Educate me on the 7mm WSM

L

leadcounsel

Moderator
I just impulsively bought a nice used Savage model 10 with 99% condition wood stock, 99% condition blued finish, and 100% condition bore, with Leopold Vari-X I 3-9x40 scope. It has the Accutrigger. Action and trigger are smooth and crisp.

(Also came with a nice Cabelas padded bag, and 30 rounds of Federal Premium 180 grain ammo).

Got the setup for $400 cash, local sale, from a guy who got a .300 Win Mag for his wedding gift, so decided to sell this one. I felt it was a screaming deal because the scope alone is worth $200.

Questions. How rare/difficult to find is the 7mm WSM?

Where does the 7mm WSM fall into the ballistics hierarchy overall, and even among what I already have:? (These are not necessarily in order, so possibly aid me in re-ordering.) I've done a little research and best I can tell is that it's under the .300 Win Mag, but equivalent to the .270, and a little better/flatter than the .3006.
.300 Win Mag
.270 Win
.3006
8mm Mauser
7.62x54R
.308
7.5 Swiss
6.5 Mauser

Thanks.
 
I like the 7mm WSM and have one.

I don't see a Federal 180 gr load?

It's about like the 7mm RM except that ammo and brass is not easy to find.
 
Yes you got a screaming deal. The 7mm WSM hasn't been all that popular, but then neither is the 280 Remington, a really great cartridge. I am surprised that the ammo is 180 grain as 7mm bullets are usually 175 grain or less. All ammo is hard to get now. Save your brass so that it can be reloaded.
 
its a really good rifle and one of the very few of the corny gimmicks the gun companies have tried to use to sell us more guns we dont need that really is good.
its ballistics are about the same as the classic 7mm mag but has less recoil and i think it can get 50fps more than the 7mm mag with less recoil.to be honest its the only one of the short magnums that worth a damn and its the only short mag i would ever buy if i had the money.

most of the guns invented in the last 15 years have been lame gimmicks but the 7mm winchester short magnum really is a good gun.if the OP wants i can research a really accurate handload for that gun
 
From what I have been able to glean from my material, reloading manuals, RCBS.LOAD, which literally contains maybe a hundred reloading manuals. The 7WSM is pretty much equivalent to 7RM, except with the heaviest bullets.

The Win cartridges tend to sacrifice neck length for powder capacity, the WSM's included. Reloaders tend to prefer a case with a longer neck. It is supposed to allow better accuracy due to easier controlled run out. This is having the bullet perfectly centered in the neck. Longer necks = less wobble.

The longer bullets have to be seated deeper into the case, to fit the shorter action length magazines, reducing case capacity.

I like the idea of a rimless short magnum of moderate capacity, and excellent efficiency, but the rebated rim catches some heat from hunters because of feeding problems experienced with parent cartridge, 404 Jefferys. The case body is larger in diameter than the case rim, which can cause feeding problems historically.

It would seem to be fine for a reloader, but factory ammo is expensive and may be harder to find than 7mag, or 270 ect.

I own and reload for 6.5x284, which is also a rebated rim cartridge, but my rifle is a single shot Cooper MDL 22, so magazine feeding isn't an issue for me.

Savage rifles have reputation for accuracy and as far as drilled bar stock actions, with washered recoil lugs go, the Savage is perhaps the most ingenious design of that type on the market, IMO.

Sounds like a decent deal, as long as you know what you are getting into, with the ammo costs and availability.
 
Aside from the belt, I see it like this:

The 7mm WSM is to the 7mmRem Mag what the .308Win is to the .30-06 ..... similar ballistics, though shorter case, and not as capable on the heavy end of the bullet weight spectrum .....

Cases may become hard (or impossible) to find. Lose none, and get enough to last you .....
 
the 7mm WSM has slightly more power than the classic 7mm rem mag.not more power than what really is noticable.
i dont think a .308 to 30-06 relation is accurate.
i dont think neck size would matter much unless your trying to shoot a 160 very low drag boatail spitzer.lenth of bullet and grain weight are not always the same thing.
a nosler partition vs. a nosler bullistic tip does not leave the 160 much longer than the 140gr.now a 160gr accubond vs. a 140gr bullistic tip might cause seating depth problems.
 
I think you got a screaming deal and would not have passed it up if it presented itself to me. I had a 7WSM built and love the cartridge. I reload and am getting nothing less than fantastic results with my rifle. Ammo is out there for it but you do have to do a little searching to find it. If you reload you're in trouble finding brass. The only maker that sells it is Winchester and they have none available. When I contacted them they would only say it would go into production "later this year". I got lucky searching forums and found 200 pieces though so persistence could pay off for you too. As for your "hierarchy" it really depends on what weight bullet you're shooting and how fast your gun shoots them. If you are going to shoot the heavier, high BC bullets like Berger or Nosler LR Accubonds you'll be very high on your list, if not on top.
 
Your 160 bullets should be good for anything up to moose. My friends and I have killed over 20 moose with the 160 grain Accubond and your 7mm WSM should do anything with that bullet our 7mm Rem Mags will do.
 
I have a couple of 7WSM's. Winchester Coyotees. 7WSM is the answer to a problem that did not really exist. Its balistically a 7Rem mag on a short action and it eliminates the belt. Loaded ammo is expensive. Brass is as easy to find as anything else is in this time of hoarding and shortage. It is a very accurate cartridge that some shooters use for 1k benchrest. Great hunting cartridge. Both my rifles love 150 gr ballistic silver tips.
 
I have a Browning A-Bolt Stalker in 7mmWSM and 200 round of ammo All Winchester 140 to 160 grain and some of it for 19.00 a box on sale, when I bought the rifle. Love it it's a tackdriver.
 
The WSMs offer better than conventional magnum ballistics in a short action. In it's own right it's a terrific cartridge. The only problem with the 7mm WSM is that it has been overshadowed by the very similar and more popular 270 WSM. I'd lay in a stock of brass, if you can find any. If need be you can make it from 270 or 300 WSM brass. If you can find any.
 
if you do enough online seaching you should be able to find the brass you want.at least the caliber maybe not the name brand you like.

i found 6.5-55 se nosler brass at midsouth quikely.
someone will have your 7mm WSM brass or something you can resize like .270 or .300 WSM
 
The headspace or 'shoulder' on the 7mm WSM is longer than the 270 or 300 WSM's!

I have FL sized 300 WSM's to 7mm WSM and left a small false shoulder but you have to fireform them.

I just had to have a 7mm WSM and now there is no brass!

Better to get a 270 WSM because it's more popular.
 
1. Unlike the 7mm RSAUM (which I have a rifle in ), the 7mm WSM is not yet a semi-obsolete / cult cartridge. I'd say it's still "mainstream", though barely.

2. It is better externally-ballistically than any/ALL of the other rounds you mention, by a pretty good margin, though .270 win and 6.5x55 come close (but no cigar), at loooong range. At short, medium, and medium-long ranges (to 350 yards), they are equal for all intents and purposes, except that the 7mm bullets are bigger and thus pack more punch.

3. It is just a smidge under the 7mm Rem. mag in performance, and a smidge over the .280 AI & 7mm RSAUM, but without the belt of the 7mm Rem mag., and a bit more efficient (less powder/ recoil), which makes it superior in my view (significantly superior).

It is truly among the best long-range large game cartridges ever devised, in my view.
 
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