Does Anyone REALLY Hunt With 300 Win Mag?

Do You Regularly Use 300 Win Mag or Other "Magnum" Cartridge?

  • Yes! A Magnum Cartridge Fills a Hunting Need for Me.

    Votes: 157 39.3%

  • My Only Hunting Rifle is a Magnum Hunting Rifle.

    Votes: 29 7.3%

  • I Own a Magnum Hunting Rifle, But I Rarely Use It.

    Votes: 66 16.5%

  • I See No Need For a Magnum Rifle.

    Votes: 147 36.8%
  • Total voters
    399
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I shoot a 7, but I rarely load up to full power, as I rarely hunt with it. Matter of fact I might have shot less than 10 full power loads through it ever. Its like a 3.5" mag 12 gauge. Not always necessary but there if you wanted it.
 
I hunt with what I grab out of the safe at the time. I love my 243 and .06, but the wife stole them...... I guess she likes them better than me....SO I figure there is no way she'll shoot my 300Wm..I was right,now i'm safe for the time being.
 
I just knew he was going to invoke the name of Jack O'Connor before I finished the first paragraph!
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Well you were right about that. To be perfectly honest I didn't know where it was heading, but I like where it went. Despite my love for magnums the author and myself (and apparently yourself as well) share many of the same views and have a fondness for many of the same cartridges.

:)
 
Mav, try getting a hold of an article in Rifle Magazine's March 09 issue called "Big Results from Small Cartridges." Like the one you posted it is very much worth reading. Same goes for a piece by Wayne van Zwoll titled "How to be a Crack Shot on Big Game." It used to be up on Remington's site, but has since been taken down. Both preach gospel-truth on hunting with sensible calibers and within your personal range limits.

As for myself, I find little use in any roaring centerfire magnum except as a source of humor. For the people who believe the only way to kill a 90lbs doe is to use a .338 RUM, are truly worthy of a good laugh (or desperately in need of stronger meds).
 
Buzzard said:
Mav, try getting a hold of an article in Rifle Magazine's March 09 issue called "Big Results from Small Cartridges."
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I won't have an opportunity to read it for a while, as I have to pick up someone from the airport here shortly, but it is here for all to see. The aforementioned article begins at page 44.

I don't know that I agree with your sentiment towards magnums, as long as the user can employ them properly, I don't see an issue, but unquestionably the average deer stalker doesn't have need of one. I have several magnum rifles, and rather like them, though I don't typically hunt with them, as I haven't a need for one (in that capacity) at this time.

:)
 
My elk rifle is a .300 Win Mag.
The way I see it is using the proper tool for the job.
The country is big and so are the bulls, an "adequate" caliber doesn't cut it for me.
 
The .300 WM is a great hunting round it's basically A .30-06 with 50 to 75 yards of point blank range added to it. It fits in a standard length action and it gets everything it needs out of a 24" barrel. It does EXACTLEY what the .300WSM was supposed to to do and in my opinion is one of the most useful, and sensible .300 mags around. My sheep gun is a light weight .300WM with a .24" barrel.

Recoil from a .300 WM is somewhere between a maidens caress and a fuzzy puppies coat. If you're having issues with recoil shooting a .300WM you need to do three things, first make sure you put a nice soft decelerator pad on your rifle, second make sure your stock isn't too short and that your scope isn't mounted too high. Both of which are rampantly common.

If you are still having issues after those steps have been taken you should immediately strap on your man suit, get rid of that poor little princess rose petal of shoulder that's covered with sensitive pearly white sleeping beauty skin and stop watching Oprah during your afternoon sewing breaks.

That's right...MAN up!!;):evil:
 
That's right...MAN up!!
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Okay,the next time I go after 160 lb deer at 100 yards, I'll take my 300 Weatherby Magnum and 20 rounds of ammo @$80 per box. If the wire that holds my chest wall together breaks I'll just tell my cardiologist that I was only "manning up". I'm sure he'll understand.
 
Okay,the next time I go after 160 lb deer at 100 yards, I'll take my 300 Weatherby Magnum and 20 rounds of ammo @$80 per box. If the wire that holds my chest wall together breaks I'll just tell my cardiologist that I was only "manning up". I'm sure he'll understand.
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Yo Jim, try decaffeinated...

