Could the 300 WSM steal the 30-06 throne?

[jmr40]

I just don't get why the 7mm WSM isn't catching like the 270 and 300...its much easier on barrels than the 7mm Rem Mag.

The 7mm WSM may be the best of the bunch, unfortunately it is also the one most likely to go under. This is my understanding as to why.

The 300 and 270 hit the shelves first. Shortly before the first 7mm were to go out Wincheater discovered it was possible to chamber and fire a 270 WSM round in a 7mm WSM rifle. They delayed introducing them until they could make minor modifications to prevent this. By the time they got on the market the 270 WSM ahd a big head start and the 2 were too close in performance for folks to take a chance on the 7mm making it. Sorta the same reason the 280 will never replace a 270 even though it offers better performance.

 

[snakeman]

I'm with you Kachok. I don't use my 99e 308 on a field and i don't use my 257 weatherby for brush.

 

[MistWolf]

Another reason the 300 & 270 WSM have taken off and the 7mm lags is because the 30 caliber is the universal American caliber, the 27 caliber belongs to Winchester and the 7mm belongs to Remington. There's a very good chance the 7mm WSM would have done better if had been introduced by Remington instead of Winchester

 

[Kachok]

Yeah I want my impact speed between 2100-2900 fps, anything under that I will get less then ideal expansion, anything over that you get alot of gunshot meat. Besides it makes for a great excuse to own several great rifles LOL. I love 308s, 30-06s and 6.5x55s in the thicket and love magnums for the wide open field. I probably should get a rifle for the in between situations, 270 win and 25-06 rem make for a great compromise

 

[snakeman]

I'm a big fan of 30-30 and 45/70 also for the close game. But my bow works for that too.

 

[Kachok]

At close range caliber rules, hence the continued sucess of the 30-30 and 45-70, at long range you want efficiency, longer sleeker projectiles to retain energy over a greater distance. I am thinking of adding a 30-30 or 44 mag lever gun for my under 100 yd hunting situations. Though I have a hard time justifying this since my 6.5x55 has had such sucess with minimal meat damage, except fot that shot that hit the shoulder socket LOL, you have never seen such a mess, the whole half front of that deer was jello, bone fragments acted like a hand gernade, and that was a crappy 2500 fps factory load

 

[Agent1209]

I thought they had already ceased production! You should probably stock up on brass since you reload!

 

[Kachok]

Ceased production on the 270 WSM or 6.5x55??????? I highly doubt it, where did you hear that? The 6.5x55 has stayed on the top 30 list for over a hundred years and the WSM has cought like wildfire here in the southeast.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Thickets and fields and 30-06's...I have only had my 30-06 a short time, but in that time I have concluded that I can accurately put a bullet into anything within 600 yards without much fuss or the need for a smart phone with a ballistics app. (my ethical limit...actually I might be able to stretch it on out a bit...but hey, a guys gotta draw the line somewhere) Remember...been shooting 308's and 300 WM's for years. (the only thing that changed was velocity...and even that overlaps)

Put me in a real thicket...such as where one might stumble upon a bear (black, not brown)...I want my 45-70 if I have a choice, but if not...the 30-06 will do in a pinch.

Put me on the hill where I shoot coyotes behind my house (max range...1,300 yards one way, 900 the other way...clear, clean river bottom land)...I generally shoot coyotes with my 243, but....given some 125-135 grain bullets, the 30-06 would do in a pinch. Although usually not all the way out at 1,300 yards...I was just throwing that out there to show, I do have a place to practice "at range".

 

[Ridgerunner665]

The WSM has stayed on the top 30 list for over a hundred years

Pass whatever you're smoking around please...

 

[Kachok]

30-06 and 6.5x55 are the two most versitile calibers on the market, both are capable of 3500+ fps varmint bullets and .300 SD+ bullets that will pierce an elephants skull, both have been used for everything from varmint to pachyderm for over a hundred years with great sucess. Now the 300 WSM and the 6.5-284 are challanging the old go to guns, I am not sure if I should embrace the new high tech or stick to the old and proven. Oh my I am so torn. On one hand the 30-06 (and 6.5x55) provides perfectly adaquate trajectory for 99% of all hunting situations, on the other hand the newfangle calibers provide improved performance in smaller/lighter packages. I am not so old that I would cling to tradition, but not old enough to be set in my ways.

 

[Kachok]

Pass whatever you're smoking around please...

No silly, 6.5x55 has stayed on the top 30 for over a hundred years, the WSMs came out in 2001. I blame that typo on the wiskey LOL

 

[Ridgerunner665]

I knew it had to be something...

 

[303tom]

Not NO, but HELL NO, ain`t no way. You say for the handloader it seems to be a no brainer. Go to the range & see how many discarded .300 WSM`s you find, now look & see how many 06 cases you find ie; .30-06, .25-06, .270, .35 Whelen, .375-06 & what have you, is there a place for the WSM`s hell yes. But when it comes to reloading, what do you think is the cheapest to reload. It is going to take something to dethrone the 06............

 

[Kachok]

I don't see any discarded WSM brass at the range, I would be sure to grab it up if I did. As with all magnums I am sure there are a higher percentage of WSM handloaders then standard calibers 308, 30-06, 270.....etc. mabey with the exception of the 25-06, 6.5x55 and 257 Roberts guys they are pretty hardcore.

 

[Kachok]

Please understand that I am not talking about the 300 WSM being vastly better then the 06 in it's own power range, a couple gr less powder vs the cost of WSM brass vs the number of reloads you can get from a given brass ( I would assume the WSM would last a few more reloadings given it's very thick brass and reduced pressure levels at 06 power) Call that a wash. The biggest advantage would be in the flexability of 06 power/recoil when you want it and 300 mag performance when you need it. For those who hunt a wide variety of game, it has some appeal. I don't think anyone here would sudgest that you need 300 mag power for deer hunting in the woods, but that 300 mag power and trajectory are really nice for a long shot on a trophy elk for sure.

