Thoughts on .300 Win Mag?

[HarryN]

There are big fans out there for most any caliber, so I will throw in my 2 cents as well.

We live in CA, so most of the hunting here requires lead free bullets. Most of these are precision manufactured from copper, which is good for accuracy, but it more or less pushes down the effectiveness a notch.

My .270 win can really only shoot 110 gr bullets now, so a lot like a .243 can do with lead. The expansion is commonly less as well, so it takes "more gun" to be in the same league as before.

IMHO, the .300 WM is a good direction to go, but a .338 WM is better, especially for something large like an elk. There are very good BC bullets available from companies like cutting edge and GS custom in .338 size, and this can help a lot with longer shots.

BTW, .300 WM and .338 WM vs .308 are really not that different in price if you have to use lead-free anyway. The bullet cost starts to dominate the discussion.

I have a rebuilt shoulder (from trying to snow ski) and I don't find a .338 WM to be a recoil problem, even without a muzzle brake. I don't shoot it all day though either.

[OCShooter100]

Good Morning, Titan,

Knowing how all that lives dies helps us determine the practical. A .300 WM is formidable. But it won't kill any deader than a .308 Win. An elk will not know whether a bullet for a .308 Win or .300 WM stopped its heart.

I have big guns. I own a few. I've killed a massive bull with a 7MM Rem Mag. The reality is with identical shot placement, a .30-30 Win would have killed it just as dead.

Another poster asked about elk hunting experience. Experience is crucial. You will feel every ounce of weight when hiking ridges at 9000'. Heavy rifles are no fun where air is thin.

I've read accounts of others that have attempted to minimize .300 Win Mag recoil. Then I have actually seen shooters who couldn't minimize it. You will know recoil when you shoot one.

Buy what's right for you. However, a .308 Win will kill just as dead as a .300 WM. The benefit of a .308 Win is that you can shoot it more times more often thus building confidence. A .308 Win in an elk's thorax is a lot better than a .300 WM miss.

Long range hunting can be abstract and it can be actual. In the abstract, a .300 WM will kill a long way away. In reality, when scaling ridges of the Rockies, where wind gusts whip up unpredictably, where you can count your heartbeats by listening, where you're sucking air that refuses to oxygenate your blood, where holding a pencil steady is a wish, long range is a couple hundred yards. Conditions have to be perfect for a 400 yard shot in the Rockies.

[GOLDEN GUN]

Savage 110BA is my .300win mag

Way too big and heavy for hunting.. But a great bench gun or if stationary hunting I guess..

It's about 15-17lbs and 55" long but the recoil is less than a .308 and it is accurate as hell..

I recommend savage for anything larger than a .300win mag

[hermosabeach]

300 win mag with a brake.... you would need to wear hearing protection the entire time.... A Brake on a rifle can lead to permanent hearing loss with 1 shot...

I have 2 hunting buddies who are 99% deaf in one ear from not wearing hearing protection.....


As far a drop, the 300 Win Mag has less towards the end of the path....

For hunting elk, I used 220 grain in a 30-06. The trajectory is more akin to a 30-30, but learn how to judge distance and know your dope and you put rounds on target.

[hermosabeach]

[RNE228]

Been shooting a 30-06 Ackly Improved. buddy got an elk with it. works well. Boost over standard 30-06. But you have to reload.

[Garandimal]

The 270wsm is a very overlooked cartridge.

As is the .270wby and even 257Wby

All quite capable of taking elk at the long ranges.

[Horrendo Revolver]

Just get a 30-06 if your going to shoot long magnum with less than 26" barrel.

I can't believe gun companies get away with selling long magnums with 22" barrels. I mean what is the use? I know the WSM's do fine with a 24" barrel.

Totally agree. If a 300WM doesn't have a 26" barrel I don't see much of an advantage over a 30-06. Don't own but if I did it would have a 26" barrel.

[homelessdude]

I had a BAR in 300 for many years. The best advice I can give you is don't get your eye to close to the scope and hold on tight. I have a 3oo wsm, 30:06, .308, .270, .300 savage and a half a dozen others that I prefer. It will shoot 1000 yds better than any of the others I mentioned above but I can't hit anything past 600 yds anyway so I sold it. It's all about what you want. If you want to play with it, buy it and enjoy. You can always sell it if you don't like it.

[ScottsBad]

.308 and 300WM are such different animals. And .308 doesn't kick much compared to a 300WM.

Have you ever been kicked in the shoulder by a horse? OK, maybe not that bad, but not a rifle for plinking.

I think I would prefer a .270 for most hunting.

[ScottsBad]

I had a BAR in 300 for many years. The best advice I can give you is don't get your eye to close to the scope and hold on tight. I have a 3oo wsm, 30:06, .308, .270, .300 savage and a half a dozen others that I prefer. It will shoot 1000 yds better than any of the others I mentioned above but I can't hit anything past 600 yds anyway so I sold it. It's all about what you want. If you want to play with it, buy it and enjoy. You can always sell it if you don't like it.

I sighted in a 300WM BAR and a Remington 700 in 300WM a few months ago. The BAR in 300WM is a is a kicking mule to shoot, the 700 in 300WM was far easier shoot but I cannot figure out why.

I have a 30-06 BAR and I don't think I remember it being as unpleasant to shoot as the BAR in 300.

I'm spoiled with my SCAR 17 in .308 it easy to shoot, and I think I've become a wimp because of it

[JohnCCW]

300WM case is not optimized for reloading. The Belt has a few different things against it and the very short neck is good for nothing.

[FishnHunt]

If the OP already has a 7RUM. Then why 300 win?
Too much over lap for me, unless one was dedicated for long range target and one for hunting.

[boomer135]

I can't agree to this. I have a 300WM that fits the bill for both. For hunting I will use a sling, and for long-range ditch the sling for a bipod & monopod.

My Sendero is bit heavier than a pencil barrel. but fits the bill for both with hand loading.

A 300 win mag built for hunting will be a terrible target rifle.
A 300 win mag built for target shooting will be a terrible hunting rifle.

Feel free to get one but don't expect it to do double duty. How much target shooting have you don't at 1k? Asked because the 300 win mag is a terrible cartridge for the new long range shooter. I suspect it is a pretty decent elk cartridge though as long as you don't develop a flinch and can't shoot it accurately.

[HarryN]

You have to be a little bit careful comparing a lead core bullet like a silvertip to bullets that can actually be hunted with in CA. The forced move to copper bullets has a significant effect on optimizing the bullet / case / rifle twist decision.

What I found:
- Plan to move up at least one, if not two bullet size diameters compared to what is "traditionally correct". The reason is that expansion is quite different, and the velocities to achieve good expansion at the target are higher. If you think that you want a 300 win mag, what you will really wish you purchased is a .338 win mag or .375 to do the same job.
- Most likely you will want a barrel with faster than "standard" twist. Barnes bullets are a good example of what happens - they push up the length to get the improved BC (which is good) and to get the bullet mass that people "expect". The result though is that most barrels have too low of twist to make them really stable, especially on impact.
- Look carefully at GS Custom and cutting edge bullets for your BC and velocity info - their web sites are a fantastic resource for BC / velocities, etc.
- A .338 win mag, even with fairly long, high BC copper bullets is not that bad without a brake, and .338 is virtually just as available as .300 win mag.
- I will admit that the specs on the .375 ruger are pretty interesting, but I personally like longer case neck length.