Looking to pick up a new toy but I'm on the fence and can't decide. I like the idea of a 300 wsm, with it's edge on performance, but having never shot one, I'm concerned about the recoil. Recoil in the field isn't a concern but I want a gun that I can spend a day on the bench shooting without feeling like I got hit by a truck.
I've owned 300 win mags and 30-06s and found the 300 win mag to be tolerable but not fun to shoot all day. 30-06 for me is much more pleasant to shoot but the I've been looking a lot more into the 300 wsm and it sounds like it would get me the added performance with *possibly* a noticed drop in recoil compared to the 300 win mag. Gun would be an M70 and I'll probably put a McMillan Hunter stock on it.
In the field it would be used for elk and mule deer up to 500 yds, but will see a lot more range use for paper punching fun.... basically needs to do both duties. I reload and cost difference isn't a concern to me.
So if you were me, what would you go with?
I've got one in a Browning BAR with a synthetic stock that I retired to the safe because of the recoil. It was a gift from my dad, so I can't sell it. You'd think it wouldn't be bad in a BAR. A few shots, no problem. But I sat behind it on the bench a few times and put 20+ rounds down range and it was brutal. As a result, I started flinching, so it went in the safe and went back to my 280 REM. I will say the synthetic stock on the BAR is horrible and I couldn't find a good recoil pad that would fit it. And I never considered myself recoil sensitive but maybe I'm getting soft in my old age.
I had a wood stocked BAR in 300 Win Mag for a while. That rifle ended my fascination with the cartridge. Even in that heavy of a rifle, it kicked me like a young mule. Maybe it was stock fit, because it kicked worse than the Rem 700 that I traded for it. I knew if I'd kept it, I would have developed a flinch that I'd have had a tough time getting rid of. I have a BAR Longtrac in 30-06 that's not bad at all.
I've also owned on 300WSM and used it to kill the first and largest buck of my like. I just couldn't warm up to the cartridge and eventually traded it. My hunting partner owns it now and enjoys it, but did tell me it's the only rifle he's ever shot that showed a tremendous difference in recoil with different bullet weights. He refuses to shoot 180s out of it, 150s aren't bad at all.
