I have not fooled with hunting guns much for the last 10-20-30 years ago after I left the Fire Arms Industry as a wholesaler's & mfg'ers Rep for 13 years. Recently according to all my reading material in the 10 year old Loading Manuals I have the WSM's were getting all the attention. Seems like the WSM's were the Super Hot Gotta have one of those were the PDQ Story back in those days. Today I see a box or 2 sometimes usually in 270 WSM ammo in a few of the gun shops I wander thru occasionally these days. Still got a never fired 300 Wmg barrel I'd bought to put on a M70 cause I'd worn out a WMg barrel shooting $$ bet's at one of the Lease's in far West Texas.

I'm a little bored with the non magnum calibers I've been shooting since the '60's ...think mostly 270 Win 243, 257, 30'06. Loved my CZ 9.3 x 62 too and would buy another one just for giggles when ya show up at the TPW Hunts, like when I surprised a Sr Officer who was running the Shoot for Accuracy Drill who had never seen a 9.3. I shot a 5 shot group free handed off a picnic table too. that you could cover with a quarter.

So ...can Sumbody please educate me to the Pro's & Con's of a couple of the larger caliber WSM calibers to use in the usual places in Texas...or I'll keep on keeping on with the 1960's era shooters in the closet. I can mebbe see an advantage of the 7-08 over my M70 Fwt 7x57 ...mebbe and mebbe the CM too over a 100 year old + 6.5 Swede but not the RP 260 that fed me game critters for a couple years when I was nursing a shoulder socket full of bone spurs after a VA surgery. I've been feeding these '50's & 60's era deer rifles since those days and have not really seen the advantages of the more modern stuff at the same old distances. Are the WSM's worth the extra powder & $'s is the Question.
Ron

I still would chose the 7x57mm over 7/08 so I am of no help. Saw right off in 1980 in the Rem788 that the 7MM/08 was no better Ballistically and haven’t looked at one since.
As far as WSM’s go I do think the 300 WSM in a shorter barrel handier type rifle makes more sense than a 300WM and it’s larger case burning powder that need 24 inches of barrel to appreciate.

I remember the short magnum rage. Talk about a flash in the pan.

Another 7X57 fan here. How much chew want for that M70 Fwt.?

The sort-of claim to the .300 WSM was you could get .300 Win Mag speed, but a short action. For faster cycling. But take a fairly green shooter using the WSM and a very experienced shooter using the Win Mag, and the experienced person is going to win getting a spent round ejected, a new one in the chamber, the bullet sent on its way.

The WSM isnt usually going to make Win Mag speed. Or 7 Rem Mag speed, if we are talking 7mm WSM. Almost always, the. 300 Win Mag and 7 Rem Mag will make more velocity. 200 gr in the last .300 WSM I loaded for topped out shooting the best at 2785 fps MV. Not a thing wrong with that, and it'll kill anything big enough to die. The same bullet in the .300 Win Mag is going to be a solid 100 fps faster. Yes, some shoot slower, and some shoot faster, but that's a fair statement.

As DStroud said, a guy wanting a bit shorter barrel, but some horse power to boot, the WSM is a dang good choice.

I made a load for a 270 WSM a couple years ago. My goodness it was fast! 140 gr at 3100 fps, if memory serves.

But for your purposes, I don't see the WSM solving any problem for you.

Heres my reason for going with the WSM (.300):

I needed an elk gun, one i could feel very comfortable shooting several hundred yards, wanted that gun to have good ballistics and good terminal energy. I also preferred the shorter form factor of the SA and the weight reduction (while small) is something when trudging thru the hills and mountains of the west. So, i got a .300 WSM and had some loads made that shoot at 3000fps and it can reliably drop an elk out to around 600 yards (not that i would take that shot).

Yes, other calibers could do the same, but this gun shoots great, has minimal hold over out to 300 yards (i believe it was 0.9mil at 300) and has dropped everything i have shot it at so far, and with the included muzzle brake, it is actually really comfortable to shoot given how light the complete package is.

Just one example.

For your use in usual texas places, it doesnt make any difference if you are toting a .300WM or the WSM, and honestly if i were looking for a dedicated texas gun i would not look to the WSM form factor.

