advantages of 300WSM to the 7mm'ers

[bsumoba]

I see a number of guys shooting 300WSM, but I just ran some ballistic numbers with typical velocities (2900fps & 180gr hybrid | 2800fps & 230gr hybrid) and it seems that the 7mm offerings like the 7SAUM, 7 WSM or even the 284 Shehane ballistically closely match the 300 WSM say out to 1500 yards and the advantages are minimal and the drawback is a bigger recoiling round, and more money on reloading components.

Am I missing something here? I'm looking for a round that can double as a long range round out to a mile for targets as well as perform well in f-class matches. If the 284 Shehane (which is what I have now) is GTG for all that and there is very little benefit to going to the 300 WSM or other 30 cal offerings, then I rather spend my money on more components or maybe just go big and go 300 RUM or 300 Win Mag for extreme long range shooting. I am limited to a mag bolt.

 

[dkhunt14]

If I want to shoot at a mile I want a big 338 with a 300 grain bullet. You could do an Edge on a mag bolt face. If you ever shot different calibers at a mile or more you would see why. Matt

 

[Alex Wheeler]

If I want to shoot at a mile I want a big 338 with a 300 grain bullet. You could do an Edge on a mag bolt face. If you ever shot different calibers at a mile or more you would see why. Matt

Bingo. Even a .338 gets thrown around at a mile. A Shehane at a mile would not be much fun. My 338 starts to get un predictable just past 2k. Keep your shehane for f-class and build a 1 mile rig, JMO.

 

[wboggs]

bsumoba There are no free lunches unless you are on welfare. Heed the advice you have been given. You are about to enter a very specialized game.

 

[bartman007]

bsumoba, I subscribe to your point of view too! (mild recoil / longer barrel life / cheaper projies / less powder)

You have the ability to run 2900 fps out to 1000 yards, then to go further you have the boiler room to run the 180gn projies at 3100 fps.

Case life in the RSAUM is great if you stay under 3000 fps, however for those extra long ranges (1100 yards onwards) you could occasionally load up.

 

[rickiesrevenge]

I've shot my 7mm dakota at steel to 2018. Its a xp-100 so it has a much shorter barrel. Does it get blown around a bit in the wind? You bet ya. I think you can get a bit more out of the 300 wsm than 2800. Depends on your barrel though.

 

[dragman]

the 7MM for most bullets has better B.C's better velocities and less recoil, so it's the hands down winner right??? Nope IMHO for a "1" gun choice go 300WSM.

A real hummer in a 7 is damn near impossible to beat, but 300WSM's will shoot with gravel and sand I think.

 

[284driver]

I've shot my 7mm dakota at steel to 2018. Its a xp-100 so it has a much shorter barrel. Does it get blown around a bit in the wind? You bet ya. I think you can get a bit more out of the 300 wsm than 2800. Depends on your barrel though.

I would like to see a pic of that XP if you don't mind.

 

[snowpro440]

I have both the calibers and my go to gun is the 300wsm hands down.

 

[dkhunt14]

But when you want to hunt and shoot at a mile the 338 is the go to gun. You must be able to see hits and washes go. Yes if your out in the open you can see others. But if the wind is blowing 20 and changing I want my 338 with the 300 grain bullets. It is hard seeing hits in the leaves and woods with smaller calibers. I have shot groundhogs to a mile with 30 cal. but that is in fields and when wind isn't blowing like in the winter. I love all my 300 WSM's but I choose not to use them way out. Matt

 

[MLC]

What elevation will you be shooting 1500 to a mile?
What type of terrain and spotting conditions?
Do you have an optic that will accurately allow you to see hits and misses, laser range finder and a good spotter/partner?
Does your scope or spotting scope have a reticle that will allow you to make windage calls and adjustments easily?
A whole bunch depends on those factors.

I don't disagree with what the proponents of the 338 and 30's are saying.
The big bores definitely offer more mass and BC to fight the wind and will be more forgiving to errors in wind and distance calls.

I will say however, that a 7 isn't a bad choice in favorable elevation and spotting conditions.
My friend and I shoot +/- 4500asl in high desert with good results.
He's using a Kimber sporterized VZ 24 Mauser with a sporter barrel in 7mm Rem mag and until recently a 10x mildot Tasco Super Sniper.
He can pummel steel with a 162 AMAX pretty well out to 1400-1600.
Last time we shot it was in the high 20's and a decent amount of varying winds.
I gave him the data I was using at 1475 and he got a cold bore center of mass hit on an E type.
I have shot my 6.5 to 1790+ yards and was limited by elevation in my optic, the coarse hashmarks on the horizontal plane of my reticle(NP-R2) and most of all by my wind reading.
The bullet(142 Sierra @ 3150) was still moving along nicely and faster than the 162 as evidenced by a bullet I recovered from his rifle.

 

[bsumoba]

To bogg's point, there are no free lunches.

that being said, i decided to go with a 338 Edge for my ELR.

6.5 creedmoor for tactical, mag feeding, off hand, shots to 1K, but more realistically to 800 yards competitively. Yes, this round can do more, but my next cartridge will handle the rest.

