7mm wsm

wallhanger · Jul 28, 2004

Hey guys, I want your oppinions on the 7mm wsm. In looking at the ballistics tables on federal's website, this little number looks pretty impressive. A 160 grain Nosler carries more energy and shoots flatter than a 165 grain out of a 300 win mag. And the velocities and trajectory of the 140 and 150 grainers would be deadly on muleys. And it does outperform the 7 Rem mag as well. What are your thoughts on this round and short mags in general?

Are shortmags here to stay? I heard early on that the 7 WSM was the step child of the Shortmags when they first came out, but it sure seems like there are more and more rifles being chambered for them. Anyone with the shortmags, how is the recoil? Let me know what you think. This gun would be used for muleys and the occasional elk.

thanks for your input,

WH

kirkl · Jul 28, 2004

I dont know about the 7wsm but im going to be buying a 300wsm soon as I sell a gun.

YukonDall · Jul 31, 2004

WH, YOU MIGHT CONSIDER A 300WSM (JUST A THOUGHT) AS THE LAST ALLROUND GUN YOU MIGHT EVER NEED. I HAVE HAMMERED 300 PLUS LB HOGS WITH MINE, BUT BOUGHT IT FOR ELK/ ALASKA GAME. I SHOOT A 180 GR NOZ. PART. BULLET, SHOOTS FLAT-- HITS LIKE A HAMMER. I WILL TAKE IT TO THE YUKON IN 2005, ON A MIXED BAG HUNT. THE 300WSM DOES NOT KICK BAD AT ALL, I HAVE IT IN A SAKO T3. MOST OF ALL I LIKE THE GROUPS I GET AT 200 YDS. TAKE ER EASY, YD.

RANGERCON · Aug 1, 2004

You mean Tikka T3. Not close to a Sako.

I think I would stay with a .300 WSM too. I don't think the 7WSM is going to be around much longer, and you might have a problem getting ammo.

rost495 · Aug 11, 2004

WH

Not sure about how the round will do for hunting. But for accuracy its sure looking great for long range. It set a new 1 mile accuracy record a while back. I'm going to chamber it in a new 1000 yard bullseye gun to see. It shot the mile record with 180 bergers.

Jeff

wallhanger · Aug 12, 2004

Jeff,

Are you referring to the 7mm wsm, or the 300wsm suggested by the previous posts? Either way, 1 mile is a hell of a long way. All I need is about 300 yards worth of gun.

WH

WAredneck · Aug 16, 2004

I'm not too sure what will happen to the 7mm short mag, but I have a Savage Model 11, in 300 WSM and a Tekka T-3, in .270 WSM. Both of them are nice guns and both shoot like a house a fire. I just got the Tekka so I have not worked up a load for it yet but, I shoot 165 grain Nosler Part. out of the 300. Both of them, shoot under an inch and the reported ballistics are impressive with both. However, the recoil is a tad on the hard side. I had to replaced both recoil pads with Simms pads to tame them down to the point that I enjoy shooting them. I hear that if you shoot a lot you will get used to the recoil, but I'm not there yet.

rost495 · Aug 22, 2004

WH
I keep forgetting to check the email notification.

The mile record was with 7wsm.

For a 300 yard gun you really don't need much. 308 Win will suffice so for that range just pick the one you like. My 308s when zero'd at 200 take 3moa to get to 300 which is about 10 inches drop with 168s.

The plus to the wsms are the case shape that seems to really enhance accuracy. The cases look a lot like the 6.5 Grendel which is basically a 6.5 ppc round. And the Grendel has been shooting around .3-.4 at 300 meters in a wind tunnel. Thats pretty tough.

