I was interested in a 338 federal and a hunting and shooting friend of mine suggested maybe a 300 WSM or 325 WSM (he has the latter) and load it DOWN to deer power, with the capacity to load it UP if I EVER hunt anything bigger. The availability of short action and light weight rifles chambered for WSM's (Browing and Kimber for example) made this a legitimate approach.

Any experience with loading a WSM down to 308/30-06 levels?

quote:

Originally posted by Farflung:
load it DOWN to deer power,

Any experience with loading a WSM down to 308/30-06 levels?

Didn't realize that rifle cartridges came in deer power!!!

I always felt that te .308/.30-06 had quite a bit of power, and wouldn't be afraid to take on elk and moose on a regular basis with either one. If you want the .338 Federal then that is what I would buy. I'd buy either the .300 or .338 Win Mag before I'd buy either of the suggested WSM rifles.

I'm admittedly a 308/30-06 fan, but here's an alternative: you could walk the middle ground between 308 and 325 WSM by getting a 300 or 338 RCM (especially the latter)...

Only problem with the RCM rounds is they are pretty much factory-only types. Hornady and Ruger are on about their proprietary powders/methods used to achieve their factory performance, not available to handloaders. The cases have less capacity than a WSM, but that might actually be a good thing - once we see these rounds become a little more common hopefully the handloads will put the rounds in near-magnum class performance and be truly in between a .30-06 and a .300wsm.

What kind of velocity and bullet weight were you thinking about?

Never really understood the downloading concept (except for practice). If you don't full house loads, as the others said 308/3006 or a 8x57 and don't worry about the others. Any of those cartridges will do fine from most things in the US.

If you want something in "deer power" and in a short action, why not just buy a 308?

I don't see the point in buying a rifle in a particular cartridge KNOWING that you will download it. I have shot several east Texas deer with a 300 WSM, and I have never felt over gunned.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeyB:
Only problem with the RCM rounds is they are pretty much factory-only types. Hornady and Ruger are on about their proprietary powders/methods used to achieve their factory performance, not available to handloaders. The cases have less capacity than a WSM, but that might actually be a good thing - once we see these rounds become a little more common hopefully the handloads will put the rounds in near-magnum class performance and be truly in between a .30-06 and a .300wsm.

Yeah, I agree - we may never be able to match factory ballistics. However, that may not be that big of a deal. For someone who is strongly considering a 338 Federal anyway, 338-06 numbers out of a short action might be even more of a good thing...

quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Sullivan:
If you want something in "deer power" and in a short action, why not just buy a 308?

Because I HAVE 2 308's

I don't see the point in buying a rifle in a particular cartridge KNOWING that you will download it. I have shot several east Texas deer with a 300 WSM, and I have never felt over gunned.[/QUOTE]

Some of us are recoil sensitive, like me. I dont' WANT to shoot the fire-breathing and hard-bucking 335 WSM all the time for deer. But for Elk, I would want the flatter shooting trajectory of the higher load.

Still, nobody has been able to answer my question if they have loaded DOWN a 300 or 325 WSM.

I have. Until the reloading police tell me otherwise, I'll load it hot or cold or anywhere in between. I expressly bought it to replace the '06 that got stolen some time ago. I liked the rifle, the price, and the fact that the 300WSM seemed to have been accepted by the shooting crowd since its introduction in '01.

This is purely speculation on my part but I think the 300WSM will be more akin to the 22-250Rem rather than the 225Win.

quote:

Originally posted by Farflung:
Some of us are recoil sensitive, like me. I dont' WANT to shoot the fire-breathing and hard-bucking 335 WSM all the time for deer. But for Elk, I would want the flatter shooting trajectory of the higher load.

Still, nobody has been able to answer my question if they have loaded DOWN a 300 or 325 WSM.

Well there you have it with the 220 grain 325 WSM load you are not going to have that much flatter trajectory as like the 338 Win Mag with a 250 grain bullet rougly mirrors a .30-06 with 180 grain bullet. So if you download to a .308 recoil level your trajectory for deer will actually be worse than the .308 Win. The .325 doesn't extend your range really it just hits harder because the bullet has more mass.

If that is what you actually want then the .300 Win Mag or WSM will be your best option as you can download to .308 performance. Then when you go with full house loads have a better trajectory and more power for bigger game like elk. Or you could just load a premium 165 grain bullet in your .308 and hunt both deer and elk with it and be happy.

Most people who hunt with the WSM rounds do not load down it defeats the reason they have the cartridge in the first place.

180 gr barnes x bullets loaded to 2600 fps on black bear over bait. Didn't see the need for 3000 fps at twenty yard shots. Son took a 231 pound black bear with a single shot to the neck, bullet exited three inchs from the asshole. bullet transversed the length of the body,30 cal going in, 60 cal comming out. Animal was spined and dead on the bait pile. doubt it ever knew what hit it.