.300 Weatherby too much for deer?

[BayouBocephus]

I picked up a 1988 or 1989 Remington 700 Classic in .300 Weatherby and put a 3-9x50 Nikon Buckmaster on it...I love this rifle but everyone I talk to says it is too much for a deer and will destroy it....HELPPP!

Thanks

 

[grtwhthntr]

It's certainly more bang than you NEED for a deer, but if you wanna hunt with a howitzer, more power to you!

 

[SoCalShooter]

Depends on the size of a deer, friend of mine just a week ago shot a small deer at about 200 yards, the round when through rear leg then through the ball joints and out the other side. It definitely has some power and you can hunt a lot of things with it other than deer, I would suggest however getting a good muzzle break on it and you can seriously reduce the recoil.

You will definitely be able to put a deer down with it.

5 out of 6 people in our hunting party use a 300 weatherby magnum in the weatherby vanguard platform, great rifles, great round.

 

[WardenWolf]

You may be able to find a lower power load than the standard .300 WebMag that would be more suited for deer. That's been a trend in recent years, as people have begun to realize that the power race has gotten completely ludicrous and shooters increasingly have been looking to dial back their existing guns.

 

[atblis]

Nah

It won't destroy meat excessively provided you use the correct bullets.

Use a well behaved bullet, and all will be well.

 

[Rampant_Colt]

save the earth! reload - reload - reload - reload

When hunting, I've personally never heard the expression "too much gun"

You may experience more bloodshot meat with that .300 Cannon... Go for a headshot, or [if you reload] whip up some moderate-velocity loads.

That's what's so nice about the big-bore rounds - you may tailor the loads to suit your needs.

@ Bocephus - if you don't reload, Remington makes some "Managed Recoil" ammunition, but i'm not 100% sure if it's available in .300 Wby Mag

sounds like a nice gun!

 

[Al Thompson]

Horse manure. If you like the rifle, use it. I'd go with a tough 180 grain bullet myself - lighter and faster may blow up a bit, but a good 180 will work just fine. I've used a .375 H&H quite a few times on deer and smaller critters.

 

[BayouBocephus]

I shot the rifle while sighting in the scope about 10 times(lil over $25)...my shoulder was brusied..what type of muzzle break could I get?

 

[Polish_Pounder]

A friend of mine took 2 small whitetails with his last year. Load was a 165 grain ballistic tip compressed load. Both deer were disassembled by 200 yard broadside shoulder shots. On the second deer the off-side shoulder was hanging on by the skin only. +1 on a tough 180 grain bullet. Other than that, it is a very versatile and powerful round. Quite a bit of gun for deer, but not necessarily too much.

-Polish

 

[WardenWolf]

You can get your gun fitted for a MagnaBrake. That's supposed to cut recoil by 45%.

http://www.magnaport.com/rifle.html

You can also invest in a Limbsaver pad for your rifle.

 

[Rampant_Colt]

you're gonna get a case of the flinches from that rifle and miss

 

[SoCalShooter]

My friend had his 300 fitted by BASS PRO I do not know the muzzle break he got but he stated to me that it shot lighter than his 308 encore did now.

 

[Art Eatman]

Hard to ruin meat if you don't shoot Bambi in the eating part, I always noticed.

I never shot at a deer. I always shot at a specific place on a deer, and that place wasn't in the eating part. Neck or heart/lung. Not in the shoulders, backstraps or hams.

 

[pbrktrt]

i'm with you Art. if i can't take a good shot and put it between the ribs i won't take it. i use an accurate rifle & a very good scope & shoot year round.i know where the shot is going. i have no problem with the guys that love their 30 mags but the 270 has always done what i've asked of it. there is not a beast alive that will go very far after a double lung shot.

 

[groundhog34]

I shoot a 300 weatherby on occasion at deer when I am hunting at long 200+ yard range or when i do not want the deer to run because of terraine we have some steep hill or small steep mountains in alabama. I shoot for the fro shoulder or heart and find that the 300 make a fist size exit hole but there is not much meat wasted. I use 180 grain.
Look at the weatherby web site for muzzle breaks I recommend getting one.

 

[Elgin47]

As previously mentioned, it has a lot more to do with your ability to place the bullet where you aim - and aiming in the right place - than it does with what caliber you're using - which usually means shooting something that doesn't cause you to flinch.

