That depends. I have had both myself and my rifle fail in the field. Right now, I'm doing my best to make sure that I never have a rifle failure again.

Chuck

It never fails. Any aspect of the .300WSM is being discussed and suddenly every fanatically devoted fan of the old .300WinMag is disparaging the new caliber in every imaginable way, largely with untruth. I do not recall fans of the .30-06 attacking the .308 as it gained a following in the sporting world.

It seems the 1st argument against the WSM is that it will not equal the velocity of the WM if both are loaded to the same pressure. Loaded to SAAMI max pressure the WSM and the old WM are so close that the difference is inconsequetial with 24" or 26" barrels. The WSM has an advantage in shorter while the WM is faster in longer barrels. Of course either can be loaded to higher than SAAMI to increase velocity.

I always cite the the US military .300WinMag A191 cartridge during the velocity argument because it is loaded to max safe pressure in rifles specifically chambered for it. It features the 190gr Match King at 2950 fps. Next I refer to the old .300WinMag 220 gr Match King load that has not been available for some time. It was loaded before the WM was "throttled back" so it produced 2650 fps. For those not old enough to remember this browse Leupold catalogs till you find the BD cams that are available and verify projectile and velocity that I quoted. My accuracy load for my 26" barrel .300WSM with a moly coated 190 gr Match King is 2964 fps av, with max to date ES 11 fps. 2650 fps is easily exceeded with the 220 gr Match King from the WSM. I use these loads as examples because the claim is more often that the WSM is deficient with the heavier bullets but equal with 180 gr and lighter.

I have not claimed efficiency for the WSM as 8 or 14 extra cartridges per pound of powder will not amount to much for those who shoot less than 50 shots per year. For others this small savings could be a factor. Perhaps the very minute ES so common with the WSM is a result of the efficiency, but who here knows for sure?

As I have posted before, I have owned, reloaded for, and hunted with both calibers. I competed with the old WinMag and will soon do so with the WSM. My opinion is that performance on game is equal. The accuracy advantage of the WSM is so small that if you were going to place well with it, you would also with the WinMag. The virtues, other than stiffness, of the WSM short action is largely personal opinion.

FWIW