Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Magnum calibers loosing favor?

I'll just keep loving them all.

I don't need a magnum.....I have a 35 Whelen, "Nuff said.

Like Coyote Hunter said, he could have made his longest shot with a .308. I did make my longest two shots with a .308 and the fourth longest with a .300 Savage. (Windage and elevation.)

There was a period of about 25-30 years when I had at least one .338WM of some sort. Recoil was not the issue and it still is not as, unlike many senior citizens, my shoulders are still intact. (Knees, not so much). Experience has taught me that I do not like the additional weight of factory magnums, and they are not needed. Other than three or four long shots, I could have killed every white tail and mule deer that I have taken with a .30-30.

Nine to ten pound guns are no longer fun, so except for a std pre war M70 .270 with family ties, most of the heavies and all of those chambered for magnums are gone. Yes, I know magnums can be built lighter. Once had a barely 7# .338. It was fine stoked with 210NP, but full boat 250 did get my attention.

To each his own,

Jack

I do think there is a trend toward standard calibers, that the magnum business has been something of a fad.

A factor in the movement toward more standard calibers also gets to a more savvy approach by hunters and shooters, the game changing laser range finder, and more accurate rifles generally available.

We haven't paid the impact of the laser range finder in longer range shooting and hunting its due on this subject. Until this technology became readily available, we put a premium on flatter trajectories as a hedge against hazy range estimation. Now, with an accurate rifle and a shooter who knows how to use it (with a knowledge of its trajectory), the flatter trajectory of magnum calibers matters less than it used to in terms of hitting game. I think this factor plays a part of the renaissance of the 30/06, for example.

All that said, my favorite rifle just happens to be chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum. But I'll quickly add that it's more about that rifle than the caliber.

Yeah, drift doesn't matter with a LRF....

I can't think of 1 brown bear guide that doesn't have a belted magnum,, NOT EVEN ONE ,, most of us have a few. The 300 magnum is one of the popular small bores in the guideing community.

I'd say its popular in a lot of communities, except the 'fire community.

Well the wise one has spoken.

300's very popular here too, I've got five of 'em.

Gunner

We don't have many brown bear in Ar, but I'll always have my 300 WM.

It's not only one of my favorite cal. but a fav rifle. Win 70 Winlight. All up, hunt ready and loaded it's +\- 7 1/4 lbs.

Wind wins everytime..

[/quote] I've shot more crows with a 300 win mag than probably any other rifle in the safe. [/quote]

That made me laugh. .25-06 was the biggest puff of feathers I've seen.

Ella

The 35 Whelen is my only magnum.

Another thing I'd suggest is to wait a few minutes between shots. Not only does it keep the barrel from heating up quite as quickly, it lets the shoulder recover so subsequent "kicks" are on a recovered shoulder rather than a recently whopped shoulder. Its amazing what 3-5 minutes will do for you. FWIW, I notice this also with very heavy recoiling handguns.

I'll often take a .22 rimfire and some handguns along with the centerfire. Shoot the centerfire only when the barrel is cool and shoot the others while I wait.

Tom

I shot a 300 Win. Mag. today that I got last year. I had bought it for the fun of it like we do.

It was a good deal money wise and I like the look of it's stock. While I don't favor the 300 WM it's ok, had another one before.

It put two shots into 1.4" at 200 yds. The load was a 150 gr Combined Tech bullet over H4350.

I like magnums and spending the time shooting thats required to be competant with them.

I always like the discipline it to took manage them. I drifted away to lighter cartridges over the last decade but am heading back upstream again.

I figure an 8# 7mag will probably sting like a 7# 30-06. No worries.....

depends on what I am shooting.

Hells bells no. I hunt with two buddies from the northeast and they use 300 Win mag and 300 SAUM for deer. They laugh at me when I pull out a 7-08 let alone something smaller than that...