As many of you are already aware from one of my other threads, I have a 300WSM that I'm going to get rebarreled soon. I wanted to start a new thread with a more focused topic. I know this has probably been debated a ton already and if there's a good thread here in the archives that answers my questions, please point me to it.

I only have 2 rifles right now that are "all weather" including the Win M70 300WSM that I'm going to get rebarreled and turned into a custom rifle. The other all weather is a Hill Country Rifles .270 Win that I can use when hunting without my wife, but when she's with me, that's her backpacking rifle. I've done a lot of research on ballistics, bullets, brass and factory load availability, etc., and I'm very torn on what to do. Though I don't intend on this being my last custom gun I ever get done, if it ends up being that way, I want it to be able to handle any North American game up to Brown Bear/Grizzley. I will get at least a .338 if I get the chance to hunt big bear. I know that either of these cartriges will handle all those animals with the right bullet selection. I'm hoping to hear from a lot of you that have had experience with these two cartriges and I want to hear all the pros and cons you guys can come up with. I do reload though I'm still very much a rookie in that aspect. Thanks in advance for your opinions.

Oh man here it comes

Big difference in size I'm told 'tween Kodiak or Coastal grizz and Inland critters....easier access to the primary food source for weeks/months longer for the Coastal bears. Talk to Dawaba for the straight skinny on this.

When I was doing my SAKO thing years ago, I sold a limited run of 375H&H 20" carbines in Mickey stocks of ummm mebbe couple 2-3+ dozen guns to the Alaska Fishing Guides Assc in a really short light configuration, with Williams iron sights.

My sample weighed about 7lbs and a scootch without a scope and was not bad to shoot at all....except when seated at a bench...and is the only gun that ever unseated me and laid me out flat on my back on the sidewalk. Only thing hurt was my pride.

Off hand it was sweet and accurate in 300gr'ers, shooting back of my hand sized groups at 100 yards. It was designed to ride on a sling over your shooting shoulder upside down, and the butt was no higher than your shoulder so's you could cast a fly rod without fighting the gun's butt on the back cast. Stoeger refused to let me buy the sample gun, as the stock was a McMillan prototype and they wanted it back. Oh well

If you are going to hunt Coastal bears @ 40-60% larger, I'd be looking at a 400 caliber something for a Stopper...but then I never could or would plan on running fast either.

The National Gun of Alaska seems to be a 338WMg, but have never been there and that may be just some folks foolin with a Flat Lander from Texas too.
Ron

I mispoke. I will go 338 or larger for big bears if I ever hunt them. Consider this rifle for Elk and smaller.

If you do ever decide to build a rifle for Alaska, it would be hard to improve on the basic .338WM. Premium bullets of 250 grs are about ideal for the big bears, and you can choose 200-210 gr bullets for everything else. As important as caliber, consider the weather issues you may encounter in our 49th state:

As much as my heart is warmed by Turkish walnut and faultless blueing, Alaska fairly begs for synthetic stocks and stainless metal (or Cerakote). Also, too many hunters choose scopes that are too powerful. For Alaska, where you will often find yourself sorting out angry animals in the spruce and alders, you want a scope that has the smallest low-power you can get....1.5-2.5 being close to ideal. High end power is much less important....6, up to 9, tops. A reliably-weatherproof scope of 1.5x6 or 2.5x8 seems about right to me after 14 trips and 5 bears in Alaska.

Edit to add: IMO, an outfit for Alaska should also have Weaver-style rings and bases. With a coin, the hunter can quickly employ irons should the need arise. I also think that an extra scope, pre-sighted at home, might be handy should your primary scope get damaged or ship water; Weaver rings and bases make this exchange simple and reliable.

7wsm or saum would be my choice.

Guys, I just don't understand all this .338 and .400 claiber stuff....with the right bullet placement a .223 would be a great caliber! I mean there's no recoil and it's a lot easier to place the bullet right where you want it so I vote for an AR in .223!

If you're like most of us "elk and smaller" means 90% deer.

I'd go with the 270WSM. Better match for Bambi and, with the right bullet, perfectly adequate for the occasional elk.

375 load down or up. I have taken game the size of Cape Buffalo, and Eland with the 375. It will wack a bear with authority, yet reach out and hit an elk at 300 yards. It is easy to shoot, and has a wide range of bullets. I have a 375 WBY (375 HH imp) 375 RUM, but the HH works great. Not much you can't do with the 300 and the 375. With the 270 you just limit your bullet selection. 300 you have from 110-200 grain then your 375 picks up from 235-350 grains...from coyote to Cape Buffalo!

A 375 Cape buffalo:



A 375 RUM Livingston eland:



Just my two cents

your post ".270wsm vrs .300wsm" is almost comparing apples to oranges. take out the wsm equation and look at it that way. if I had to choose between the two. .300 winmag, (forget the wsm) If I really had plans for Alaskan bear nothing less that .338 winmag

If I were to build a custom, it wouldn't be based on a WSM case. I like to shoot the heavy bullets for higher BC bullets and heavier projectiles for penetration. If the rifle is a short action, you can not fit the heavy, high BC bullets in the magazine, so you will need a long action. If I'm building it on a long action, I'm going 300 WM, no doubt.

