Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Lightweight 300 WSM recoil question?

My Montana sees only 155 scenar at 3250 FPS and isn’t bad at all pdf the bench. I chose the 155’s as they shoot very very well. It does pretty good with most 180’s as well but I have bigger calibers when I want them so keep the 155’s for my 300 wsm

I'd rather shoot an 8.5-9 lb 375 H&H than a lightweight 300 mag/WSM. Problem is Id rather carry the 300.

I solved this conundrum by shooting and carrying a lightweight 270 zinging 150 partitions.

Thanks guys, all great observations. Anyone try R17 in your 300WSM? I shot it in my 300WM (before the present Bergara) with the 150TTSX but it was around 45 deg constant. I didn't get to try it around 80-85. I played with R26 in a previous 22" .270/160PT and it was a i inch shooter until it hit 80 deg. It then went wonky on me. Out here, late Sept and early October can be very cold at night and pretty hot by noon.

64.5 gr's RL17 under a 180 Partition for 3,030 fps was my go-to 300 WSM load (another is 64.0 H4350 for 2,980).

As to lightweight 300 WSM's, I had several Kimber MT's. All-up with a 3-9 Leupold, Talley Lwt's, Unlce Mikes Mtn Sling and a full magazine, weight was 7lbs 4oz's. The Kimber 8400 Stock is the best I've ever used for recoil, but I found the no.1 barrel too light. If the Kimber had a no.2 contour it would be my ideal 300 WSM.

But I have no need for magnums on elk anymore and have gravitated to milder recoiling rifles. More fun to shoot, can be built lighter, and dead is dead.

Thanks Brad- It appears that the "mid 60's gr" loads of, what I call, "4350 burn rate" seem to do very well in the 300WSM. I finally got to shoot my 84L Classic .270/129 loads yesterday. Its right at 7 lbs scoped, and very easy to shoot. I had this particular rifles barreld action cryogenically treated, before I even shot it, ha. I had to wait anyhow for the Commie covid 19 "let's quarantine the healthy folks" for the range to open back up, ha. I was using R16, which is supposed to be temp stable.

I had a 300SAUM that went about 7.5lbs and I shot 165's around 3,000fps or 150's at 3,150fps. It was a little brisk and not what I'd call fun for target shooting, but wasn't harsh. My hunting conditions don't necessitate a lightweight magnum rifle, so my more powerful rifles these days are generally a fair bit heavier.

I was all set with the Kimber 84L Classic .270 and a Bergara Hunter 300WM "until I saw this Kimber 8400 Classic "stainless steel" for sale! ha Well, I talked myself into "what a nice heirloom for my grandchild" kind of, ha. I was offered $200 more for it from another guy than I paid for it "before it shipped"! If it doesn't shoot the way I want, I'll just have it rebarreled into a 6.5 PRC or 300PRC, etc, etc.

I can't get the pics downsized just yet, don't know why. Go to Long Range Hunting Online to "Guns For Sale" and one can see the pics posted there. Beautiful I tell you, ha!

My 300 Win Mag weighs 7 pounds all up.

It has a brake on it

I have the same rifle in 257 Roy so I knew the 300 would thump me really hard.

I’m not recoil shy/sensitive but a 7 pound 300 WM is something I wasn’t to keen on testing my shoulder on. Although I may try it for comparison.

Most of my rifles weigh 6-7 pounds all up

My recommendation put 220 GR Bullets in it, and bite down hard when you shoot.

I actually have some 240gr Woodleighs on hand! ha But I don't want to crack the gristle around the plate/4 screws I have in my neck! ha

I have owned both a Tikka Light and Kimber Montana in 300 WSM. I was 64 years old and a small man at 5'7' when I bought the Tikka. Shot hundreds of rounds through it and then traded for the Kimber Montana just because annd shot hundreds more. These were my Newfoundland Moose hunters. I shot a wide variety of brands and weights. Both rifles shot most everything well. Under 2"at 200 yards. I settled on the 180 TSX which shot diagonally through a moose. In the back left ham, broke bone, exited about middle right shoulder. I had a 3 leg homemade portable bench I shot off. Both rifles had a Limb Saver pad. I hot rodded them to the max and loved shooting them. Bullet weight made a difference in noted recoil.

Tested about every powder available in the RL 17 burn rate. In these 2 rifles Hodgdon 4350 was the ticket. In BOTH. It did the best for me any temperature and about any weight of any bullet. Shot it in 90+ degree and -0 degree days. Point of impact varied little at 200 yards. With that powder I had the best velocity consistency and accuracy. I settled on the 180 TSX for the moose. Shot 2 whitetail with that load. DEADLY!

