I have a bug for a 300 WINMAG. Without any concern to intended use does anyone own any of the below rifles?

Savage 110 High Country $830

Savage 110 Desert Tactical $570

Remington Enhanced Hunter $917

Ruger Long Range Target $950

Bergara B14 HMR $815

Triggers and smooth action my priorities.

What is your untended use?

"Without any concern to intended use..."

A few weeks ago I did a sight in and load development on a Weatherby Vanguard 300wm for a coworker. The thing fed, shot, and ejected wonderfully. A little heavy (not that’s bad for a winmag), but pointed great. Three position safety and two stage trigger were also awesome.

I say give the Vanguard/Howa a shot. Fantastic out of the box.

When i think .300 Win I think Tikka T3x Superlite, I have owned a half dozen or so of these and they have all been excellent rifles 👍.......Hb

Red Beard, I don’t own any of the rifles you mentioned BUT

VaHillbilly is Right per the Tikkas.

I have a T3 Lite SS and a T3X Lite SS. They ain’t goin nowhere, except hunting w/me.
Light - Balanced - Accurate (Tikka) - Great triggers - Butter smooth action.

Jerry

Yeah, im also thinking he should have had the ruger m77mkII and Hawkeye on the list as well...

The Ruger Long Range Target is a M77 Hawkeye.

I'll give them a look, thanks!

I'll give them a look, thanks!

Don't get any smoother than a Tikka action. I remember the feel from 15yrs ago! However I want a stock with adjustable comb and LOP. Gun with adjustable trigger too. The TX3 just doesn't fit that criteria.

My 300 Win is a Cooper Long Range 26" barrel wiith muzzle brake. If I were buying again, knowing what I know now, I would build my own. I think a guy could build a tack driving properly outfitted rifle for much less than I spent on mine. That said if you are looking for and off the rack 300 WIN, I can't help you with a specific brand. What I would look for is: 1) 26" barrel. Take advantage of the case capacity of the 300. If you want a 24 inch barrel go with a 300 WSM. 2)Muzzle brake. If you don't intend to shoot it a lot, maybe not necessary, If you do, make it easy on yourself and buy one with a brake. Your shoulder will thank you, especially if you buy a light rifle. Mine weighs 10 lbs, heavy for carrying all day hunting but with the brake kicks about the same as a 308. 3) It has to have a good trigger and feed smoothly. 4) Three position safety. Being able to unload the rifle with it still in safe condition is something I don't have on my 300. That is something I will insist upon in the future. If you have access to the rifles you listed, compare them. If not and you are trying to buy based on someone else's opinion, do your homework, read all the reviews you can paying close attention to problems people have had with their rifle. A lot of guys (not saying anyone responding above fits in that category) base their opinion on a rifle they shoot 40 times a year. My 300 is three years old and I've put 800 rounds through it. I can tell you everything you would like to know about that rifle good and bad, what bullets it likes and which ones it doesn't all it's little quirks. One rifle company I would suggest you look at is Steyr. I don't know if they make a rifle in your caliber in the price range you are looking for, but they make some damn good rifles. I have two in .308 Win and I'm telling you they are keepers. Good luck with your search.

id be all over that ruger long range target ...

Its getting about a 92% hard lean right now! LOL

Ive always been a Ruger 77/Rem 700 guy but before this past deer season i picked up a Weatherby Vanguard S2 300mag and have fallin for it. Super smooth action,shoots better than i can and the trigger is pretty good. Id highly recomend especially for the price

Browning X-Bolt. But it's not on your list. We have the walnut stocked Hunter model and its outstanding.

I had ABolts in the past and liked them. Especially for the 60 degree bolt throw, but to get one with the comparable features to the riles I listed they are $1700 +

Check out the Remington 5R 300 win mag. Mine shoots 1/2 groups.

+1

Tikka has a few more offerings this year in 300wm. Check out the Lite adjustable and Tact. Both have adjustable combs. I'm sure you can swap the rear pads to slightly adjust the LOP

Tikka, but 300 WSM.

The 300 WSM burns about 10-15 gr less powder and gives up about 50 fps to the 300 WM. But is proving to be more accurate and no animal will ever notice the 50 fps. Not many people using any 300 for long range target work any more, but all the 1000 yard records set with 300 WM were broken with 300 WSM before the surge in popularity of the 6.5 and 6mm cartridges.

Plus the combination of less powder burned and a little less speed gives you recoil that falls exactly 1/2 way between 30-06 and 300 WM. The WSM also does well with barrels as short as 22" while the 300 WM really needs 26". The difference in recoil is especially important in a lighter rifle like Tikka.

If I wanted a 300 WM for a hunting rifle, and that's why it's important to have an intended purpose, I would give a different answer than If I just wanted to shoot holes in paper, or ring steel.
For a hunting rifle my choices would be a Ruger Mk II (preferably in a skeleton stock--Zytel), a Weatherby Vanguard, or a Winchester mod 70 Classic stainless. Maybe even a Kimber Montana.

