Hunting with 300wm?

accurate

Well-Known Member
Stalking/ Hunting with 300wm?

what is the opinion out there for deer stalking and hunting with 300wm. Many use it? Is it too much gun?

Comments welcomed

(sorry. Should have been clearer. Meant stalking in first post .)
 
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I should imagine it would be frowned on with the local hunts, but you never know what johnny foreigner will do ;)

Simon

Edit; Does shooting from horseback count as being in a vehicle? If so how do you turn it off to shoot legally?
 
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As the 300 Win Mag is just a hopped up .30 cal there really should be no problems.

However the Police don't have the sense, logic nor often the brains/intelligence to work that out and that little word at the end ....................................... Magnum :rolleyes: well to the Police it means that you can shoot anything and through anything so they don't like it they like the word Minimum not Magnum.

Unless you find a very rare "enlightened" PEO and FLO then they will likely have a fit when you ask and then you file will be flagged for special attention in the future :cuckoo:.
 
I spoke to a bloke many years ago who used his for everything, lighter loads for foxes right up to the heavier bullets for boar and big reds. When you look at the Hornady manual, it gains on average between 200-300fps over a 30-06 for bullet weights above 150grns. I suppose the question is, do you NEED a 150-190grn bullet to be travelling at these speeds to do the job? The answer is obviously no as the smaller 30 cal chamberings do such a good job on game already.

I think therefore, the biggest advantage in the bullets doing these speeds would be at extreme ranges in target shooting or on dangerous game in other countries where a heavy bullet is necessary. I am not suggesting however that there is any real reason for not having one, but considerations are - expensive brass, large powder loads, more recoil and if you decide to sell it on will there be a big market for this calibre?

This is not based on any experience with a 300Win mag, more on my usage of other calibre's including 30's and from reading on the subject.
 
Sorry flytie. Meant stalking.

Accurate, I am sorry I could not resist tweaking your tail :D it's your nom de plume that did it for me :stir:

Simon

Edit; to answer your question, in principal I see nothing against it, it will do the job perfectly. The problem, as Brit has so reasonably answered, is our uniformed friends. Whatever the calibre, all you and I are considering is whether or not it will do the job humanely, and the answer is a catagoric yes! The FLD's are another matter, they do not think about things like we do. Although there are enlightened Firearms Departments who will issue permission for you to stalk with larger calibres, they are rare beasts indeed ;)

Edit, Edit; NJC on here has a .338 WM for stalking, they took his .375 H&H away though!
 
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I have a .300wm for stalking. Currently in dry dock with a burnt out barrel. It's a good calibre and inherently accurate to boot. Will take any mortal thing in this country with alacrity and all the plains game you can throw at it including Eland.
I've had two so far and my previous .300 TRGS went to Africa (in other hands) and took everything with one shot kills with 180gr Swift A frames. For this country I'd be inclined to use a 180gr accubond. In fact that's what I will be developing a load on when the rifle is rebarrelled eventually.

Too much gun? Not with the appropriate bullet selection.

G
 
As the 300 Win Mag is just a hopped up .30 cal there really should be no problems.

However the Police don't have the sense, logic nor often the brains/intelligence to work that out and that little word at the end ....................................... Magnum :rolleyes: well to the Police it means that you can shoot anything and through anything so they don't like it they like the word Minimum not Magnum.

Unless you find a very rare "enlightened" PEO and FLO then they will likely have a fit when you ask and then you file will be flagged for special attention in the future :cuckoo:.

Kevin,

I know this post is off thread, but nonetheless here goes. Now I know you have a great many lovely old rifles that you both collect and use, and I also know that you have more than your fair share of run ins with your local Constabulary over your variations. However given that a great many "agencies" monitor this and other forums I doubt very much that posts like your one here does very little except to ensure that you jump through every available hoop. I can't help but think that a "softer" approach might help.

I have put this post on only to offer constructive comment and not to be destructive, and in the hope that aspiring F.A.C. applicants don't think that the Police are the enemy with regard to firearms.

John
 
I used to use a .300 Win Mag for most of my wild deer shooting. This was before we had moderators so I used a muzzle brake, I now have two hearing aids! I assume that you would moderate it now? You would be mad not to. I used 165grn Sierra GK's for everything. As has been said, very accurate and very effective.

I'm afraid that I agree with Brithunter to a certain extent. At the end of the day, it's a .30 cal so the deer doesn't know or care whether its been hit by a .308 Win or a .300 Win Mag. The Police might get snotty these days but if you have a genuine reason for owning it then this is not a problem as long as you don't do what so many people do and that is 'ask' the FEO if you can possibly maybe kindly have one whilst grovelling and feeding him tea and biscuits. This just make them feel God like and encourages them to say no. Just put in the variation and if he rings up and queries it then just say that you are too busy to talk on the phone and could he please put his reasons in an email or letter.

The major downside is the cost of ammutition, if you intend to use factory loads then, unless you've just won the lottery, forget it and buy a .308 Win. Reloading will ease the pain a bit but you will still be burning around twice the powder than you would in a more 'sensible' calibre.

Recoil can be harsh without some form of reduction device.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the calibre and the rifle (another TRGS) but I wouldn't buy another.

If you get one make sure you get one you intend to keep as the resale value will be low.

