.300 WSM vs .300 win.

[BlackWolf]

If you could only own one of these 2 which would it be and why.  As I understand it so far, the .300 win will perform better with heavy bullets but will have more recoil with any given bullet....  the .300 WSM drops off in velocity too much to use bullets heavier than 180-200 grains but has more "inherent accuracy" and less "felt recoil".  Are these just marketing ploys or is this a valid caliber for everything from white tailed deer up to elk and moose?

Bw

[Lone Star]

Personally I'd stick with the .300 Win Mag....I know it will be around for many years while the future of the WSM cartridges may be in doubt, and a long action rifle doesn't bother me at all.  The WSM gets between 50 and 150 fps less velocity with 180 and 220-grain bullets according to Hodgdon and IMR - there is no extra penalty for the 220s if anyone mistakenly thinks they are needed.  Recoil will be less from the WSM for two reasons - it burns less powder and it gets lower velocities.  But if it is chambered in lighter rifles than the WinMag the felt recoil may be close to the same.
 

[msorenso]

I second the 300 win mag...  I have both and I still like the 300 win better that the wsm version!

[BlackWolf]

Does the win mag really offer anything over the wsm for bullets 150-180 grains?  I can't imagine that it would require any more bullet than that to adequately take black bear, elk, or moose let alone deer.

[kudzu]

My vote goes to the 300RUM!!!

[killdeer]

Does the win mag really offer anything over the wsm for bullets 150-180 grains?  I can't imagine that it would require any more bullet than that to adequately take black bear, elk, or moose let alone deer.

   You can take the same approach comparing the 300 WSM to 30-06 or 30-06 to 308.  If you can't see the need somewhere along the line you'll end up shooting a 30-30.


                                                 KD

[Coyote Hunter]

If you could only own one of these 2 which would it be and why.  As I understand it so far, the .300 win will perform better with heavy bullets but will have more recoil with any given bullet....  the .300 WSM drops off in velocity too much to use bullets heavier than 180-200 grains but has more "inherent accuracy" and less "felt recoil".  Are these just marketing ploys or is this a valid caliber for everything from white tailed deer up to elk and moose?

Bw

As far as I’m concerned, the .300 WSM and .300 Win Mag are ballistic twins for all practical purposes.  Nosler’s 5th shows the WSM at 2762fps with a 220g bullet, 5fps faster than the .300 Win Mag.  Wit 180g bullets its 3082fps for the WSM and 3160fps for the Win Mag.  Other manuals show other velocities, so take your pick.

The “inherent accuracy” of the WSM is meaningless if you are comparing it to an accurate Win Mag.  Lets say you have a Win Mag that shoots 1.5” groups and a WSM that shoots 0.5” groups. Ignoring other factors, at 400 yards the WSM will have a 2” group while the Win Mag will have a 6” group.  Put another way, the WSM bullet will land no more than 1” from the point of aim (group center) while the Win Mag bullet could land up to 3” away from point of aim.  But many Win Mags will shoot under an inch at 100 yards, which means a 4” group – or less - at 400 yards.  In that case the bullet would land within 2” of point of aim and the WSM will have done better by a whole 1”.   I would suggest that if 1” makes a difference you should seriously reconsider taking the shot in the first place.

As to being a valid caliber for “everything from white tailed deer up to elk and moose?”, the answer is “Yes”.  For both cartridges.

[Coyote Hunter]

Oops, double post, sort of.

[nomosendero]

Of course, both will do well for most North American game. If you were starting from scratch, you may consider other factors such as the type of
rifle you want, weight & other issues. I have a Win. Mod. 70 custom rifle
in 30-06 AI that takes care of my needs for a light carry rifle of this caliber, (not used often), it will get within about 50-75 fps of the average
300 wsm with favored 180 Gr. bullets, which I favor for this application & I use a Sendero in 300WM for the longer ranges for this caliber, because it has a 26" & throated to take advantage of that Rem. Magnum length action, it will push a 200 Gr. Accubonds to 3,000fps, a short action 300 WSM with the normal 24" just can't get there. To boot, I would be lucky to
find a WSM or another 300WM for that matter that will group like this rifle
at long range, therefore I have no application or use for a 300WSM whatsoever, but it is a decent cartridge. Sorry, gun writers, that's the way
it is. But again, it would be ok for a first 300mag, no doubt.

I like the 270WSM though, because it gives me more than I can get out of a 270, a great round in it's own right.

[jro45]

I own the 300 Win Mag and the 300 RUM. You can see where my vote goes.                           Love my 300's

[nasem]

I vote for 300 win mag, (however my fav long range caliber is 7mm)

[BlackWolf]

I have to be honest, I'm leaning towards the WSM.  The gun local gun shop has 2 Weatherby Vanguard's on the shelf - 1 in .300 WSM and the other in .300 Win Mag.  I've lovingly fondled both and I have to admit that I like the WSM has to offer and I don't know that I'll ever need what it doesn't offer.  Is there anything in North America (excluding the big bears which I'm pretty sure I could never afford anyhow) that would require more than the 150-180 grain optimal bullets for the WSM?  In my mind right now I think that the 180 grain bullets from the WSM will have similar velocities to the win mag - more potential accuracy inherited from the case itself and less recoil.  If hunting for a larger species of game I'm pretty sure that I'd want to step up the gun size to the .338 or .375 area anyhow...  

Help me understand what I'm missing before I buy the darn thing  Oh and my concern is that with the demise of Winchester guns, will winchester ammo be hanging around, and will federal continue to produce factory loads for the WSM?  I plan on starting to reload at some point in the future but I need to stockpile brass for a long while first.....

[Redhawk1]

The 300 Win Mag hands down. Also you can find the ammo almost anywhere, but hard to find 300WSM.  

[roper]

One of the problems with the 300wsm is they are pretty short throated and I don't follow that they are more  inherently accurate due to case design.  If you pull up  the 1000yd match results you will see a 6.5wsm that is doing pretty good in the light rifle along with the 6.5x284.  In all my years of deer and elk hunting I've use 165gr/180gr 30 caliber bullets.  If I get drawn for a moose tag this year I'll use either bullet.
The 300mag case does have better case capacity when looking at bullets over 180gr.  In real world shooting over a chronograph they are pretty close in velocity up to 180gr bullet.  I own a 300wsm and 300mag custom  and my 300wsm is at the gunsmiths getting a longer throat.  Well good luck.

[longwinters]

Ask to see the targets that came with them and then make up your mind.  I have not shot either one but a few times so I cannot say one way or the other.  I am sure you will like either one.

Long

[nasem]

not trying to start anything here, but if you want a good and accurate 30 caliber bullet, whats wrong with the 30-06 ?  deer / elk / moose if this is your pile then the 06 is plenty.  I highly doubt your going to be taking shots at an elk or a moose at over 300-400 yards, so the extra speed of the 300 win mag or WSM wouldn't really mater all that much.

[Coyote Hunter]

...whats wrong with the 30-06 ?  ...I highly doubt your going to be taking shots at an elk or a moose at over 300-400 yards, so the extra speed of the 300 win mag or WSM wouldn't really mater all that much.

Although the longest shot I have ever taken on big game was 350 yards (dropped a nice 6x5 bull elk), I wouldn't hesitate to take a longer shot if conditions were right.  Dropped a coyote at 479 lasered yards last weekend, should be able to hit an elk at that range.

While I agree the venerable .30-06 is a great cartridge, I'd prefer my .300 Win Mag for those long shots.

So far, though, 24 years and I have yet to take a poke my .308 Win couldn't have handled.  So I sure can't say you're wrong.