If you are building a long action, why not go 300 WBY or 300 Ultra...I agree why limit to a WSM case. I have a custom 300WSM and like it but like my 300 WBY accumark too...

LMAO !!!!!

I say its hard to beat anything in 30 cal mag, though if I were hunting brownies, I would want my 375 H&H or 416 Rem Mag. I shoot both well and they both have enough thump to give me a chance at making it through the encounter in one piece. An angry wounded bear is not something to be taken lightly, they are tenacious.

I think he is saying he is keeping the .270 win and he will get another rifle for the big bears.

So he is just asking about the other two calibers for everything else. I would go .300 WSM. It's not as hard as people are making it-either will work for your purposes. Just depends on whether having a little lighter rifle with a little less recoil is more important than having a bigger cartridge with a little more power.

There is going to be a lot of "pet cartridge" and minutia talk mostly applicable to extreme long range shooting that will stray from your question.

It's your personal decision. The things that matter to you may not matter to others and vice versa.

I have mountain rifles in both calibers: a .270 WSM Nosler Custom 48 and a .300 WSM Sako Finnlight. I will take the former when after medium sized non-dangerous game like sheep and deer only and the latter if I am after elk, moose, interior grizzly.

If I ever go after coastal brownies I will take my .338 WM or larger.

I think everybody already knows my take on .277"

I will dig a little deeper.

I am a fan of cup and core bullets for deer-sized game. This means a .277 caliber or above as a minimum for me even for medium sized game only, as I want the added bullet weight.

With a copper or good bonded bullet, the .270 WSM is perfectly fine for all NA game short of the big bears. But, the .300 WSM is simply better for the larger game. I use copper or bonded bullets for larger, heavier game-but still prefer the added bullet weight of a .30 caliber.

That's why I would vote .300 WSM if I had to pick only one.

...and why I like shooting my 9.3x62 instead of a 375 H&H, that performs like a 338Wmg only softer on the shoulder. A "Stopper" is just what it sounds like, and I favor a 416 something over the 375 H&H for Stopping a wounded Kodiak Grizzly at the up close and personal ranges that I was referring to, based on conversations with my former clients who like Dawaba has a great deal more experience than I do on THAT subject.

Inland Brown Bears, I'm told, are another subject altogether, and why the Guide Assc thought the SAKO 375H&H carbine was adequate when Ursus didn't want to wait for you to get out of HIS fishing hole.
Ron

Have you shot out the current 300WSM barrel? Why are you re-barreling it?

Crash and Deerhunter, I personally know an Inupiat Eskimo near Nome who carries a Ruger Mini 14 when running his trap line. He uses whatever ammo and bullet he can buy at the local co-op and considers the .223 absolutely PERFECT for grizzlies. And more than a few starry-eyed guys here on the THF feel adequately armed for big bears carrying nothing more than a sidearm chambered for a powerful cartridge.

God keeps an eye on all of His children.....even the most undeserving among us.

I own and am very happy with a 270 WSM, but then again there is no dangerous game here, and the biggest thing around are elk.

The 300 WSM is lots better for all-around hunting, where you might have to subdue an angry grizzly.

Don't forget the 325 WSM, better yet on grizzly and less likely to destroy meat on deer as the velocity is a bit lower.

If it were me looking for a WSM combo, it would be 270 and 325 WSM, no doubt about it. Both with 24" barrels.

Sounds like a great 2 gun battery.

Just to clarify a few things...I'm rebarreling b/c this rifle has been a little finicky and I'm getting tired of spending money trying to get it to shoot and be as accurate as I want it to be. Thus, I've decided to rebarrel and turn it into a custom rifle. I'm only asking opinions on the 270wsm and 300wsm b/c those are the only choices i'm considering for the rebarrel. I have no choice but to rebarrel in a WSM due to the action, and I don't want to consider the 7wsm and 325wsm as I believe they are dying cartridges. For a while I was leaning 300wsm based on it being the bigger cartridge but after spending some time on a ballistics calculator last night, I realized that the 270 with a 150ABLR at 3150 passes the 300wsm with a 180AB in energy at around 300 yds. This was eye opening for me and if I can get that kind of knock down out of a lighter recoiling rifle, I find myself now leaning 270wsm. I just wanted to hear some opinions from people with more experience we those cartridges than myself. Thanks again and I appreciate all the replies so far. Also keep in mind, this will be a light rifle that I'll be using on backpacking trips here in NM (I'm stationed in Clovis, NM).

If it's only between 270 WSM and 300 WSM, I'd go 300 WSM, no question. A 150 grain in a 270 WSM will be going slower than a 150 grain in a 300 WSM.

But, if I were to build a custom off a WSM case, I'd go 338 WSM. The 338 WSM is a 325 WSM case simply necked up. The 325 case has the best velocity to powder ratio out there. It can propel a given weight bullet the fastest with the least amount of powder. The 338 WSM is just as effective. I have worked on several custom rifles in 338 WSM, and it is a great caliber. In .338" bullets, you have options a low as 160 grains to as high as 300 grains. It is very versatile with plenty of bullet options. A 200-250 grain hunting bullet out of a 338 WSM would be bad medicine for anything in North America.

I highly doubt you will be able to tell the difference in the killing power of either if similarly constructed bullets are used. Take your pick.