Good luck, Jeff

Coach Hunt · Aug 24, 2004

Howdy,

Wallhanger, don't be afraid to purchase a good rifle in 7WSM. The key to the whole thing is a GOOD rifle! I bought a Winchester Classic stainless steel synthetic in 7WSM. It is a wonderful rifle for mountains and the sand country where I hunt. Two and three hundred yard shots are the norm here, and occasionally even further shots are the only shots available. The other things to consider are, taming the recoil, ammo supply, and carry comfort. Invest in a good recoil pad, lay in a good supply of ammo (or brass and components if you reload) and make sure you are equiped with a comfortable sling.
The 7WSM did indeed set a new record in 1000 yard target shooting. I expect that it will set a few more. Six out of the twenty one hunter benchrest shooters I know switched to 7WSM in the last 2 years. In a good stiff action, it is one of the very best long distance rounds available. The brass supply now is incredibly consistent. Weights and wall thicknesses are all under 1% variation with out of the box, new brass!
Enjoy your new 7WSM, and let us know how it shoots! Oh, btw, mine is a 1/2" five shot rifle at 100 yards if I do my part! Only difference from stock is glass bedded action and free-floated barrel.

Coach

WIhunter · Aug 28, 2004

I recently bought a HOWA 7mm wsm. I get 3700fps with a 150 gr bullet and I can put 5 shots touching at 200yards. There is a great WSM site that compares them all. http://www.shortmags.org/shortmags/index.html That site will really help u in figuring out what to get.

tyler

m1fan · Aug 28, 2004

I second the accuracy of the Howa. My .300 WSM is incredible.

Coach Hunt · Aug 29, 2004

Howdy,

WIhunter, I agree with the post on Shortmags.com

Good place to go for info and more. I do wonder about your 3700fps with a 150 gr. bullet out of a 7WSM. Please re-check that number and if it is correct.... back off some. I'll bet pressures are incredible in that chamber. Even with a 26 inch barrel, to obtain that kind of velocity, your pressure would be somewhat over 70,000 psi. That Howa is a great rifle. It deserves to be fed ammo that it can digest for a whole lifetime. Speaking of lifetimes, I would grieve a whole lot if something happened to a good friend like you!

Take care.

Coach

wallhanger · Aug 30, 2004

The Tikka T3 is one of the rifles I've been eyeing, but they only chamber rifles in the .270 and .300 WSM right now. That's one of the reasons I posed the question about what you guys think will happen with them. Sounds like they're awefully effective to not make it, though. The Howa is one of the other makes I've heard good things about too.

Thanks for all the input, fellas.

WH

Bambistew · Aug 30, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Aug-30-04 AT 11:27AM (MST)[p]> I recently bought a HOWA
>7mm wsm. I get
>3700fps with a 150 gr
>bullet and I can put
>5 shots touching at 200yards.
> There is a great
>WSM site that compares them
>all. http://www.shortmags.org/shortmags/index.html
>That site will really help
>u in figuring out what
>to get.
>
>
>
>tyler

Not to bust your hump... but that seems a little hot for a round that holds less powder as a standard 7mm remington mag... which can only push a 150 in the 3150 range if loaded hot... an ultra mag cann't get that kind of velocity either. Maybe a typo... I don't know...

My take on them is they'er a gimic... they can't do any thing better than anything that hasn't been done before. The only thing you will gain will be half a pound of wieght reduction by going with a short action thats it... the 300wsm can just keep up with a 300wm with the bullets on the lighter side, but once you hit the 180gr mark the little wsm just doesn't have the case capacity. If I remember right the 300wsm holds about 6 grains less powder than the standard 300wm. Powder capacity makes bullets go fast plain and simple... Same goes for all of the WSM cases, they just don't quite have the volume of the cartriges they were made to replace. The balisic charts are just that... charts. If you compare real world data side by side you will see that the WSM numbers are a little the high side while the "generic" mags are on the average side... therefore it makes them look like they are the same or even a little hotter...

