“winchester short magnum”

There is no doubt that the .17 WSM elevates rimfire ballistics to a new level. But will enough gun companies jump on board to produce rifles in this caliber?

The myriad selection of rifle cartridges today has a metric ton of overlap, duplication, and some downright silly designs. Some of these designs boast wonderful claims, but not all of them measure up. In order to be overrated, you have to be rated at all, so let’s leave some of the more obscure designs off the menu.

In this, its 150th year in business, the history of Winchester firearms is well known. After all, “The gun that won the west” was a Winchester, the Model 1873. The Winchester Model 70 is known as the “Rifleman’s Rifle” and the Model 1894 is perhaps the most successful sporting rifle in history. The company also shook up the scattergun market with classic shotguns like the Model 1897, Model 21 and Model 12. The raw truth, however, is that none of these guns could have made their mark in history without ammo to shoot out of them. It’s kind of the red-headed stepchild in terms of glory and glamor, but Winchester has been in the ammo business as long as they have been in the gun business.

New for 2017, Winchester has enhanced their ammunition line by including the fantastic Nosler AccuBond Long Range bullet in the Expedition Big Game series.

For 2017, Hornady has decided to expand its Precision Hunter line of ammunition to include five new cartridges.

Hornady's Precision Hunter line was already due to expand in 2017, with the addition of .270 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, .280 Remington, .300 Winchester Short Magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum. But, thanks to the skyrocketing interest in 6mm Creedmoor, the folks from Grand Island, Neb., are adding it to the line, too.

The .270 Winchester and .270 Winchester Short Magnum crowd can enjoy the 140-grain Edge TLR, while the multitude of 7mm Remington Magnum shooters can now use the famous translucent blue tip on a 155-grain 7mm bullet.

Both cartridges come with some points of interest—or gripes, depending on who you ask—that make them unique, and while fans in each camp fervently wave their flags, it may help if we better understood where they’re coming from.

Between the .270 Winchester and the .270 WSM, which offers the best performance for hunters? Contributor Philip Massaro compares the two and picks the winner.