Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 7mm WSM vs 300 WSM

I'm going to buy another rifle this week. I'll use it for whitetail here in Alabama and maybe a whitetail hunt in the Mid-West. I'm thinking 300 WSM but is the 7mm WSM a better choice? I have smaller caliber rifles but I want a WSM caliber. I'm not really interested in a 270 WSM.

Thanks!

I'm a 7 WSM fan.

7 WSM is a great cartridge and the advantage it has over the 300 is in shooting high BC bullets (.600) in the 160-168 grain range whereas the 300 requires heavier bullets and more recoil to get there. So if you're going to be shooting long, there is an advantage.

Having said that, it's much harder to find ammo. and brass for.

Handload? If so, the 7 is a great choice. The brass is SLIGHTLY longer and it has just the smallest hair more capacity because of it. This was done to prevent 270/7mm mix ups, just like the 270/280 brass.

If you don't handload then the 300 is the no-brainer. There is a lot of factory ammo available for just about any purpose and yes its a bit more costly then say 30-06, but its right in line with any other popular magnum.

More important then caliber/case choice....which rifle are you looking at?

300 WSM if you don't reload. Think of it as a 30-06 on steroids and a little man syndrome.

But have you thought about a 7Saum? Ballistically a 280 AI in a short action. Which is to say, just shy of a 7 rem mag. A lot of guys are starting to use it for longrange competition. I never had a problem loading it up to 160 grain bullets but mostly use 140 grain for deer. And it's just different.

If you handload, and it will be used for deer, then I'd get the 7WSM, otherwise, 300.

For your use, I`d go the 7 WSM. The only smaller advantage that a 300 WSM might give you, is the ability to use heavier bullets for larger game should you later decide to do that.

Otherwise in your case, the 300 WSM offers no advantage over the 7 WSM.

I can't think of a critter that I'd not feel good about shooting with a 168gr LRX or 180/195gr VLD or Berger Hybrid, but that I'd want to shoot with the heaviest .308" pills...

7WSM is the way I'd go.

Have had several of both but I still have the 7 and it ain't going anywhere.

I have the 7mm WSM, .270 WSM, and 300 WSM.

The 300 if you don't handload, the 7mm if you do.

300 for every reason, especially that you have smaller rifles. You can add a heavy hitter.

Hey a fellow Alabama, man!

I think you get the point so far. If you hand load, the 7WSM if you're a factory ammo guy, then the 300WSM.

Then again, I guess it just depends on what kind of hunting you intend to use this gun for....

Both of those WSM's are fairly close to each other with their ballistics. It's kind of cool if you examine them close you'll see something that really stood out for me, and made the difference in which one I choose.

At closer ranges (300yrds and under), the larger diameter .308 bullet will be traveling faster than the same weight .284 (7mm) bullet. That means you have a big hole maker that really flies!

However, at farther ranges, the BC of the .284 bullets starts to really shine. They will maintain their velocity and their energy for much farther distances.

So, for me the question came down to is this for long range (antelope, sheep, kodiak bear) hunting or shorter range (elk, moose, deer) hunting? I already had a lot of stuff for the 300 yards and under hunting so I really wanted something that would really reach out there and smack 'em. So, I went with the 7mm.

Don't get me wrong, the 300WSM is a proven long range killer for pretty much every game in North America. Either one will do the job. You won't go wrong with either one as they both will kill anything that you'd hunt here with a vengeance. I'm just one of those looney numbers kind of guys, even when I know that those numbers don't amount to a hill of beans in the real world.

Happy hunting, and good luck out there!

What part of magnum did you not get ?
The 7 short mag IS a heavy hitter as well.

7 mags short or long are awesome.

Nothing wrong with the 300WSM and it's an amazing performer. When I started the WSMs 180s at range was fun but over the years I've found I like 150s and 155s as they are way more fun with their reduced recoil.
I've now had three 300WSMs and still use one but when I burn it out it will be rebarreled to 7mm for sure.

I found a new Winchester 70 Ultimate Shadow comp/blue 7WSM for under $600. Is this a good deal? I plan on handloading and read where the 7WSM brass in not the best and you can easily neck down the 300wsm brass. What would be the best dies to use to do this?

jmak - Sending PM

Not a bad price for nib. Get it!