Hey guys, I'm new to the forum and had a question you could hopefully help me out with. I am looking at getting a new rifle and am not sure if I want a .300 WM or a .300 WSM. What are the major differences and how is the accuracy with this caliber. I will mostly be shooting out to 500 yards while hunting. Thanks!
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.300 WSM questions.
- Thread starter NagaViper
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thehulk
Well-Known Member
Great choices, lots of speed and energy in both rounds. Its potato patauto on this one. The only major difference (correct me if im wrong) is that the 300WM has a lot more factory ammo selections.
Those rounds can easily take any north American game at 500 yards.
ShooterMedic
Well-Known Member
First of all they are both great rounds, but to get the max out of ether round you need to reload. Do You?
If not, the 300 wsm will shoot with almost the same speeds that the win mag will, but with a little less recoil.
If you reload, it is cheaper to shoot the 300 win than the 300 wsm. If you reload, brass is better for the win mag and cheaper than it is for the 300 wsm. The 300 win mag has more case capacitive than the 300 wsm. So you can push it faster.
I love shooting my tikka t3 lite 300 wsm it is very accurate and lite to carry.
If you had to choose again I would buy a Win mag, and shoot the 215 gr vld after seeing what Broz has done with them.
If not, the 300 wsm will shoot with almost the same speeds that the win mag will, but with a little less recoil.
If you reload, it is cheaper to shoot the 300 win than the 300 wsm. If you reload, brass is better for the win mag and cheaper than it is for the 300 wsm. The 300 win mag has more case capacitive than the 300 wsm. So you can push it faster.
I love shooting my tikka t3 lite 300 wsm it is very accurate and lite to carry.
If you had to choose again I would buy a Win mag, and shoot the 215 gr vld after seeing what Broz has done with them.
Thanks for your help. I do reload so that's not a problem. I am just in the early stages of deciding on what to get but I really appreciate the help. Hey Shooter, how is your Tikka with grouping and accuracy around the 400 or 500 yardage. I just checked them out and the weight of the rifle is pretty appealing. Thanks again fellas.
ishootkittens
Well-Known Member
correct me if i am wrong but i believe barrel life is less on a win mag. if u want a long action go with a win mag, if u want a short lighter action go with the wsm. if u arent shooting past 1000 yards then either will be adequate. the win mag pushes the HEAVY stuff a bit farther. the wsm case is more efficient meaning that u will use less powder in order to alllmost match the win mag with the 150-180 gr bullets. i love my wsm and my best friend loves his win mag. my wsm is easier to hunt with because it weighs 3 pounds less and recoils less still.
MontanaRifleman
Well-Known Member
The WM will push bullets a little faster on average but I can get 3200 fps pushing 180's with my WSM using RL17. The WSM generally has a good reputation for good barrel life. Although manufacturers put the WSM in short actions, you can not seat the longer high BC bullets in a short action and have a repeater. If I were to build a 300 WSM, it would definitely be a long action. That said, trying to build a 300 WM on a Howa/Vanguard long action would be very cramped and you could not load bullets like the CE 180's to fit the mag box. I am currently building a 6.5 WSM on a Howa LA. The 300 WSM is an efficient cartridge as I can get 3200 fps with 180 bullets and 66 gr of powder vs 3400 fps with the same bullets out of my 300 RUM and 100 gr of powder.
You can't go wrong with either the WM or WSM. I like the WSM.
You can't go wrong with either the WM or WSM. I like the WSM.
The WSM's body diameter is large which means if you intend to build your own rifle it is a consideration if you want it to feed from the magazine. I once checked my rifles and discovered to my surprise that the case wouldn't pass the feed rails on most of them.
As already mentioned the magazines can be short for the WSMs but as I discoved it may not be an issue. A friend asked me to help him find a LR load for his 300 WSM Browning A-bolt with Boss. Magazine length was 2.8". I had some 230 target hybrids and gave them a try with RL-17. The bullet is buried in the case. . There was a jump to the rifling but hybrid didn't care. The rifle shot very well and the surprise was a velocity of 2720 from his 22" barrel!