 

[USSR]

No way. You are talking about a cartridge that helped win 2 world wars, that was written about extensively by the finest gun scribes of the 20th century in regards to both hunting and target shooting, and trying to compare it to the only one of several WSM cartridges that is likely to survive for another 10 years? The .300WSM is but a pretender to the throne.

Don

 

[Kachok]

No way. You are talking about a cartridge that helped win 2 world wars, that was written about extensively by the finest gun scribes of the 20th century in regards to both hunting and target shooting, and trying to compare it to the only one of several WSM cartridges that is likely to survive for another 10 years? The .300WSM is but a pretender to the throne.

Don

Why is everyone still talking about the end of the WSMs, in 01-02 they said it would not ever catch on, in 2005 it was a fad that would not last the year, in 2007 we were all being dooped and needed to wake up they would never last, now in 2012 they have been going strong for over a decade and still growing in popularity (here in the south anyway) why on earth would anyone think they will die off tomarow? That just does not make any sence to me. I used to be one of the people that called them a fad, but hands on experenced changed my mind for sure. I can go to any po-dunk walmart and have a variety of 270 and 300 WSM ammo to choose from, I call that pretty mainstream, don't you?
I hope the "fad" does end tomarow, that just means I can buy a couple more good rifles off the budget rack for next to nothing, and I already have enough brass to last me for the next several years Sadly I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

[jmr40]

The 30-06 will always be a sentimental favorite of mine. But if I honestly look at it's actual performance it sorta gets lost in the middle. I hunted with one for almost 35 years. I own several, but only one has been out of the safe on a hunt in the last 3 years.

I guess I'm a slow learner, but after buying a 5 lb Kimber in 308, and shooting it over a chronograph, I discovered that I cannot do anything with any of the 30-06's that the 308 doesn't do. I ended up with the 300 WSM only because I ran across a used one at a great buy and decided, what the heck, I'll give it a try. I'm sold.

If I need more power than I can get from my 308, the 30-06 only gives me about a 70 fps advantage with my best handloads in each chambering. When I starting working on loads for the 300 WSM I found that I can shoot 150 gr bullets 400-500 fps faster than than the 308, and 180's are 200-300 fps faster than I can get them moving from the 30-06. The amazing part was the lack of recoil. I had owned 300 WM's in the past and didn't really expect that big of a difference. I have to really think about it to notice it is recoiling more than hot loaded 30-06 rounds. I've only tried 1 load, and accuracy has been outstanding, beating both the 308 and 30-06 by a slight amount.

It may never replace the 30-06 in sales numbers, but it is one of the better all around chamberings you can get, especially if you handload and want to download when the power is not needed.

 

[Bobson]

.300 WSM may be a great round, but IMO, the price of ammunition is probably always going to have an impact in round popularity - in this type of enomony, at least. I've heard great things about all of the Winchester Short Mags, but it's difficult to compete with the price of .270 Win and .30-06 Spring. I don't see ought-six being dethroned any time soon.

 

[Kachok]

Oh I was not talking about overnight. That is a no-brainer. Way too many 06 rifles and diehard 06 fans for that to happen quickly. We gun nuts are always skeptical of everything new, we have seen fads come and go every single year since the 60s. But once something stands the test of time it catches our intrest. 11 years and still growing the WSMs are starting to catch some serious traction, every single one of my belted mag fanatic hunting buddies has made the swich (three of them after they tried mine ) I don't call that a flash in the pan. What I am saying is that it can catch some of the 06 market over time as well, especaily if someone introduces an 06 level power/recoil commercial load.

 

[HOOfan_1]

My guess is won't overtake the .30-06 in sales numbers before hunting rifles have stopped propelling projectiles with expanding gas.

 

[Kachok]

My guess is won't overtake the .30-06 in sales numbers before hunting rifles have stopped propelling projectiles with expanding gas.

.3000 MEGA MAG electro magnetic rail gun??? I'll bite LOL. Sure it shoots 6200 fps but who whats to tote a 32 foot barrel though the brush? A good friend of mine keeps ranting about how rail guns and lazers are going to replace conventional bullets any day now, we have had that talk a dozen times already. When they build one 42" long and under 8 lbs I'll give one a try, untill then I will leave that up to the sci-fi junkies. The day I need more then 3500 fps I will EAT my WSM. LOL

 

[USSR]

You asked the question, Kachok, so did you simply want affirmation of your fantasy, or do you want the plain, unvarnished truth. The fact is, the .300WSM does not have anything special going for it, and will never dethrone any currently popular .30 caliber cartridge (.308 or .30-06), unless the U.S. or Nato adopts it as a service rifle cartridge (not likely).

Don

 

[Kachok]

You asked the question, Kachok, so did you simply want affirmation of your fantasy, or do you want the plain, unvarnished truth. The fact is, the .300WSM does not have anything special going for it, and will never dethrone any currently popular .30 caliber cartridge (.308 or .30-06), unless the U.S. or Nato adopts it as a service rifle cartridge (not likely).

Don

Not my fantasy, I just though an intresting thought I dreamed up when looking though my reloading manual. All caliber worship and emotional attachments aside it just makes sence if you look at the ballistics. The US mitary accepting a round has nothing to do with it's ballistic performance, many great performers have never seen the service, 270 win, 7-08 rem, 260 rem, 25-06, and 7mm rem mag for example. (though the 7mm rem mag is used by counter snipers in the secret service) Very few of our mainstay calibers have ever been in the service if you think about it.