Originally Posted by
halfbakedi420
http://www.remington.com/products/am...300WB*PRA300WC
here is a ballistics chart usin a 300wsm and a 300winmag..comparin apples to apples...and nothin here is showin me that a 300 win mag out performs a wsm...unless 50fps is substantial to you....looks to be that at 500 yards that the wsm starts to shine...the 3 top ones are wsm and the 3 bottoms are win mag..and i chose the same bullets avalible fer each gun as to compare..i can find many cartridges that do better than what these charts say fer my 300wsm as well as you can fer your win mag..but apples to apples the winmag and short mag are vertually the same, til ya hit 500 yards and its just as mi-nute as befor 500 yards.. maybe your 24" barrel is all ya have ..im sure there is 1 avalible sumhow, sumway in 300wsm..
after further reveiw looks like 300 win mag only has the lead with velocity under 500 yards...energy and short range and long range trajectory go to the WSM..thx fer bringin this up
It is a known fact that factory 300WM is loaded soft compared to what any competent handloader can achive. Conversely, the WSM is loaded a lot hotter to better market it.
So sure, if you're going to use factory ammo only there is not really a difference, but the question was about the cartridge and not factory ammo.
You are also correct, with 150gr bullets there is not going to be much of a difference because you can still load the WSM way out and fit it in the mag. But with 180 and 200 gr bullets, the kind a 300 mag is made to shoot and are typically used at longer ranges, you simply cannot load them in a WSM without reducing your powder capacity unless you have a chamber throated to do this and an aftermarket mag (or long action) to fit shells loaded past SAAMI specs.
So with 180-200+ gr bullets, you simply cannot get as much out of the WSM as you can the WM. You can come close in a custom gun, but in a factory rifle there will be a significant performance difference.
Now if we were talking about the equivalent 7mm rounds, the WSM gives up nothing on its long action cousin. But you pay a price in these short rounds when you move up in caliber.