Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Please help a newbie hunter decide on my 300 win mag

I just got done reading this thread and some great advice given here. I think one thing is for sure and it happens at every gun shop I have ever been in, there is a lot of sex appeal for the 300 WM, or any other magnum for that matter. Not as much sex appeal for the .30-06, most likely b/c it is ordinary.

I think I would be safe in saying that there have been more big game animals killed worldwide with a .30-06 than any other caliber. Almost every hunter I know has an 06. There must be something behind the 100+ year old cartridge for it to have enjoyed the success that it has enjoyed for the last century.

The difference between a 300 WM and .30-06 is approximately 200 fps with same bullet weight and the recoil difference is considerable. When you have this new rifle you want to enjoy shooting it and if you are planning on only one rifle, I would think the 06 would be much more accomodating for extended practice sessions.

Your budget allows you to purchase a really first class rifle, I have seen several posts advising you to buy 2 rifles, nothing wrong with this advice. Personally, I consider rifles to be art form, I would spend my budget on a custom.

Finally, I always get a kick out of the gun room comments about any caliber blowing something in half, this is just pure fallacy. There have been just as many elk hit with a 300 WM that have run off and not been recovered as there have with a .30-06. The key to taking game is making a quality killing shot.

My .02.

Have fun with your pursuit.

Thank you everyone. The advice is really helpful. I forgot to mention that I have had a Ruger 22 for years and shot the crap out of that. The deer and elk hunting is where I am a little lost.

My wife inherited a 243 that I have also shot about 50 rounds with.

Get yourself a .300 Weatherby Mag and never look back! You might never need it but if you do it can reach out alot further than the .30-06 with alot more authority. About 300 fps and 500-800 more foot lbs energy. And don't let the girlie-boys scare you about recoil. It's not that big of a deal!! If you can handle the recoil of an 06 you can handle the .300. The Weatherby Mark V is one sweet-shooting rifle and you can get the synthetic model for less than a thousand dollars if you want to save a few bucks. Put the rest into a Zeiss or S&B, Weatherby ammo and practice. Good luck to you and have fun!!

Whether I get a 30-06 or 300WSM is it a big deal to get a fluted barrel?

The remington 700 Ti looks good on its own but the price jumps up for the Sendero. Worth the money?

Also, better to have a detachable mag?

Thanks!

I wouldn't pay more for the fluting, but I wouldn't kick it out of bed for that reason, either. On a rifle for hunting only, I don't see a ton o' benefit.

The Sendero is more weight - not so much of a toting around rifle. How much hiking will you be doing?

Another thing... the magnums will have another 2" of barrel (in a Remington, anyway.) over a .270 or .30-'06.

Everything you've heard will kill 'em. Your best bet is to go to a store with a big selection, shoulder as many rifles as possible, & pick the one that leaps into your lap, licks your face, gives you those big puppydog-eyes, & says, take me home with you!

FC

I would go with the Sako 85.Either a 300 Win or 7 Rem mag.To me these days it wouldn't matter which one.As for scope prolly a loopy because I know no better.

The Sendero is really not an appropriate rifle for the kind of hunting most folks in Western Oregon do. It is way too heavy. The name "Sendero" refers to the long cleared openings in the brush in South Texas where shots can be long and hunters typically hunt from box blinds, where rifle weight is not important.
Like the guys have to been saying, a standard weight .30-06 will do you just fine. No legal hunting cartridge/bullet combination on earth can blow a deer in half, so don't worry about that. The guys in the gun shop who may have said that were just probably exaggerating the meat damage that higher velocity cartridges, such as the various .300 Mags, do compared to the stuff that starts out below 3,000 fps. IF you feel you've fired enough .300 Win Mag to KNOW that you can handle the recoil, then go for it, but practice your ass off.
I'm assuming these are your in-laws that will be taking you hunting, so go out with them and shoot their guns a little bit (but offer to buy the ammo), see what you like and don't like. They will be more than happy to take you, but if they try to tell you about blowing a deer in half or that a .30-06 shoots a larger diameter bullet than a .300 Mag, ignore their advice, and focus on what you like or don't like about their guns. Also make sure that the barrel is marked for the exact same cartridge you intend to shoot in it. A .300 Savage is not the same as a .300 Win Mag or .300 Weatherby. Also ask whomever you intend to hunt with, "how" they hunt. Do they road hunt, "drive" deer and elk, sit the logging openings, sit in tree stands, spot and stalk, what?
It also sounds like you need to take a hunter safety course, which should go over some of this stuff. I know it isn't required of adults in Oregon, but you need it.
Oh yeah, and for similar recoil to a .30-06, think about a 7mm Rem Mag, if you are fixated on magnumy performance or just want to have something slightly different.

My advice would be to go for a 30-06 or a 7mm Remington Magnum. I have shot quite a bit over my lifetime, and own guns up through 375 H&H. I have owned a couple of 300 Win Mags. I did not keep them because I found the recoil unpleasant. In light/medium weight hunting guns, I just found that the recoil got in the way of trying to get the accuracy that was needed to utilize the additional range.

