300 Win vs. 300 WSM - Factory Rifles

[tom_minnesota]

Greetings from Minnesota. I'm a long time reader, but minimal poster. I'm looking at purchasing a new gun this winter. I'd like to start with a factory rifle and improve upon it as funding is available.

I'm between the Browning Stainless Stalker 300 Win Mag and a Remington 700 XCR 300 WSM.

The Browning in the WSM only has a 23" barrel (which seems short...but maybe that's okay - any thoughts on that?). The Remington has a 24" barrel (not a big difference I realize).

Any thoughts on the 300 Win vs. the 300 WSM? ...and any thoughts on the Remington vs. the Browning.

Note - I plan to use it out west hunting elk, so I'd like to use at least a 180gr bullet.

Thanks
Tom

 

[ol mike]

Howdoo Tom ,

The barrels on each gun are basically the same due to the wsm's shorter cartridge length.
I would go w/the remington myself -someday you might want to modify it and they [rem 700] are a gunsmiths standard issue action.
The 300win mag and the 300wsm are very close in performance w/the 300 win mag having a slight edge in case capacity.
Both cartridges are very accurate so i'd say it's more a choice between a shorter more handy rifle [wsm] compared to a slightly longer action [win mag] possibly longer heavier.
I'd choose the remington in either caliber myself.
Best of luck in your decision -Mike

 

[Supermag]

I'll also throw in my vote for the Remington 700. This is a great action and can be made even better with a little work. I'd love to have an XCR myself, the coating looks to be great for foul weather hunting and the Limbsaver pad would should really help with magnum recoil.

As for caliber, the XCR also offers you another choice that may be a better long range caliber, the 300 Ultra Mag. So to break it down:

WSM: short action = lighter gun.
WM: old standby with ammo available everywhere (WSM is catching up though)
Ultra: flat trajectory, highest energy,

Any of these will be more than enough for most western elk.

 

[screech]

Id go with a remington 700. 300wsm if you're gonna shoot anything in the 180-200 gr. range and either a ultra mag or the win mag for any bullets heavier.

 

[tom_minnesota]

Ya, the research I keep doing is pointing me down the Remington road.

Thanks for the advice.....keep it coming (I appreciate the help)!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[ATH]

Depending how much modification you'll be doing, one thing to keep in mind is that most 300WSM factory guns are limited in useable case length. Depending how long of bullets you want to load and how far out you need to go to reach the lands, you might need to single-load. The standard WM would give you more flexibility.

In a custom gun, the standard WM has only a small advantage in performance.