Short or long action???

[BrokenHorn]

I will most likely build my gun off of the remeington action. Now the question is which action is better. Remington publishes same velocities for the 7mm saum and the 7mm remington mag.

The 300 WSM, 300 win mag, and 300 saum all have published velocities within 50 fps.

I have always heard the a short action is more accurite than a long action. Any truth to this???

[James Jones]

The short action being more accurate than a long action is a matter of stiffness , if you plan on using a long heavy barrel and free floating it then maybe yes the short action will be more accurate as the long because its shorter wich makes it stiffer but the actual ammout is not goin to be seen. so basicaly what I'l saying is if your wanting to buld a world class accurate rifle on na remington action then yea the short action would be the way to go but you had better chamber it for the 6mmPPC or some other world record holding round !!
As for the caliber , I like the new short action rounds but if I were planning to shoot say a 190gr+ bullet out of a 300 mag I would use the 300Win mag as a Minimum but for the 150-180 class hunting bullets the 300WSM will do all the 300Win mag factory ammo can do and little more. But if your going to use a short action for one of the new short mags then I personaly would use a Wyatt's mag box , it'll give you a little more flexibility in you bullet choice.
Now if your the type guy that is gonna use this gun for hunting only and you don't reload then I would choose one of the older mags like the 7mmREM or 300Win because their are so many available rounds loaded for them and they can be found just about anywhere. but if you reload then the short mags would serve you well

[meichele]

More accurate? Who knows. What is known is that a shorter action is more rigid than a long action, its lighter than a long action and easier to carry a shorter rifle than a long one. If you are not wanting to reach RUM velocities or such, than the short action mags get my vote. Yes you can get about the same velocity with the short mags as the standard mags. Less powder, same velocity, less recoil, better bbl life and an inherently more accurate case design, you would be foolish to go with yesterdays mags unless you want/need MORE POWER! Then go long and go all out, otherwise a long action makes little sense.

[BrokenHorn]

Okay, let me give you a little more info. It will be a hunting rifle that is capable of taking deer and elk out to 600-700 yrd range and hopefully claim braggin rights amongst my buddies punching some paper at the range.

Yes, I do reload.

[wapiti13]

BH, Go with a short action and short case. I would recommend stepping up to the WSM cases and using a longer magazine box in the 700 SA.

[meichele]

300WSM, short action (slightly modified for longer OACL) 200 accubonds. Watch the deer and elk crumble out to 650+ If you put em in the right spot....

[BountyHunter]

Rem SPS in 300 WSM IF you want a factory action. 1-11 twist about 26-28" barrel.

For the distances you are talking would suggest you start with the 180 class bullets, SST, Sirocco etc. Flatter and just as deadly.

BH