To WSM or not to WSM

[leadcounsel]

I'm curious to know more about the WSM cartridge. I've read many posts here but none that are concise. Who prefers the standard and who prefers the WSM and why?

Factors to consider are rifle or ammo cost, availability, ammo selection, range, accuracy, weight, and lenth of bolt, etc.

Will the WSM fade away or is it popular?

 

[GunNut]

I want to vote, but you really need a "Both" choice.

While I prefer the .300WM to the .300WSM, I also prefer the .270WSM to the .270 Winchester.

Steve

 

[leadcounsel]

Why do you prefer one over the other for each caliber?

 

[Picknlittle]

I can't remember which mag the article was in, but when tested in real terms with factory ammo, the only thing the .270 WSM did significantly better than the standard .270 was cost more to shoot.

The chrono test showed very little real world advantage for the WSM in terms of speed or trajectory. I think the accuracy of the standard was better in that particular test.

 

[Browning]

I prefer the regular cartridges, they're just as good and the ammo is more readily available in a wider variety since they've been out alot longer. I usually look at the ammunition choices that they have at Walmart (or at the Academy or Oshmans since Walmart isn't selling as much ammo anymore due to Michael Moore and assorted anti-gun nuts). If they don't have that particular cartridge at those stores then I don't buy a rifle chambered in that particular cartridge.

If you have no ammo, your rifle is essentially a very poor club.

You never know when you're going to need more ammo either because yours was lost or shot up already. Everything that you can accomplish with a rifle can be done with regular cartridges except maybe for some dangerous game in both Africa and Grizzly in Alaska and Canada. Others could say counter with the fact that you could buy your uncommon ammuntion in bulk and they'd be right, you should have some ammo on hand anyway and you should do this, but it would be quite a bit cheaper with regular cartridges and easier to find as well.

I've had to buy ammo at gas stations before that were on the way to popular shooting and hunting destinations. They didn't have ammo in obscure calibers on stock and if I had something in an odd caliber, then I would have been SOL. To my way of thinking the .223 Rem, .243 Win, .270 Win, 30-30, .308 Win and the 30-06 calibers do the job just fine and with the exception of the 30-30 they will all shoot accurately to within 600 yards. If you just want or need a magnum cartridge for whatever reason, ammo for the .7mm Rem Mag and the .300 Win Mag is more readily available than the WSM's as they've been out for quite a bit longer and there are more rifles chambered in them.

Plus what do you really gain by shooting these cartridges over the .270 Win, the 7mm Rem Mag and the 30-06?

 

[eldon519]

The .270 WSM can best the .270 by about 100-200 fps. That's based on reloading data though, I don't really know if factory ammo offers that performance difference between the two.

The WSM takes more powder, offers better ballistics, comes in a shorter and lighter action, and probably has a shorter barrel life. Ammo is more expensive, and it'll have more recoil, particularly in the lighter rifle.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Did the marketplace not render a verdict on that already?

lpl/nc

 

[rbernie]

Everyone talks about how the WSM allows for a shorter/lighter action, but in reality (due to increased barrel diameters, etc) they wind up being no lighter. They also don't neatly fit into the 'standard' magazine dimensions nearly as well, due to their increased diameter.

I'll stick with the 'normal' chamberings for 'normal' use, and the lower-pressure magnums for more critical use.

 

[MarshallDodge]

I heard a rumor that some firearm manufacturers are dropping some of models chambered in WSM due to lack of sales but I have no data to back up the claim. All of my guns except one are chambered in "standard" configurations and I can buy ammo for all of them at a basic gunshop/store.

 

[davera]

My theory (and perhaps mine alone) is that the "short magnum" cartridges were a poor attempt to get people to buy new guns because they shot marginally flatter than the equivalent standard cartridges.

It was a poor strategy because why spend several hundred dollars on a new rifle to get a small incremental difference? Where is Winchester now? (I know the gun manufacturer is different than the cartridge manufacturer but I bet they did this together)

I wonder if Winchester had built M1 carbines to compete with Auto Ordnance or Garands to compete with Springfield Armory or heck - an AR15 with Winchester stamped on the side to compete with <everyone> - I wonder if they would have been competitive and still around.

