Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Anyone here using a 300wsm as their sole big game caliber?

Yeah I know one caliber or rifle is boring but curious if anyone is using the wsm as their only gun or if anyone has tried and went with a different caliber or went back to multiple calibers?

Any cons to the 300wsm for everything?

A good friend of mine does. He's taken things as small as doe pronghorn to things as large as Shiras Moose and Kodiak bears with it and all manner of things in the middle. It works, and well, for him.

If I were to commit to one rifle for everything, the 300WSM would be in the running.

I likely wont be going to one, but am considering replacing my 338 with a 300WSM for larger game.

It would be fine, but boring.

Im getting to that point in my life

I'd be just fine with the 300 WSM as one rifle. But heck, I could say that about 20 others as well too... The bullets you feed them mean more these days to me, than the launch pad...

I did the 1 rifle thing 40 years ago with the 30/06. I'm back to shooting factory ammo too. Talk about boring. I do go on several out of state hunts every year with the money saved---that's a plus.

Kind of where I'm at Bob. Wanting to do more hunting than tinkering. Beware the man with one rifle theory.

That's the best and most enjoyable route IMO. Good luck on your hunts!

I did a 300 WSM as a "one rifle" for a while, antelope to elk. Of course it works, but I found the 308, 270 or 30-06 a better choice for a "one rifle" because they can be built lighter without kicking the snot out of you. They all work.

I didn't find the recoil to be an worse than an 06

Not me... and I've had six 300 WSM's.

In equal weight rifles, the WSM recoils noticeably more.

Nice caliber, but I like the older WM better..

I use a 300 Weatherby for pretty much verything now. It just sort of happened.

If you can handle the recoil, go for it.

Nope, the ancient .30-'06 works fine for me ... including over sixty head of plains game in Africa, including eland.

kd

My platform will be a Finnlight, shot a buddies 700 CDL that weighed in around 7.5 scoped and it didn't seem bad, especially comapring it to the 338 I sighted in the week before.

I shot a 300 WSM exclusively for over 10 years. I took a half doz elk and about 10 deer with it. It works great. However, mine was heavy and I'm to the age where every lb counts so I switched to a lighter weight 30-06. I'd never shot anything with the 300 that the 06' couldn't have done just as well anyway.
The 300 is an excellent caliber, very accurate and easy to reload for. It doesn't take a back seat to anything for a North American game caliber.

Don't say it doesn't kick, though. At the bench, about 20 rounds is enough for my shoulder. Even with a PAST pad, it's got a good jolt. With my 30-06 that weighs a lb less, I can shoot 50+ rounds with more comfort. On game, the 300 has no kick at all, at least none that I've ever noticed.

The 300WSM is what it is.It's a short action 30cal.Loaded on the milder side,it's like a hot loaded 30-06.Loaded on the hotter side,it's like a moderately loaded 300 Win Mag.It's an in betweener and will cover most hunting needs.I have rifles in all three of those cartridges.For nearly all my hunting,the 30-06 has me covered.If I feel like I need a little more for distance or bigger game,the 300's do have an edge.As for economics,the 30-06 beats them all.

Very true. It's a lot closer to the 300 WM than it is to the 30-06 but you can load it for anywhere in the gap that you like.