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I am a big believer in the 300 Win Mag. I have used this gun for the most part, for the past 10 years. Without going into more detail, I have used it in Africa and here in the states with great results. My 17 year old son really liked it as well. Therefore, I decided to give it to him. Therefore, I now have my back up gun; a 7mm WSM Browning A-bolt. I have taken one animal with it; a bison. It worked well at the time. I am now taking my family hunting to RSA in a few months. Do any of you have experience with this caliber? If so, what factory bullet have used. I cannot believe how rare this ammunition has become. There is not a lot of it available. Again, I would welcome your experiences with this caliber! Thank you | ||
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I can't help you with the 7mm WSM. I have a 270 WSM and reload for it. In terms of popularity yours is behind the 300WSM and 270WSM, so ammo may be harder to find. | |||
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I have experience with the 7mm SAUM on Sitka Blacktail (150gr. E-Tip at 2,850 fps: 240 yards) and Alaskan Goat (140 AB at 3,050 fps, 107 yards). In short, the SAUM was very effective on both critters. Both were clean one-shot kills. The WSM and the SAUM operate somewhere inbetween a 280AI and 7mm RMag. Given that the 7x57 has been an African mainstay for ages - and given that it's running at significantly lower velocity - well, the 7mm WSM is going to do just fine in Africa with proper bullets. Pick the bullet that's built well, put it where it's supposed to go and you'll have a trophy on the ground. This year I'll be taking my 7mm RMag to Africa and will be running 150gr. Nosler E-Tips at 3,000 fps. I plan on using this for anything from Kudu/Beest on down. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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Great info. Thank you! | |||
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Go hijack another thread. | |||
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This seems rather uncalled for. A man wants to hunt Africa and asks a question about a cartridge he wants to use. Isn't that a core reason why this forum exists? More importantly, he posted this in the right forum (medium bores). I'm thinking we should applaud him, not piss on his parade. Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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 Great comments both posts Robert...Jim  "Life's hard; it's harder if you're stupid" John Wayne | |||
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Best to reload for this caliber. Got a good deal on a 7 WSM Kimber and its been a lot of fun. Don't know who is getting the claimed ME that some are professing but this gun shoots best groups with 140gr pills at +/- 3000 and 160gr at +/-2850 for me. H414 and IMR4831 seem to work best. Wish the case were better engineered for heavier/longer bullets but the WinMag picks up the slack. I wouldn't buy this caliber again but in the real world I think it can probably do everything the 7RM can do up to 160 grain. Just don't forget the ammo... | |||
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Thank you. Great comments and advice. I do appreciate it. | |||
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I run a 7WSM though I've never used factory ammo and haven't used it for hunting yet. Never had a mechanical issue with the round be it feeding from a mag or ejecting. With handloads in a 26" barrel I've gotten Hornady 139s past 3300fps and stout loads with Sierra/Berger 180s up to 3000fps. Holds .5 MOA at 200 yards and can get decent barrel life if you don't hotrod it or shoot long strings. I've used 4831sc, WXR, H1000, Retumbo and WC860. All work well, some better than others. Is it a rehash of the 7RemMag? Probably, but it works well enough for me in my short action from a magazine. Now I just need to get the elk tag in the draw... My 2 pfennig | |||
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I have a 7WSM. My rifle is very accurate with 140 and 160 gr bullets, not so the 150s. I have used 140 Ballistic tips on larger bodied northern whitetails. I have some old stock 160 gr Winchester Fail-safe ammunition that has shown very well on 200 to 300 pound (dressed) black bear. Recently I have been reloading 140 gr Nosler Partitions for deer. I would take the 160 grain bullet loads to Africa. If you scour the internet you should be able to find 160 gr Barnes factory and 160 grain Failsafe loads. Save the brass, the current auction value is almost 80 cents a piece. | |||
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Youp: Great, thanks! I had no idea that brass was that expensive. I'll definitely go with the 160 grain. I'll give it a go with croc, zebra, and few other plains game. Several years ago I drew a Henry Mountain free range bison tag. I took the 7mm WSM as a back up to my 300 win. I slipped on some slide rock and damaged my scope mounts. I was then stuck with Fusion 140 grain bullets and the WSM. I shot the bison once, and then quickly shot it again. At the second shot it dropped immediately and was breathing it's last breath when I got to it. The performance of the gun and bullet was better than expected. hearing the responses here, I'm feeling even more confident taking it! | |||
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I had one for a few years in a model 70 featherweight. Shot very well with 140gn accubonds at 3150 FPS with Reloder 22 and even better with a mild load of 68gns of Reloder 25 behind the 160gn accubond for 3030 FPS. Put 9 shots into about 0.8 MOA with that last load. Winchester cases and Federal GM210M primers. The hunting imperative was part of every man's soul; some denied or suppressed it, others diverted it into less blatantly violent avenues of expression, wielding clubs on the golf course or racquets on the court, substituting a little white ball for the prey of flesh and blood. Wilbur Smith | |||
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If your "family" is going hunting, that may mean needing more than one rifle. You would still have time to treat yourself to something new and "African." CDNN has had a sale on 375 Rugers and 416 Rugers for $699. They are apparently becoming quite popular with farmers in RSA. I would probably have gotten one if my wife hadn't just picked up a nice 375Ruger. Why did she go with a .375" when her interests are mainly plainsgame? For one, a person never knows what they will meet up with in the bush in Africa. And for two, there is this advice from Elmer, which I recommended to her:
Even Jack O'Connor probably considered Elmer's advice worthwhile when he was hunting with a .416Rigby +-+-+-+-+-+-+ "A well-rounded hunting battery might include: 500 AccRel Nyati, 416 Rigby or 416 Ruger, 375Ruger or 338WM, 308 or 270, 243, 223" -- Conserving creation, hunting the harvest. | |||
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While rule 2 and 3 below are said sarcastically, they are true. Also read rule 12. The 7x57 has been killing game efficiently for a 100 years. The 7 rem mag is a 7x57 on steroids. 7mm WSM essentially duplicates a 7 rem mag. Find a premium bullet between 150 and 160 grains that shoots well and go have fun. Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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Jason, The 7mm WSM is just another 'new' cartridge introduced to sell you and I yet another gun. I fell for it and have had two 7mm WSM's. As we know it's a medium sized cartridge that shoots 7mm bullets! It's not a lot different than others performance wise. It's just not popular or nor is the ammo available. I can't even find more unprimed brass for it. I would never go to Africa with mine as the chances of loosing your ammo exist. Instead for a medium cartridge bring a rifle chambered for a popular cartidge. Some of these are the 30-06, 270 etc.. Good luck on that hunt. Get the 'power' or optic that your eye likes instead of what someone else says. When we go to the doctor they ask us what lens we like! Do that with your optics. | |||
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Funny you mentioned this. Last week, I took my son to sportsmans warehouse and looked for a gift, for my son. We decided to go to the gun counter. I asked to look at a wood stocked 300 Win mag. They didn't have one, so I looked at a browning abolt in a 30-06, for reference. Long story short, my wife went back and bought it for my birthday. Although the 300 will wait for another day, I'm very happy to take the 06 to Africa. Therefore, the WSM has been replaced! | |||
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Awww man! Now you've gone Mainstream!  You're gonna love the '06. Ammo everywhere, can do it all cartridge! Good Luck with it! Regards, Robert ****************************** H4350! It stays crunchy in milk longer! | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles Your thoughts on the 7mm WSM
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