As it turns out, staking the companies future on selling new hunting rifles that aren't that much better than the ones already owned doesn't look like it was a winning strategy.

 

[ArmedBear]

the "short magnum" cartridges were a poor attempt to get people to buy new guns

You're certainly not alone.

I haven't heard an older experienced hunter/handloader who hasn't said exactly the same thing. Many will say the same thing about any magnum, including .300 WM and 7mm RM, except for the dangerous game stopper rounds.

The last guy I talked to, I asked, "So the world could pretty much get by on the .30-06?" He said, "Hell, the world could get by on the 7x57." I asked about the wall of his living room, recently covered with African mounts from a trip he did last year. He said, "Yup. Every one of them, 7x57 Ackley Improved. That's all I took with me."

I can't say I ever saw anyone with any gray hairs asking about WSM's at the store, either. And it's the guys with mostly gray hair who spend the most on rifles, or so it seems.

Now every cartridge has a purpose and a niche, of course. The WSM's are just the ticket for the Kifaru Rambling Rifle, for example. Unfortunately, I don't think you can buy one right now, either. (It's a really neat custom takedown ultra-ultralight multicaliber bolt gun for long-term backpacking/hunting, handles rabbit to moose and weighs about 3.5 lb plus scope. If they ever DO make it again, look here: http://www.kifaru.net/HUNTHOME.HTM )

Handloaders do some wacky stuff, too, especially those with the scratch to have custom rifles made, with custom actions and chambers, and then to have custom dies made and custom brass formed. I talked with a guy who was shooting a varmint round he designed himself. Put 5 .204 rounds through a jagged hole at 100 yards, so I guess he knew what he was doing.

But Winchester was gambling on a mass-market round, and that's a whole different ballgame.

 

[leadcounsel]

Well, it seems that starting a couple years ago, and continuing the trent, these WSM rifles are clearancing out at much cheaper prices than the standard. Is it wise to avoid them even at a 20% break in cost on the rifle?

 

[one-shot-one]

as a person who reloads i prefer cartridges WITH OUT a belt, and that would include the WSM's

 

[ArmedBear]

Well, it seems that starting a couple years ago, and continuing the trent, these WSM rifles are clearancing out at much cheaper prices than the standard. Is it wise to avoid them even at a 20% break in cost on the rifle?

That depends...

Do you plan to handload? WSM ammo is expensive. If you plan to shoot a fair amount, you'll make up for the 20% quickly with factory rounds.

Do you want the rifle? You can always find a rifle you don't want, for less money than one you do. On the other hand, a lot of people have oddball guns that suit their needs/wants. They don't worry about what anyone else shoots, and they're willing to deal with the extra cost and inconvenience, because the rifle they have does exactly what they want.

I would say, though, that if your purposes are best served with a plain ol' .308, .270, .30-06, .243, etc., then you'll probably be happiest in the long term if you just get the common caliber, even for a little more up-front cash. The few bucks you save will be forgotten in a year, but when you go to buy ammo you'll wish you just used the common stuff.

 

[Essex County]

I said standard cartridges, although I do think the WSM's are an excellent design. I sold my 300WSM because a 30-06 will take care of my needs quite nicely............Essex

 

[Gewehr98]

Ditto on the standard cartridges.

WSMs offer extra velocity, but at a price.

I'm seeing local gun stores dropping them like a bad habit, and even the ammo on the shelves is getting scarce. If you already own one, grab a lifetime supply of brass and start reloading. Even then, reloaders of the same have discovered they have difficulty duplicating factory ballistics out of them, thanks to proprietary factory loading techniques and components. They just don't reload like the older .300 Win Mag or 7mm Remington Mag.

The demise of Winchester didn't help things much, either.

 

[ArmedBear]

Even then, reloaders of the same have discovered they have difficulty duplicating factory ballistics out of them, thanks to proprietary factory loading techniques and components.

I did not know that. Thanks for the info.

So, I just looked over the factory ballistics on the Winchester site. The .300 WSM 180 Grain factory load is just a hair faster than the "High Energy" Federal .30-06 180 grain factory load, and about identical to some hot handloaded .30-06.