;) Means it's a joke..

I'm not sure the .300 Wby is enough gun for a 100 lb deer maybe you should caliber up?
 
Now,what kind of wimp drinks decaf? I would use my .300 mag. IF I hunted anything that required that much energy/velocity. Or if I hunted anything that had teeth and claws and a very bad attitude. Until that day(I would love it to come soon) I will use my wimpy .223,.257,7x57,7.62x39,.280 and 30.06 caliber hunting rifles. I'm sure I left something out. In fact the .280 and 30.06s are a bit too much but who knows,I might need to make a 300 yard shot!
 
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I'm not so sure about the article. He makes a couple of good points, but it is awfully generalized. Some guys need a magnum caliber that can cover some ground with good power, or just like shooting a heavier bullet for really good penetration. And I don't understand his disdain for the .308 Winchester, which somehow doesn't put the 30 caliber's best foot forward (?), whatever that means. I guess you can load more powder in the .30-06 case, but that just means more recoil and blast, and isn't that what he's criticizing about the magnum rounds? If the .308 recoils slightly less then the .30-06 (which the author asserts can be quite intimidating to some shooters), what's wrong with a bit less recoil, especially with the accuracy you can wring out of a .308?

Use whatever gun you want to use, just make sure you can shoot it well in the field.
 
I don't understand his disdain for the .308 Winchester, which somehow doesn't put the 30 caliber's best foot forward (?), whatever that means.
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I find that there is a certain case size and caliber relationship that performs best. Too large of a case with too small a projectile and you sacrifice efficiency, bbl life, and terminal performance (smaller caliber often begets less trauma and tissue displacement). In the inverse condition you sacrifice good trajectory, sectional density, ballistic coefficient, and sometimes terminal performance (failure to properly expand). The .30Win. case size is not optimized for such large caliber projectiles. It seems to handle 6mm, 6.5mm, and 7mm bullets much better; the .260Rem. being the "butter-zone" IMO. It simply nees more case capacity to perform well with that large of a bullet. FWIW, I don't consider the .30-06 ideal either, the .280Rem. is closer to the ideal caliber for such a case, and the .300WM (amongst other magnums) is about right for .30cal. IMO.

...especially with the accuracy you can wring out of a .308?
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Please educate me on how the .308Win. is more accurate than any other cartridge, including but not limited to the .30-06. :scrutiny:
 
Try shooting a 168 grain round (165 grain round for hunting) through a .308 bolt rifle and you'll see what I mean. Ammo makers have .308 ammo down! :cool:

When it comes to hunting, the .308 Winchester works just like the .30-06 and the .270 work. They're all effective. There is no "sacrifice" from the .308Winchester. I just don't agree with the part of the article concerning the implied underperforming .308 Win (vis-a-vis the .30-06, which is a completely different caliber, the cases are absolutely different, and some powder might work better in one caliber compared to the other caliber). It is an unnecessary (and incorrect) deviation from the main thrust of the article, which is that the reduced recoil of standard non-magnum rifles will provide better accuracy and good performance compared to the high recoil from a magnum round.

Edited to add: but it doesn't really matter, if someone shoots their .375 H&H well, so be it; it'll certainly do the job for deer or elk. To each his own.
 
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Try shooting a 168 grain round (165 grain round for hunting) through a .308 bolt rifle and you'll see what I mean. Ammo makers have .308 ammo down!
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The only thing that I will agree with is that there is more match grade ammunition available for the .308Win. that most other cartridges. That doesn't mean that it is in any way better than anything else. There still isn't an "inherently accurate" cartridge. I run my own ammunition factory and can put out any cartridge to match grade specifications and match or best all factory fodder available. :cool:

Furthermore, I am not saying that the .308Win. is a poor cartridge, only that I see the writer's point and agree.

:)
 
LOL, yeah, but can you see that the writer's point about the .308 somehow not measuring up to the .30-06 doesn't jibe with the article's main assertion that standard calibers which don't recoil & retort as much as magnum calibers are preferable? The .308 recoils even less than a .30-06, so by his own reasoning, it should be a fine hunting caliber. After all, it is powerful enough to get the job done (like the .257 Roberts or the 7mm-08) and it won't make you flinch.....

Dang. Now I want a magnum hunting rifle!
 
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