Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 300 WSM barrel length

Just ordered a 700 SPS in 300WSM.

The rifle currently has a 24in sporter contour and will soon be sitting in a Remmy Ti take off. I hope to cut the barrel down a few inches. Question is how short can the barrel be and still balance? Any ideas? Was hoping to go 22inches.

At 21.5 inches, the 180 gr can go out at 2900 fps.

Don't know if that helps.

That will be one nice rig!!!

I would add a Jewell (but that is just me) and a 3 posi as well.

To your question I would just cut and recrown it @ 23" and be on to the hunt fields.

Mark D

It''s a standard Model 700 with a matte finish, so 22" will balance nicely.

Ought to be a real "blast" with the .300 WSM in that barrel length, though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

I had one of the early M70 300 WSM's back in 2001. It had the factory 24" barrel. I fiddled with it, chrono'd it with a variety of 180 factory and handloads and eventually cut it to 22". I found I lost 85 fps average. 180's at 22" ran 2,880 to 2,900 fps. Me, I'd go to 23" but no less.

As to muzzle blast, I found it perfectly fine at 22"... actually less obnoxious at that length than, say, a 22" bbl'd 270.

Worth it at 22"? Well, it still runs around 150 fps faster at that length than a 30-06. Still, I like the 23" length as it'll put you solidly in the 2,900's with 180's and give you an overall rifle length that is, for all purposes, the same as a 22" bbl'd 30-06.

I'm thinking one kinda defeats the whole purpose of the 300 wsm if you bob the barrel back much past 24". Well, I guess it depends on how you see the 300 WSM. If all you want is an ultralight 30-06, you can go down to 20", if you want the speed, try and keep to 24".

I bought a Tikka T-3 Walnut -Blue in 300 WSM a couple years ago and had 3" bobbed off the bbl before I ever fired it becuase I don't like long bbls. I carry my rifles bbl down on the left side and they don't stick in the ground or scrape on the brush.
They are also a lot handier to get in and out of a vehicle if you use the F-250 spot and stalk method of hunting.
I get 2900 fps with 180s and if that aint enough they can walk.
The 300 WSM is a short 300 H&H, Can't make it to 300 WM. Sort of like the difference between the .308 and the -06 .
The right bullet in the right place is what counts.

Ditto, I couldn't agree more. It's still a 300 mag and needs barrel length to burn all the powder. If you want a short handy gun buy the M70 Compact in 308 it's a beauty.

My Browning has a 23 inch barrel and I get 3125 with a 168 gr TSX over H4350. Muzzle blast is reasonable, recoil is resonable, it seems about right.

Martin... I totally agree. 23" seems like the perfect compromise that also fits the concept of a SA powerhouse.

I'm building a 300 wsm with a 30 inch barrel for 1000 yards. I will let you know how it works out.

I don't understand this type of thinking. How is a short barrelled 308 better than a short barreled 300 WSM ??

Why would anyone care if all the powder is burnt or not, as long as you are achieving the ballistics you want in a barrel length you can live with ? A 20" 300 WSM will still outrun a 20" super-efficient-in-short-barrels 308 Win by a fair margin.

I'll also chime in re. the 24" BBL length.....kind of defeats the purpose of the short mag if you cut it back too much.

I think 23" whould be the shortest I would cut it too.

Me, I'd leave it at 24". Speaking from someone with a 270WSM and 7SAUM. Both with 24" BBLs, balance perfect and are a joy to carry.

Tony

[quote
Why would anyone care if all the powder is burnt or not, as long as you are achieving the ballistics you want in a barrel length you can live with ? A 20" 300 WSM will still outrun a 20" super-efficient-in-short-barrels 308 Win by a fair margin. [/quote]

Simply put, a 20" WSM won't achieve the balistics you want, if your interested in the WSM concept. A 20" WSM becomes a 30-06 for all intents and purposes, albeit a very loud nasty kicking -06. It's kinda like hotrodding your engine but not upgrading your tires, you make alot of smoke and noise, but can't put the power down.

If one's looking for a shorty to bob through the thickets with, then they don't need the reach out and touch of a Wizzum, nor should they put up the muzzleblast and recoil of one, hence the suggestion of a 308 win.

I LOVE my 22" 7Shamu...............

I have a 30" barrel on my .300 WSM ythat I used to compete at Williamsport this year. Using 64gr R19, Norma brass, F215 primers, and Sierra 200 gr. MK, I get a little better than 2950 and good long range accuracy.

Lefty

I guess there's no right or wrong answer here, but I'm having a hard time buying into the "WSM concept" if it means worrying more about unburnt powder than about actual ballistics.

A 20" 300 WSM is more powerful than a 24" 30-06. It will be easier to carry as well. Balance and pointability of course being subjectively better or worse.

As far as short barrel = thickets = no long shots required, I disagree, game is where you find it, and even if you are pushing bush, you can get a long shot across a clearcut or cut-line, and I will maintain that a 20" 300 WSM, giving 26" 30-06 ballistics in the same package as a 20" 308, would be a better rifle than either, 'efficiency' be damned.

That'd be how the cookie crumbles.

As an aside,a 20" 300Shamu LTR sorta intrigues me and 22" version of same,in 7Shamu would flat horn me up.

Not true... they work out to basically the same.

Why not a 19" .300 RUM? The extra inch of action length is offset by the one inch shorter barrel and that would outpower that puny little WSM.

Or an 18" .30/.378 Weatherby? That would outpower the .300 RUM.