Thread: 7mm rem mag vs 300 wsm

Gotta love those Tikka's they seem to shoot well in all calibers.

Just my two cents, the 7mm rem is a belted magnum versus the 300wsm which is a rimmed cartridge. The 7mm rem is a long action versus the 300wsm which is a short, is that a consideration. Downrange the 300wsm hits hard closer and downrange while the 7mm rem flies faster and flatter. So I suppose its what you what to with it. My choice between the two would probably lean towards the 300wsm. But I made a compromise and I'm rebarreling my Tikka t3 270wsm to 6.5wsm to take advantage of some of the better bc bullets out there. Either way a new caliber is always fun so I'm sure you will be happy either way.

An old farts view is that the 308 kills better than a 7-08 'cos of the bigger hole. My experience is the same with the 7RM v 300 (albeit limited with the 7RM) - bigger, mushier, bleedier, deaderer.

For the few clicks of extra elevation and windage its not worth worrying about at "normal" (6-700 yards) long range is it?

I would get the 7mm RM. Personally not a fan of the short magnums.
IMO what you gain, (slightly less weight, and only in an action that IS length specific i.e sako), it not worth the reduced barrel life, expensive brass, less common ammo, not as capable of running heavy pills etc.
I would personally go the 7mm, and id also choose a regular .300wm over the WSM.
The belt can be completely ignored for reloading purposes.

It all depends on what you want to do with it, long range hunting or steel?. Considering what projectiles, velocity needed for energy transfer for a given maximum distance and will it in the magazine?. Had a Tikka and Browning A-bolt 300wsm, back then 400m-600m was a long range shot in those days and I only had a rangefinder that went to 400m and had no Ballistic apps so did it old school and had to validate ever drop in 25m increments out to 600m.
If i had to do it all over again 7mm rem mag for ease available components and rifle resale.

Originally Posted by ohearchai

The 7mm rem is a long action versus the 300wsm which is a short, is that a consideration.

That's why my mate jas went away from the 7mm and got a 300wsm. He was happy with the performance but not the long bolt throw.

It's tough having to choose one or the other so have both, I have a 7mm Mag and had a 300 WSM and liked them both. They both kill well, the 300 has more up close energy and I think hits harder than the 7mm Mag but in saying that nothing really argues with the 7mm Mag. The 300 WSM kicks harder which makes the 7mm an easier caliber to master. Both are very good at what they were designed to do.

I don't think killing power is an issue with either cartridge and if it lives in NZ then you should be able to kill it with a 7mmRM at reasonable hunting ranges.
To get the 30cal shooting the same BC projectile at the same velocity (160gn 7mm roughly equates to 200gn 30cal) you are in for much heavier recoil. If you can live with that the 30cal magnums are great.
As a Tikka owner, the short action cartridges hold no real advantage over the traditional 300WM (which would be my pick of the 30s) but I would be more than happy carrying either 7mm or 300.

Originally Posted by stagstalker

I just went down a similar path. Ended up with a rem mag. Nice to shoot for a magnum and ballistically superior. The WSM will have more energy on impact with more recoil but suffer more for wind drift etc.

How will it suffer more from wind drift?