Dear all

I was seriously considering buying a Sako St/Syn in .270 WSM until a retailer i deal with told me that barrel life with the short mags is in the region of 500 rounds!!!

Is this a realistic figure for the amount of ammo you could expect to put through before the barrel is shot out?

Any comments/ advice from experience greatfully recieved.

I have one on a Ruger #1 with a Pac Nor barrel that has had lot more than 500 rounds through it. The Barnes 120 (which they will no longer make), Nosler 130 BT, and the 160 Partition, all shoot under and inch. There are a lot of dealers who bad mouth WSM's, but who have not shot them.

The owner of the gun shop where I work always ran down the 7 STW as having no real advantage over the 7 RM until he saw me shoot mine. Now he has 5.

Opinions are like hair do's, we all got 'em; there's mine--then there's Bozo's.

Interesting, I've got a WInchester M70 Featherweight in 300 WSM and have over 800 rounds through her. SHe still shoots five shot cloverleafs at 100 yards with a 180gr Hornady SSTs and a max charge of Reloader 22. Its hands down the most accurate medium bore rifle I own. Hmmmmm...

Well, based on my experience he would be wrong.

I think that 500 rounds is a generous estimate -- assuming that it is all done in one sitting lasting less than 20 minutes.

While I have no particular use for the WSM series (for reasons that are irrelevant to the issue at hand), the barrel on your proposed .270 WSM will still be good when your great-grandchildren are shooting it if you are using it primarily for hunting and don't abuse it.