Short fat ones!!

Currently shoot a 300wsm Tikka, 24 inch barrel. Love it to bits but want to build a shorter version. Don’t want a standard centrefire cartridge so looking at building another 300wsm at 18 inches or going to 7mm. I know the short barrels will only really take up to 168 gr so my question is to do with the reloading if I was to build a 7mmSAUM or 7-300 wsm.

Will the 7mm give me better ballistics than the 300 in the same weight pills? And if they do is it easier to go with the 7-300 wsm and neck down the brass I currently use anyway or go with 7mm SAUM and different brass altogether.

Does fired 300 wsm brass just get bumped back with standard die then necked down with bushing die to make 7-300 wsm?

Would be nice to shoot out to 5-600 metres with plenty of grunt in a short package. I know I could go with .284 but I like my magnums.

Mcnotty why shorten a wsm it seems kinda counter productive to me . You use a the same amount of powder to achieve less velocity and for what? a barrel that is only 6 inches shorter and short magnums are hard on cans . I think the 284 size case is probably as big as you need go for the distance your trying to reach and you can have one in 30 cal if you want to keep your costs down by having bullets you can use in both guns . Just my thoughts

leave the WSM.

build a 7 SAUM, better case design for a short action. 7WSM has about 50 fps advantage and you can still get factory ammo for it. Just make sure your mags are set up for a long OAL when reloading with the WSM.

If its a hunting rifle only then nothing wrong with, 6.5WSM or 7WSM at full throttle providing you are not using it as a gong gun will last ages.

7mm in 160 - 168 gn pills is going to get you much superior ballistics.
Personally I would not shorten wsm or saum below 20 in, you just wasting powder & giving away more fps.
SAUM probably better in the shorter bbl length but won’t give you much if any advantage over the 284

Ive got a 20" fluted 300saum based on an A7. Best hunting rifle I have ever had. Easy to use and carry. Superbly accurate. Kills really well out to my max of 450-500 yds but the data says it would be good for way over that.

168 grn @ 3000-3100fps. 150 grn Barnes @ 3150-3200. Using 2208, N550 and R17.

DPT suppressor that I swap between that and a 22" 270WSM which would have had over 500 shots through it so far. No problems.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

Ive got a 20" fluted 300saum based on an A7. Best hunting rifle I have ever had. Easy to use and carry. Superbly accurate. Kills really well out to my max of 450-500 yds but the data says it would be good for way over that.

168 grn @ 3000-3100fps. 150 grn Barnes @ 3150-3200. Using 2208, N550 and R17.

DPT suppressor that I swap between that and a 22" 270WSM which would have had over 500 shots through it so far. No problems.

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Got any pics @Thar?

All these people hating on short barrels . They obviously hunt paddocks and possibly at night off the bonnet of their ute . I have a 18 inch tikka 300 wsm and I love it dropped me good tahr at 330 yards and eats up the reds too done over 300 rounds and the suppressor is still in pretty good condition I just use the dpt with stainless first baffle not super fast speeds but still enough 168amax doing 2840. Brass has been through quite a few reloads too. Speed is not everything it's just a few more clicks on your scope .

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No one is “hating on short barrels”, just pointing out the pluses and minuses, and personal preferences. If you want to shoot longer ranges then speed and BC are your best friends.

I can’t say I’m not influenced by the cool factor but I’m still pretty young so I don’t really care, one I’ll probably see the light but everyone loves having a few different toys. I think of a barrel or suppressor as consumables in a hobby I really enjoy, plus I’d struggle to put more than 150-200 rounds a year through any of guns apart from the shottie.
Cheers for the advice chaps.

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Originally Posted by McNotty

Got any pics @Thar?

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Hardy 20" fluted barrel. Stug carbon stock. Aliexpress cheek pad (cheap. I like cheap). Caldwell bi-pod, light and sturdy, and cheap (I like cheap). Tract 3-15 'scope with ballistic turret for 150 grn Barnes @ 3147 fps. Deer slayer.

Shot this Sika at 350 odd yards.

Attachment 103596

Very nice tahr looks like a good workhorse of a rig . None of these animals could tell the difference between 18 and 24 inches :)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...defeee2c09.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c840be46ef.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0b5e19f1b8.jpg

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Originally Posted by Phill243

Very nice tahr looks like a good workhorse of a rig . None of these animals could tell the difference between 18 and 24 inches :)https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...defeee2c09.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c840be46ef.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...0b5e19f1b8.jpg

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What projectiles do you use @Phill243 ?
Oh, and what calibre?

Go the 7 saum for something different. I personally wouldn't want to run 2 guns with identical brass and very nearly identical looking bullets, asking for a kaboom IMO.

7 will have better ballistics on paper than the 30 as you have to go to 208gr in the 30 to match the 162 bc in the 7mm. That said both will hammer a deer out further than most should be shooting

168 amax and 300wsm. Ideally I would have built a 7mm wsm or saum for better ballistics but I was on a budget and the 300 come up cheap so that's why I went down that route . And so far I'm really happy with it . Shot two good bulls that trip and one I recovered bullet in a good mushroom on opposite side under skin and other tahr couldn't find it but both dropped on spot like a bag of spuds . From 320 and 330 yards

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I like like letting a lot of light in. .30 cal makes big holes.

