Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .300 Win Mag - The one rifle battery

The 300 WSM is for children who live in fairy lands and listen to music by pink.
ammo is expensive, heavy bullets take up powder room. Its a glorified 30-06- and the 30-06 doesn't need an entourage.

Pack,
I used to have the impression Aussies were gun savvy. A lot of people don't like the 06 because it drops too much.

The 300 WSM is between the 30-06 and 300 Win mag in recoil, but shoots almost as flat as the Win mag. Therefore it can cancel out the need for either one, which was the point of this one battery thread. Unless someone needs to keep their o6 for their wife.

Pack, doesn't the extension of that thinking have us saying the 30-06 is a glorified 308 Win?

Got four and love em, two Win Mags, an H&H and a RUM, they are stone killers for damn sure.

"300 Winchester Magnum"



It's fairly interesting what you can do with a 26" barrel, a long throat, and no silly magazine to worry about...

Nice, I'm down to four, sold and H&H and a Classic-Mark II in 300 WBY last year. I miss her.

Drops too much? 30-06 is a powerhouse (although I now shoot 270 win more), but having hunted with 30-06 for a long time taking everything from Sambar deer to feral goats, It comes across as the perfect cartridge at "sensible" hunting ranges with a 180grain pill.
I have had a 300win for 10 years or so and keep going back to it when I convince myself I need 200 grains of hate to kill a deer. After lugging it around the mountains for a trip or 2 and cutting away bloodshot meat after I shoot anything I usually head back to 30-06 or now 270 (love the slightly longer legs with a 150grain pill).
As for the recoil and flat shooting ability you are right, but it is still an in between cartridge without the versatility of the mag for big pills, which is where a 300 winnie shines.

the glorified 308 doesn't make sense as the 30-06 came first in my history book, but I have no issues with 308win she's a beaut, but again struggles with heavy bullet weights.
IMHO the 308 is to the 30-06 what the 300WSM is to the 300win mag(I understand the military need/justifications for the development of the 308- I'm only drawing from hunting type scenarios)

I have a 30-06 and like it, but I have a lot of other rifles. When these one battery, one all-around caliber subjects come up, the 30-06 has been a popular choice because the Win mag crosses the comfort line on recoil for a majority of the population.

IMHO the 300 WSM replaces the 30-06 for a one rifle all-arounder, because it's accuracy runs close to the .308 while the velocity beats the '06. A 180 mono at close to 3000 fps is plenty of power for all-around hunting. If that won't get it done a move up to .375 H&H may be appropriate for a few hunts.

While I have several rifles that will all work for deer at home, when I go on a paid hunt the Howa 300 wm in a McMillan always goes with me. With a zeiss on top it weighs in at just over 8lbs and I have not found much that can stand up to a 150 gr ttsx at 3300 fps. It will shoot that load well under an inch and I have not stopped one in an animal yet. It shoots flat enough that I don't have to think much about my shot out to my self imposed limit of 400 yards and the felt recoil is no more than my friends 30-06 forbes.

Also, since I load my own, I have a light load with 150 gr soft point bullets that does right at 2600fps that shoots even smaller groups than the ttsx. Works very well for deer and is a pleasure to shoot.

Can never keep one on hand. Bores me to tears.

I could see a 300 H&H, and loading it to potential, but not much past 35 Whelen, 338-06, 30-06, and 280....makes as much sense, to me, as any real need for any other 300 mag. I get the one gun theory, but I've never subscribed to compromising things just for the sake of argument. For bear/moose/elk, surely some .338s or .358s are arguably 'better'? Same for deer/antelope, with sub 300 mags? What's 'enough'?

Had a RUM and decided that it was no better than the .300 Wby. This was just after the cartridge was introduced.

The RUM burns a bit more powder than the Wby, so it's gotta be mo better...

And, it could make more noise than the Wby, maybe kick more...?

That would make it, more likely than not, Gunner's favorite .300...

Just guessing, of course...

DF

It do burn more powder,more noise and kicked a little more than a .300 Wby...So that does make it Gunner's favorite!

The point of the article was a �one rifle battery� and if I was limited to hunt with one rifle and one caliber, then I agree, nothing tops the 300 Winchester Magnum � period. If I had to start in Arizona hunting Coues deer at long range, then work my way north and east knocking off whitetails, mulies, elk, all the different types of sheep, then head to Alaska and take the biggest bull moose you can find in the willows and finally throw in a huge brownie. The 300 Winchester Magnum is my gal!

