Does Anyone REALLY Hunt With 300 Win Mag?

[wombat13]

I don't see anything wrong with using a 'magnum' if that floats your boat.

But there is an undeniable point of diminishing returns. Why would you use a 338 Win mag on small southern whitetails when a .257 Robets would be more than enough for the task?

I'll tell you why. I've got a family to raise which means I don't have the money to buy several rifles and even if I had the money, I don't have the time to practice with several rifles. It's one rifle for everything for me.

I've used my FIL's Ruger M77 MkII in .338WM and liked it. So I chose to buy a Ruger as well and I'd have the .338WM if they made it left-handed. Since they don't, I have a M77 Hawkeye (stainless/laminate) in .300WM. I know that I'll be able to hunt anything I ever have the opportunity to hunt with that rifle.

For now, it's one rifle/one load. Maybe someday when I have time on my hands I'll develop other loads, but for now, I know exactly where my bullet is going to hit.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I've owned several 7mm,Rem mags,a .300 win,mag and a .300 WTBY mag. Never hunt or hunted with any of them. No need. I have too many rifle in "whitetail" calibers. I keep the magnums on the off chance that I will get to hunt larger game or shoot at much longer distances. For whitetail (Alabama's largest game animal) a magnum is unnecessary.

 

[ArmedBear]

From a practical point of view, a magnum is normally uncalled for UNLESS you are: hunting large bodied or dangerous game, hunting medium game at extended ranges, or you may encounter dangerous predators while hunting lesser game (such as deer hunting in bear territory).

You don't have to go all the way to Africa or Alaska for those things, though it helps. I can't sit here in Idaho and say that there's no use for a magnum. It would not be true.

 

[Maverick223]

Unquestionably there are many magnum rifles being used for tasks that they aren't particularly well suited for, but I don't see anything particularly wrong with that as long as the shooter is capable of doing his job. Personally I don't find a need for a magnum for most hunting (though I have used a few), the .30-06 is more than sufficient for anything that I am likely to encounter in these parts, and there are a multitude of better choices than that (such as the .260Rem. or 7mm-08Rem.). I do believe that a .300WM is a great choice for long range large game hunting, but that isn't really my thing, so my only .300WM is a LRPR, used only for target use.

FWIW, I do have a .375H&H for large DG hunting, as well as a .45-120AE (American Express, comparable to a .450NE) in the works, but those are for special circumstances, not your typical deer hunt.

 

[DeepSouth]

My favorite Whitetail rig is my Remington 700 in 7mm Mag, with a Swarovski 3x12x56 on it. I can see a loooong way sometimes when hunting on pipe and power lines.

With that said I have killed more deer with my 243 than anything else, my 303 brit. would be second.

 

[jbkebert]

The only thing I seem to gather from these threads is that if someone chooses a caliber other than the 30/06 they are fools. That seems to be the measure against all other firearms. I have never owned a 30/06 and have no real desire to own one. It has been mentioned numerous times that a .300 winchester is a compromise cartridge having no real advantage over the /06. In that thinking my first deer rifle and my go to caliber was a .270 winchester. Now what does a /06 do that my .270 will not. Would i not be compromising to ownone?

I hunt a variety of game with a variety of rifles. Pasture poodles with a .22-250, Whitetail with a .243 or .270, Elk with a .300 win or 7stw. There is no such thing as overkill, dead is dead. I shoot a magnum because I have confidence in the gun not because it makes me manly to hunt with one. i have taken more game animals with a bow and arrow than i have ever taken with a centerfire rifle. A arrow sure doesn't hit as hard engery wise compared to a 9mm. Shot placement and the right combination or arrow weight and head or a bullets weight and design are the most important things.

 

[Art Eatman]

jbkebert, for some reason folks get all emotional about brands and cartridges. I never have understood why.

I've always figured that if something works for me, it's as good as whatever works for somebody else--and that's a two-way street.

I figure that a clean ethical kill is about as good as it gets, and anything which will do that is plenty good. My ego's less important than a full tummy.

Getting all emotional about a pretty gal makes sense. Guns? Uh-uh.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

dead is dead

This works both ways. Hunt with what you have/want. Use whatever reasoning you want to justify your choice to yourself,whether that choice be magnum or non-magnum. "Because it kills better" is just silly. Remember "dead is dead".

 

[Legionnaire]

Except when it comes to zombie threads ...

 

[scythefwd]

I don't hunt with a magnum cartridge, but one of my hunting buddies uses a .300 wby. He just downgraded to a .30-06 to save on ammo.

 

[ArmedBear]

It has been mentioned numerous times that a .300 winchester is a compromise cartridge having no real advantage over the /06.

That's certainly not what I wrote. What I wrote was that both are compromise cartridges, and for me, the .30-06 is a better compromise since it comes in a lighter, quicker package for hunting on foot. That doesn't make the .300 WM bad, in my estimation. It means that the overall compromise I wanted, didn't favor it.

