Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Tell me about the 300WSM

A local shop has a beautiful wood stocked Montana Rifle Co. rifle in 300WSM for a tempting price. (If it were a .308Win I'd own it in a minute) but I know very little about the WSM. I have read that it tends to shoot very well but has substantial recoil and noise? (Anything that moves a 165gr bullet over 3100fps is going to have some) Is it a dying caliber or something to seriously look into?

The WSM cases are going to be slightly smaller in case capacity as compared to the .300WinMag while still being substantially larger than 30-06 capacity. If you've had no issues with 7mmRM levels of recoil, the .300WSM shouldn't be much different in the same rifle. Websites like Midway, Natchez, and Graf's can tell you what's out there for factory ammo options and how readily available it will be. I don't see it dying off anytime soon, but the WSM rage isn't what it was 15 years ago.

FWIW, the Montana action was supposedly designed to house up to a 3.1" OAL in the magazine, if I recall correctly. Their action was seen as a good fit for the WSM as compared to a 2.83" magazine. I'd not be scared of a .300WSM if I wanted something at that power level.

Lapua is soon to offer 300WSM brass. That should be a shot in the arm to the chambering.

Good cartridge. Ballistics basically match .300 H&H, so as has been said slightly under Win Mag.

Only legitimate rock to throw is that it generally doesn’t feed as smoothly as most due to its blocky shape. But if the rifle is set up right, that’s not an issue.

The .300 WSM is a good round, and does tend to be more a little more accurate than the .300 Winchester Magnum. When the .300 WSM came out, Nosler bought a test barrel to do their handload pressure-testing on their indoor range. Before that they used the .300 Winchester Magnum to test their heavier .30-caliber bullets for accuracy, and the .30-06 or .308 Winchester to test the lighter bullets--but switched to the .300 WSM for testing all their .30 bullets.

However, some of the publicity stuff about the .300 WSM was BS. Winchester claimed it could match .300 Winchester Magnum velocities with less powder, due to the "efficiency" of the WSM case design. At the time the velocity of the standard factory 180-grain load for the .300 Winchester Magnum was 2960 fps--and the standard .300 WSM matched that. But the .300 Winchester load operated at lower pressure. Eventually .300 Winchester 180 factories appeared that got well over 3000 fps, more than the .300 WSM can do.

The .300 WSM is a good cartridge. I've owned three rifles chambered for it, and hunted big game from pronghorns to elk with it, but it does kick noticeably more than the .30-06, and since .300 WSM rifles tend to be a little lighter than .300 Winchester Magnums, their recoil is similar in factory rifles.

Since the original excitement over the short, fat beltless magnums (SFBMs) has died down considerably, it's harder to find .300 WSM brass and ammo--though both tends to be more available than any of the other SFBMs that appeared around the same time--some of which aren't available at all anymore. Meanwhile, .300 Winchester Magnum brass and ammo remains pretty available, even during shortages, partly because it's a standard world-wide cartridge.

The WSM's have gone the way of the DODO Bird . Rio7

It is what it is. I don't think there is any magic in any cartridge but fits a good spot for me. About halfway between 06 and a 300wm in terms of speed,energy and recoil. Its a short action if that matters to you, but if you like long slippery bullets is best in a mid or long action. I guess its got a reasonable reputation for accuracy as it has some following in LR circles. Its short fat so you get one less round in the mag in most rifles. Some manufacturers run a shorter barrel on the 300wsm than the 300wm so its an option if you like a shorter rifle. Its not real common but there are 3-4 makers of brass and ADG amd Lapua both make brass so good brass is available.

I hunt with the 300 WSM in three different rifles, Winchester 1885, Sako 85, Borden custom.

I love the cartridge as it fits in a short action. I can load it from 308 velocities all the up to vapor trail. It is accurate. It functions perfectly in my bolt guns. I have never had any feed issues.

Ah not exactly.............................................

Midway shows 35 listings for the 300 WSM, 3 in stock, prices starting at $67 and up! I owned one, a custom barreled Win 70 FWT, it was nice, sold it to a guy on the CF many moons ago.

On the other hand, Midway lists 103 options for the 30-06 with 64 in stock with prices beginning at $25.

As much as I think the WSM is fine, the '06 is the easy button of 308 cal. if the "308" is not your fancy (I have both).