284 Shehane for 800 out to probably 1300 yards.

338 Edge for 1K+ out to a mile.


Im going to wait for the 7mm 195gr'er and see if that will hammer and dominate in F-Class. I wonder what kind of results I would get with that bullet in a 284 Sheahane

 

[rickiesrevenge]

For hunting I can see the 338. LOTS more energy. I can also see where the spash of misses would be a lot more pronounced making it easier to call corrections.

 

[Rtheurer]

First off I have to say that im a stuborn SOB. I was looking to shoot a Mile back around 2002. Just like here, folks where telling me you cant get there with anything less than the almighty 338 magnums. I started to research what I had in my safe and the two that could potentially get there where a 6.5X284 and 7mm Rem Mag. I again was told that it was stupid to even try it with either of the above rifles.
Like a lot of you here im sure...Don't tell me I cant do something....Ha!
I worked my way out to 1600 real easy with both cartridges. I found that my Match rifle in 6.5X284 the way it was set up would need some changes that I didn't want to do since it was my primary 1000 yard match rifle so I worked on the ole 7Rem mag.
162gr A Max @ 2970fps at 1400altitude had no problems even in 30* weather.
Moral of the story... you have what you need to get there if you want to, all with out spending a ton of money. Not that im against getting a new gun by any means. We all like new toys. Is the 7mm the best choice. Maybe not. Can it be done... Certainly.
I think everyone here weather your a 338, 30 or 7mm supporter, we can all agree that getting there is half the fun. It took me about a full year of planning testing and replacing some bases and scopes to get it done and boy did I have fun.
Best of luck to ya.
Russ T

 

[TonyR]

I can only comment from an F-Class perspective but here goes. From a theoretical point of view, you can show superior wind drift performance by the big 30s but as someone said earlier, that comes at a price. I know a lot of people who shot the big 30s well and they have all told me they have had to make substantial adjustments to their gun handling in order to shot them well so I think it is fair to say that some of the superior wind drift is likely to be offset by some amount of gun handling difficulty. The same has been true for the F-T/R shooters who have worked with the big Bergers.

For those planning to shoot the FC Worlds in Ottawa, be sure to look up Steve Blair's safety template for the Connaught Range which shows the maximum velocity for a given BC on that range. I believe that these safety limits will narrow whatever ballistic advantages the big 30s enjoy and I think the same will be true of the 7mm Berger 195 gr Hybrid if it ever shows up on the shelves.

As for observations from matches I've attended, the top three finishers at our recent regional were shooting a 300WSM, a straight 284 and a 7RSAUM and they were very tight scores by three outstanding shooters. I shot pair fire at Connaught this summer with a 300WSM and won that particular pair by 2 Vs shooting a 7RSAUM.

So, based on what I've seen, I conclude that a big 30 pushed to its own limits is likely to give the shooter who can handle one a slight but real advantage in a big agg at the highest levels of competition. It remains to be seen whether there is a meaningful advantage under the Connaught safety limits, and I doubt that there is any advantage if the shooter can't deal with the recoil and other gun handling issues.

 

[KT]

I can only comment from an F-Class perspective but here goes. From a theoretical point of view, you can show superior wind drift performance by the big 30s but as someone said earlier, that comes at a price. I know a lot of people who shot the big 30s well and they have all told me they have had to make substantial adjustments to their gun handling in order to shot them well so I think it is fair to say that some of the superior wind drift is likely to be offset by some amount of gun handling difficulty. The same has been true for the F-T/R shooters who have worked with the big Bergers.

For those planning to shoot the FC Worlds in Ottawa, be sure to look up Steve Blair's safety template for the Connaught Range which shows the maximum velocity for a given BC on that range. I believe that these safety limits will narrow whatever ballistic advantages the big 30s enjoy and I think the same will be true of the 7mm Berger 195 gr Hybrid if it ever shows up on the shelves.

As for observations from matches I've attended, the top three finishers at our recent regional were shooting a 300WSM, a straight 284 and a 7RSAUM and they were very tight scores by three outstanding shooters. I shot pair fire at Connaught this summer with a 300WSM and won that particular pair by 2 Vs shooting a 7RSAUM.

So, based on what I've seen, I conclude that a big 30 pushed to its own limits is likely to give the shooter who can handle one a slight but real advantage in a big agg at the highest levels of competition. It remains to be seen whether there is a meaningful advantage under the Connaught safety limits, and I doubt that there is any advantage if the shooter can't deal with the recoil and other gun handling issues.

Very well said Tony! I think when shooting the 300WSM it all comes down to handling. Can you handle the recoil and can you get it to track in the bags! When I say handle the recoil, that means can you fire the 150th shot in a weekend just like you fired the first one. ( I strugled with this for a while and I'm still not sure I have it mastered)

KT

 

[21shooter]

Hi, The 300wsm will pound You in f-class. Somtimes firing 80rnds a day.
In f-class I shoot the 7 shehane 180gr hyb. 3,000fps very comfortable.
The 7 shehane will do very well at over a mile.
Thanks, John