I've had several .300 Weatherby rifles and liked them all - well, most of them - but the laws of physics prove consistently (and sometimes frustratingly) true, so a .300 Weatherby will bump you some, but for me it's a reasonable trade-off because I hunt big mule deer and elk in wide open country where longer shots are the rule rather than the exception - so in this particular application the .300 Weatherby or something similar is appropriate; where it might not be in heavy brush/timber.

A properly designed and installed muzzle brake is a great help sighting in, but your hunting buddies will not be happy when you touch it off - especially if they are off to the side instead of behind you.

Disclaimer is I've been around hunting and firearms a long time, but I'm no expert - so my opinions are worth exactly what you paid for them.

 

[Geno]

Great purchase; awesome round! I have taken many, many deer, ram and boar with .300 Weatherby and with .257 Weatherby.

I only damaged meat once. One ram that I shot at several hundred yards spun as I fired, and the beast took a 150 grain Projectilation H. It blew literally about 10" hole in the beast. I do have photos, but they are too gruesome to post.

I always try to fire into the ribs (heart/lungs). The bullets seldom have exited the far side of the body. That is to say, usually 100% of the tremendous energy has been transferred to the critter.

All the same, 100% of my harvests have been 1-shots, instant kills, even to 525 yards. The only reason I purchased my last Weatherby Mark V in .300 Winchester Magnum is the price of Wea. ammunition. Reload and you'll save money.

Again, awesome, awesome round! You'll be pleased. BTW, Accurate Arms 3100, Reloader 22 and H4831 are all great powders for reloading.

Doc2005

 

[earlthegoat2]

Where Im at everyone like to overgun themselves so taking deer with 300 mags is the norm. It doesnt blow the deer apart so go ahead and use it.

 

[LeonCarr]

Better to have and not need than to need and not have .

I am seriously considering going the .30 caliber magnum route in the near future, and the .300 "Roy" would be a good choice.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[cliffy]

DUH!

When a .243 Winchester 100 grain bullet can smother a white-tail deer in ultimate fury, what can a .30 caliber hyper bullet add? More edible meat loss is about all. Provided the heavy recoil doesn't cause one to miss or wound. A .30/06 provides MORE than too much potency for dropping-dead-in-its-tracks any game animal in North America. A more potent .30 caliber can, with a "perfect" hit, turn a beastie inside out. Now that's a trophy! cliffy

 

[Tarvis]

It's all how you look at it. Shooting a deer in the rump will always trash some meat, but if you know anything of the Rifleman spirit, you don't shoot at the deer as Art put, you shoot at the vitals or the neck.

Do you need it? Probably not, but if it is all you have or the rifle you are the most proficient with or even the rifle you want to use, you've got an argument.

I say shoot something smaller if you've got it, but I'm not you.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Waaaay too much gun...but if you can shoot it accurately, it will work.

 

[seatofmypants]

No not too much

As previously stated, it is all about shot placement. I hunt with a 7mm Ultra Mag, shooting 140 grain barnes xbt's with 96.5 grains of retumbo powder. Last time we checked these bullets were over 3500 fps. If you know anything about ballistics you know this is no slouch. Anyway a shot to the head, neck, or neatly tucked behind the front shoulder will not cause the deers head, neck, or entire front end to seperate from the body. However, a head shot will make a bit of a mess on the exit side of the wound. Neck and rib shots often will not create a large mess. What kills an animal is the hydraulic shock of the bullet (for the most part). I have friends that shoot guns chambered in different forms of .300's and I like them all, however I would be hard pressed to use anything over 160 grains on a whitetail deer because of the ballistic data I have seen, (not because the deer is going to turn into a pile of mush). Just my opinion.

 

[22-rimfire]

A rifle in 300 Weatherby is certainly more gun than you need for any deer I'm aware of in North America. But if that is what you got, use it. Shoot for the heart-lung area and you won't ruin much meat (or any meat). And yes, you always aim at a specific spot on a deer, not the deer.

Why don't more people use more calibers like the 300 Weatherby, 378's, 375's, and similar? Answer: The shooter has to deal with more recoil than is needed for the task at hand. Excessive recoil is the nemisis of shooters, especially seasonal or part time shooters.

 

[BENELLIMONTE]

Bayou,
I use my MK V Weatherby 300 for bull elk and buck mule deer when I am hunting areas where shots may be longer than 350-400 yds. I use handloaded 200 grain nosler partitions at 2982 fps. Minimal meat damage on everything I have shot with this load.