Does 300 WSM have role Beside 300 Win Mag?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Huntolive

Huntolive

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2012
Messages
1,139
Location
Virginia
What true advantages or disadvantages does 300 WSM have alongside 300 Win Mag? If someone already has 300 Win mags is there any valid reason to have a 300 WSM? If so why?

Specifically I have heard 300 Win mags burn out barrels at about the thousand round mark. Is this really true or is this only true within fine degreeso super sniper level of accuracy at long ranges?
Then I heard 300 WSM and SM calibers generally burn out barrels faster than 300 Win mags.
So what is true regarding barrel life for these calibers?

As far as practical hunting accuracy out to no greater than 600 yards does someone really need to worry about burning out barrels with either of these after a thousand rounds?
 
If you have a 300WM I would not get a short mag. However, if you're new to either I would go with the SM for the reasons Troy gave above. Also, the SM is a bit more efficient if you're a reloader.

I have a WM and am not changing but do see the gains of the SM. Shorter cartridge also makes the frame a bit more rigid I think. Nothing wrong with the WM though.
 
A little history.

The 300 WSM was initially a wildcat cartridge put together by a gunwriter named Rick Jamison called the 300 Jamison. The intended purpose was to put together a rifle cartridge that would come very close to 300 WM performance, but with noticeably less recoil to be used in lightweight mountain rifles. The WSM comes within 50 fps of the older WM cartridge, but it burns 10-15 gr less powder. The combination of slightly less speed and much less powder results in recoil not much greater than 30-06.

Jamison tried to sell his idea to Winchester who declined, but a few months later introduced the 300 WSM. Jamison sued claiming they stole his idea and won. As a result of the lawsuit Winchester was required to keep producing the rifles and pay a royalty to Jamison for every rifle and box of ammo sold. Ruger and Remington made a handful of 300 WSM, but stopped after the lawsuit to avoid paying a royalty. They developed their own short mags instead. But neither was as good as the WSM and they didn't last long.

Winchester never really pushed the round all that much after they lost the suit and with the exception of Kimber no one ever really designed a rifle that took advantage of the rounds capabilities. But even with all the negatives it developed a pretty decent following.

While not designed as a target round it has proven to be much more accurate than 300 WM and has set numerous records.

In a trim lightweight rifle it does exactly what it was designed to do. You can put together a 7.5 lb rig in 300 WSM that will have about the same recoil as a 9 lb 300 WM. And get more accuracy. No game animal will ever notice the 50 fps.

I've never seen anything addressing barrel life of any 300 WM. Neither have ever been noted as a barrel burner. It is my guess that either of them are going to last longer than 1000 rounds. Most 308's are good for 5000-10,000 rounds. The 300 Mags should be less, but I don't think it is excessive. The real barrel burners are the 24, 25, and 26 calibers that burn large amounts of powder. Larger calibers usually last longer.
 
The reason for the 'Short Magnum" rounds is that they can be used in a short
action which some say is more rigid then a longer action. So
a .300 WSM would work in a Savage 10 while you need a 110 for the .300 Win Mag.
The .300 Win Mag is more powerful but for long range target shooting,
I generally load my .300's well below maximum hunting loads. As for
barrel life, it depends on what powder, what bullets and how hot you
load a .300 Win Mag. I know of a few people who have bolt
action .300 Win Mag rifles with well over 1000 rounds through them and
none show signs of barrel erosion. One of my target loads pushes a
168 gr Sierra match HPBT at around 3000 fps. It gets the job done.
But, I will admit the recoil is stout. If recoil is an issue, a round
like the .260 Remington or the 6.5x55mm Swede will send
140 gr match grade bullets down range at 2800 fps and those
6.5's have light recoil, but are extremely accurate.
The .300 Win Mag has been used in 1000 yard competition, for hunting
as well as a military sniper rifle and it has proven extremely good in
all three applications. But, again, even in a heavy sniper rifle like mine,
the recoil is quite heavy. Most people would not enjoy
pumping a couple boxes of 20 rounds through that rifle
with out some form of shoulder protection. I shudder
to think of what the recoil in a light (under 10 lbs) hunting rifle
would be like if you decided to do some target shooting.
 