They are great rounds and will have a place right along with many others. Look at some of the obsolete cartiges out there that you can still find ammo for... I think the 7wsm will be around for quite some time. I will put money on it that winchester sold more of them than Remington ever sold of the 350 rem mag... those bullets are still around, I'm sure you will always be able to get the brass too...

rost495 · Aug 30, 2004

Bambistew

The gimic part is partially right. Gotta figure out a way to sell more rifles or they'll go out of business.

But on the other hand the case shape is inherent to being extremely accurate(IE overgrown PPC case) and very efficient. Less powder but same speed as mags. At better accuracy levels than mags or more consistent accuracy and easier to obtain.

I don't buy the less weight theory as being worthwhile though.

Jeff

Bambistew · Aug 31, 2004

You are correct about them being inherently more accurate... but come on these are hunting rifles shot by hunters not competitors... When you get to the point that you are worried about the shape of the case being more accurate because you can only shoot .30" goups it may hold merrit... but again most all hunting rifles are barley able to achieve that level of accuracy if at all.

Again IMO they're a gimic... Tell people they're "more" accurate is just a selling ploy, when 95% of them can only shoot so well AND their rifle is only cabable of a certain level of accuracy anyway. I don't care if its chambered in a 6ppc. 95% of hunters can't shoot well enough to tell the differece between a 7mmPPC and a 243... we're talking peanuts. For match shooters that means something but to the rest of us with loely hunting rifles its a moot point.

Don't take this the wrong way... I love all catriges, and they have thier place but when I hear that the WSM's are the best thing since sliced bread I have to roll my eyes... To the 95% of us that don't shoot all that much, they can't do anything any better than cases that have been around for all most a century.

Is the 300WSM any better than a 300 H&H? I know which one I'd rather have...

Coach Hunt · Aug 31, 2004

LAST EDITED ON Aug-31-04 AT 06:48PM (MST)[p]Howdy,

Gosh Bambi, that sounds strangely reminiscent of the nay sayers around Alexander Graham Bell when he invented the telephone. Nobody thought that it would be any more useful than the telegraph. Let me challenge your thinking about it being a gimmic! Was the first repeating rifle a gimmic? Lots of folks said so at the time. Was the first metalic cartridge a gimmic? Lots of folks said so at the time. Was the first cupr-nickel plated bullet a gimmic? Even the board of directers at Winchester said it was at the time. Was the first Nosler Partition bullet a gimmic? We could go on and on. Nothing has been invented that hasn't had its detracters, but I personally think that the WSMs and the SAUMs are here to stay. They are just the next generation of improvements. Best to you, have a great hunting season, and let us know how you do!

Coach

redrabbit · Aug 31, 2004

Bambistew,
I must definitely agree with you that hunters' rifles are generally more accurate in the field than their shooting abilities will allow.
However, I laugh inside when I think "what if" the WSM was introduced 40 years prior and the Winnie came years later with the belt(what problem does it really create if you resize off the shoulder) and longer action (longer bolt throw and a couple of ounces of metal). I grant that the H&H will feed slickeest of the three. I own both the WSM and the Winnie, and say it's a toss-up and the better is due to the trued action and quality barrel. Recoil difference is neglible and stock configuration is a major factor in any difference. Fooey on the powder difference.

Doug/RedRabbit

YukonDall · Aug 31, 2004

COACH HUNT, VERY WELL STATED. THIS IS THE NEXT GENERATION OF IMPROVEMENTS. THE WSM SEEMS TO BE SCARING PEOPLE OFF WITH ITS TECHNOLOGY. WAY TOO MANY HUNTERS HIGHLY APPROVE OF THIS ROUND, DUE TO ITS SALE VOLUME. A QUICK LOOK AT " SHORT MAGS .ORG WILL EXPLAIN ITS ORIGIN/ TECHNOLOGY. I HAVE REFERRED A FEW NAYSAYERS TO THIS SITE. THERE ARE NOW MORE WSM OWNERS, AND LESS NAYSAYERS. YOU DID MAKE SOME EXCELLENT POINTS. TAKE ER EASY, YD.