Also, 76/36/$29 for the 300 Win Mag

That's what I eventually decided, after owning quite a few .300 magnums, including the three WSMs mentioned, several .300 Winchesters and a couple of .300 Weatherbys. Plus, the .30-06 is pretty close to the .300 WSM with newer bullets and powders. My latest handload for my Ultra Light Arms .30-06 is the 175-grain Barnes LRX and the maximum charge of IMR4451 listed in Hodgdon's data for 175-grain bullets--which gets around 2850 fps. Plus, have taken big game out to around 500 yards with the ULA, sometimes with 180-grain factory loads, in North America, Europe and Africa.

But have also come to the conclusion that the major fault of the .30-06 it's too boring for many rifle loonies....

As suppressors become more commonplace, I think the 300wsm is seeing new life from folks that want a shorter barrel and still want to drive a .30 cal bullet faster than the 30.06 can muster.

The 30-06 is often times the "easy button", as it should be. Especially when talking 30 cals. One of the things that sticks out the most in my mind about the difference between the WSM and the ol 06 is rifle mag capacity. 3 vs. 5, with the upper hand going to the 30-06. No one has mentioned this. Also, a 30-06 set up with the right bullet is devastating at any sane range anyone has business shooting to. So why the need for a 30 cal magnum? Yes, I have 30 cal magnums of many flavors, but none of them is going to replace my 30-06 rifles.

Scott, I still think this is the domain of the 308 W, mags with short barrels seem superfluous to me but I seem to be in the minority these days.

Already have a 30 Gov't 06, so that base is covered. Really don't need another rifle, but the action is so nice on that rifle it calls to me. Like I said earlier, if it was a 308Win or even another 30-06 it would be in the safe already.

My late brother in law bought 2 Ruger 77's in 300 wsm and gave me one and the both have a S.S. barrel and a composite black stock and I shot a deer in PA last year and my oldest Son asked if he could use it this year and he shot a nice buck with it at our camp in PA. We like the caliber in 150 gr. and have done well with it as we use several different and we have no complaints with it. Several of us at the local gun show thought the wsm's would fizzle out and that's why my brother in law chose the .300 wsm instead of the others available.

HS 58

I have a .300 WSM in a M70 Super Grade. It kicks more than an 06 and is slightly louder. I helped kill one moose with mine before I quit hunting, firstly due to covid then to health and age. If you hunt animals larger than deer it is a viable alternative to choose. Personally I have a huge quantity of brass of various makes that I acquired around the time of getting the rifle. I found the accuracy to be every bit as good as I am capable of. If you normally hunt game no larger than deer I would get an 06 or a .308 ( which I don't happen to like.)

Jim

I have pestered them about this for two years. Each time is the same response, "we do not foresee 300 WSM in Lapua's future."

I am quite relieved at this news.

You've never shot an elk or moose with a 200gr Nosler partition from a 30-06, have you? The 300wsm has no upper hand on the 30-06, when you use a bullet like that. Trust me, it plows through elk like a freight train. I've had elk stop the 180gr partition from a 300WSM, so there's that too..

If you have never had one, and you can load for it, get it. It's a fun cartridge, but be prepared to buy some extra stuff you probably don't already have in your loading supplies. Different loading block to allow for the fat case, and a different powder funnel as well.

In my 78 years I have seen a lot of trends come and go in hunting and competition. If I were a young man, I wouldn't have a short magnum anything, no matter the bargain. Or any proprietary cartridge other than the 6x47/6.5x47 Lapua( I don't think anything with that precision is going to fade away).

I have a Montana Rifle Company rifle in 7WSM (talk about a dying cartridge!). You're right, these rifles feed and feel quite nice. As MD mentioned, they also use a slightly longer action so you can load the bullets seated out a little farther than in the typical short action rifles. My particular rifle has a very tight chamber, which results in higher pressures. In fact, the early Winchester factory ammo would almost lock up my action. Quite high velocities, also!! When loading for mine, I need to start at starting loads for the powder/bullet I'm using and slowly work up since I've found that if I don't, I can have way over-pressure rounds right from the beginning. My rifle is plenty accurate. I say if you desire it, go ahead and get it. Doubtful you'll be disappointed.

Having done several, the 300 WSM is one of my favorites. It's at it's best when hand loaded....the Nosler 180 Accubond is pretty impressive. Lapua's new 300 WSM case due out soon will be a welcome addition though I've never had issues with the Winchester brass.

As to the difference between rounds in a magazine....how many rounds do you need if you can't get it done with 3?