A 300win mag barrel will typically fall out of “useful” for precision shooting by 1500 rounds, with the lucky examples reaching nearly 2,000, and some burning up before 1200. My personal, albeit limited, experience with burning 2x 300wsm barrels has been they’ll typically give up in about the same round count as WM’s.

Shorter, lighter actions, less powder to nearly match speed, less trimming, no complications for resizing... I’ve owned a bunch of 300wm’s in my life, but between WSM/RSAUM and the new PRC, I don’t know that I’ll ever build another.
 
Short mags are more efficient. Kinda like the 30-06 / 308 comparison. I have to burn approx 10% more powder in my 06 compared to my 308. More powder equals my recoil.
 
As a 270 WSM shooter/ hunter I will say that the WSMs are great rounds. I will never part with mine which has been stellar in the field. Shots have been approx 40 yds to 375 yds and it really puts meat on the table.
If you have a really nice 300 Win mag that fits you good, and if you don't mind the belted case, the NO you have no real reason for a WSM.
However, if you find that you really value a short action rifle, and like to reload beltless cases, then I would get the WSM.

I don't worry about burning out the barrel. Will likely need a new shoulder first, and they still make barrels for'em if I ever do need one.
 
I think HOWA made a lot of .300 WSM rifles and was more of a factor than Winchester , who went under in the old factory at the time Howa was pumping them out. I have a few friends rthat have used them all over the world with very good results. I shoot as my go to medium game gun a .270 WSM and love it. I took it to Africa a dozen yeas ago and it was outstanding. I shot a .270 Winchester since 1964 and the .270 WSM has proven to me a better all around cartridge because it seems inherently more accurate and chambers in shorter actions and possibly is more efficient in shorter barrels (as a result of case design ?) . Not that I'm throwing away my 1953 Wimchester M70 I had since 1964 , but the Newer M70 Classic is better all around. It also gets a real 3300 FPS out of a 22" barrel with the 130 grain bullet and 3000 with the 150s . The all copper monolithic bullets always expand at those velocities !
 
troy fairweather said:
Browning made quite a few wsm rifles. I've owed 3 A-bolts 270-7mm-300. Still have the 7mm and it's a tack driver that fits me well.
Click to expand...
What did you think of the Browning A bolt? Did you actually have a Browning A-Bolt in 300 WSM?
I'm considering trading a very nice close to perfect condition Dan Wesson stainless 715 357 4 a very lightly used like new stainless Browning A-Bolt 300 WSM and the guys giving me $350 cash on top of it and one box of 300 WSM ammo.

What are your guys thoughts on that trade?

I have three Dan Wesson 715 currently but I also currently own three 300 Win Mag rifles but no 300 WSM.
I do notice that 300 WSM ammo runs about $10 more expensive than 300 Win Mag and you have fewer options to choose from
 
For shooting heavier bullets and ammunition availability in "out of the way" places the 300 WM is a better cartridge. From my experience the 300 WM is fairly popular in many African countries with both visiting sportsmen and outfitters alike. For the midrange bullet weights and hunting in North America the WSM is probably a reasonable compromise. The WSM sits somewhere between a 30-06 and 300 WM, which is a nice place to be for a medium game rifle.
 
For shooting heavier bullets and ammunition availability in "out of the way" places the 300 WM is a better cartridge. From my experience the 300 WM is fairly popular in many African countries with both visiting sportsmen and outfitters alike. For the midrange bullet weights and hunting in North America the WSM is probably a reasonable compromise. The WSM sits somewhere between a 30-06 and 300 WM, which is a nice place to be for a medium game rifle.
 