I'm not a paper puncher exclusively so others can speak better to that, but you have my picks.

About the last gun I want to touch off a 300 mag in would be a plasTikka.

Although I see only a 3-5gr powder difference in the Hornady manual between the two cartridges I get your point. I had a 300 WSM in an Abolt years ago. I didn’t think the recoil was too terrible. Bad thing about 300 WSM is one round less capacity and reloading components seem scarce.

I have a couple of the Bergara Ridge's, one in 300 Win Mag. The HMR has a slightly heavier barrel profile but same trigger and action. The action is very smooth and the trigger is excellent. The Ridge I have in 270 Win had a factory trigger that came at 2 lbs...lower than factory says it goes. It has almost no creep and just a touch of over travel. The trigger on the 300 is about 2.5lbs and the same on creep and over travel. All Rem 700 aftermarket parts fit the Bergara's as well. They are heavier rifles but that helps to offset the recoil a bit. For all-around use they're hard to beat for the money...for a pure woods gun I'm with VaHillbilly as the Tikka's are light and handle well in tighter situations.

sako 85 long range

Doesn't mean I'm not curious or can't ask.

[Edit to add...]

Selecting a dragster for a commuter car or a Cooper Mini for off-road use wouldn't be very smart, but "without intended purpose" concerns there would be no reason not to do so.

Is the OP going to limit his use based on what he buys or will he be happier defining his needs and buying accordingly? I know what the answer would be for me.

I broke in the barrel for someone using their Savage 110 high country. Pleasant to shoot and accurate given the clean one, shoot one process using cheap prvi ammo.

I can't stop looking at this gun! Hows the action? Smooth for follow up shots? Hows the balance? DO TELL! lol

I can't stop looking at this gun! Hows the action? Smooth for follow up shots? Hows the balance? DO TELL! lol

In keeping with the intent of the original post, I have owned several of these, including the 300 Win Mag. I have not found a factory rifle that has a smoother action and better trigger combination. Since the OP stated his question was stated without any consideration for intended use. In my opinion, unless you got a lemon or something significantly different than what I've experienced from the 5 I have owned, you should be pleased with the Bergara HMR.

Ruger Long Range Target would be my choice off that list. And off most lists, actually.

Recoil is in the realm of a .243 with the factory muzzle break. Action was fairly smooth and fed well from the detachable magazine. Balance was excellent with the Bushnell Forge scope, 20 MOA rail, and Warne mountain tech rings. The rifle included different height cheek combs and pad spacers which made fitting the rifle to the shooter easy. I’d buy one if I didn’t have an accurate 300 win mag already.

One can do much better

300 Mags are not for everyone, so, I "suggest" you go for the least expensive rifle that "has a good reputation for accuracy". Almost always a Savage of some kind. That way, you can decide if 'you" like it. If not, not too hard to have rebarreled to a 7mm Rem Mag or 257Wby, for instance. If you do like it, not to hard to trick it out even further...I have had great results from Remington 700s, not so great from Mod 70s, we're talking in 300WM. The Mod 70 issue was the magazine was too short for the long throat, a non issue in the Mod 700. I have zero experience with any newer Savages....saw waaay too many POC older Mod 110s in the past. These newer ones have a good rep it seems. I just can't "get used to" the AccuTrigger, on anything. If it was as dependable and set up like the Glock's and broke like a TriggerTech…"maybe", ha

When I think T3 Superlight 300 I think Ouch.

Yup

............................Imo and I do not own a Browning but know people who do, you might want to take a long look see at the Browning X Bolt Long Range Max for about $1250 MSRP. I think it won G&A Rifle of the Year award for either 2019 or 20.

There are a few reviews on you tube on this rifle....Imo a winner....

.................Forgot to mention. A 1 'n 8 twist for the 300 Win and a price correction. $1339 MSRP. Probably can be had in the low to mid $1200 range........

+3 on the Tikka. Safest choice, to my eyes, though I've never owned an inaccurate savage, either.

Ok, I got the Savage 110 High Country based upon your anecdotal recommendation. So if I don't like it, its all your fault! LOL

I'm a bit perplexed on the scope choice though. I have a Burris XTR II 1-8 $1200 scope sitting around I'd like to get some use out of. Later get into an Arken or Bushnell Forge. Or pull the 5-25X50 XTR II off the Ruger Precision Rifle...

Ha! I dont notice recoil like some but if you think "ouch" maybe a Creedmoor of some sort would be more to your liking 👍.....Hb

I own 5 Savage rifles.

I have 300wsm that I really love. it is an accurate rifle and feels good to hold.
I often hunt deer with a 90s model 7-08 that is very accurate.

That high country looks really nice and the one on your list I'd get.
Although, I've been looking at the Storm, likely the next rifle i'd buy.