Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Browning A-bolt Stainless 300WSM

I am interested in purchasing the Browing A-bolt stainless rifle in 300WSM. Does anyone have any experience with this rife? How does it rate for accuracy and dependability? Are there any other rifles in 300WSM, within the same price range, that I should be considering?

One of our regular posters - JJHack - says he's seen more A-Bolts fail in the field than all others, by far. He guided for many years in SE Alaska and still does in Africa as a PH.
The only makes he has not seen fail are Rugers and M70 Classic Winchesters. I'd look at something else. E

Ditto.

But if you still want info on this particular setup you mentioned, then check out:

www.shortmags.org

You'll get all your questions answered there.

BCsheephunter, welcome. You'll find plenty of folk, including me, ready to help you spend you money here! Are you by an chance a left handed shooter?

I am surprised to hear that the A-bolt is not favored by some because of its lack of reliability. Is the reliabilty something that can be fixed by either a gun smith or a change in loads?
I am looking for a lightweight rifle (my title isn't sheep hunter for nothing) and the A-bolt seems to be the lightest rifle available in 300WSM that I have found. I also understand it is one of the more accurate.
How does the Winchester ultimate shaddow stainless rate for accuracy? I understand it is only slightly heavier than the A-bolt and may be a good second option for me!

If you give me a couple weeks (maybe less now) I'll let you know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I got the 300 WSM Model 70 Ultimate Shadow Camo on order now and it should be here really soon, or well, anytime now.

Tikka and Kimber are coming out with light weight 300 WSM's shortly. Both are very accurate usually. Believe about 6 lbs. 12 ounces each. About the same as the A Bolt.
Just from what I have read from numerous mags, the Browning is more accurate than the Winchester. Some people would take that with a grain of salt.
The Browning is manufactured to much tighter tolerances than a Winchester some say which caused the occasional failure, same principle as all that play in the Mauser 98 action which allows for more reliablity. The ice or debris has no where to go in a Browning and freezes the bolt and pin. There are a lot of Browning owners that dispute this and claim no problems.

I would be really intertested in seeing how the Win ultimate shadow makes out. The conditions of my area are similar to those of AK. Please keep me up to date.

I think that you can get a lightweight mountain rifle from Winchester, Ruger, or Remington chambered for the .30-06 that will give you performance equal to the 300 WSM. To get any increase in velocity with the WSM or the SAUM, you really need a 24 inch barrel, and then you've sacrificed the advantage of a mountain rifle. Cut the barrel to 22 or 23 inches and there won't be that much difference between the WSM and the .30-06.

If you find this hard to believe, go to the short mag forum and see what kind of velocities they're getting from the 300 short mags - you'll be surprised to find that they are about the same as handloaded .30-06 velocities or the factory .30-06 rounds in High Energy or Light Magnum form. One fellow with a 22-inch barreled 300 SAUM couldn't get more than 2800 fps with 180-grain bullets. In this month's issue of Gun World, the author could only get 2900 fps in a 300 SAUM in a 26-inch barrel!

Furthermore, the handloaders can't get the short mags to reach the velocities that the factory ammo does, because the factory ammo is loaded to the eyes! There have been more than a few comments about sticky bolts and other signs of excessive pressure with these rounds. This is not uncommon with newly designed rounds; the factories load them to the extreme at first to help generate hype and sales, and then back off on the powder after a few years. This was done with the .270, the 7mm RemMag, the 7mm STW, and 300 Win Mag, to name a few. Just get a hold of some old ballistics data for these rounds and compare the data to the new, milder versions of the same rounds.

The short mags don't make a whole lot of sense to me. They are touted to offer the same performance as their longer magnum brothers - which they clearly don't - and in a shorter package. But to take advantage of any velocity gains over non-magnum rounds, they really need a 24 inch barrel - which defeats the purpose of a shorter package. Chop a 300 magnum barrel to 22 inches and all you end up with is a noisy .30-06 that uses ammo which is more expensive and harder to find. In deference to the people who have purchased them and swear by them, I should admit that there are probably some situations in which they'd be desirable, but to me they're more hype than substance. I'd rather see the big rifle makers put some R&D money into making their products of a higher quality than in making the same quality equipment in chamberings that we really don't need.

I'd be willing to predict that if you purchased two guns for mountain hunting - a Rem 700 Mt. Rifle in .30-06 (22-inch barrel) and a Rem 7 Magnum in 300 SAUM (also a 22-inch barrel), there would be so little difference between the two in performance at the range and on game animals, that you could not tell the difference. I'd guess the same thing for a Browning .30-06 vs. the Browning 300 WSM. By the way, in both cases, the .30-06 versions are lighter than the 300 short mag chamberings.

