The 7mm Winchester Short Magnum (also known as the 7mm WSM) is a centrefire cartridge developed in partnership with

Browning Arms Company Browning Arms Company (originally John Moses and Matthew Sandefur Browning Company) is an American marketer of firearms and fishing gear. The company was founded in Ogden, Utah, in 1878 by brothers John Moses Browning (1855–1926) and ...

and Winchester ammunition, making its debut and introduced to the shooting public in 2001. It is a member of the

Winchester Short Magnum Winchester Short Magnum, or WSM, refers to a family of rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridges developed in the early 2000s by the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, the maker of Winchester rifles and one of the oldest firearms man ...

family of cartridges.

Specifications

The 7mm WSM is similar to the

.300 WSM 300 Winchester Short Magnum (also known as 300 WSM) is a .30 caliber rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridge that was introduced in 2001 by Winchester. Specifications The overall cartridge length is 72.6 mm. The cart ...

with the case necked down to handle .284" bullets. However, the distance from the case head to the datum line on the shoulder is longer for the 7WSM, preventing accidental chambering or firing of the .284" 7mm bullet in .270 WSM's .277" bore.

Performance

The 7mm WSM cartridge achieves its useful purpose as an excellent cartridge for larger mule deer, sheep, black bear and elk. Winchester claims a muzzle velocity (MV) of 3,225 ft/s with a 140 grain bullet for their 7mm WSM cartridge; the claimed muzzle energy (ME) is 3,233 ft. lbs. With a 160 grain bullet the Winchester figures are 2990 ft/s and 3176 ft. lbs. at the muzzle. The lighter, shorter 7mm bullets are preferred in these short case magnums.

Popularity

The 7mm WSM has failed to gain the same popularity as the other cartridges in the WSM family. Some people erroneously believe the short case necks make the 7mm WSM poorly suited to heavier bullets, limiting the cartridge's usefulness on larger game. It is no different in this respect than the popular 300 Winchester Magnum. Cost is another factor limiting popularity. Ammunition prices are higher than those of the

7mm Remington Magnum The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable . ...

and the

.280 Remington The ''.280 Remington'', also known as the 7mm-06 Remington and 7mm Express Remington, was introduced in 1957 for the Remington model 740, 760, 721, and 725 rifles. History Having been released 32 years after the .270 Winchester, it had somewhat ...

, both of which have similar performance to the 7mm WSM, with the 280 Rem having slightly less muzzle energy and the 7mm Rem Mag being roughly equal.

References

7mm Cartridge Guide, 7mm WSM section
Pistol and rifle cartridges Winchester Short Magnum rifle cartridges {{ammo-stub

Specifications

Performance

Popularity

See also

References