The 300 Winchester Magnum loaded stout with a 180 Partition will get every one of those jobs done with little fuss. Cross canyon shooting of Coues deer or a record Dall or Stone sheep� no problem. Bucking that crazy Wyoming wind to put down a 16� antelope hanging out there at 450 yards � no problem. Slipping up on a huge herd bull singing songs to the girls and then planting him where he stands� no problem. Say you paid for an incredible brownie hunt with Phil Shoemaker? No problem, the 180 Partition will get that job done too with no worries. There�s nothing the caliber can�t do and do well for all big game hunting in North America.

Some say it�s a tweener round � pppfffssstt! It�s a 30 caliber baby and 30 caliber is America�s caliber! The 300 Winchester Magnum sits right smack in the middle of the bologna of the power spectrum. It�s competition are the Big 7�s, the ought-six and the 338�s. And throw in some of the 35 caliber magnums if you want. But it is the best of the best.

It�s shoots nearly as flat as any of the Big 7�s do but won�t leave you �wanting� more gun when you�re hunting a big brownie up close and personal. The grand old �ought-six� handloaded ain�t that far off. But it�s still short on trajectory and power. The 300 Winchester Magnum hits as hard as the 338 Winny but doesn�t have that rounds rainbow trajectory while trying to shoot across a canyon or through the wind of Wyoming that God turns on every morning at 6 am. You like the 340 Weatherby like I do? That�s a fine round and shoots just as flat and hits much, much harder but you gets what you pay for � a lot-o-recoil! You like the 35 Whelen, nice round, but the ought-six is better all around. Ever shoot a 358 STA? Try it sometime and then think about laying prone and shooting long range and that round falls short and worse - leaves you a battered mess.

To be honest, for the 300 Winchester Magnum to really shine she needs some work. Dump her in a light stock with a light scope and mounts to trim her weight down. To make her sing and dance, she needs to be handloaded. And she needs her magazine box knocked out so she can stretch out to a slender COL of 3.560. Work that 180 Partition up over 3100 fps and she�s where she�s happiest! She will serve you well and never let you down when you do your part and give you plenty of margin if or when you mess up.

Finally, I know, the 300 Weatherby is a little faster. But it just doesn�t say western big game hunting! She�s a little too snobbish, a little too uppity and I hate getting rain in my nose if I have to hunt with her. And the 300 RUM is just too much of a good thing and eats your powder stock faster than rabbits can reproduce - I know, we have a few RUM's!

Just don�t ask me why I have all of those other calibers and rifles that I already mentioned because I can�t give you an answer.

300 Winchester Magnum - the best of the best

Pass the popcorn please!

I like the .300 WM, but in a full mag length action with 3.6" box mag. That way, one can load longer bullets out where they need to be, not stuffed down in the case, taking up powder space...

DF

Agreed Creek.. as far as the .33's, if I need more than a .300 then it is time to go to a .375.. If you add a .25-06, you have everything covered but little varmints.... Our great calibers in modern times have always been .30's: .30-30, 30-06 and the various .300's.. All great in their own spot.. But the .300 can do anything the other two can and much more.. Especially if you reload..
At present, I have most of the .300's but the Ultra.. Had two..Both were built with 28.5 " Douglas number 5a barrels..They would shoot.. The last one would shoot a 200 grain AC at just over 3300fps.. I sold it to a friend, and he had 150 grain AC's moving out at 3750 fps.. I have thought of building another, but right now, I am closer 70 than 60, and my remaining hunts can be done with any of the .300's I now have.. Have a #1 in .300 H & H that is going to be my hunting rifle when my old 10 pound .300 gets too heavy to carry.. Wonderful calibers all..

Based on one box of 165gr .300 Wby factory loads, it's a screamer. They ran 3425fps out of a 26" barrel. Claimed velocity is only 3350! Going to be working with 180gr this summer, to see what it can do.

I've run 180's over 3200 out of the .300 win mag previously pictured, but pressure was too high.

When we get into the 'only one' discussion, all sorts of 'if you need' one thing, something else is better, anecdotes. It's always true. '06 is better than a Whelen, but a Whelen does 180-200 grains almost as fast as a 300, with fatter bullets. Same can be said on the 300 vs 284....given one needs to shoot 450+, through wind, all sorts of things make some stuff 'better' than alternatives that work just fine under 450. If a guy can get to 300, how does the 300 stack up to many other rounds burning less powder? All sorts of angles. 300 might be the 'best' one caliber one day, and not the next, while the 'get it done' theory opens up plenty of alternatives for internet debates.

DF and EHNM,

HAHA, wrong 'Grasshoppers' ........................I'm purty thick-headed on a lot of things but recognize class when I hold it, the 300 H&H is the undisputed favorite of mine.