Huntolive said:
What did you think of the Browning A bolt? Did you actually have a Browning A-Bolt in 300 WSM?
I'm considering trading a very nice close to perfect condition Dan Wesson stainless 715 357 4 a very lightly used like new stainless Browning A-Bolt 300 WSM and the guys giving me $350 cash on top of it and one box of 300 WSM ammo.

What are your guys thoughts on that trade?

I have three Dan Wesson 715 currently but I also currently own three 300 Win Mag rifles but no 300 WSM.
I do notice that 300 WSM ammo runs about $10 more expensive than 300 Win Mag and you have fewer options to choose from
Click to expand...
yes I've had 3 one was a 300wsm there a good rifle made well and the stock for me well. All 3 were very accurate, you can find 300wsm ammo online for $25 a box sometimes under $20.

on your trade I think I would keep the dw.
 
troy fairweather said:
yes I've had 3 one was a 300wsm there a good rifle made well and the stock for me well. All 3 were very accurate, you can find 300wsm ammo online for $25 a box sometimes under $20.

on your trade I think I would keep the dw.
Click to expand...
With the + cash i think trade value is pretty close, but Id also keep the DW.........

you can buy Abolts in the wsms for 5-600 regularly on gunbroker, and sometimes they show up in the 350-400 range......Ive had to really clamp down on myself more than once, the Abolt is by far my favorite rifle action.
 
Huntolive said:
What did you think of the Browning A bolt? Did you actually have a Browning A-Bolt in 300 WSM?
I'm considering trading a very nice close to perfect condition Dan Wesson stainless 715 357 4 a very lightly used like new stainless Browning A-Bolt 300 WSM and the guys giving me $350 cash on top of it and one box of 300 WSM ammo.

What are your guys thoughts on that trade?

I have three Dan Wesson 715 currently but I also currently own three 300 Win Mag rifles but no 300 WSM.
I do notice that 300 WSM ammo runs about $10 more expensive than 300 Win Mag and you have fewer options to choose from
Click to expand...
Keep the pistol
 
Yeah this particular Dan Wesson is in really great condition but then again I do have three Dan Wesson 715 currently and this one shoots the worst of all three I also have a Dan Wesson 15-2.

On the other hand this DW is superb overall condition and will probably be harder to find again at the price I got it then abolt but this able is the stainless steel variety which I prefer and which I believe her a bit more expensive plus it does have threading and muzzle brake and $350 of cash in a box of ammo so I'm actually leaning towards the trade

But I appreciate your advice and I fully understand why several of you are saying to keep the DW
I guess having 10-357 is part of what's making me lean toward the trade Plus the cash
 
Huntolive said:
Yeah this particular Dan Wesson is in really great condition but then again I do have three Dan Wesson 715 currently and this one shoots the worst of all three I also have a Dan Wesson 15-2.

On the other hand this DW is superb overall condition and will probably be harder to find again at the price I got it then abolt but this able is the stainless steel variety which I prefer and which I believe her a bit more expensive plus it does have threading and muzzle brake and $350 of cash in a box of ammo so I'm actually leaning towards the trade

But I appreciate your advice and I fully understand why several of you are saying to keep the DW
I guess having 10-357 is part of what's making me lean toward the trade Plus the cash
Click to expand...
The A-Bolt is a great rifle and the 300 wsm is one of the best all around cartridges made. I would definitely make the trade. Safe shooting!!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

F
  • Locked
Sako 85 Grey Wolf Rifle in 300 WSM or 300 Win Mag??
2
Replies
35
Views
6K
folsoh
F
T
  • Locked
.300 Win Mag v .300 WSM v .300 RCM...???
2
Replies
48
Views
23K
Kentucky Windage
K
T
  • Locked
300 Win Mag ok for Bear?
Replies
11
Views
8K
Cosmoline
C
Huntolive
  • Locked
300 Win Mag vs 300 WSM vs 308
2
Replies
31
Views
6K
amflyer
amflyer
David4516
  • Locked
Super Short Mag... Why?
Replies
4
Views
776
Tamara
T
Back
Top