Is the 300 WSM Dead?

[COJoe]

I greatly enjoy my used gunshop model 70 300 WSM. I settled on Federal Fusion 160 or 180 grain because at the time it was all I could find. Shoots that round very well but it's expensive at about $60.00 for 20 rounds at Big R. I don't have the time to commit to reloading which would save money but I do save all my brass. Hopefully availability will change for the better. Worked well on my mule deer and elk.

For those who do reload 300 WSM, how much is your cost per round? Factory ammo is $3.00 a round so it limits my range time for sure.

 

[wind gypsy]

I greatly enjoy my used gunshop model 70 300 WSM. I settled on Federal Fusion 160 or 180 grain because at the time it was all I could find. Shoots that round very well but it's expensive at about $60.00 for 20 rounds at Big R. I don't have the time to commit to reloading which would save money but I do save all my brass. Hopefully availability will change for the better. Worked well on my mule deer and elk.

For those who do reload 300 WSM, how much is your cost per round? Factory ammo is $3.00 a round so it limits my range time for sure.

Rough #'s but at current component prices figure about 50 cents per bullet, 50 cents in powder, and 10 cents per primer. Call it $1.00-$1.20/ea, can be less, can be more.

 

[COJoe]

Rough #'s but at current component prices figure about 50 cents per bullet, 50 cents in powder, and 10 cents per primer. Call it $1.00-$1.20/ea, can be less, can be more.

Thank you for responding. I'm jealous but at least reloading gives all 300 WSM shooters better economics which equates to more range time and more confidence on the mountain. I need to find someone to reload my brass, someone trustworthy....

 

[MallardSX2]

I would be more concerned about finding the LRM primers lol

 

[jimh406]

300 WSM is still pretty available online and at my local stores. I agree LR and LRM primers are the biggest issue for reloaders.

 

[ZWA]

If I understand right Lapua and Peterson will add 300wsm to their list. Not dead if being added by brass manufacturers.

 

[JDBAK]

As long as brass is available, it doesn't matter too much to me. But with its long range benchrest pedigree, and companies like ADG and Petersen making brass, it should have a niche for a long time (I hope).

 

[dirtshooter]

This news about Lapua adding 300wsm is great. I have a lot of Nosler brass but options are great. I shoot 210LRABs out of mine though I haven't shot it much lately as I have been shooting my 257wby for the last couple years exclusively.

 

[jk_minn]

I believe the 1000 yd Benchrest record was shot with a 300 WSM (unless it was recently broke?). 300 WSM is inherently accurate. Crunch between the WSM shooting heavies and the 7 PRC or the 300 WM, and is it worth gaining marginal ballistic numbers over proven accuracy of the 300 WSM?

 

[Eaton Hill]

Not ever the easiest cartridge to stumble upon a factory load your gun likes with a bullet you actually want.
Pick up 10 boxes as you can, see what it likes if anything. If not, force yourself to reload if you don’t already. I’m new at it and it’s not hard to get the basics going. Very satisfying really. Your 300 will never die.
Shortcut: assume you won’t find factory it and you like. Buy the cheapest 5-10 boxes right now with good brass, shoot them all for practice and reload hunting/match ammo. Reloading from brass your gun has fired can’t be a bad thing.
Another question that will nag you is caliber choice. Should I have spent all this time and money on a 30 cal when a 7 is available? That answer to myself is yes. I have 30-06 and 308s I will never part with at this point. Sharing bullets is very cool.
Starting fresh with all the new stuff and easy to find information, who knows where I’d be. Maybe 7PRC and 7-08. But who knows. I’m a Red Blooded American and 30 suits me.

 

[turbobrick]

Its an amazing cartridge especially in an actual short action, and I think there are a good amount of people coming to see that. Its not for the recoil sensitive folks dominating the conversation currently, but for people who want max power in minimum size its hard to beat. I had one built on a Defiance anTi Model 7 footprint action, its by far my favorite rifle I've ever owned. I also have one in a Tikka, and its just a great shooter. I killed my pronghorn buck with the Tikka and with factory ammo to boot (I'm an avid reloader), since the anTi wasn't quite ready to hunt. That Tikka shot that factory Nosler 180ab so good I couldn't bring myself to mess with it.

