Which 300?

[cfmitch]

I am looking for a new rifle chambered for a 300. Problem is I am not sure which 300 to choose. 300 WinMag, 300 WSM or 300 RUM. Which one provides the best ballistcs and/or less recoil. Any suggestions will be surely accepted.

[HPBTMTCH]

That depends a lot on what you are wanting to do with it. Heavy barrel and brake, the 300 RUM hands down. If recoil and weight is a concern, you have to go with the WSM. The win mag will outrun the wsm in longer barrels, and the longer the barrel, the greater FPS difference. A little more info and the better advice you will recieve.

[skb2706]

If you are really concerned with the recoil difference in a 300 magnum of any kind you would be better served shooting something with out the "magnum" moniker.

If you must then a .300 win mag would be my choice. Its a better balance of power to weight to recoil than the other two. IMHO

But my .300 Win mag weighs about 14 lbs. so my judgement on that is bias.

[Rocky Raab]

cfmitch, what are you going to hunt and what circumstances dictate that you even NEED a magnum?

No regularly hunted game in the Lower 48 requires a magnum of any kind if your shots are 300 yards and under (and 90 to 95% of shots are inside that distance).

Lacking any further info, the 300 that will kill everything down here and doesn't kick much is...



...the .300 Savage.

[M.T. Pockets]

There are four of us that regularly hunt big game together.

I shoot a .300 Win. Of the other 3, one shoots a .300 WSM, one a .300 Weatherby and the other a .300 RUM.

In the field there is virtually no difference.

If I had to start over I'd stick with the .300 Win. Mag just because of the large selection of factory ammo and I like to shoot 200 grain bullets. Hard to find in WSM.

I agree that nobody "needs" a magnum. But then, nobody "needs" a 4 WD pickup with a 300 HP engine either.

You didn't say what you plan on using your rifle for. Any animals in specific ?

[L. Cooper]

If someone else loaded the rifle for you so that you didn't know which round you were shooting, you would never know which one it was. Neither would anything you shot with them.

If, and as others have said it's a big IF, you need one, pick a rifle you like. The rifle it comes in will make way more difference to your experience than will the cartridge.

The .300 Win has been around for over 50 years. It will be here for sure for another 50. Is that a factor?

[cfmitch]

Thanks for all your advice on which 300. Right now I have a 7mm Mag, but would really like something with a little more punch, so I was thinking along the lines of a 300 mag. I will be using it for elk and moose. I'll be reloading my own so having factory ammo isn't important. The reason I was concerned about recoil is because no one likes bench shooting a mag just for the kicks, no pun intended and I thought maybe one of those 300's might be a little lighter in a standard wieght (7/7.5 pound) hunting rifle. If I have missed anything on my usage that is important please advise.

[Rocky Raab]

I still doubt the need, but if you MUST have one, the old standby .300 Win Mag is likely the best choice. Wider ammo availability, more rifles chambered for it, plenty of brass and loading data and (perhaps most important) a guaranteed future.

[scalerman]

I hunt with a 270 Win and my hunting partner hunts with a 7MM Rem Mag. We did exit interviews with all of the game that we shot and asked them which gun was more effective. There was a strange silence after the question. I couldn't figure out why. Maybe it was because they were dead. You do not need any more gun than your current 7MM. I realize that you may feel the need for one. I very often feel the need for a new rifle in a more "sexy" calibre but I keep going back to my interviews of dead animals. They were just as dead as if I had shot them with another calibre. Most guys are not too happy about the recoil of the 300's and don't get as familiar with them as other calibres. IMHO

[Skinny Shooter]

Originally posted by cfmitch
I will be using it for elk and moose. I'll be reloading my own so having factory ammo isn't important.

How about the old-fashioned 30-06?
Or a 300SAUM?
Ask Boyd Heaton about the 300RUM he used to shoot. With a muzzle brake (and hearing protection) it doesn't kick as much.
Heck, you could even do it with a 308Win. You would save on powder and your shoulder.

[M.T. Pockets]

I'm giving you more answers than you have questions, and I apologize for that. But, let me offer a sincere suggestion.

I shoot a .300 Win. Mag. for everything I've ever hunted with a rifle besides rodents. This would include coyotes, antelope, wolf, whitetails, muledeer, caribou, elk & moose. It's comforting when you might accidently get too close to a grizz, though then it seems small. When I hunt plains game in Africa in about 10 years, this is the only rifle I'm taking. I ask it to do a lot and it does it all. It would be easy for me to tell you that you should get one too.

But, since you already have a 7 Mag. and you're looking for another rifle for just moose and elk, if I were you I'd get a .338 Win Mag. and keep the 7 mag for everything else.

If you don't want a magnum, howabout a .338 Federal or .35 Whelen.

[PJgunner]

DOGGONE IT MT, ya beat me to it. I was going to suggest going to the .338 Win. Mag. myself.
However, since the question is about .300 mags., I go along with the suggestion of the .300 Win. Mag. I have shot the WSM in two Winchester M70 rifles, the one with the Featherweight stock and the one with the more conventional stock. I see no real difference in recoil from the Featherweight stocked version and a normal .300 Win. Mag. The one with the conventional stock kicked about like a lightweight 7MM Mag. to me, but I felt it was a bit too heavy to be lugging up an 9,000 ft. MSL on an elk hunt.
Just as a matter of comparison, I have two Winchester M70 rifles; one a .300 Win. mag. and the other a .338 Win. mag. Weight of the two is almost the same with the .300 being a few ounces heavier. Recoil between the two rifles will surprise you as when both rifles are shooting 200 gr. bullets, the .338 kicks less than the .300. Of course, as bullet weight goes up, so does recoil in the .338. You just can't get away from the laws of physics. Still, if I were to end up with the money for a good elk hunt up north or a moose hunt for that matter, I would be taking both my .338 Win. mag.s loaded with a good stiff handload and 250 gr. Nosler partitions and I wouldn't look back. In really good elk and moose country, there is always the possibility of an encounter with "Brer Griz" and I'd feel a lot better with the .338 Mag and the heavy bullets.
The advantages of either the .300 Win, mag. and .338. Win mag. are you're more likely to find a source of factory ammo at come country store should you lose your loads than if you went with the Weatherby or one of the Ultra Mag types.
That's my take on the matter.
Paul B.

[jplonghunter]

cfmitch Just for arguments sake have you looked at the 30 Gibbs.Ballistics comparable to 300 Win Mag,30-06 brass,and a whole lot less punishing.

Ray

[kalaharibushman]

I suggest the 300 Win.Mag to be your best bet. I own a 300 Win.Mag and a 300RSAUM and have shot with a variety of these. I have come to find that the 300 Win.Mag is best suited for me. I have hunted quite a large number of Springbuck, Oryx, Red Hartebeest, Kudu and Eland with the 300Win.Mag and would say without a doubt, its the best in the field. The availability of factory ammunition is another problem for the 300WSM and 300RUM, availability of ammo for the 300 Win.Mag is much more popular. I have not ever had problems finding ammo for the 300 Win.Mag.

From my view in Africa I believe its your best bet.

Greetings
Kalaharibushman

[huntinbuddy]

this summer i got a 300 WSM for my birthday and absolutely love it...I got the Winchester model 70...its amazing....I got the shadow stock and absolutely love it...but i digress because of how much i love this gun...My step-dad also has a 300 WSM in weatherby and i saw him (AS GOD AS MY WITNESS) shoot an antelope in the back at probably 150 yds and hit him right in the spine and when we walked up there were 3 vertibrea that the bullet had knocked completely out....so i think that WSM would be your best choice but its completely up to you