Good shootin' 👍-Al

I like 4 rounds in a magazine for a magnum. If you spend $10,000 or more on a hunt or the game are a long way out, I often put in an extra few insurance shots unless it is immediately obvious they're dead after the first shot. One of those shots may not be a killing shot if they are running or a long way out. Just trying to work out how to modify an aluminum canoe floor plate to hold the extra 4th WSM round.

All that's needed is to rebrand it as the .30-06 Tactical, stick it in a black stock, and thread it for a can.

With that, you're golden...

While not my first choice my 300wsm with 155 Scenars at 3350 fps is an elk hammer.

Agree... this is why I've landed it on it as my main 30 cal. Recoil is right between an 06 and a 300 WM. Rifle is a little shorter with a suppressor. Even with a 20" barrel it way out-performs a 308...my 20" gets 200-212gr bullets close to 2800, though accuracy nodes are generally around 2750 fps. That's with temp stable powders.

Honestly none of these calibers are all that different.

I have owned three MRC`s in 300WSM.All were shooters .MRC`s are not a light weight rifle and to me the recoil far from punishing . Also no problems feeding in the MRC action .

This sounds so counterintuitive. I know it did to me when I switched solely to the 155 Scenar's in 300 WSM. I had a lot of premium bullets stocked up. After reading ScenarShooter's posts on the Scenar thread, I decided to try them first. After load development, velocity proofing & field use, I was stoked. It is an incredible terminal solution. Sold ALL my premium bullets, bought as many original 155's as I could get my hands on and am as happy as I can be. I shoot them in my all of my .308 cartridges. Hard to imagine any gun they would not shoot accurately in.

300 WSM runs 3285 fps with a middle load of VV550.
308 Win runs 2825 with TAC.

30 wsm is flexible and accurate.......easily loaded down to 308 /06 levels if thats what you need at the time or will tread right on the heels of the 300 Win


it does pretty much anything a 30 caliber needs to do

Sho' got dat right.

You've never shot an elk or moose with a 200gr Nosler partition from a 30-06, have you? The 300wsm has no upper hand on the 30-06, when you use a bullet like that. Trust me, it plows through elk like a freight train. I've had elk stop the 180gr partition from a 300WSM, so there's that too..

For your information I've killed quite a few moose with .270's of various makes. I was not trying to make an argument that something of the power of the .300 WSM was actually necessary. I consider the WSM as much overkill on something as small as deer.

Jim

Be honest with yourself,

Are you a fan of recoil?

8lb gun or under, its ‘lively”. Don’t care who agrees with that or not……….

65 grains of H4350 is 65 grains, no ifs ands or buts……….

Also, noticed most reply’s here were, “had” a .300wsm, myself included.

You find yourself in desire with the Gun, not the Cartridge……The novelty of the gun will fade, the recoil wont.

It also depends on how often you want to shoot it, and if you hand load.

Yup everything but find on sale at wallyworld like 300 win mag. And you know you will never find 300 wsm priced even close to what you can buy 300 win mag for anywhere in SD..mb

.300WSM at Midway, 3 to 4 dollars a round,

Like I said above, how often would you like to shoot this rifle.

Find yourself that rifle in .308 Winchester or such, Their out there somewhere.

I’ve had two …one model 70 ext weather and one Tikka T3x rough tech . Both shoot or shot great. I run a 165 grn and find recoil not so bad. Good round imo.