 

[ropeup79]

I greatly enjoy my used gunshop model 70 300 WSM. I settled on Federal Fusion 160 or 180 grain because at the time it was all I could find. Shoots that round very well but it's expensive at about $60.00 for 20 rounds at Big R. I don't have the time to commit to reloading which would save money but I do save all my brass. Hopefully availability will change for the better. Worked well on my mule deer and elk.

For those who do reload 300 WSM, how much is your cost per round? Factory ammo is $3.00 a round so it limits my range time for sure.

There must have been a some production runs this spring. Ammo Seek shows Norma, Rem, and Hornsby available at decent prices.

 

[Matt5266]

I'll never sell my winchester model 70 300 wsm. I love that gun, of course I reload and have more brass than I'll ever need.

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Lapua just announced it will be producing 300WSM cases for reloading. Not exactly a fly by night company. I love .30 cals and I love the 300 WSM cartridge. My WSM has put more animals in the freezer than any other in my quiver. But then again, I have enough components to last me awhile. Could be tough for the factory ammo crowd.

 

[Luked]

I have 2 300 WSM rifles. Both in Model 70. One is a Super Grade and the other is in a Black Shadow model if I remember right.
I have thought multiple times about taking the Black Shadow model and having it built into a 6.5 PRC.
I don't have any issue with the 300 WSM other than like you ammo availability is a little harder. It can be ordered and I have quite a bit of ammo now. But the 300 isn't something I will use much at all is my thinking of reasoning for possibly changing one to the 6.5.
Both rifles were given to me by a good friend so neither will ever go anywhere.

 

[NotVerySilent_KindaDeadly]

Definitely not dead. I took two separate 300 WSM orders last month, and we have 5 300 WSM builds currently in the queue. Just for context, we only have a 12 week lead time, over 100 builds in the queue.

And for those curious how much more popular the 6.5 PRC is than 300 WSM, I answer significantly more calls / emails regarded the PRC however we currently have 6 6.5 PRC builds in production.

 

[SC HUNTER]

I had 2 different ones I sold over time, 1 of them I definitely should have kept. I got rid of them when ammo got hard to find and I just wanted something different at the time. I've been collecting brass over the last few years and have enough that I'm not far from buying another 300 wsm rifle when I stumble upon one I want. I've got a buddy who I go to his house and reload anytime I need to I just take my components and do it. The caliber definitely isn't dead and like mentioned above with large brass companies making brass, I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon.

The animals I shot with a 300 wsm, around 30 or so deer and the same number of pigs, didn't last long at all. It was quite impressive.

 

[blksno]

I believe the 1000 yd Benchrest record was shot with a 300 WSM (unless it was recently broke?). 300 WSM is inherently accurate. Crunch between the WSM shooting heavies and the 7 PRC or the 300 WM, and is it worth gaining marginal ballistic numbers over proven accuracy of the 300 WSM?

could you send me a PM. I came over from LongRangeHunting, thought i saw one of your posts over there

 

[Sccritterkiller]

It's not gonna die...its the best option for a supressed 30 cal mag cartridge, probably why Lupua started producing brass.

 

[AZ_Hunter]

I’m new to this forum but don’t understand how so many of you don’t handload. It’s easy and not expensive to get going with a single stage press.

Questions like: “ is x cartridge going away” wouldn’t be such an issue. Hand loading is the only way to actually shoot a lot unless you have an endless budget. And practice is the most important factor when it comes to actually getting good…but I digress…

Regarding the 300 WSM, it’s definitely not going away. It fills the 30 cal mag SA niche and is chambered in pretty much all new rifles. I see ammo at all the big stores in my area. More companies now are producing premium brass as well.