Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Off season cartridge decision

I love my 338wm too, but the guys suggesting a fast 7 are making a lot of sense as well... I'm kind of hanging on to my 7wsm for a longer range rifle, myself. The op wants to be "different", why not a 7STW??

Yep, and a good supply of both 7 and 300 wsm brass. The former is used to make up hunting ammo. The later is my choice for range use after setting a false shoulder and CoW fireforming. With periodic annealing these cases last a long time. 300 is also a lot easier to get than the 7 brass.

Moment of truth time-I'd not have bothered with the 7wsm had the rifle not been so inexpensive. It doesn't do anything other than fit into a medium length action that can't be done as well with a 7mm RM. One of these cartridges will still be readily available (re head down and pick it up at Fleet/Farm) 20 years from now, and it isn't Winchester's offering. While this isn't a problem for me, it may be for the rifles next owner AKA my 7 year old cousin. Chances are he'll be a rifle loony, girls aren't in the picture yet, though, so who can say.

Keep it classic with a 300 H&H

if you dont want another mashburn...........a big 300 of some sort


lots of high bc bullets to play with......there is a reason some of the military units have gone 300 win for their sniper rifles

I suspect that you are a horse guy from your picture and if the horse gets to carry the rifle instead of you, then you can go with a bigger, heavier rifle. My Wyoming elk shooting buddy likes his .300 WM and another guy who had a .338 WM liked that a lot, but made the mistake of getting a .338 RUM and it was too much of a good thing. I did just fine with my 7# 7mm RM because I had to carry the rifle and the recoil was tolerable from a lighter weight rifle. There is a perfectly good reason why the 7mm RM is as popular a magnum cartridge as it is, it just flat out works. Boring I know, but it will be around next century when nearly no one can remember a Mashburn or STW 7mm. Lots of us rifle loonies are getting gray around the muzzle and not willing to trek up a mountain after an elk any longer. Thus we have some very respectable custom rifles already built up and sitting in the safe just looking for a better home. In your place, I'd be watching the classified sections.