7 mm Magnum vs. .270 WSM?

[Vern Humphrey]

Good advice. Cartridges like the .270 and .30-06 have been popular for around 90 years (.270) and a hundred and ten years (.30-06.) There's a reason for that -- they get the job done. And there are literally millions of rifles in circulation chambered for those two cartridges. The ammo companies will NEVER stop making .270 and .30-06.

You can't say that for relative newcomers like the .270 WSM.

 

[mshootnit]

Real numbers.

The 270 WSM doesn't beat 270 by more than 50 fps with equal bullet weights. ..

I have read this more than once on the internet. I wanted to check this with published numbers from Hodgdon and Nosler. So I proceeded to find every published maximum in both 130 and 140 gr. bullet weights from Hodgdon and Nosler, for both 270WSM and 270Win. All loads listed used 24" barrels. I found a total of 72 published loads for 270 WSM. I found 74 published loads for 270 Win. The average of all 72 loads for 270 WSM was 3179.125 feet per second. The average for all 74 of the 270 Win. loads was 2978.910. The difference then is 200.215 feet per second in favor of the 270 WSM comparing 146 published loads. There were two reduced velocity loads using trail boss which I did not include in this comparison. While I believe it is possible that some rifles may shoot faster or slower, I believe the data clearly shows that 270 WSM is 200 fps faster than 270 Win. for 130-140 gr. bullets.
I did not research 150gr. but feel free.
Source:
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/data/rifle

http://www.nosler.com/nosler-caliber-index

 

[mshootnit]

When the choice between 270 WSM and 7mm Remington Magnum is deliberated, foremost consider the intended use as well as the rifles these cartridges are chambered in. From the hardware aspect, this is a choice between a shorter lighter rifle, and a longer heavier rifle. How important is that to you? What is your stature? How far and through what terrain will it be carried?
Secondly is the likely use. 7mm maintains a legitimate edge in foot lbs with fantastic bullet selection. These are most relevant for large game. So if the use is primarily big game, with only occasional medium game being taken, 7mm mag warrants serious consideration. Though 270 WSM is a good performer with 150 gr. bullets of tough construction such as the Partition or a solid such as the Barnes TSX
http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/tsx/

 

[Dog Soldier]

I have a Sako Light Hunter in .270 and 7MM Rem. Mag. The weight seems to be the same. I like both calibers. As a reloader the 7MM has a better selection of bullets. Well I think so.

 

[Buck13]

I have a Sako Light Hunter in .270 and 7MM Rem. Mag. The weight seems to be the same.

Yeah, trimming a half inch out of the bolt and receiver isn't really going to make or break my ability to carry the rifle. Walnut vs. plastic stock is going to make a much bigger difference in weight.

 

[Dog Soldier]

I have hunted most of my life at high elevations above 6,000'. I have found a rifle with a little extra weight is worth the effort to carry. Stalking elk in a high meadow above 7,000' your pulse is pounding like a jack hammer.Trying to calm down on a 200 yard shot can be more difficult with a very light rifle. Maybe it is only my problem.

 

[Buck13]

I can believe it. I grew up in Denver, so 5000' was normal ground level, but I've lived at sea level for a long time. Hard to imagine that 7000' is high, but I'd be feeling it now.

I like NOT having too much magnification in a scope, too. High power just freaks me out about how bad my hold is and encourages jerking the trigger to try to catch a good moment. If it *looks* smooth, it'll be smooth.

 

[RPRNY]

The last two are very good points for hunting elk in the Rockies.

 

[1stmarine]

All the calibers discussed here are good calibers.
But comparisons like this can become arbitrary and meaningless and might drive new shooters crazy.
I would start asking the question about the bullets wanted and speed on the target. Would the shooter like to have the option of a 160-180gr bullets and why?
The type of target or game when hunting, the weight of the game, the possibility of longer distances, all this is something only the new shooter can tell us and
this way decide what bullets are best for that job and what kind of margin for error one would feel confortable with.
The rest is a simple task of deciding what kind of casing I need to deliver the type of bullets I want where they are needed at the desired striking speeds.

Lets say we discarded the 30 caliber so let me give you a few examples with average type of loads to see how this could be relevant to the shooter.
Of course there are better bullets and more powerful rounds in any of those calibers.

http://www.hornady.com/store/270-Win-145-gr-ELD-X-Precision-Hunter/
Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
2970/2840 2796/2516 2627/2222 2465/1955 2306/1714 2157/1497
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.50 0.00 -6.50 -18.80 -37.60
Nosler... http://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/270-winchester/

http://www.hornady.com/store/280-Remington-150-gr-ELD-X-Precision-Hunter/
Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
2925/2849 2763/2543 2607/2263 2455/2007 2309/1775 2167/1564
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.50 0.00 -6.70 -19.10 -38.00
Nosler... http://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/280-remington/

The 7mm-08 comes less than 100 yards shorter than the 270 in terms of effectivness withing the critical 2200, 2100fps threshold.
http://www.hornady.com/store/7mm-08-Rem-150-gr-ELD-X-Precision-Hunter/
Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
2770/2555 2613/2274 2461/2018 2315/1784 2173/1573 2037/1381
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.80 0.00 -7.50 -21.60 -43.00
Nosler... http://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/7mm-08-remington/

This is a rather mild load for the RemMag...
http://www.hornady.com/store/7mm-Rem-Mag-154-GR-InterBond-Superformance/
Test Barrel (24") Velocity (fps) / Energy (ft-lbs)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
3100/3286 2914/2904 2736/2560 2565/2250 2401/1970 2242/1718
Trajectory (inches)
MUZZLE 100 200 300 400 500
-1.50 1.30 0.00 -5.90 -17.20 -34.50
Nosler... http://load-data.nosler.com/load-data/7mm-remington-magnum/


In 7mm you have the choice of 160-180grs with superior ballistics launched at very good speeds. You don't have that choice in 6.5 and limited in the 270.
In the 7mm you have the 7mm-08 small volume case choice combined with amazing 160gr-175gr bullets. You don't have that choice in the 6.5 or 270 bore.
You have the 284 variants and wildcats but then you also have the 284 straight that will produce better ballistics.
Of course we could add the WSM line but lets do this based on 30-06 and 308 siblings plus the popular remmag.
I included the 7mm-08 to show one could start with less powder and end with pretty decent effective range in case more is not needed.

Is there ammo that would outperform the above w/o getting into WSM, supermagnums or any other more exotic choices?
The most important question is, can I do more with less?
And when I say "do more" I don't mean just momentum and speed on the target but considering everything is important to the shooter including size, weight, recoil, expense, etc..