As already mentioned the magazines can be short for the WSMs but as I discoved it may not be an issue. A friend asked me to help him find a LR load for his 300 WSM Browning A-bolt with Boss. Magazine length was 2.8". I had some 230 target hybrids and gave them a try with RL-17. The bullet is buried in the case. . There was a jump to the rifling but hybrid didn't care. The rifle shot very well and the surprise was a velocity of 2720 from his 22" barrel!
ishootkittens
Well-Known Member
i am very curious to hear that you got 2700fps out of a standard magazine length cartridge and a 22" barrel! that is very good velocities. thats the exact load i wanted to try but everyone has warned me to trash the load because of magazine length (i like repeaters) but i may be able to get close to 2800 with a 28" barrel
I had to go back to some older posts here and found what you are looking for:
(to be honest I am not sure if the A-bolt has a 22 or 23" barrel, never pulled the boss off. Earlier I said 22" but below I say 23")
Used RL-17 starting from 55 and going up to 58 gr in one grain increments.
Shot three of each load just to get a feel for the rifle's potential. All rounds were fired in a steady mild rain. 58 grs was the best group measuring .692 center to center at 100 yds. I will load up some more and use the A-bolt's BOSS to tighten the group. Yes that's right it is a 23" synthetic Browning A-bolt with Boss that weighs around 7 1/4 lbs! I'll report the velocity of this load sometime in the next week.
I can add another hybrid to the list of others that shoot with random seating depths. FYI the jump was approx. .140"
(to be honest I am not sure if the A-bolt has a 22 or 23" barrel, never pulled the boss off. Earlier I said 22" but below I say 23")
Used RL-17 starting from 55 and going up to 58 gr in one grain increments.
Shot three of each load just to get a feel for the rifle's potential. All rounds were fired in a steady mild rain. 58 grs was the best group measuring .692 center to center at 100 yds. I will load up some more and use the A-bolt's BOSS to tighten the group. Yes that's right it is a 23" synthetic Browning A-bolt with Boss that weighs around 7 1/4 lbs! I'll report the velocity of this load sometime in the next week.
I can add another hybrid to the list of others that shoot with random seating depths. FYI the jump was approx. .140"
winmag
Well-Known Member
Can't go wrong with either one.
I chose to build my 300WSM on a long action & had it throated for 200gr Accubonds.
With 65gr or RL-17, & my 26" bbl I'm a bit over 3100fps with 180Accubonds.
I still have a soft spot for the good ol 300Win. too tho. Like I said, you just can't go wrong with either.
I chose to build my 300WSM on a long action & had it throated for 200gr Accubonds.
With 65gr or RL-17, & my 26" bbl I'm a bit over 3100fps with 180Accubonds.
I still have a soft spot for the good ol 300Win. too tho. Like I said, you just can't go wrong with either.
ishootkittens
Well-Known Member
*shakes head* please keep me informed. my X- bolt should have the same magazine capacity as your a- bolt and if i can get 2700fps out of it then i will be extremely happy and will save me alot of hassle. i have heard reports of 2400fps but no where near 2700. pm me sometime id really like to learn more about this!
MontanaRifleman
Well-Known Member
You can seat some of the heavier bullets deeper but you are encroaching on case space. I loaded the Berger 210's in mine over some RL 17 but seated then to just off the lans which was too long for the Sako mag box. I was getting about 2910 from that load. If you're going to build a WSM, build it on a long action. The Howa's are a good platform as their LA is slightly shorter than a Rem.
ShooterMedic
Well-Known Member
My Tikka shoots awsome, I found very few bullets it did not shoot at MOA , most shot under. At 500 yds I was still 3/4 MOA. The best I ever did at 1ooo yds was an 8 inch group. But that was also with hand loads.
They are great to carry and silk smooth shooting. I am going to put a brake on mine to help me get bake on target faster after the shot.
They are great to carry and silk smooth shooting. I am going to put a brake on mine to help me get bake on target faster after the shot.
