.300 WSM - Advice for Plains Game

[cperso]

.300 WSM is close enough to .300 WM, to call them equal. Just using a short and fat case. If a bullet works with WM, it works with WSM.

If I were to take a .300 WSM hunting, I'd first verify that it works perfectly in my rifle. The sharp shoulder has potential to make feeding more rough than with more gently tapered cartridges.

I've been reloading for my ABolt 300wsm since 2005 and have encountered zero feeding issues to date

 

[perttime]

^ ... and that is good. It is good, anyway, to make sure a rifle functions well, before using it for something serious. The shape of the WSM isn't quite as forgiving as many traditional cartridges, so a functioning check is even more important.

 

[Rimbaud]

Thanks for all of the generous input. It is true about the shape of the WSM, but I have put hundreds and hundreds of rounds through the rifle and have never had a feeding problem, or found the rifle to be more sensitive, as it were, than my rifles that use the old favorite calibers.

 

[Hunting Hitman]

I have hunted Africa with both the 300 Win Mag and Win short Mag with great successes. I had the guys at Pendleton Ammunition make me some custom loads in 200 grain ELDX bullets and the results were impressive. 17 animals on 19 shots. I believe I paid around $50 a box and for custom hand loaded bullets I believe that’s a small price to pay for high quality ammunition.

 

[ChrisG]

I've been reloading for my ABolt 300wsm since 2005 and have encountered zero feeding issues to date

It works much better in push feeds from what I can tell. It is more finicky in CRF actions. I had a Ruger M77 MkII Frontier (don't ask me why I bought a 16" scout rifle in .300 WSM but I did) that fed like trying to fit a square peg wrapped in sandpaper into a round hole lined with carbide teeth.... Needless to say, muzzle blast, feeding issues and general lack of any ballistics better than a .308 out of that short barrel made me get rid of it.

 

[Philip Glass]

Good caliber and I think you are on the right track. As @Hunting Hitman said don’t forget that quality custom ammo can be loaded by custom ammo makers like Safari Arms. A safari is expensive, having good ammo that both you and your gun limestones is cheap no matter the cost!
Have fun getting ready.
Philip

 

[Rickmt]

Never a feed issue for my Winchester model 70 featherweight in the 6-7 years it has been my go to rifle!

 

[MAdcox]

Took my Kimber 300wsm on my first trip to RSA in 2017. I shot 165 gr Barnes TSX- my handloads. I had 4 one shot kills on Impala, Kudu, Gemsbok, and Blue Wildebeest. Ranges from 75 to 150 yards. I love my wsm, have never had feeding problems.
I think the Oryx should work well. Haven’t tried them in my 300 yet, but have used the 100 gr in my 243 and they have performed perfectly on Oklahoma Whitetail.
Good luck and can’t wait for the report.

 

[Longwalker]

I think you can be confident in your choice of cartridge and bullet. Happy hunting!

 

[Rimbaud]

I'm just back from Namibia, but still there mentally. The .300 WSM was a sledgehammer. I loaded Norma brass w H4350 and 165g Barnes TTSX. We clocked the ammo at around 2990 FPS. Everything dropped to the shot or ran a short distance and dropped, except for a blue wildebeest, which was my first hunt. The wildebeest was tough as nails, and I shot a little back of the vital triangle, which I largely attribute to my own nerves. THE .300 WSM dropped a waterbuck at a 320 yard shot from one kopje to another. A kudu dropped at 280 yard shot from cliff down into valley. All other shots - impala (2) blesbok (2) warthog, springbok, gemsbok - ranged from 80 yards in brush to 220 yards.

 

[Rider717]

I took my Blaser R8 with a .300 WSM to SA a couple of months ago. I used Federal Fusion 180 grain factory bullets. All performed flawlessly. No bullet failures, no feed issues. I shot 4 springbuck from 160-260 yards, roan from 160 yds, waterbuck from 230 yrds, blue wildebeest from 250 ish, nyala, warthog, bushpig, and zebra. A pretty good mix of plains game large and small. With the exception of the nyala and zebra all were one shot kills. The warthog took 2 shots but I had a small window in some rocks to get an anchoring shot on him. The nyala and zebra were both moving as I shot so both were a bit low and back from my aimpoint. The .300 WSM does just fine on plains game. The smaller animals do have a big exit hole though. As with all calibers I think shot placement is far more important than grains, caliber bullet style etc. I was shooting clover leafs with my rifle before I went over and was very confident with it. Moving targets are whole other issue for me. Practice on and off sticks kneeling, sitting and standing. You will have some awkward positions to shoot from but practice will make you confident. Good luck and let us know how you do.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

Good caliber and I think you are on the right track. As @Hunting Hitman said don’t forget that quality custom ammo can be loaded by custom ammo makers like Safari Arms. A safari is expensive, having good ammo that both you and your gun limestones is cheap no matter the cost!
Have fun getting ready.
Philip

I think the same as Philip.
Witold