Lastly, the short mags are new. Everyone's caught up in the interest that something new generates. I'd advise that you take some time to read non-biased information about them, talk to gunsmiths about the advantages/disadvantages of their design, and talk to people who have used them. Let the excitement calm down and see which of the short mags look like they'll last in the marketplace. Then decide if they'll suit your needs.

John G:
Thanks for the informative reply. I was not aware that manufacturers were bumping up the loads on new cartridges to make them seem more impressive, but it makes sense. I have been told by others and I guess you confirmed it that the short magnums may come close, but will not match their big brothers. I'm not looking for a gun that will match the 300 win, but something that is as good (and slightly better) than my trusty 06. I'm in the market for a new rifle and rather than go with the same old thing, I'd like to try something new. The 300WSM hopefully will fit that bill. All I now have to do is find the right rifle to fit the calibre.

I think you're going about it the wrong way. Find a rifle you like, then pick from the calibers it is offered in. Not suggesting going for moose or bear with a 22-250 or 243, but anything 270 and up will handle the big stuff. If you like the rifle, caliber is secondary, to a degree. Sure, the 300 WSM is a capable round, but it is no better than a 30-06 or a 300 Win Mag.

Have you considered getting a Weatherby Ultra Light ? They are right arround 6 lbs and available in both Weatherby and standard calibers. 257 weatherby is great for deer, and sheep. 300 weatherby good for bigger stuff.

BCSheepHunter:
If you are going after sheep and want a short mag why not get a 7mmWSM or 270WSM? They are both more than enough to take a sheep, plus they have a flatter tragectory.

I own a Browning 300 wsm stainless stalker. It is a very light handy rifle that compares favorably with a Remington custom shop 280KS I owned a few years back in the handling department. The positives are that it is a very accurate rifle and i cannot overemphasize that fact. Although it is in the 6 1/2 lb weight range minus scope the recoil is not unbearable in fact I have no problem shooting it at the range without a past shield or thick clothing etc. On the other hand I own 7 + lb 300 win mags that do seem to have stiffer recoil. The only negative I have is the bolt is non field strippable but what the heck neither is the one on a Remington 700. I have heard from other owners that these rifles are not returned much to the factory for servicing. I can believe it because I have had zilch problems with this one. I have chronographed Factory loads as well as handloads and they either match factory or in some cases actually exceed it not by a huge amount but on average a couple of feet per second. The short mag for whatever reason is extremely easy to load for ....my particular rifle as well as that of a good friend(300 wsm Model 70) love H4350 about 64 grains and 180 nosler partion set at 2.860 OAL. Hope that info helps. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I agree with you that the 7mm or .270 WSM has a flatter trajectory, however I favor the 30 calibre because I can use a heavier bullet for moose and big bad bears. My plans for the 300WSM is to use a 150 grain Nosler which will give me almost the same trajectory as the 7mm or .270.

wait for the Tikka T3 Lite in that caliber. could there possibly be anything better in the world?????

Sempreelk:

Thanks for info. I have ordered a Browning stainless stalker in 300WSM and I'll try your recommended load. Hopefully the rifle will be as accurate as some claim.
I have lots of Win 760 powder kicking around so I plan to start some loads with that first, using recommended load data from shortmag.com. Has anyone had any expericene with W760 in this calibre that they wish to share?

BC,
Have you considered the Reminton 700 Titanium model? Its priced higher than an A Bolt but you get alot more rifle in a lighter package. Probably better resale value too. I can't think of a better sheep rifle from the factory. MtnHtr

BC,

I own a A-Bolt Hunter in 7WSM and have had real good luck using the Winchester data on the Shortmags forum. The 270 and 7mmWSM work very well with the new WXR powder from WW. I think they recommend W760 for all the 300 loads. Good Luck BM

BCSheephunter

I have also tried VV N550 and was very dissapointed with it..velocities were well below those achieved with H4350...ps I use Federal 215 on these loads... I would like to try some Magpro since it seems to fill up the case nicely and published velocities seem to be right up to if not exceed H4350. I understand it is not possible to exceed the 150 grain Silvertip published velocity or even match them with current powder out there. There is a rumour that Winchester used Magpro to get those velocities. I was getting 3294 out of the A bolt and 3306 with the Model 70 with factory 150 Silver Ballistictip ammo ....temperature was in the mid 70's . YOur going to have to pretty much stay at 2.860 OAL with the browning..you can seat it off .020 with the Model 70. It helped the Winchester shoot better but made no difference with the A bolt.