my "internet research", I think all the issues I've had with .300 WSM rounds can be traced back to the short, fat design of the cases.
You may be wondering why I have stuck with the .300 WSM - I've invested too much $$$ on Redding Bench seating, sizer dies, WFT trimmer, and other assorted reloading tools to abandon my efforts. If I was to start all over again, I probably would have simply started with 30-06 or 300 win mag (moose is by far, my major quarry).
Click to expand...


I think the problems you had can be attributed to bad Remington QC and the numpties at sako that put the ejector where it is.
 
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I first bought a Vanguard Blued/Laminated 300 WSM. Shot like a house afire and was pretty effective.
Shot a couple of moose with it, one at quite a distance, one shot...done!

My B.I.L. liked it so much he persuaded me to sell it to him.
Then I bought another one, but with the solid walnut stock.
It shoots just like the first one, but I have not taken game with it yet.
Expect it will do just fine.

Also own a Remington 700 SS/Synthetic in 7SAUM. Also very accurate, and a very pleasant rifle to shoot.

While I do not believe the short mags do anything other chamberings cannot, they are interesting to play with.

Regards, Eagleye.
 
I've loaded for several short mags now, and I like them. They do what they are supposed to do- give "long" magnum performance in a short action and a slightly lighter rifle. They all operate well ( if there is a problem with the rifle, it's the rifles problem ;) )

I really like the cartridge boxes for the short mags, too. :)
 
I had a 270 wsm and 300 wsm and found they didn't kill a deer any better then the 30-06 so I sold both. Did not find any difference in terms of weight to carry or accuracy.
Nothing wrong with them, other then having to get a huge cartridge case to carry around.
 
I absolutely love 270 WSM as a fantastic long range cartridge providing great accuracy, power and reasonable recoil.
There are 2 magic 270 WSM:
  • 110gr Barnes TSX at 3500fps - instant medium game dynamite
  • 140gr Nosler Accubond at 3200fps - superb long range large game load
As for 300 WSM, it is even more potent at the cost of a much higher recoil.

The big question is: do you really need the extra 75-100 yards of effective range when compared to regular non-magnum cartridges?
For 270WSM, the answer is yes but I find 300WSM's recoil level too high as I hate recoil.

Alex
 
Love the 270WSM..I have 2....great caliber with 140gr Accubonds. Taken elk, moose bears deer, etc. I did have a 300WSM but sold it to a friend that wanted to upgrade as I had a 300WM already. Great with 180gr Accubonds.

To simplify it, the 270WSM with 140gr Accubonds is IMPRESSIVE setup.
 
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