Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting The 300 Wby Mag for elk- is there anything better?

The .300 WBY may be the best for some but it is definitely sub-par for others. Daughter #1 is rather petite and hates recoil. When it came time to choose a big game rifle for her we went with a .308 Win. For antelope she will be shooting 130g TTSX this year and may use those for elk, as she did last year. While 'd like to see her get up into the 150-168g range with AccuBonds or TTSX respectively I don't know if that is going to happen. Guess we'll find out when we get to the range this summer. In any case, getting her up to a .300 WBY is a non-starter - the best we would do is get her up to a downloaded .300 WBY and what's the point of that when a maxed-out .308 Win is above her comfort level?

There are also a lot of people who shoot factory ammunition and for whom ammunition cost is a big factor. For many of them a .30-06 is a better choice just due to ammunition costs. When I purchased a rifle as a wedding present for my first son-in-law the first thing Daughter #2 asked me was whether he would be able to afford to shoot it. She was much relieved when I told her it was a .30-06. When Daughter #1` got married, guess what her husband got? Yup, a .30-06. I am hoping Daughter #3 will get married late this year or early next year, in which case her intended will also get a .30-06 rifle as a wedding present. None of my daughters or their men reload, nor do I expect them to take it up as their interests lie elsewhere. Relatively inexpensive factory ammo, whether for practice or hunting, is more important to them than extra range they are not prepared to use - and more so if that extra range comes with additional recoil that isn't necessary or is above their comfort level.

In my case, while a .300 WBY would be a fine choice for elk, would it be the "best"? Would it mean an otherwise unnecessary purchase of a new set of dies and brass? Yes. Would it mean dealing with increased recoil? In most cases, yes. Would it most likely mean carrying around a heavier, longer rifle? Yes. Would it actually do something that my other rifles can't do? Probably not. If hard hitting and flatter trajectory were my primary concerns I'd probably jump to a .26, .28 or .30 Nosler instead.

Arguments about what is "best" tend to ignore that "best" is a qualitative measure based on a specific set of criteria - and that the criteria against which "best" is judged varies from person to person. There is no universal "best".