.300 WSM Barrel Life and comparison to WM

[Wind Dancer]

I shoot a .308 and love it but next summer I might try to extend my range to 1000 yards. Used to shoot a .300 WM a lot but got tired of the recoil. Thinking about building a heavier gun (14-15 lbs)for hunting out west and using a 300 WSM. Wondered if the barrel life is any better on it than the WM. Also, will 14-15 lbs tame the recoil down. I shoot the bigger magnums ok but get a headache after too many rounds. And last..interested in your recommendation to go with the WSM or stay with the good ol'WM. Or any other suggestions. AM concerned about barrel life.

 

[Guest]

Well , here is my take on it.
The Old 300 Win mag burns more powder and has a lower shoulder angle which is supposed to help speed up the barrel wear I personaly haven't shot both enough to see any differance , I do know that the 300WSM doesen't shoot the heavier bullets as well as the Old 300 does like 200gr and up. Both should do what you want as they have both proven themselves at 1000yds
BUT don't give up on that 308 , it'll do a good job at 1000yds to with the right bullets. And if your gonna spend the money to have a new rig build and your recoil sensitive then you could look at a smaller caliber like the 6.5-284 , 6.5-06 , or my new favorite the 243 Ackley improved almost no recoil to speak of , large varity of long range bullets and good Lapua brass available (also for 06 and 284 bases)
so unless your wanting to hunt big game at 1k why beat yourself up?

 

[Wind Dancer]

Appreciate your quick comment. Have to admit I have a love affair with the .308. It is an absolute pleasure to shoot after pounding myself for years with a 300 WM. At some point I will build a new rifle though. Thought a lot about the 6.5-284 but may want to hunt elk and such up to 1000 yards eventually. I live in Missouri and its hard to get long shots at all so I just shoot steel. I won't go with another 300 unless I am convinced the recoil will be tamed by the weight. I don't really like the noise of muzzle breaks. And, I can't afford to spend money on a new barrel every 1200 rounds. Some days I shoot a hundred rounds a day, but I'm slowing down since I now have a range at my house and don't have to drive anywhere to shoot. Certainly appreciate any thoughts anyone may have.

 

[Ian M]

There are long range competitive shooters who could probably answer that question best. I had the good fortune to shoot an almost matched pair of tactical style rifles a few years ago, one in .300 Win and the other in .300 WSM. Shot a bunch of ammo all the way out to 1000yards for a magazine article. Bottom line is that either cartridge is pretty easy to shoot in a fifteen pound rifle as far as recoil goes. We agreed that the WSM seemed to kick a bit less tho.
I am shooting and hunting with an 8 pound .300 WSM and truth is the little bugger kicks pretty hard. It kills like lightning too, my longest shot was just a bit under 800 and I am pretty sure it would do a good job farther.

 

[RiverRat]

Wind Dancer:
I shoot a 300 WSM in F class matches and I rebarreled after 1457 rounds down the tube. It as a 26" 1 in 11 twist Lilja #7 tapper. The rife as it was set up then weighed in at 13lbs 14 oz. It was no problem to shoot 60 shots for record plus sighters from the prone position with the rifle. I probaly should have rebarreled aftered 1100 rounds but it was near the end of the season and it was still shooting good. It just took forever to get the copper out of the throat area, and I was tired of chasing the lands as the throat erroded further after each match. I have no experience with the 300 Win Mag to compare barrel life between the 2 chamberings. I would think they would be in same ballpark. Match shooting is hard on barrels since they get so hot after 20 shots for record plus the 3 to 5 sighter shots. I would have to think if you careful about how you let the barrel get it could go a few more possibly. As far as recoil goes, the rifle in the near 14 lb range as it was set up originally reminded me of a stiff loaded 175 gr. load in a 7 1/2 lb 308 Win. It was very manageable. The rifle in it's present configuration weighs 17 lbs. 3 oz. and is very easy to shoot with the Sierra 190 gr MK out its 30" Lilja tube. I went with the longer heavier tapper barrel to milk some more velocity out of it and have a longer barrel to cut off and rechamber.

RiverRat