I am now on my third 300 WSM, and I taught a friend how to Handload his (after I worked him up a 168 TTSX load). I love 300 Magnums, great Game killers. I gave the first one to my long deceased Pastor in Texas. It was when the WSM was first arrived. I had my great Smith (also gone now) rechamber a new/store bought Mod 700 Varminter to the WSM and install an inline Lazzeroni magazine box. It was for Beanfield deer, very accurate with the 180 NBT. Second one( I bought off a guy on LRHunting for $1200) was a Kimber 8400 with beautiful reddish brown French Walnut/SS that I worked up a load for(also 168 TTSX) and then gave it to my grand daughter. I had sold all 'inconsequential" (3) guns to buy a Mark V 338/06 ($1400) This is a Jewell of an elk/300WM replacement rifle! Anyhow, I had just got my Shilen SS barreled Mod 70 Fwt in 7x57 from my current gunsmith he put together for me. Its a shooter, and with its 25" barrel it is running on the heels of past 280's I've owned. However, I felt I needed to "bridge that gap" between them and was searching for an "inexpensive Spare" to take along on hunts. I saw many ugly, stamped metal/plastic junk guns out there, or basic Mod 700s that need another $1000/Plus to make them shoot/worth owning. Then, in a local paper, saw an older Gent selling his Kimber 8400 300WSM. He was done with hunting and I asked him "what would he take for it in cash that very night"? (he lived an hour away) I drove over and gave him his "unreal asking price", very much less than I paid for a store bought Tikka T3X Lite in '06" and brought home a like new, not a scratch on it quality rifle! He had only made one hunt with it. Pride of Ownership is a prerequisite for me now at 70. Blued steel/brown French Walnut. I'm having its trigger adjusted at another Smith's. I am going to work up a load with the Hammer 154 HHT for an all around load (deer to elk) and play with some other bullets I have on hand. I couldn't pass it up, only a Kimber in 84L Classic in 30-06 (I gave my grand daughter my 84L 270 I had too) would have made me as excited! lol You got to love this short life of ours! I've had several 300WMs too, plus a couple of 300 RUMS. Not a bad one in the bunch.

This

I've had at least six (maybe seven) 300 WSM's. I've taken antelope, deer and a number of elk with it. Great round, and it and the 308 WIn have been the easiest rounds I've ever worked with to get excellent accuracy with. I like SA rounds. With RL 17 I could get excellent accuracy and 3,035 fps with 180's. That's definitely "magnum" territory. And Scott makes excellent points about Lapua brass and the trend to suppressors. An 18" 300 WSM with a Suppressor is a LOT of power...

Never owned a 300 wsm.
I just don't care for the concept of short and fat.
Maybe ,because I prefer mine - tall and lean -thinner in body , with a gently sloping shoulder(s)
The .300 H&H is one example of what I mean.
My wife is the other .
I guess it depends on your deep seated preferences.
My little old opinion, folks
Cheers

This post only goes to show not all opinions are created equal.

Exactly^^

It boils down to "do you like the rifle its in"? If you like and admire the rifle, go for it. Load it like a 30-06 if it kicks too bad, you still have your nice rifle!

It does shoot real well.

The rifle needs to fit you or you will feel the recoil more.

I built a rifle on a Mauser and when load testing found out that even the 190 grain Sierra bullets felt like some of the lower weights.

Fit is king.

I just picked up another the other day. I was intentionally waiting for a Montana in 300wsm but came across a fair deal on a Remington 700 CDL SF in .300 WSM with a Timney trigger. Its a dandy of a rifle. Looking forward to shooting it. My other 300 WSM is a Winchester Model 70 FW. I hunt elk with one of my 300 Win Mags, but would not hesitate to use the .300 WSM. I used to hunt whitetail with a 7.82 Patriot Lazzeroni in a custom made rifle Great cartridge and was a slightly badder (faster) version of the WSM, before there was a WSM. Still have the Patriot, but dont use it much

Have a Kimber classic 8400 in 300 WSM and love the thing, one of the most accurate factory guns I have ever owned, shoot 180 grain Accubonds and I don't think it kicks any harder than the 300 win mags I have shot.

I guess I figure any 30 caliber magnum is a reloaders cartridge..........and once you have a supply of a few hundred pieces of brass for a rifle , you are set........these are not guns for shooting gophers


I cant imagine having to run a 300 win on walmart sale ammo


but I will say the price difference between 300 win ammo and 30wsm is not alot at the local Runnings store

Can't give you much of an argument on the handloading as I do all mine. Their are alot more people who buy factory ammo than those of us who handload. It will be along time though before you hear me bad mouth federal bluebox, rem and ww ammo bought at Walmart or where ever purchased and they sell alot of it. I watched a guy buy 3 boxes of 300 wsm one time, he gave the clerk 2 c notes and got back damn little change. In my book that sucks. Again more users of 300 wsm are not handloaders but buy factory ammo. So that is how I see it. We both deal with the same stores here in SD..mb

I would add they get more 180 anything or the Terminal Ascent 200gr. As mentioned above, this ain't no plinker anyhow, ha! Good luck to you, can't hardly wait to get mine back from the Smith (lightened trigger...although I may end up getting a Trigger Tech later on... and my Burris FFII spare scope mounted). No brake on this one (or that other Kimber for that matter) I did have a brake put on Pastor's rifle as with conjunction with the heavy barrel and heavy weight (like a Sendero is) Varminter one could see your bullets strike, or miss. Very helpful on deer shot near "the edges" and coyotes/prairie dogs, Marmots all the time! Have a ball man!

