300 Winchester Short Magnum History and General Information.  The 300 WSM is a new centerfire rifle cartridge developed by Winchester ammunition, making its debut and introduced to the shooting public in 2000.  The 300 WSM is a commercial cartridge based on the 404 jeffery cartridge case, shortening to 2.100" and necking down to .30 caliber and sharpening the shoulder angle to 35 degrees the new 300 WSM cartridge has plenty of case capacity for all of its offered bullet weights.  The 300 WSM cartridge achieves its useful purpose as an excellent all around cartridge for all of the deer species of wild game animals walking in all of North America, from white-tailed deer to moose.  The 300 WSM cartridge is a very well thought out cartridge as Winchester is no stranger to highly successful 30 caliber cartridge development. The 300 WSM cartridge offers a good balance of power with manageable recoil. Winchester has now developed 4 cartridges in this caliber;  (30-30 Winchester in 1895)  (308 Winchester in 1952)  (300 Winchester Magnum in 1963), and  (300 Winchester Short Magnum in 2000).  The 300 WSM factory loadings show a velocity of 3,300 feet per second for a 150 grain bullet for deer hunting and this translates to moderate recoil for the shooter with plenty of bullet energy at the 500 yard mark to flatten a white-tailed deer size animal.  The 300 WSM cartridge, chambered in a short actioned rifle may well be the ultimate rifle for all of the North American game animals, factory bullet selection in the 150 - 165 grain weight range is the key for success in this cartridge offering moderate recoil with high down range bullet energy. 300 WSM Barrel Specifications. Common Barrel Twist Rate - 1 in 10". Bore Groove Diameter - .308" 300 WSM Reloading Specifications. Bullet Diameter - .308" Maximum Case Length - 2.100" Trimmed Case Length - 2.090" Primer Size - Large Rifle 300 WSM Loading Data Hints.  The 300 WSM cartridge responds well to IMR 4350 powder delivering high velocities with excellent accuracy within the 150 - 165 grain bullet weight range. 300 WSM Reloading Data. Hodgdon Reloading Data Center. 300 WSM Rifles. New Browning, Winchester, 300 WSM rifles here.  Sponsor - Impact Guns. 300 WSM Trajectory and Hunting Applications.  This is a down range trajectory chart for the 300 WSM cartridge with the scope mounted 1.5 inches above the bore center line plus if you were using this load, its effective hunting bullet energy range with well placed shots on, Deer size game, such as Antelope, Blacktail, Hogs, Javelina, Mule, Whitetail. Elk size game, such as Caribou, Black Bear, Sheep. Moose Bullet diameter .308" Bullet weight 150 grains Bullet ballistic coeffecient .418 Bullet velocity 3,300 feet per second Range 100 yds. 200 yds. 300 yds. 400 yds. 500 yds. + + 1.1 0 - 5.4 - 15.9 - 32.4 3121 2676 2285 1941 1638  Deer + + + + + -  Elk + + + + - -  Moose + + + - - - Copyright 2001 - 2010