Either a 7 Mag or a 30-06 will be a noticeable notch down in recoil, and still have all of the power needed to hunt elk successfully. They will just be easier to learn to shoot well.

Thanks, after reading all this I am thinking a 30-06 may be the better route.

Can't ever go wrong with the 30-06.Great cartridge.

Great Choice! Less recoil should allow you to shoot more comfortably. Please take plenty of time to shoot, a lot. Going to the range 10 times to shoot 10 rounds each time & shooting the .243 when the '06 is cooling down will be better than shooting a couple of boxes at a sitting.

Be sure to check your scope and stock mounting screws for tightness on occasion, too. Sometimes a gunshop will not get things tight & accuracy will suffer. Maybe there's a campfire member who could direct you to a quality, local shop to do your scope mounting & maybe a trigger adjustment. This is a critical part of the system. It sounds like you are going first rate. Take your time & have it done right.

Good Luck!

I think it's your best move. Plenty of cheap ammo to practice with to. Get a decent scope like a Leupold/Zeiss and good binos and you're on the way.

A lot of good solid practical advice given.

The only thing I could possibly add is for you to get your hands on as many rifles as possible to find out what fits, feels, and shoulders BEST for you.

If possible, shoot as many rifles in 30-06 and .300WM with various loads to see what you can comfortably tolerate and remain accurate.

WOW! I just caught this post from page one. This is a first rate setup being sold by a fellow with an outstanding reputation, here on the Campfire Classified Ads. Nice light rifle with a lot of very detail oriented upgrades, in the caliber you are looking for. The targets show it to be a darn good shooter, too.

It also eliminates the "Lemon" factor that can happen with any manufacturer's out of the box rifles. It would be a darn good idea to seriously consider this rig. I'm thinking that about anyone here at the 'fire would like to have this rifle in their safe! Just sayin'!

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...S_Remington_700_Titanium_Fir#Post3663543

Start with a .30-06 and a 2-7x Leupold scope. Since you're just starting out, '06 ammo is cheap and you're gonna need to practice to become confident. For elk, use a 180 gr. premium bullet (I'm partial to Nosler Partitions). Practice with less expensive ammo and remember that you'll have to check you're rifle's point of impact with any change in ammo.
With some experience, you could get your .300 Eargensplittenloudenboomer in the future.
Just my thoughts.
Bear in Fairbanks

Thanks,Dave!

Mathman, the trouble it has caused is bullets that want to fall back into the case after recoil. This has never happened to me because when the neck doesn't want to keep a hold of the bullet any longer, I get rid of them. I've had some bullets almost fall into the case when trying to seat the bullet. As a general rule most people say you should have a neck length no less than the diameter of the bullet. The 300 win mag neck length is .264" which greatly reduces the bearing surface that holds the bullet. As a comparison, the 30-06 has a neck length of .385". The 308 norma magnum has a neck length of .317". As Norma states "300 Winchester Magnum
Introduced in 1963, this soon became the most popular 30-caliber magnum chambering. It differs from earlier Winchester short magnums in having a slightly longer case. The stated reason for increased case length, combined with an unusually short neck, was to increase case capacity and therefore ballistic potential. While this had merit, performance difference between this and the wildcat 30-338 (338 Winchester Magnum necked to 30-caliber) is quite modest. Motivation for this design can best be understood by recognizing that Norma introduced the 308 Norma Magnum, a standard 30-caliber short magnum, in 1960. Likely, this preempted Winchester's development of a 30-caliber short magnum. Specifically, had Norma not introduced their version in 1960, Winchester would probably have offered a 30-caliber short magnum by about 1961. Almost certainly, that number would have been identical to the wildcat 30-338. Most agree that case neck length on a hunting cartridge should at least equal bullet diameter". I don't know if your question is sincere, but I know I am not the only one that thinks the neck is too short and that winchester screwed up by not necking the 338 down to make one hell of a nice 300 magnum.

UDUB,

If I were you, I'd PM JeffO on this subject. He might even live in your neck of the woods as you're both Oregon guys. Perhaps he's been through the same decision making process and he's certainly been in on some Oregon deer and elk kills. Heck, he might even know the guys at NW Armory...

Actually I'm surprised he hasn't posted anything on this thread...

.300 weatherby, in a mark V fibermark weatherby rifle. 1500$ or so it will run you, but it is more than worth it. .300 weatherby is a blown out .375 h&h shell, and no they aren't expensive like many say. You can gind .300 wby ammo for as cheap as the winny

Maybe this will show the difference in the .30-06, .300Win Mag, and .300 Weatherby Mag, along with a few other .30 caliber cartridges. All shoot the same diameter bullet, the difference is the amount of powder potentially pushing them. The more powder, the faster they go, in a nutshell....