Guys thanks for all the great responses and advice. Here's where things stand.....
Took my Sako .300 WSM to a custom rifle builder yesterday. He specializes in accurizing and long-range hunting rifle builds. He advised me NOT to use the Sako as a donor rifle for a custom build as he believes it may have some collectible value given that Sako only produced a few "long action" WSMs in 2003. I know, I know... long action defeats the purpose of WSM but its rarity combined with the fact that you can shoot longer reloaded 300 WSM bullets give it some appeal. Plus people rebuild WSM on long action all the time for just that reason..... Your advice to just hang on to the .300 WSM was good UncleB. But with out a rebarrel, new stock, and accurizing it is not going to enable me to satisfy my end goal.....
So..... now where I am at is I'm looking to buy a used Model 70, Rem 700, or Savage (or maybe Sako) for a custom rebarrel/ accurizing project. The end goal is still pretty much the same, to wind up with an absolute tack driving, flat shooting, wind bucking hunting rifle that is practical to carry on an elk hunt or an antelope stalk and also possibly use and effectively compete in entry to mid-level long range competition shooting (F Class/Open)...... after lots and lots of practice.
Somewhere between Rem .260 on the low end, and 7mmRUM or 7mm STW on the high end. I also don't want to pick a caliber that is very close in (hunting) capability to what I already have. My initial thoughts are that 7mm RUM or STW is pretty close to my .300 WSM in terms of killing power and what I can do with it based on the very little that I have read about them. I also have another rifle, a custom Sako in .257 Weatherby which out to 400 yards is close to the .260 hunting-wise (I'm not comparing pure ballistics). So it feels like 7mm Rem Mag/ 7mm WSM fits well in the "gap" between my 2 rifles and still allows me to build (make that- "have built") a super accurate 1000 yard rig that can handle elk. Plus I can get factory ammo now and get into reloading later for higher BC, flatter shooting, better wind drift, etc...
Any thoughts? Am I on the right track? 7mm Rem Mag vs 7mm WSM? Where is the true middle of the gap? Other calibers I should think about? (I absolutely LOVE everything I read about 6.5 x 284....!!)
Signed: Wandering aimlessly in South Texas
Took my Sako .300 WSM to a custom rifle builder yesterday. He specializes in accurizing and long-range hunting rifle builds. He advised me NOT to use the Sako as a donor rifle for a custom build as he believes it may have some collectible value given that Sako only produced a few "long action" WSMs in 2003. I know, I know... long action defeats the purpose of WSM but its rarity combined with the fact that you can shoot longer reloaded 300 WSM bullets give it some appeal. Plus people rebuild WSM on long action all the time for just that reason..... Your advice to just hang on to the .300 WSM was good UncleB. But with out a rebarrel, new stock, and accurizing it is not going to enable me to satisfy my end goal.....
So..... now where I am at is I'm looking to buy a used Model 70, Rem 700, or Savage (or maybe Sako) for a custom rebarrel/ accurizing project. The end goal is still pretty much the same, to wind up with an absolute tack driving, flat shooting, wind bucking hunting rifle that is practical to carry on an elk hunt or an antelope stalk and also possibly use and effectively compete in entry to mid-level long range competition shooting (F Class/Open)...... after lots and lots of practice.
Somewhere between Rem .260 on the low end, and 7mmRUM or 7mm STW on the high end. I also don't want to pick a caliber that is very close in (hunting) capability to what I already have. My initial thoughts are that 7mm RUM or STW is pretty close to my .300 WSM in terms of killing power and what I can do with it based on the very little that I have read about them. I also have another rifle, a custom Sako in .257 Weatherby which out to 400 yards is close to the .260 hunting-wise (I'm not comparing pure ballistics). So it feels like 7mm Rem Mag/ 7mm WSM fits well in the "gap" between my 2 rifles and still allows me to build (make that- "have built") a super accurate 1000 yard rig that can handle elk. Plus I can get factory ammo now and get into reloading later for higher BC, flatter shooting, better wind drift, etc...
Any thoughts? Am I on the right track? 7mm Rem Mag vs 7mm WSM? Where is the true middle of the gap? Other calibers I should think about? (I absolutely LOVE everything I read about 6.5 x 284....!!)
Signed: Wandering aimlessly in South Texas
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