Is the 300 WSM still a viable choice of caliber?

[elevatorman]

Why not a 300 wm? I'd personally pick the 300 prc. Just because the chamber specs and everything being so tight and already designed around high bc bullets.

 

[Luke_with_a_lab]

Why not a 300 wm? I'd personally pick the 300 prc. Just because the chamber specs and everything being so tight and already designed around high bc bullets.

300 WSM is a short action and you can run a shorter barrel. Smaller gun overall, idea being a backcountry gun. Not trying to go ultra ultra light, Rifle with scope and suppressor would come in around 9.5lbs. If I went 300 Win mag i'd have to run a 2 - 4" longer barrel.

 

[millerkiller77]

300 WSM is a short action and you can run a shorter barrel. Smaller gun overall, idea being a backcountry gun. Not trying to go ultra ultra light, Rifle with scope and suppressor would come in around 9.5lbs. If I went 300 Win mag i'd have to run a 2 - 4" longer barrel.

300wsm is the Lord's calibre, you're on the right track.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

Basically looking to build a rifle that I can trust a bit more on elk than the 6.5 PRC. In the last few years myself and a few friends have taken quite a few elk with the 6.5 PRC. It does the job but not in the same way as elk Ive seen taken with a 300 Win Mag. Originally had thought 300 Win Mag but then started looking at the 300 WSM because it's a short action and you can put a shorter barrel on it than a 300 Win Mag while still using the .30 caliber bullet. Secondly, being to put suppressor on it and not have total length of the gun be overly long.

I wont argue about how effective 6.5 is/isn't on elk. I have my beliefs but frankly don't have a large elk sample size, they all died satisfactorily with an expanding bullet in the vitals. Having a short action has no bearing on how long/short a barrel you can put on it. You can put a short barrel on a 300 WM/PRC just the same as a 300 WSM and they'll lose the same FPS per inch shorter.

In my opinion 600 yards is a doable shot in relatively calm wind conditions for a person that shoots quite a bit. I pretty regularly am practicing on steel out 1000 yards. In the last few years I have seen two mountain goat taken in one shot, one at 630 and one at 700 +/-, a bull elk killed in one shot at 728 and multiple mule deer taken in one shot ranging from 325-800 yards. Now none of those animals were taken by me, luckily I have not had to shoot that far for any of my animals. Again, that does show me that longer shots are quite doable in the right conditions. One of the areas we frequently hunt is an area with very steep canyons, where a person would likely only have 2 types of shots on an elk, the first being under 100 yards or secondly across a canyon... roughly 400-600 yards on average. Trying to identify the caliber to best fit this specific area particularly. Ideally the gun wouldn't be super super high in recoil however if it had to be a suppressor would reduce recoil to some degree. Like others have said there is always a trade off.

Doable and having a higher than ideal odds of a bad outcome can be one of the same. In the right conditions, sure. Problem is very very few people are good at reading conditions. They either get lucky by not having something to miss in the conditions or they dont. Regardless, for factory ammo if you're wanting something with better LR chops with factory ammo i think there are better options than 300WSM. Something loaded with actually high BC 7mm or 30 cals is going to be a better fit. I think 300WSM is a great cartridge but would be better for the stated application in a medium or long action with handloads.

 

[Addicting]

Do you want a piece of brass that was fired out a chamber that was cut with that same reamer? I paid for that reamer on a 300wsm he did for me. I'll seat a 175lrx and mail it directly to him if it helps you

That would be awesome, can you seat it out to 2.985. Let me know what to send you for your trouble.

 

[millerkiller77]

That would be awesome, can you seat it out to 2.985. Let me know what to send you for your trouble.

no problem. I'll pm you tomorrow after it's in the mail.
Just out of curiosity, what action/magazine do you have that will accept that length?

 

[Addicting]

no problem. I'll pm you tomorrow after it's in the mail.
Just out of curiosity, what action/magazine do you have that will accept that length?

Having it cut for a Wyatt’s extended 2.995 COAL. I run them in all my REM 700 SA builds. It lets most of the LRX sit in the neck and maximize case capacity.

 

[Addicting]

Im hoping to hear peoples thoughts on the 300 WSM and if it still would be a worth while rifle purchase, especially now that there are cartridges like the 7 prc, 7 saum 300 prc etc.

I am working on having a custom rifle built. The intention is for backcountry hunting primarily. As it stands now I'm paralyzed by what caliber to go with. Currently am looking at a 300 WSM for the build as I could go short action as well as a little bit shorter barrel to make hiking around in the mountains easier. I like everything about the 300 WSM except its performance as it starts to get over 600 yards as it relates to elk hunting. I'm not saying I want to hunt elk over 600 yards but I would like to know if I had to take a longer shot the cartridge would have the ability to do so. Lastly would be wind drift. How would a person expect the 300 WSM wind drift to be in comparison to some of the calibers listed above?

So if anyone has any thoughts on this It would be much appreciated

FYSA, Bruno’s has a decent deal on 300 WSM Lapua brass.

 

[mtmuley]

The OP's use of the word viable was interesting. mtmuley

 

[3855WIN]

I think you’re supposed to be building a rifle in 7mm Back Country.

 

[turbobrick]

The 300wsm with a 162AH is as good as it gets. Its not just viable, its an excellent option.

 

[Brad]

I've had 7 or 8 300 WSM's going back to 2001, and have taken antelope, deer, and elk with the cartridge (BTW, it's not a caliber, its a cartridge).

Like the 308 Win, the 300 WSM is an inherently accurate cartridge with its short, fat powder column and 35* shoulder. However, those same characteristic's make it difficult to function in most actions. The Winchester 70/MRC actions made for it work well, as does the Kimber 8400 and most single stack actions made for it. But - it feeds like dogchit in the 700 action, so be aware it's not at its best in a lot of actions.

As to "600 yard hunting" - that's not hunting, that's shooting/killing. Nothing wrong with it, but I think it's important to make that clear. But yeah, why wouldn't it work well on elk at that range? It has the gas to open most hunting bullets at that range and farther, so I guess I don't understand this line of questioning. Aside, farthest game I've taken with it was a bedded antelope at 548 yards with a 180 Partition. It never got up.

If it floats your boat, go for it. Just be cautious to make sure the action you chose to chamber it in will feed well. Me, I'd stay with the 6.5 PRC.

 

[Wind Gypsy]

But - it feeds like dogchit in the 700 action, so be aware it's not at its best in a lot of actions.

I think that is pretty dependent on the magazine and action being used? Standard OEM rem bottom metal and standard feed ramps that may be the case but I'd think with the right centerfeed DBM or wyatts box/follower, they should feed fine. Only had m700 short action in SAUM chamberings but it fed fine, just needed single stack/centerfeed wyatts box to do so. My xbolt 300wsm feeds slick. Tikka SAUM feeds well also albeit somewhat magazine and ammo COAL dependent - magazine is designed to accommodate loading long and if bullets are loaded short it is prone to jamming them into the feed ramp rather than sliding up it.