CR, Dunno if I'm going to put it on the market or not. Got some other fish to fry. If I was gonna drop one of my shooters right now it'd be the super clean Tikka 6.5 Swede, with less than 100 rounds on the clock and a cherry high grade magnificent stock on it....I'll keep you posted with pics if and when that one hits the market.
Ron

I get 3100 out of my 270 WSM with a 140 SST and max charge of 7828. It’s scootin.

OP, the 300 is about the only WSM I’d buy at this point. The others are neat for the sake of having one, but finding ammo or brass can be a PITA.

"I've been feeding these '50's & 60's era deer rifles since those days and have not really seen the advantages of the more modern stuff at the same old distances."

You already have it figured out.

Thanks ya'll for the input. Back before we moved down here to Pine Tree Central 6+ years ago I had a couple shooters I am sorely regretting but could not tolerate shooting with a shoulder joint full of bone spurs left over from a surgery by Dallas VA to remove a fist sized non malignant tumor that ran from my hairline behind my right ear and down to the collar bone. I could not raise my right arm to normal usage. The Dr lady in charge of such thingss in Bonham out me thru a series of electro charges to determine if I had any possible usage left...and after 45 minutes of tests told me I was a cripple and get used to it. I started selling everything that went Boom. More later dinner calls.

Get a good silencer. They take out a considerable amount of recoil in addition to the sound reduction.

Judd has a screaming 300WSM with a fairly short barrel.

Given the bone spurs in your shoulder, I’d stay away from magnum calibers. If you are bored with the old rifles, get something new in a mild cartridge.

Had a Browning 270WSM a few years back. It's ballistics were almost identical to 7 mag. Ammo got too high for it (for me) so I sold it. Dang good gun though. Never had a deer take more than a step or two, if even that.

300 wsm set a world record a few years ago for smallest group shot at 1000 yards.
The case being short and fat is and can be more consistent when it comes to handloading. No belt is another good thing. Fits in a short action. Uses medium burn rate powder like 748 or H4350.

Its a touch slower than a win mag and easier to tune in.

Agreed. They don’t get much traction on this forum but the WSM’s are top choices in a light rifle with a 22” barrel for a foot hunter doing a lot more carrying than shooting. That is a niche they fill better than the belted magnums would be a pro. To me the belted magnums are at their best in a longer(26”) barrel with a long powder column full of slow burning powder at near max pressure.

A con to me might be the recoil impulse. That fat column of medium burn rate powder has a shorter duration recoil impulse. For lack of a better way to describe it, the recoil impulse is not excessive but has a suddenness to it.

Never owned a 300 or 7mm WSM but do have a Tikka in 270WSM that I could not pass up on the deal. Bought a few boxes of factory 140gr Accubond loads and it shoots right at 1/2 MOA with those so I got several more boxes of that lot number ammo and for the amount I used that gun hunting have several years left of hunting with it, when I want to. Can reload it when I start getting low. I purchased it for a lighter weight elk rifle to enjoy in the mountains but haven't been back and it sits as a safe queen that I probably should trade it off some day to someone that would use it.

I will say that is the fastest recoiling rifle I own and is the only one that has knocked my hat off several times shooting it from the bench.

It is not by chance a lefty is it? I have put a fair amount of time in hunting with a 22” 300WSM. I liked it. A lot.

Yours is unusually fast.

if I were a deer. I wouldn't want to get shot with a .270 Win or WSM

I had full intentions of it being 22”…when it came to cutting it, I couldn’t do it…it’s 23.75”. But she’s fast and I like speed…155 scenar at 3300fps, ain’t much wind hold at hunting distance (unless it’s howling). I tore it apart yesterday, when it goes back on it’ll be 20” because it exceeded the 3100 I was trying to hit.

I’m replacing it with a 16” 6.5saum. I’m a fan of the short mags because I tend to be able to run them short with a mid weight bullet and produce speeds around 3000 fps.

Does the difference in magazine capacity make a difference to anyone?
I have no experience or dawg in this fight, but just something I noticed. Only 2 in the mag is not much.

I hunted with an Encore before...naw, I just need one

That’s only one less in the belly than a typical magnum rifle. I’d not feel undergunned with 3 rounds of 270/7/300 WSM and have had a WSM or two of some flavor for 15 or so years.

Most hunters shoot once.

Doubt many shoot twice, but let's say it's 30%.

Bet it's under 1% that shoot a third round.

I'm talking at the same animal every shot. If you ain't got it done in two, it's probably not going to happen.

One shot, one deer.
Two shots, maybe one deer.
Three shots, no deer.