If I want a gun for elk, specifically, I would be looking at a .338 or a 7mm, depending on the exact conditions. But the best elk hunting in my immediate neighborhood is with a muzzleloader tag, so it's a moot point for the moment.

 

[jbkebert]

That's certainly not what I wrote. What I wrote was that both are compromise cartridges, and for me, the .30-06 is a better compromise

Certainly not a stab at any one person. I think I have seen a hundred threads over this topic. Sometimes people have heard to many rumors that a dreaded magnum rifle will cause a concussion, loosen teeth, and kill dolphins from the shear blast of the muzzle. A magnum rifle caliber is just another rifle cartridge. Yes they can be overkill for somethings but they certainly have earned a place in the shooting world. Folks are funny when it comes to caliber choice its there choice or nothing. It seems that people think a .223 or 30/06 can kill anything on earth from and distance in any condition; and anything larger is just foolish. Then the same folks will say a .380 or .32acp could not possible be a venerable defensive weapon. So if I have this correctly a .223 can take a 8,000# bull elephant from 12 miles from the hip. But a .380 acp could not possibly stop a 150# tweaker from 10 feet center mass. Not poking fun at any one person it just seems to be a gun shop/interwebz concensus.

 

[ArmedBear]

A magnum rifle caliber is just another rifle cartridge.

Exactly. It's just bullet diameter and weight, going at some velocity out of the muzzle.

"Magnum" doesn't really mean anything. .375 H&H Belted Rimless Nitro Express is just as powerful as .375 H&H Magnum.

people think a .223 or 30/06 can kill anything on earth from and distance in any condition

They most certainly will. Untreated infections are a bitch.

Another point: Kill =/= Drop

If you really want to shoot elk at 500 yards, in mountains like ours here in Idaho, do you want it to run another mile as the sun goes down? .30-06 might kill it, but there's a reason that Idaho elk-hunting pioneers developed what became the .338 WinMag, and then the .338-378 Weatherby. They wanted DRT, not an exhausting search through the mountains in the dark.

 

[William Lee]

There's nothing wrong with anything, really. We're all allowed our own foibles. Myself, I've practiced with a Marlin 336 carbine in 30-30 and can hit the paper on a sight in target at 150 yards consistently with iron sights. It's all about finding the strategy that works for you.

 

[Maverick223]

"Magnum" doesn't really mean anything. .375 H&H Belted Rimless Nitro Express is just as powerful as .375 H&H Magnum

Darn skippy, in fact I say we revert back to the original name...Nitro Express has a nice ring to it, I always wanted a bona fide NE cartridge.

 

[Todd1700]

So if I have this correctly a .223 can take a 8,000# bull elephant from 12 miles from the hip. But a .380 acp could not possibly stop a 150# tweaker from 10 feet center mass. Not poking fun at any one person it just seems to be a gun shop/interwebz concensus

You have never heard me say that. LOL!

The big mags have their place. Hurling bigger bullets fast enough to kill "bigger" game animals like brown bear, elk, moose, and what not, just to name one. All I have ever scoffed at is the push to sell them to local deer hunters here in Alabama. Shooting 160 lb deer at 70 yards with a 300 win mag is (IMHO) like driving roofing tacks with a 12 lb sledge hammer. It'll work, but D@#n, there's sure a better sized tool for the job.

 

[jbkebert]

Everyone knows that a 12# sledge is best suited for 19ga wire brads.


The rest of your post I could not agree with you more.

 

[blacktailhunter]

I shot my bear with my 338 mag. one mountan to another .I like my mag but not for everyone.

 

[blacktailhunter]

I bought a 300sm ,Iwill bear hunting with this fall . I love my 308 but want somthing with a biger bang and more punch but less than my 338mag.

 

[blacktailhunter]

38 special i hunt bear with a 338 mag. Ihunt deer with my 308 .But when it comes to bear i want somthing that will knok it on its rump if needbe. your wright however bullet placement is everthing .If you cant shoot a 308 or smaler why would you shoot a mag.

 

[~z]

Blacktail,
38Special has not been on this thread since Nov 2006.
~z

 

[shaggy430]

It seems there has been a trend of thread necromancy lately.

 

[Cosmoline]

Bit by a zombie

 

[Vlad357]

Most of my deer hunting is done with my pet .243 if I can pry it away from my kids, otherwise I have several 06s that work fine. However, a few years ago I used my friends CZ .458 just for fun. It killed a big doe very dead, just like an 06, but I don’t ever plan to shoot it again!

 

[WV_Vizsla]

300 Wby 150-165g Hornady has killed ~30 deer for me. I think it has ~1000 handloads out the tube. 30-06 worked before that. Like daughter's 243 enough that I have one now. I use the 300Wby opening days and long range opportunities. 243 is a joy to carry and shoot 50 times on the bench. Perspective "mag" user should all bench test the tool first )