tell me @ .300 WSM

[kmrcstintn]

gun: Remington 700 SPS w/ 24" barrel & 1:10" twist; muzzle brake installed

purpose: whatever this round will take down

info: haven't shot it yet; story behind rifle...retired cop & loyal customer to shop won it as a raffle gun & had a muzzle brake installed to reduce recoil; guy used 3 round to sight gun in & shot a deer last year (4 rounds total); decided he liked his .30-06 better & had it consigned at the shop that installed the muzzle brake

please tell me about your experiences with this caliber; feel free to share attributes (pros & cons); thanks

 

[brian923]

i do not personaly have a 300 wsm.... yet, but hopefully...

anyways. its a really handy round that will take anything on this contenint. (sp?) it has been used to hunt brown bear, and is a really accurate cartridge that has unimaginable capabilities when reloaded. with all the different projectiles availible for the 30 cal, you can do just about anything with it. me personaly, would choose it over the 25-06 that you meantioned in another post, but i have not had much experiance with that one either. brian

 

[Regolith]

I hear it's a very good round for long range shooting. I'd say it's overkill for most hunting applications inside of NA, but if you load it right it shouldn't damage too much meat.

 

[dakotasin]

the 300 wsm is less powerful than a 300 win mag, more powerful than a 30-06. it is closer to a 300 win mag than to a 30-06.

i run 180 grain bullets thru my 300 wsm and get about 100 f/s less velocity than 180's in my 300 win mag.

to contrast that w/ the 30-06, i am about 350 f/s less w/ the 30-06 than a similiar bullet in a 300 wsm. conversely, i run 150 grain bullets w/ the 30-06 and come up short of the 180 wsm load by about 150 f/s.

all 3 guns have 24" barrels.

what i like about the wsm is it is a very accurate, predictable cartridge, and is entirely appropriate for whatever you want to kill. it does not recoil too hard, but it has noticeably sharper recoil than a 30-06 - you may not notice any difference between it and a 300 win mag, though the win mag does recoil a bit harder.

what i don't like about the 300 wsm... haven't found a fault w/ it yet. it does not handle heavy bullets as well as a 300 win mag, but if i can't kill it w/ a 165 barnes or a 180 sierra out of either chambering, i need to be grabbin' for the 338, not trying to stuff 200+ grain bullets into the wsm.

in sum... good, solid cartridge that will handle it - whatever "it" is.

 

[hoghunting]

I have a 300 WSM, and it has become my go-to gun. I load mine with Hornady 165 gr Interbonds @ 3162 fps, and it is a hog pounding machine.

I replaced the recoil pad with a HiViz Xcoil - a fitted Limbsaver will also work very well - to reduce felt recoil. The WSM is loud enough without adding more noise with the muzzle brake.

 

[Strongbad]

Up to 180 gr. bullets the 300 WSM is virtually a ballistic twin to the 300 H&H, and how many head of everything on this continent and others, has that round killed since it was introduced?

 

[Savage99]

My first concern is the muzzle brake which I do not like for hunting as ear damage will happen. If you have not already bought the rifle then let it be.

Nor am I a fan of the Remingtion action for hunting. They do not have a three position safety, CRF, a decent extractor etc. etc..

As far as the cartridge goes I like it. Its an excellent magnum that properly headspaces on the shoulder and not the belt like so many of the older ones.

This should make the round easier to handload.

 

[kmrcstintn]

yep...bought the rifle w/ muzzle brake & 'middle of the road' Remington action; the shop owner offered this...buy a Bushnell Banner scope & pay for mounting & boresighting...he does trigger lightening & smoothing, epoxy bedding, and shave stock to create a 'floated barrel' at no additional charge...two of my hunting partners are well liked by the shop owner & that worked out for me; I know the Banner is not the most resilient scope for this type of cartridge, but it will get me through this year's deer season & allow me to save up for a better built scope like a Burris or Millett

 

[dakotasin]

congrats on the new stick! i hope you enjoy it immensely.

 

[kmrcstintn]

quick update...the overly long tube on the Banner (6" eye relief) & the close proximity of the mounting rings (short ejection port on short action ) would hav meant having to get extension bases to reset rings & push scope forward to get a comfortable fit, so I opted for a Bushnell Legend 4 - 12 x 40 that he has in stock for @ $50 more...better built scope w/ higher magnification...not a bad trade off I suppose