7mm SAUM vs. 7mm WSM

[DannoBoone1]

Prior to getting too old & decrepid, I plan on an

elk or caribou hunt within the next five years. The

caliber of choice is 7mm. Having reloaded since the

mid '60's, I don't care to reload belted cases, and

am interested in the SAUM or WSM.

My choice is to load all rounds, rather than using

factory loadings.

Please, only those who are experienced in one or

both of the rounds listed respond:

Referencing Hornady 7th Addition Reloading

Manual, the SAUM is 200fps slower than the WSM

with most weight bullets.

Which is generally more accurate?

There are very few rifles available for either

round, but the Rem 700 can be had for the SAUM

less expensively than the WSM can be had from

Browning. Has anyone used either of these rifles

for either round; which is more accurate?

The WSM seems to pack more of a punch than the

7mm Rem Magnum........but at how much more

recoil?

What would be the perfect rifle for either

round? (I haven't ruled out Montana Rifle or

Savage. The Browning A Bolt in stainless can be

had for about the same price as the Montana

with MB receiver and stainless barrel. The

stock would be extra. The Savage would be less

than half of either, but I have heard stories of

horrific recoil in Savage models.)

Any replies are welcome. Thank-you.

[257bob]

I am only familiar with the .308 caliber in each of your listings.

Accuracy for both were superb (less than .75 inch @ 100yds).

I would mainly consider the rifles. I am and have always will be a Remington fan.

They are easy to upgrade (stocks, barrels, triggers, etc.)

And are generally capable of good accuracy out of the box.

With some tuning and tricking superb accuracy.

Which rifle do like the best?

[EIGHTPOINT]

I have the 300 SAUM and the gun shoots great with the 150 grain remington factory ammo. which is only one of a few factory ammo's available for the SAUM's. Here in lays the problem, the SAUM's only have a few selections of factory ammo. Unless you hand load you may want to stick with the WSM's for that reason.

[tped]

If you look around the net you will see that Remington was slow at coming around with their short mags and therefor Winchester got the jump on them and became the more popular choice. Remington is having a hard time playing in this shortmag market and the general concensus is that the Remingtons will disappear as regular stock chamberings. Remington only loads a couple bullet choices and the only other factory ammo maker is Nosler for the Remington. Therefore for ease of obtaining ammo if you do not reload - the WSM would be the choice. That being said I bought the Remington 700 BDL SS in both 7SAUM and 300SAUM when everyone was fire selling them about a year and half to 2 years ago. I do not have a 7WSM but do have a 7 Mag. I have not chronographed it but in my opinion the small 7's are not quite on par with the 7mag - recoil is less which makes the shortmags pleasant to shoot. I do own a 300WSM (Kimber Montana) and the Rem 700 in SAUM and my aREmington shoots circles around the Kimber. The only thing I can say about the MOntana is that it has been the biggest disappointment in a rifle I have ever bought. I cannot get the advertised accuracy and I get bolt binding. It has been back to Kimber twice and the bolt still binds - with factory ammo which makes the gun unreliable for hunting. I would not recommend paying the premium price for one - stay with the REmingtons, Brownings, etc and save the risk. both SAUM shoot terrific. Sub moa with the factory ammo and stock out of the box guns. If you reload - you can really make them shine. If you don't buy the WSM for the long haul.

[DannoBoone1]

I guess there are too many people using the name "Montana" in their advertising. I was referring to the

Montana Rifle. They make barrels & actions, while you supply the rest. Their action could be defined as

an improved Winchester M70 action. Barrels can be had up to 28" or about as short as is legal.

From the info I can get out of reloading manuals, the 7mm Rem Mag and the 7mm WSM are very close to

identical ballistic twins. The 7th Edition Hornady manual gives a slight edge to the WSM for 139gr bullet

loads while all others are about identical. But then, Hornady is understandably conservative with their loads

and certain rifles could be loaded with a bit more power with either cartridge. All things considered, my

order will probably go to Montana Rifle (in MONTANA) for a 7mm WSM with a heavy 26" SS barrel and a

laminated Boyd's stock. The buttstock will sport a Simm's butt-pad over an 11 oz mercury recoil

reducer. (Hey, when I go elk hunting, it will be on a horse!)

[WaCoyote]

If you look around the net you will see that Remington was slow at coming around with their short mags and therefor Winchester got the jump on them and became the more popular choice. .

Wrong. Remington was first. 350 rem mag, 6.5 rem mag, and the SAUM's were prior to the WSM's. Remington seems to have a problem launching new cartridges succesfully.