300WM or 300 WSM

[LET EM GROW]

Getting my son a 300 WM or WSM for Xmas. Nothing too expensive, just a good middle of the road gun. Savage 110 or Tikka possibly..

Is there any difference to pick one over the other? Besides ammo availability, until I buy the goods to load this caliber.. I know Long vs Short action.. and Muzzle Velocity and energy are nearly identical. 

TIA

[Buckmaster7600]

24 minutes ago, LET EM GROW said:

Getting my son a 300 WM or WSM for Xmas. Nothing too expensive, just a good middle of the road gun. Savage 110 or Tikka possibly..

Is there any difference to pick one over the other? Besides ammo availability, until I buy the goods to load this caliber.. I know Long vs Short action.. and Muzzle Velocity and energy are nearly identical. 

TIA

Does he have an 06? There’s very little a 30cal magnum does that an 06 can’t do with less recoil, less expense and less noise. 
 

I don’t own a wm but have been very happy with my 300wsm “wizzzum” for what little I’ve done with it. 

[LET EM GROW]

2 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

Does he have an 06? There’s very little a 30cal magnum does that an 06 can’t do with less recoil, less expense and less noise. 
 

I don’t own a wm but have been very happy with my 300wsm “wizzzum” for what little I’ve done with it. 

I have 2. So I thought seeing's how he is getting a firearm regardless, I really didn't want to add another 06 to the collection.. We hope to be out west for Elk in the next few years, so it will double as a Westerly Big Game gun as well.. 

[Ncountry]

I hunt with a 300 win mag. It's in a TC encore. Even with a 26" barrel it is short compared to a a bolt action with a 24 " barrel. 

If for no other reason than the wsm should be 1 -

1 1/2" shorter, I would choose it over the 300 win mag.

Ammo availability may be a consideration? I havnt bought any in a while.

[TimberGhost]

Ammo availability would guide my decision , I'm not familiar with either so I cannot comment on there advantages /disadvantages but I know I have 3 rifles I no longer shoot because lack of ammo

[Browndogs]

If you handload the wsm the wam is not a problem. I have one and it is a good round but as stated earlier, an 06 can perform close.

I would definitely go with the Tikka if it’s an option.  I’m a big fan of them and they often cause the other things in the safe to stay there lol

[Buckmaster7600]

Both have been relatively available for ammo. Usually the WM  is a bit cheaper. 
 

Tikka  over the savage is a no brainer in my opinion. I’m not much of a bolt guy but most that I have are tikka’s.

[Browndogs]

Agreed 

my brother has a 300wsm and doesn’t load and can find ammo, but it’s expensive 

im a bolt guy and the Tikka is simply a home run at the price point ( which has gone up considerably in the last few years lol)

[LET EM GROW]

Well I bit the bullet Tuesday night after stopping a couple shops. The WM had more readily available ammo for now until i get setup to load this caliber. So i went with that. I also ended up getting the Bergara B-14 Ridge Graphite Black with Gray Speckled Cerakote 24". The gun is nice and stiff and shoulders so well, I did like the CVA Cascade that was stupid light and shouldered great but the bolt want the greatest.  Neither shop had the 300 in the Tikka lineup i was looking at. But they are great guns no doubt. Now time to find a good piece of glass.. 

Thanks all.. 

[dbHunterNY]

On 12/8/2022 at 6:04 AM, LET EM GROW said:

Well I bit the bullet Tuesday night after stopping a couple shops. The WM had more readily available ammo for now until i get setup to load this caliber. So i went with that. I also ended up getting the Bergara B-14 Ridge Graphite Black with Gray Speckled Cerakote 24". The gun is nice and stiff and shoulders so well, I did like the CVA Cascade that was stupid light and shouldered great but the bolt want the greatest.  Neither shop had the 300 in the Tikka lineup i was looking at. But they are great guns no doubt. Now time to find a good piece of glass.. 

Thanks all.. 

both the bergara and cva are nice guns for the money. my buddy even got a winchester xpr bolt gun in 6.5 creedmoor that impressed me as far as rifles go. trigger wasn't bad and it shot submoa.

[LET EM GROW]

Ended up Wrapping up a Vortex Viper PA 6.5-20x44 I had on my Creedmoor, to put under the tree.