Thread: Short fat ones!!

Currently shoot a 300wsm Tikka, 24 inch barrel. Love it to bits but want to build a shorter version. Don’t want a standard centrefire cartridge so looking at building another 300wsm at 18 inches or going to 7mm. I know the short barrels will only really take up to 168 gr so my question is to do with the reloading if I was to build a 7mmSAUM or 7-300 wsm.

Will the 7mm give me better ballistics than the 300 in the same weight pills? And if they do is it easier to go with the 7-300 wsm and neck down the brass I currently use anyway or go with 7mm SAUM and different brass altogether.

Does fired 300 wsm brass just get bumped back with standard die then necked down with bushing die to make 7-300 wsm?

Would be nice to shoot out to 5-600 metres with plenty of grunt in a short package. I know I could go with .284 but I like my magnums.

Mcnotty why shorten a wsm it seems kinda counter productive to me . You use a the same amount of powder to achieve less velocity and for what? a barrel that is only 6 inches shorter and short magnums are hard on cans . I think the 284 size case is probably as big as you need go for the distance your trying to reach and you can have one in 30 cal if you want to keep your costs down by having bullets you can use in both guns . Just my thoughts

leave the WSM.

build a 7 SAUM, better case design for a short action. 7WSM has about 50 fps advantage and you can still get factory ammo for it. Just make sure your mags are set up for a long OAL when reloading with the WSM.

If its a hunting rifle only then nothing wrong with, 6.5WSM or 7WSM at full throttle providing you are not using it as a gong gun will last ages.

7mm in 160 - 168 gn pills is going to get you much superior ballistics.
Personally I would not shorten wsm or saum below 20 in, you just wasting powder & giving away more fps.
SAUM probably better in the shorter bbl length but won’t give you much if any advantage over the 284

Ive got a 20" fluted 300saum based on an A7. Best hunting rifle I have ever had. Easy to use and carry. Superbly accurate. Kills really well out to my max of 450-500 yds but the data says it would be good for way over that.

168 grn @ 3000-3100fps. 150 grn Barnes @ 3150-3200. Using 2208, N550 and R17.

DPT suppressor that I swap between that and a 22" 270WSM which would have had over 500 shots through it so far. No problems.

Originally Posted by Tahr

Ive got a 20" fluted 300saum based on an A7. Best hunting rifle I have ever had. Easy to use and carry. Superbly accurate. Kills really well out to my max of 450-500 yds but the data says it would be good for way over that.

168 grn @ 3000-3100fps. 150 grn Barnes @ 3150-3200. Using 2208, N550 and R17.

DPT suppressor that I swap between that and a 22" 270WSM which would have had over 500 shots through it so far. No problems.

Got any pics @Thar?

All these people hating on short barrels . They obviously hunt paddocks and possibly at night off the bonnet of their ute . I have a 18 inch tikka 300 wsm and I love it dropped me good tahr at 330 yards and eats up the reds too done over 300 rounds and the suppressor is still in pretty good condition I just use the dpt with stainless first baffle not super fast speeds but still enough 168amax doing 2840. Brass has been through quite a few reloads too. Speed is not everything it's just a few more clicks on your scope .

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No one is “hating on short barrels”, just pointing out the pluses and minuses, and personal preferences. If you want to shoot longer ranges then speed and BC are your best friends.

I can’t say I’m not influenced by the cool factor but I’m still pretty young so I don’t really care, one I’ll probably see the light but everyone loves having a few different toys. I think of a barrel or suppressor as consumables in a hobby I really enjoy, plus I’d struggle to put more than 150-200 rounds a year through any of guns apart from the shottie.
Cheers for the advice chaps.

Originally Posted by McNotty

Got any pics @Thar?

Hardy 20" fluted barrel. Stug carbon stock. Aliexpress cheek pad (cheap. I like cheap). Caldwell bi-pod, light and sturdy, and cheap (I like cheap). Tract 3-15 'scope with ballistic turret for 150 grn Barnes @ 3147 fps. Deer slayer.

Shot this Sika at 350 odd yards.

Very nice tahr looks like a good workhorse of a rig . None of these animals could tell the difference between 18 and 24 inches

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Originally Posted by Phill243

Very nice tahr looks like a good workhorse of a rig . None of these animals could tell the difference between 18 and 24 inches

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What projectiles do you use @Phill243 ?
Oh, and what calibre?

Go the 7 saum for something different. I personally wouldn't want to run 2 guns with identical brass and very nearly identical looking bullets, asking for a kaboom IMO.

7 will have better ballistics on paper than the 30 as you have to go to 208gr in the 30 to match the 162 bc in the 7mm. That said both will hammer a deer out further than most should be shooting

168 amax and 300wsm. Ideally I would have built a 7mm wsm or saum for better ballistics but I was on a budget and the 300 come up cheap so that's why I went down that route . And so far I'm really happy with it . Shot two good bulls that trip and one I recovered bullet in a good mushroom on opposite side under skin and other tahr couldn't find it but both dropped on spot like a bag of spuds . From 320 and 330 yards

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