Scott Gags

If you are not buying a rifle that takes advantage of the short action when chambered in WSM, the the 7mm Rem is better due to the quantity of loads available. In some rifles the WSM may shave some weight and in most rifles has slightly better ballistics. That being said the 7mm Rem is not going away, and the WSM is somewhat in doubt.

TerryM

That is something that is only marketing hype. The 7mm rem mag can be loaded to higher velocities than the WSM version. Do not judge the 2 by claimed factory ballistics data from a brochure. Having said that there is nothing wrong with a 7mm WSM.

stubblejumper

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Scott Gags

The 7mm WSM and 7mm Rem Mag both have 82 grain case capacities. The pressure limit on the 7mm WSM is 65,000 psi and the 7mm Rem Mag is only 61,000. When you have the same case capacity and same caliber as these cartridges do, the higher pressure cartridge is going to have slightly better ballistics thats not hype, thats physics. The only way the Rem mag canget closeis if you compare a manufacture that uses a short barrel for the WSM and another manufacturer uses a long barrel for the Rem mag. In any case thats not comparing the cartridges apples to apples.

stubblejumper

Lets compare facts.Browning and winchester introduced the wsms.Boththe browning a-bolt and winchestermodel 70 come with 26" barrels when chambered in 7mmremmag.In 7mmwsm the model 70 has a 24" barrel.In 7mmwsm,the a-bolt has a 23" barrel.So we are comparing the same rifle models with both cartridges.You can't compare the a-bolt and model 70 in both chamberings with the same barrel lengths because they aren't available in the same barrel lengths.And isn't it only right that we compare rifles from the companies that actually introduced the wsms in the first place?They are the ones thatdecided on short barrels for the wsms in order tomarket the wsmsin shorter and lighterrifles.

Scott Gags

Stubble, I hunt with a savage rifle and they chamber both in 24" barrels. So it just depends on the rifle manufacturer and probably even the model. I dont really want to split hairs on that issue. My point is that the WSM has the same powder capacity and a higher pressure limit. The 7mm Rems need for additional barrel length to be equal, coupled with a longer action (in some cases) is a drawback in my opinion.Longer guns can be more difficult handling in some hunting situations. If the shooter does not mind that drawback then theywould beabout the same ballistically. Given equal length weapons with the same handling characteristics the WSM is on average 150 FPS Faster. I base the velocity difference on Federals ammo so I have a manufacturer with no incentive to pump up one cartridge over another.

stubblejumper

Factory loads have never beenthe bestbasis for a comparison of cartridges potentials because some cartridges are simply loaded hotter than others by different companiesfor various reasons.Many of the wsm loads have proven to be very hot, several have shown pressure signs when used in factory rifles.In fact severalwinchester loads for the 7mmwsm are considerably milder than the federal loadsusing the same bullet weight.Why do you suppose that winchester would load their owncartridge milder than Federal?After all would they not want toprovide the best ballistics for their own cartridge?Perhaps they learned from theproblems with some of thetoo hotloads.On the other hand the 7mmremmag loads have always been loaded fairly conservatively.I have chronographed many 7mmremmag loads and a few 7mmwsm loads and when both were loaded to near max loads the 7mmremmag loads produced at least as much velocity as those of the 7mmwsm.I believe what I see on the chronograph readoutbefore I believeestimated velocities posted by ammunition manufacturers or in loading manuals.If on the other hand you choose to accept posted velocity estimates as fact,that is your choice.

James B

Just looking at the Sierra Manual where the 7MM WSM and 7MM Rem mag are listed back to back. The 7MM WSM matches the velocities of the 7 MM Rem Mag until you get to the 175 grain bullet. Here the Remington mag pulls away with a 150 FPS advantage over the WSM. This because of the WSM's biggest weakness, heavy bullets have to be seated to deep to function and this takes away the powder capacity needed to push the heavy bullets to their max. Without some new powders, the short mags will never be able to match the long version when you get into the heavier bullets. As said above, thats physics. This holds true for all the WSM's but for some reason, the 7MM WSM as stated in many of the manuals, seems to suffer this the most. For this and other reasons, I don't see the 7MM WSM surviving in the long run.

Scott Gags

I dont feel like chasing each others tails anymore. It looks toyou like Federal is trying to pump up the WSMand is willing to risk the safety of its coustomers to do so. Myself I really doubt it.