Hi everyone, my uncle and I share a 300WSM we both use the rifle for hunting in the winter and I use it for plinking targets and gophers at long range over the summer. I guess it's overkill for a prairie dog rifle but I've found that it's easier to make the long shots with the 300 WSM then my savage 22-250 and the recoil really doesn't bother me in fact I shoot it all day and I really enjoy it. I have thought about a .243 but I don't think it would have the hitting power for long shots on deer in the winter.
In any case me and my uncle have been talking about a 7WSM or 7SAUM. Right now I shoot the 175 grain sierra match king and it works fairly decent but I've always been a 7mm fan and the 7's look like they hold a pretty good BC advantage over the .30's. Anyway I've heard from allot of people that when we re-barrel the rifle it's possible to make the change being that the bolt face is the same for all the WSM cartridges. is this true? or is there more involved then a barrel swap it seems to me that there would be more to it then just changing the barrel, but then I don't really know allot about gun smithing I'm more of an admirer of tradesmen ship then a tradesmen. anyway that's my question I just wanted a dependable answer, and I know the shooters on this board are generally more knowledgeable then the people I know LOL.
The goal is to be able to launch 175-180 grain rounds around 3000 fps,if it's a little slower it's not a real big deal), hopefully out of a 26" barrel but 30" wouldn't be to cumbersome,all shooting is done from bench or prone with bi-pod or sand bags. the rifle is not packed around to much so carrying it isn't too much of a problem, it usually only makes it 30ft from the truck or quad LOL) The rifle currently has a Remington 700 action, for me it wouldn't be a problem if the rounds didn't feed from a magazine as I usually load single anyway. during hunting season it would be nice, but we would load a shorter hunting round then anyway,I hand load all my rounds) . I like the 7 WSM but would prefer the 7SAUM for the longer neck length and more versatile seating depths. what would be involved in this change? and what are your opinions, I think it would definitely scare some prairie dogs and the odd deer or elk in the winter.
In any case me and my uncle have been talking about a 7WSM or 7SAUM. Right now I shoot the 175 grain sierra match king and it works fairly decent but I've always been a 7mm fan and the 7's look like they hold a pretty good BC advantage over the .30's. Anyway I've heard from allot of people that when we re-barrel the rifle it's possible to make the change being that the bolt face is the same for all the WSM cartridges. is this true? or is there more involved then a barrel swap it seems to me that there would be more to it then just changing the barrel, but then I don't really know allot about gun smithing I'm more of an admirer of tradesmen ship then a tradesmen. anyway that's my question I just wanted a dependable answer, and I know the shooters on this board are generally more knowledgeable then the people I know LOL.
The goal is to be able to launch 175-180 grain rounds around 3000 fps,if it's a little slower it's not a real big deal), hopefully out of a 26" barrel but 30" wouldn't be to cumbersome,all shooting is done from bench or prone with bi-pod or sand bags. the rifle is not packed around to much so carrying it isn't too much of a problem, it usually only makes it 30ft from the truck or quad LOL) The rifle currently has a Remington 700 action, for me it wouldn't be a problem if the rounds didn't feed from a magazine as I usually load single anyway. during hunting season it would be nice, but we would load a shorter hunting round then anyway,I hand load all my rounds) . I like the 7 WSM but would prefer the 7SAUM for the longer neck length and more versatile seating depths. what would be involved in this change? and what are your opinions, I think it would definitely scare some prairie dogs and the odd deer or elk in the winter.