I also have a Kimber 8400 Classic in .300 WSM. I agree, it’s a very nice rifle. I only wish I had a use for it. For the hunting I do now, my .308’s handle all my needs nicely. I would kind of like to send the .300 WSM down the road, but seem unable to make a serious effort to do so.

IF ammo price was a deal breaker, Weatherby would be out of business.

That’s for certain……….and a long time ago too.

I could have written the original post myself. I was in the market for a lighter 300 magnum and really liked the idea of a Kimber rifle. I saw a used one in the gun rack at the local gun shop and knew the previous owner. The walnut stock looked great and the rifle looked unused. The original oner said he couldn't get it to shoot very well.(It Kicks!) I bought it. It shoots great! It does kick! I have found that over the years I have spent much more time carrying my rifle than actually firing it. This one carries very well and points very quickly. Not once have I ever shot a game animal and thought to myself, "That rifle really kicks!" I never notice the recoil. I have used a Ruger 300 Winchester Magnum for years as a traveling rifle. It is heavy and has been moved to the back of my gun safe. The Kimber 300 WSM will be with me, if I get to go on another hunt.

i've sort of downsized alot. my 2 main, general purpose Big game rifles are now, a Winchester model 70 FWt in 280 rem shooting 140 gr partitons at right around 3000 FPS and &00 BDL in 30-06 shooting 180 grain Partitons at about 2800 fps.

This is what caused me to bring home a Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT in 300 WSM. It has a 20 inch barrel and my Silencerco Harvester EVO gives me a barrel length that is very handy out of a blind. Recoil is negligible, and my limited experience with on game performance has been very encouraging.

Were I younger and had a lot of hunting in front of me, a 300 WSM with a suppressor would be a no brainer. The SA gets you a 1/2" less than a LA, and I'd cut to 18." Ditto with a 6.5 PRC.

I have a Kimber 8400 300wsm I love so much I had it restocked to go to Africa. I was surprised the original stock was hollowed out to save weight. With the new stock, it’s just a touch heavier, but it still handles great. While I haven’t killed nearly as many animals as many of you have with a 300wsm, it’s taken a nice mature CO bull elk (65 yards with 200gr Federal Edge TLR), Kudu, waterbuck, puku, and zebra (200gr Accubonds.). All one shot kills, and I never felt the recoil on any of the shots. IMO the 300wsm really shines with the higher BC 200gr bullets. A 200gr Terminal Ascent with a BC over .600 and over 2800fps is an absolute hammer.

I think I'm going to pass on it. More recoil than a 30-06 is just not fun for me anymore. Even a box of ammo through the 30-06 is enough for the day. IF anyone (else) is interested in the rifle, PM me and I'll get you info for the shop that has it.

I have a 300 WSM in a Tikka T3 Lite. I put on a new recoil pad and shoot it quite a bit now. I also handload for it and my .300 WM. The .300 WSM gets out hunting a lot more than the .300 WM does these days. I had a Remington 700 BDL SS in .300 WSM that shot 3 shot groups into 1 bug hole with 165 gr. SST’s and IMR 4320. The issue, when you loaded anything above 165 gr. bullets, it didn’t feed correctly. It seemed to be an issue with WSM’s and REM 700’s. My son had a co-worker that wanted it, so I sold it to him.

With the Tikka, I put a LA bolt stop on it and bought a Mountain Tactical mag for it. I can seat my bullets out further now, and get a lot more accuracy from my handloads.

I like the round and if I felt the need for a magnum rifle it would be the one I'd go back to. I ran across a used SS model 70 in 300 WSM quite a few years ago with a screwed-up stock. Got the rifle dirt cheap and found a used McMillan Edge in the classifieds here. Since the bottom metal was wrong for the stock I put aluminum PTG bottom metal on it. With a Leupold VX2 it was 7 1/2 lbs. The bare rifle was right at 6 1/2.

Accuracy was good and recoil was tolerable, hardly more than a comparable weight 30-06. When you are using 10-15 gr less powder and giving up 50-100 fps to a 300WM the difference in recoil is noticeable. The 50-100 fps is not IMO.

But looking hard at reality I just had no need for that much rifle. In fact my 30-06 has been long retired and I've found that a 308 simply does all I need a rifle to do. I don't have the skills to shoot far enough to need a magnum rifle so I let it go.