What would I do differently?
150TTSX! Faster, flatter, flies through Moose with aplomb. These 81 year old shoulders may also appreciate that decision. Given the opportunity I'd hunt any North American species with it.

Light weight 300 WSM, Hodgdon 4350, Winchester mag primers, 150 TTSX, mmm, mmm, good!

Well thanks Uncle Rug! ha I'm 67 young myself, and I too find that I like them running fast. I have several powders but plenty of H4350 and several others. The new R16 promises a whole lot too. I'm definitely going to start out trying the 150 TTSX. I am not a Long Range Hunter, and I prefer to just point and shoot. I have always tended to want to "hold up a bit" when the range is 300 and over. When I tried to use the +3"@100, I have shot "over" far, far more than I ever shot under.

You may find that they (150s) shoot well. I shot them in 3 rifles. 300 WSM Montana, 300 WSM Tikka T3 Light, and a 30-284 Ruger #3. They shot well in all three. For years I sighted in 3" high at 100. About 1965 I began putting them right on at 200. Made things simpler for my self imposed 300yds maximum. Put the cross hair on target - grin.

Had no way to actually measure recoil but from what I felt shooting a few hundred hot 180 grainers the Montana stock absorbs more recoil than the Tikka. Twas notably more pleasant rifle to shoot off the bench. I have no memory of recoil when shooting at game :-)

A note in my reloading manual concerning Barnes TTSX reads, "To load the TTSX press the leading edge of the first ring to even with the outside edge of the brass mouth." "That gives the best COAL for Barnes to shoot accurately." It has worked well for me with the TTSX rounds. Should give you a starting COAL. It has worked recently with my Kimber Montana 270 Win 110 and 130 grains and my Kim Hunter 6.5 Creedmoor shooting 100 and 120 grainers.

I was at the range the other day I had 3 rifles doing load work 375 H&H, 300 weatherby and 300 wsm. Surprisingly the 300 wsm was a real sweat heart to shoot. I also don’t use a lead sled. Looks like the 375 likes a 79.5gr rl17 with a 300gr tsx, 300 weatherby really likes 180gr hornady btsp with 82.3gr of H4831. The 300 wsm really likes the federal 180gr tbt bullet and 180 tsx with 68.3gr rl19. Going to up the charge to 69.0 with the 180 federal and 180 ttsx. I guess the point is I’m not recoil
Sensitive at all..

It is a given that a lwt rifle calls for a different shooting discipline ( am I saying that right? they have their idiosyncrasies for sure, ha. If I have any rifle that "hurts" while I'm in a golf shirt, I just slip on a Past Recoil Shield (mimics my hunting clothes for LOP) and get after it. When I was 14, I talked my dad into buying a used Remington 11-48 12 ga for me. That was one of the most brutal recoiling guns ever, every bit as bad a Stevens single shot 12 ga Magnum. I would end up with a black eye after shooting at doves! Both were Full choke and shot buckshot great ( we ran deer with hounds) but you had to "aim" them like a rifle! ha I was trying to "make do" as we were dirt poor. Turned out to be good training later when I was experimenting with "the perfect DGR", from 338WM to 458 Lott. ha
Thanks for the input guys, I'm taking it all in...:)

You mentioned a Stevens single shot...I guess the hardest kicking gun I ever shot was a H&R Single shot 3.5" 12 ga ( it weighs 5.5lb) shooting some 2 1/4 oz 3.5" shells....Its a buddy of mines gun that he bought back in the mid 90's ...He still hunts with it to this day, He told me recently he has killed 51 gobblers with that gun 👍. Maybe the hardest kicking gun I ever owned was a Mossberg 535 12ga 3.5", I think it weighed just over 6lb. I wish I never sold that one because it was a delight to carry in the steep terrain I most always hunt......Hb

Unfortunately big guns that are pleasant to carry aren’t pleasant to shoot.
The ones that are pleasant to shoot are not pleasant to carry .

I prefer a heavier rifle .

Try reloader 17 . You will like it !

Brake it and go 200s or 212.

I will try both R17/H4350 , maybe R16, and see which one shoots the best. I will just have to go ahead and work up some loads now as its getting warmer. I will them test test them in hot summertime, early September. I dont' like having a "summer time/winter time load of different charges with the same bullet... that gives me an excuse to 'try another bullet", ha, I love handloading as much as hunting.

I do not believe in pixy dust , but there is something with 17 that just works in the 300 wsm period.
Added velocity with less pressure signs than anything else I tried .
Great accuracy for me to boot.
I tried RL16 . To me it showed nothing over H4350 , and preformed a lot like H 4350.