My brother is looking to purchase a new deer rifle. He plans on keeping this rifle forever, so he wants to make the right choice. He will be using it mostly for deer with the occasional elk. I've helped him narrow it down to a 7wsm, 7 win mag or 300wsm. Probably be shooting 130-150gr barnes x bullets mostly. Looking for something with flat trajectory b/c we do a lot of hunting over hayfields. I know this decision is probably up to personal opinion, but I want to hear everyone else's opinions. This will be a factory rifle, so which caliber and which rifle? Currently leaning towards Winchester coyote in 300 wsm, but may be too much gun for the grain of bullets we will be shooting.

Thanks for all of the help you guys have given in the past.

JB

Justin, I would pick the rifle, or caliber, and then choose the bullet weight and brand that you want to shoot.
I would probably go with the Rem 7mm. mag. for the hunting that you described.
It's almost the perfect fit ...easy to pickup ammo for, less recoil than most rifles, one flat shootin 'mo 'fo...sakofan..Good luck!!

Justin B,

My brother in-law's wife used a Win. M70 Coyote in .300 WSM in Alaska for everything from Sika deer to Moose. I like the Coyote myself and from what I've read either the 7mm WSM or the .300 WSM would be the way I'd go. I guess it all depends on the weight and type of bullets you will be shooting. Lawdog

I suggested the 7 win mag, but he wants to have something different than the rest of the guys we hunt with. I shoot a 7mm stw and love it, but can't find too many factory guns chambered for it anymore. Will a 300 wsm perform okay with smaller weight bullets? Really don't need 150's to shoot these southern deer, flat trajectory is more important. How did that coyote shoot and handle?

Justin B., stop by the www.shortmags.org website and research the WSMs and SAUMs.

Personally, I prefer to use bullets that are definately not the lightest available for the caliber. Trajectory is easy to compensate for. All you need is a lazer range finder and a little trigger time working out the come-ups. Wind drift, which lighter bullets with lower BCs have a surplus of, is more difficult to estimate and compensate for.

However, 125 gr Ballistic Tips from a .300 WSM will take southern whitetails but you will need to consider the limited penetration of the bullets when deciding whether to accept a shot opportunity. Remember that at close range where the impact velocity is high, possibly beyond the bullet's tolerance, penetration will be greatly reduced.

I have not yet heard of anyone dissatisfied with a Coyote in .300 WSM. You should ask specific questions of those who own and use one on the shortmags website.

My rifle is built on a Win SS CRF action in .300 WSM and I am more than pleased with every aspect of it. It is fitted with a Mike Rock 11.27 twist 5R rifled 26" (measured from the face of the action) s.t. barrel measuring .89" dia at muzzle, I.O.R. 2.5-10X 42mm scope with illuminated MP8 reticle, and Choate U.S. stock.

I don't think him wanting to "have something different" is a real good reason to buy any particular caliber. Sounds too much like he's trying to impress his friends.

I go back to the comment about him wanting the gun "forever". If he thinks he'll use the gun most of his career, I'd say get the 300 WSM in whatever make and model appeals to him. Most of us started our careers thinking we would only be hunting mule deer or whitetail, years later we find ourselves hunting Africa and Alaska, and Canada, and South America, and Asia. Who knows where or what your brother will end up hunting before he hangs it up. The 300 WSM gives him a little more leverage to stay with his "forever" thought.

All the calibers you mention are nice choices although I see no advantage in the 7mm Mag over the 7mm WSM. Of the three I'd make my choice between the two WSMs.

Don't fixate on a bullet weight before you select a caliber. A cross-caliber comparison isn't valid.

I have a 300WSM in the stainless classic and it shoots great. I mainly shoot the 165SST, but it shoots the 130XLC just as well (4" at 300 yds).
I preffer Winchesters, but I stay away from any of their wood (or laminate) stocks. Lately, I haven't seen any that were bedded straight in the stocks. The barrels are usually against the stock on one side or the other. (I also have a 270WSM built on a Ruger #1, but that's another story.)

For the hunting you describe , I would take the Coyote in .270 WSM , if you are set on a WSM and want something different......the .270 version will be slightly flatter than the .30 caliber and the 130 gr bullets well suited to deer in open country.....the Coyote would be nice for that type of hunting , but it is too heavy for general purpose work . If you want a world wide rig , go for a 7mm Rem mag in a regular weight sporter ....

For a DEER RIFLE for small southern deer at extended ranges, I'd go with a .270 Win. with a 26" barrel loaded to max with a 130-grain bullet. It will do as well as any magnum for what you want.

I have both the 300 WSM and the 270 WSM and both are outstanding performers. Since I am a handloader with a very large supply of .308 bullets, the 300 WSM has seen the most action and does everything my old 300 Win Mag did with better accuracy and less recoil. I also won a Hunter class match at my local range with it.

The 270 WSM is a Model 70 Stainless Synthetic with only 28 rounds fired over a chronograph to work up basic loads and test factory ammo. I agree with the responses above that this caliber is perfect for the deer application you have in mind. A 130 gr .277 bullet at 3300 fps is hard to beat over hayfields. Definitely choose the 270 WSM is there is a desire to shoot varmints with the same rifle...100 grain spitzers at 3600 fps put ti right with the 264 Win Mag without the barrel erosion in a compact, light rifle with 24 inch bbl. At the top end, Winchester factory ammo in 150 gr psp chronographed 3154 fps, so there is power to spare for many applications.

If your brother is interested, I can give him a good deal on this rifle, with or withour reloading dies, as I will not be using it much now that I have settles in with the 300 WSM.

Thanks for all of the advice, it's what we were looking for.

The reason he was wanting something different, is that he shot the 7mags, etc. and like most of us, he wanted one of the hot new calibers. It's not about impressing anybody since he mostly hunts with family. He does plan on keeping this gun forever since it will be purchased with some money that his great great aunt left him. She was a big hunter, and this is his way of having something to remember her by. That is why he has put so much thought into this rifle.

I do agree that the 270 wsm would be great, but he already has a 270 in a browing safari grade bar.

If he already has a 270, I would opt for the 300 win mag or the wsm.