Short action magnums

[adk hunter]

I love sliced bread.

 

[PRShooter]

FUDGE,. "Energy" ,.. Look AT,. Velocity at, 1,000 Yards to determine IF, the Bullet,.. "Expands Well",..
I use, 2,000 FPS as My Bottom "Limit" for, Berger, 140 Elites or Classic's.
With a WELL Placed Shot, the 6,5 PRC, can Kill Elk out to,.. 1,000 Yards ( or a little more ) with, 140 gr. Elite Hunt.,.. Berger.

This is the exact reply I needed, I had my head so wrapped around bullet mass I haven't even given any thought to sustained velocity at "X" yards. That bullet mass isn't going to mean snot if it's moving to slow to perform. Thank you for this.

 

[Lou270]

6.8 Western! A big sweet spot for recoil and performance to me. Not as many bullets as 6.5/7mm but Plenty of great heavy 270 cal bullets these days. Hornady is really the only one not offering a heavy 277 and honestly from what I read the eldx is not a great heavy game bullet anyway. I will say the nos 165 ablr and sierra 175 tgk are stout enough to bust through large boar shoulders at close range high velocity impacts and barnes, hammer, cutting edge have nice heavy monos as well. Berger 170 eol also works great and bc is up there. Son just killed a nice buck with 170 btip and it performed great as well. I have had no issues accuracy wise with current Win brass though I did have to cull a few. Still considering 1/3 price ok with that. Just saw on 6.8W FB page somebody talked to Petersen and said possibly Dec next year as getting lot of requests so on list

Lou

 

[Huntnpack]

7 SAUM. Will work well. Brass is Not hard to find.
It's an over achiever, well designed case, no improvements needed, easy to load for,
easy to shoot. accurate, long barrel life, versatile,
& something you can shoot ALOT.

 

[wvbearhunter]

Isnt the 300rsaum a short action?

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

New member here and I need the posts anyways so figured I'd ask the big short action magnum debate. I have a spare short action origin with magnum bf in the safe. (If I had a long or medium action on hand I'd be using it) Wanting to build a SAM with hopes of one day booking an elk hunt. I want to shoot heavy for caliber bullets and still retain magazine feeding.

The 4 big on my list at the moment are:
#1 6.5-7 prcw-brass availability/choices is awesome but I really don't want to deal with donuts and neck turn/ream
#2 7saum-brass availability is hit or miss
#3 7sst-same as saum, limited brass
#4 6.8 western-same thing, brass limited

Don't just say the 300wsm is the best thing since sliced bread. I'd like some personal experiences and why one would lean towards 1 vs the other. Thanks in advance.

.325 WSM.
Having a 8mm with a 200 gr bullet on top of 67 grs of H4350
Taken some big Plains Game Animals from Africa.
AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will harvest anything in North America.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

7 SAUM. Will work well. Brass is Not hard to find.
It's an over achiever, well designed case, no improvements needed, easy to load for,
easy to shoot. accurate, long barrel life, versatile,
& something you can shoot ALOT.

Yup, agree,.. 7 SAUM is What I'd Build too with, HIS Action, Perfect, to shoot some Practice with, as it HAS, a bit BETTER, Barrel Life than, most of the other, Magnum Cart's.
AND,.. it will Kill Elk cleanly, quite away's, out there !
We like to go to, a big Canyon, 15 miles East of Town and Shoot Steel from, Off-Hand, Sitting W/ Stix, and, Prone ( 15-20 shots ) several times a year, as my Family is, a Big believer in, Field shooting, Practice.

 

[rgvt4]

300WSM is great but if you want to shoot heavy's it should be built on a xm or a long action. 6.5 prc, 7ss would be better in a short action. not quite sure on the saum.

 

[cdherman]

300WSM is great but if you want to shoot heavy's it should be built on a xm or a long action. 6.5 prc, 7ss would be better in a short action. not quite sure on the saum.

Frankly, for long range, everything is better built on a long action. Question is what is acceptable/tolerable/useable. etc. That really is what the OP is asking: among short action choices, what can I do the best on elk.

For elk, you would want a good sectional density. So that's a long bullet. But the long 7mm bullets are a huge problem in a short action. And someone will chime in that they got a 180 Berger to shoot great from a SA. Fine for you buddy. Never worked for me. I really believe that too much bullet in the case is not good. You can only get a long bullet in a short action to work only "sort of".

I might think trying something in .277 with a tight twist and those now available long slugs would be the ticket..... Somehow I feel that .264 guns and elk will be met with too much controversy if its your first hunt. Just my wondering.....

 

[Justice1327]

I would choose the one with the best quality brass. For me, that gives the nod to the 7 SST. These days, I will not commit to a project without 300 cases, 16#s of powder, 2000 primers, 2000 bullets and dies on hand.

Amen!

 

[JAYgs8163]

Isnt the 300rsaum a short action?

Yes it is but with no Brass support.

 

[JAYgs8163]

I have both a 300WSM and a 7WSM. Both are great cartridges but the 300 has much better brass support. Hornady is now making brass for the 7WSM and with proper preparation of the brass it's served me well. I get great performance out of both in short actions. I run the 150 Badlands in my 7WSM 8.25 twist and that bullet has a .309 G7 BC which is fantastic in a 150 grain. If you build a 7 anything be sure to choose a 8twist barrel for some of the heavier projectiles.

I shoot numerous projectiles in my 300WSM with ADG brass but it's a newer build and I've not settled on one just yet. So far the 200.20x has yielded very good results in the 300. Good luck with your choice.

Jay

 

[Hydra6]

Yes it is but with no Brass support.

My buddy has a Rem 700 factory 300 RSAUM and I struggle to find brass for it.

 

[Mike D Texas]

Your only real option IMO is the 7 SAUM or 6.5 SAUM. All other cartridges are a compromise.

• 6.5 PRC - Not ideal in a true short action.
• 300 WSM - Good brass available when it's run but truly limited to ADG for premium brass option and still not ideal as a true short action.
• 300 SAUM - Good in a short action but no premium brass supported with proper headstamp (I neck up 7 SAUM).
• 6.8 Western - No premium brass options, I don't see this cartridge having staying power. Limited high BC bullet options.
• 7SS/SST - Boutique/enthusiast cartridge, limited brass & die option (only 1 source for each) and potentially overstated performance.

I don't know of any short action magnums with brass support by Lapua or Alpha.