I like Wby as a company and what they are doing in WY but I owned two rifles (both Win 70s) chambered in Wby cartridges (240 & 257) and I got tired of hard to find and expensive ammo and brass so eventually sold them and moved on to other chamberings. These days keeping it simple works for me ie 308 Win and similar.

257Bob,

I have had several cartridge choices since my original pick of the 308 in 1978. In the last three years I have returned to my first love. The 308 is fun to shoot, chambered in nearly every commercial bolt gun & gets the job done with no trouble.

Every round fired reminds me of why I chose it in the first place.

I did not intentionally set out to buy a 300WSM, but the Kimber Montana was priced so low, I couldn’t leave it on the shelf.

It fits me so well and just feels right in my hand. I knew I had found my rifle to take on my anticipated African trip.

The Federal Fusion 150gr shot less than an inch. My 168TTSX hand load will group 3 shots in a half inch.

It is my travel rifle, the one for tough hunting and bad conditions. I’ve used the handload on species as small as grey duiker to as large as Cape eland. It just works for me.

My son in law has one. I load 150 Barnes for him. Recoil doesn’t seem any worse than a 7 mag to me. I like it, but have never owned one.

I embraced 300 magnums in about 1992 and have mostly hunted with them ever since. Mostly 300 RUM and Win Mag, but also several years with the WSM.
The 300 WSM is very accurate and in the real world at average hunting ranges it works just as well as the other two I've mentioned. Despite the hype the recoil is the same as the 300 win mag in my opinion. One plus for the WSM is you don't have to deal with belted cases and the sloppy chambers belted cases often have.
With all this said I am now 46 and have watched my son pound the heck out of deer, antelope and elk with a 7mm-08 using the 120gr TTSX. I think If starting over a cartridge in that neighborhood is as good a choice as any.

My 7 Wby pushes that bullet @ 3650 fps with 1/2 moa. I have yet to draw blood with it, but I imagine it’d sure put ‘em down.

The .300 WSM is just a shortening of the .300 Win Mag, like how .308 was a shortening of .30-06. In this case .300 WSM is more expensive and harder to find because not many people need .300 Win Mag performance in a short-action.

Just think how many less rounds you are going to get on that barrel vs. a 7mm-08 too. Hopefully you don't shoot it much, because it's not going to be "1/2 moa" for long.

Of all the WSM cartridges the 300 is the one with some staying power.

Most guys have never worn out a barrel in their lives and never will. For a hunting gun the barrel life thing just isn't a factor for most.
The other thing is with the TTSX and LRX. Once you push them past 3000fps I am not convinced they work any better. Maybe because the petals shear off above that velocity?

Agree, tto much is made of barrel life for 99% of shooters

I have two 300wsm rifles. A model 70 Exreme Weather that I used in British Columbia for elk and mountain goat,and a custom with an Ed Brown action that has taken a bunch of deer,hogs and elk.

I like the Montana rifle in the WSM cartridges,I had one in 270 wsm that was a tack driver.

The 3.1 inch magazine is perfect if you handload,gives you lots of options.

A MRC in 300 WSM is a cool rifle. Buy it if you like it.

I am doing most of my hunting with suprressed rifles now, the velocity of the 300 WSM in a 18.5 inch suppressed would be a real advantage over the short barreled
308 and 6.5 Creedmoor that I hunt suppressed now.

I am thinking about cutting the barrel of the Extreme Weather and having it threaded. It would make a dandy of a hunting rifle.

Shoot a 28 Nosler much especially with 570 and get back later.

Why would one do that with a hunting gun?

What’s need got to do with it?

I had one put together 20 years ago. Have taken elk and caribou with it. Nice round. I do like short action guns, many disregard that feature. I also have a 300 Win Mag. They are pretty close, what one will do for all practical purposes the other will do just fine.

That being said I do most of my hunting today with a 308 and 270. Recently added a 7-08 that I am pretty happy with.

I think the component shortages are forcing many to consider downsizing what we reload for, specifically where there are overlaps in performance. Individuals are basically realizing what calibers they want to spend their time and money on to achieve their determined goal. You can fill in the blanks for the goals, Shooting time, animals to be hunted, types of firearms etc. Some will load only for a 30-06, 22 caliber and 12 gauge and these will cover 99% of their needs. But then you can never be sensible when you are a loony.