Both 7mm & .30 SAUM are fabulously efficient rounds.

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Originally Posted by Phill243

All these people hating on short barrels . They obviously hunt paddocks and possibly at night off the bonnet of their ute . I have a 18 inch tikka 300 wsm and I love it dropped me good tahr at 330 yards and eats up the reds too done over 300 rounds and the suppressor is still in pretty good condition I just use the dpt with stainless first baffle not super fast speeds but still enough 168amax doing 2840. Brass has been through quite a few reloads too. Speed is not everything it's just a few more clicks on your scope .

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Just for comparison sake, im pushing 175gr sierras at 2850fps from a 26" barrel .308.
So when you go that short with a WSM, its firing lighter projectiles, slower, than a long barreled .308.
The velocity loss really adds up after a few inches.

I'd rather the 2900 fps in a 168 gr in a nice compact 18 inch rifle. Which is what 300 wsm will do with RL17.

@Smiddy has a short wsm from memory

I work with a hunter who carries his 26” custom carbon Hardy X-Bolt 300 WSM up and down Fiordland hills. But he’s a stupidly fit older with enough $ to have a lightweight custom rifle bloke!
Us peasants would just chop inches off the barrel.

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Originally Posted by ChrisW

Just for comparison sake, im pushing 175gr sierras at 2850fps from a 26" barrel .308.
So when you go that short with a WSM, its firing lighter projectiles, slower, than a long barreled .308.
The velocity loss really adds up after a few inches.

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Yea but are you going to cart a 26 inch barrel 308 though tight bush hunting and enjoy it . And if you add a suppressor for your ears and your dogs ears it will then be a 30 inch cannon to drag around when my 18 inch plus suppressor is 22 inch it's short compact and easy in tight bush weighs less and still puts a good pill out at enough speed and I could get more speed with different powders if I want but I have found a load that works I dont care about speed enough . I can be in tight bush hunting and come out on to a clearing or slip and still shoot a deer at 500 yards and drop it easy . For me I like practicality and i find it in a 18 inch 300 wsm :)

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Originally Posted by ChrisW

Just for comparison sake, im pushing 175gr sierras at 2850fps from a 26" barrel .308.
So when you go that short with a WSM, its firing lighter projectiles, slower, than a long barreled .308.
The velocity loss really adds up after a few inches.

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Nah

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Originally Posted by ChrisW

Just for comparison sake, im pushing 175gr sierras at 2850fps from a 26" barrel .308.
So when you go that short with a WSM, its firing lighter projectiles, slower, than a long barreled .308.
The velocity loss really adds up after a few inches.

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Thats pretty spectacular speeds for the humble ol 308 and a big pill.
I'm thinking maybe your chrony and Jacinda's kiwibuild numbers suffer from the same flaw ... :ORLY:

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Originally Posted by chainsaw

Thats pretty spectacular speeds for the humble ol 308 and a big pill.
I'm thinking maybe your chrony and Jacinda's kiwibuild numbers suffer from the same flaw ... :ORLY:

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Na chrony is good (using magnetospeed v3), plus its been ran over multiple chronys, and ballistic data matches real world for the velocity.
I can push the 175gr sierra at 2850 or the 155 palma at 3003fps. Its got a suppressor on the end as well which may also act like an extra inch or two of barrel.
Every inch adds up.

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Originally Posted by Phill243

Yea but are you going to cart a 26 inch barrel 308 though tight bush hunting and enjoy it . And if you add a suppressor for your ears and your dogs ears it will then be a 30 inch cannon to drag around when my 18 inch plus suppressor is 22 inch it's short compact and easy in tight bush weighs less and still puts a good pill out at enough speed and I could get more speed with different powders if I want but I have found a load that works I dont care about speed enough . I can be in tight bush hunting and come out on to a clearing or slip and still shoot a deer at 500 yards and drop it easy . For me I like practicality and i find it in a 18 inch 300 wsm :)

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No I would not pack said rifle around - it weighs about 20lb. Its more of a target / long range setup.

My post was just to show that every inch really does adds up, and each inch is even more important in terms of velocity when we are talking about magnums which will generally be affected more by barrel length than a standard cartridge.
Im just presenting a data point where a .308 with a 26" barrel is shooting a heavier projectile faster, than an 18" .300WSM mentioned in the discussion. It seems a difference of 8 inches in barrel length is enough to relegate the magnum to a similar category as a .308. (yes I understand an 18" .308 will have substantially less velocity than an 18" WSM)

Shit I bloody love Tikka. Yea everyone has them but when they shoot like this who really cares. Cheap and do the job.
Shortened to 20”, suppressed with a VX 5 on top. Have to say the straighter style modular pistol grip makes them a lot nicer to hold and shoot.
300 WSM
178gr ELDX 2860fps 18 ES 9 SD
63 gr RE17
Attachment 107042

I've used a 22" 7 mm WSM for about 9 years with no complaints 140 gr AccuBond 3150 fps, never let me down.

Only use it for hunting.

Awesome man, I’ve been wondering how you were getting on with that.

You are right about Tikka's they can shoot real good, that's a super good group you shot. You should find those 178 gr ELD X bullets work well on game too.