Help me pick a cartridge

[Blueridgeguy]

Try the 300 wsm. Great cartridge and a step up from your 6.5

 

[daka]

Try the 300 wsm. Great cartridge and a step up from your 6.5

Got 300WSM as well, great catridge.
Only thing be careful of mag box as a bit longer one for 300WM action type really helps...

 

[nicholasjohn]

I would go with 7-08 for a reliable cartridge.

I would, too - but first I'd make sure that they feed from the magazine from this rifle. They may have opened up the feed rails on the underside of the action for the WSM-sized cartridges, and they may be too wide to keep the 7mm/08 cartridges corralled in the magazine box. The bolt face diameter may also not be right. I don't think that the Model 70 bolt face is recessed like a Remington, but it's worth checking. You wouldn't need to re-barrel the rifle to find out if this would work - just try some of the cartridges you plan to re-barrel to and see if they work, before spending the $$$$ and getting a big surprise.

 

[stephenr6565]

"IF" you define your intended purpose, hunting (what game and how far) or target shooting, and of course consider what you already have in your inventory (i.e., 6.5 PRC) it might help you in your decision-making process.

mostly hunting cow elk for the freezer as I bow hunt for bucks & bulls
also my rifle inventory is 223 rem, 243 win, 6.5 creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 270 wsm, 300 prc & 30-30 win

 

[stephenr6565]

I have to say the 7 saum is really tempting as I do not have a 7mm of any sort. Its just that the availability of off the shelf ammo is what is keeping me from it or the 7ss

 

[Wv shooter]

Why not rebarrel to 270wsm great cartridge bad barrel maybe I would try the recrowning and bedding first good luck I love the 300wsm also

 

[264MHC]

7 WSM would probably be your best bet for factory ammo in a short mag that's compatible with your action. Handloading longer bullets will stuff them deep in the case at mag length though. I'd probably still put an 8 or 8.5 twist on it but a 9 would be fine. And you definitely need a 7mm in your lineup

 

[35 Whelen]

I have a 270 WSM Winchester M70 lamented stock (not feather weight), I shoots grate, glover leaf groups. A lot of guys have had good luck bedding their stocks and greatly improving their rifles accuracy. I think I'd give hat a try first.

 

[HatmanIUP]

I have the same rifle in lefty action. First couple of 140 grain loads I tried couldn't put 2 shots out of a group on a pie plate at 100 yards. Very frustrating.
Switched to 130 grain loads and I can hit a golf ball at 100 yards.

 

[LVJ76]

I have a 270 WSM Winchester M70 lamented stock (not feather weight), I shoots grate, glover leaf groups. A lot of guys have had good luck bedding their stocks and greatly improving their rifles accuracy. I think I'd give hat a try first.

35 Whelen makes a great point, is the rifle bedded and free floated?

 

[Goldengun]

Based on your inventory, I would go with a 7 or 325WSM. But, I still prefer the 270WSM.

 

[Sirrated]

I have a 270 WSM in a winchester featherlite I bought it new right when they came out with WSM line it never shot good & had feeding issues so I have long since moved on from this rifle. I got thinking I might as well build something off this action so I am looking for some ideas on what cartridge to go with I'd prefer to go with something that has good availability of quality off the shelf ammo wouldn't want to go smaller than .243 or bigger than 30 cal. I already have a 6.5 PRC so it's out of the running

Haaa, I think you are very astute, my friend, I've found the ideal round, and Yes its the old reliable 7mmRem Mag. I've had two rifles in that caliber and not once have i had a problem. Very consistent, and reliable.

 

[Alibiiv]

I have a 270 WSM in a winchester featherlite I bought it new right when they came out with WSM line it never shot good & had feeding issues so I have long since moved on from this rifle. I got thinking I might as well build something off this action so I am looking for some ideas on what cartridge to go with I'd prefer to go with something that has good availability of quality off the shelf ammo wouldn't want to go smaller than .243 or bigger than 30 cal. I already have a 6.5 PRC so it's out of the running

You did not indicate what you intend to hunt/use this rifle for. I have a .270AI, essentially a .270 WSM, that I believe is one of the best cartridges on the marke it today. With the .270 WSM there will "probably" be "off-the-shelf" ammunition for the round. If you reload there ought to be components, brass especially, at a reasonable price (depending on cartridge brass can cost $1.00+ a piece). If you go with a wildcat you will have to make your brass, that means custom dies ($200-300) and an annealing system a minimum investment that can run up to $1000+. Lastly there is the variable of the "feed rails" that oftentimes gets left out of the equation. Those super short cartridges can run into some serious feeding problems, not saying this is the case with all of them, but.....that potential is there. I have a really nice BLR that I rebored from .308 Winchester to .358 Winchester that ended up with a feed problem. The .308 is the parent cartridge for the .358, but that small difference in case dimensions, like .020 thousandths, has give me nothing but a PITA. So......as a result I have a very nice rifle that sits in the safe because I don't trust it to feed properly. If this were my rifle I would spend money on a premium "26 inch" barrel (to get all the performance out of this overbore cartridge), a blue-print job on the action, a good trigger or a trigger job, and......perhaps a new stock if you feel you need/want one.

 

[stephenr6565]

I think I'll probably go with the 7mm WSM as I don't have a 7mm & there seems to be a decent amount of off the shelf ammo