Winchester Short Magnum?

I'm no expert, but here's what I knwo about it.

300 WSM if I recall was it's full name. It's a 30 cal (308) that's about the same length as a 308 Win (?), but fatter. It's been in the magazines for a while. My gun shop buddy has a few boxes and a rifle for it in stock. It's suppose to give magnum power in short action rifles.
 
I just recieved my Redding dies, Dillon's "Magnum" powder bar, shell-plate, pins, powder die and funnel. I'm going to start with Nosler's 165gr ballistic tip with Hodgdon "Varget" powder.

It's a bad time of year for frequent trips to the range, but I expect by spring I'll have some good data for my rifle.
 
I am assuming that the .300 WSM runs at higher pressires than a .308 ... does anyone understand what actually limits the pressure that can be safely used in a particular cartrtidge design? It just seems odd that you couldn't reiforce the chamber, of a .308 for example, and run the peak pressures higher. Obviously I'm missing something here ... so you don't have to flame me ;) ... that's why I'm asking.

I'll be checking back ... Thanks,
Saands
 
300WSM 53K-64K
.308WIN 49K-51K

I don't think you're missing anything.
The 308 wasn't designed as a big-game power cartridge.

You could beef up the case to allow higher pressures, ala the 45Super, but do you really want to? Besides, it would be called a 308Super or something.

So many choices, so little damb time!
 
Actually, I think I am still missing at least part of the story ... What is it that actually limits the .308 cases from going to pressures that are as high as the WSM cases can withstand? Is it case wall thickness? Is it the case head design? I'm assuming that it is not the strength of the barrel's chamber region or the strength of the action since you can rebarrel a 98 Mauser from 8x57 to .300 Win Mag and this uses a thinner walled barrel than the original if a bigger case fits into the a barrel with the same threads as the 8x57 barrel. It will be quite fascinating to me if the only limit was someone's arbitrary choice of brass thickness ... uh-oh ... the more I think about this, the more questions I have :eek:

Thanks for your patience!
Saands
 
300WinMag= 40K-53K
8x57Mauser=? But I'll bet it's similar.......

You said it, the limiting factors are chamber and case strength.
If you want a more powerful rifle, buy something designed to fire a higher pressure cartridge.

The ballistic engineers can figure all the rest of it out.
Do we have a ballistic engineer in the house?
 
Saands,

I am not sure what you mean by referring to the .308 Win as not being a "big game power cartridge." Once upon a time, when I began hunting, non-magnums were the norn in camp. A hunter armed with a 7MM Rem Mag had a BIG gun. This was considered an elk rifle extraordinaire. Somewhere along my path to big game nirvana I musta got lost because now a 7MM Rem Mag is a damn fine coyote rifle and that's 'bout it! But don't tell that to the game I keep collectin' with it 'cause they just drop like they always have. If they know I'm only usin' a 7MM Rem Mag, they might take it personally and not give up the ghost! Point of the matter is that when the .308 was introduced by Winchester in 1951, and I have looked at that year's issue of Shooter's Bible, it was chambered in their Featherweight model, and it was billed as ample medicine for all of North America's big game. But now it is on the same path as the 7MM Rem Mag...a damn fine coyote rifle and that's 'bout it! Hell, I heard tell of a squarely hit bull elk get up and leave the county once he learnt it was but a lil ol' .308 Win that had done him in! He said he weren't never gonna play in that part of Utah agin lessen them hunters went and git themselves real guns!


Adios
E
 
TVDean:
You said it, the limiting factors are chamber and case strength.
Actually, I said that it DIDN'T appear to be chamber strength since there is less chamber around a .300WM cartridge than there is around a .308 or a .30-06 in the same action ... maybe they use higher strength steel in the magnums ... but I doubt it.

For clarity, I have no intention of making a .308 perform like a .300WM ... I am asking out of curiosity.

Elvis: That was TVDean that said:
The 308 wasn't designed as a big-game power cartridge.

I've always considered the .308 good enough for most anything in the lower 48.

I guess I'm just looking for the technical explanation to this curiosity ...

Thanks,
Saands
 
Back
Top