As for the 'Agencies' monitering this website, I hope they do, they might pick up on some of the hassles that we face.

Best wishes,
JC
 
In answer to JAYB well Helen Wilkie the Firearms Licensing Officer at Nettleham certainly knows I post on the web and under which name so yes it's possible that they are looking to see what I say. However as what I have posted is factual then perhaps if theu did their jobs properly and not tried to build little empires there would not be the distrust of them.

Oh by the way I had a nice Ruger No1B in 300 Win Mag it had to go in a trade to swing a deal for Thre M93 Boer Mausers and the Medwell & Perritt.

When the Police earn our trust I will give it but so far they have done nothing to do so.

Now is it wrong to expect respect from a civil servant and that they should actually know what their job entails and not what they would like it to? Especially when we are so vetted/checked out when grants and renewals are done.
 
what is the opinion out there for deer stalking and hunting with 300wm. Many use it? Is it too much gun?

Comments welcomed

(sorry. Should have been clearer. Meant stalking in first post .)

Hi there Accurate.

As a devotee of the slightly more "sizable" cartridge behind the .30 cal, I hope I can pass on something from my own experiences.

On paper the .300wm cartridge reads like it gives you so much more gun than .30-06spr or .308win. In reality the difference is immaterial at normal stalking ranges (on UK deer) except that you will definitely have your work cut out loading it so as not to cause excessive meat damage (some might argue here that there's no such thing as excessively dead, others will certainly regret the unwelcome extra loss of good meat) May I suggest that; by going heavier/tougher and/or slower with your choice of loaded bullet you'll start to offset this problem. That's if you do opt for that big fat Magnum case, which engenders so much eyebrow raising among the less well informed.

Other pros and cons do arise however. As already mentioned, it's a more costly round to purchase or reload but its non-military derivation may interest you if you wish to shoot in foreign lands where military calibers are non-permissable. With 180grain and upward, possibly partition, bullets and the right spec' rifle and scope it'd make a fine pig gun in France, for instance, where .308 and .30-06 may not be used.

Come to that, it could see you set up with a fine gun for all the heavier game anywhere in Europe and even North America. If you want to try Elk/Wapiti or Alg/Moose you may find that little bit extra oomph handy or even desirable. Though many will tell you they do just fine on those species with a plain-jane .308win or ancient stalwarts like the .45/70 Government.

The choice is yours to justify. Good luck and happy hunting, whatever you end up with. Tom.
 
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what is the opinion out there for deer stalking and hunting with 300wm. Many use it? Is it too much gun?

Comments welcomed

(sorry. Should have been clearer. Meant stalking in first post .)

Hi Accurate,
No doubt about the .300 Win mag is a good accurate cartridge I would suggest that you shoot one before you buy one it is on the limit of what the average
person can handle, I do load development for a living unfortunately a few of my customers like .30 cal magnums recently I work up some loads for a Tika T3
tacticool .300 win neat rifle very accurate but after 50 rounds I had whiplash the owner is happy he killed a large Red stag at 335 metres, check the mag length of any rifle you are thinking of buying the standard coal of the .300 is 3.340" which is to short the most popular bullet weight 180gr and at 3.340"
there is a hell of a lot of bullet inside the case if I were to buy or build a .300 win I would use a Remington 700 LA the mag is 3.600" long or the Weatherby mark 5 or better still a Ruger No1 no need to worry about mag length you only need one shot if you are 300 + metres away
Robert
 
I had a .300 WM a few years ago. I had no problem with the recoil but just thought it was to much rifle for woodland stalking. Not just the power of the round but it was just to heavy to lug round the woods.
My mate has one for Moose hunting and he has used it to great affect. For normal hunting he uses a 6.5x55
 
i have and use a .300 Win-Mag not for ALL my Stalking mainly early season till after the Red an Fallow Rut. My rifle is very very accurate, using a 200gr Lapua Mega shooting 1/2" High at 100yrds it is bang on at 200yrd's. I have Munty's up to Big Red's. When i first had the Rifle i was out with a Bloke after a Roe Buck, he was using .243 with 100gr Bullet's we both Rib shot Buck and the .243 done far more damage than the .300. The one thing i would warn about is using Light (125-130) Bullet's on Deer. 150-200gr Lapua Mega of Nosler Partition is what i use.
 
One thing I found with the 300 Win mag was that a lot of stalkers were not so happy when it was mentioned when enquiring about or booking outings or days :rolleyes: you could hear the relief when an alternative rifle and chambering was mentioned say the .308 or 6.5x55. I also found a lot were not so happy to hear .270 Winchester mentioned either.

I recall one keeper asking if I intended to eat the Muntjac we were after when I took my .270 along. After that I tended to take the 6.5x55, 7x57 or 308 when stalking his ground as it made him happier.

In the .300 Ruger No1B I had the Speer 200 Gr Hot Cor proved very accurate as did the Speer 165 grn Flat based Hot Cor bullet over Reloader 22.
 
I have no real experience of the 300 mag's, but I saw one used on several large boar in Croatia last year. There is no doubt it put big pigs down harder than non-mag 30's. I made good hits with a 30/06, the boar died, but travelled a bit first. The boar hit with the 300's went down pretty much on the spot.

If you need a big thumper, but not so much long range ability, think about the 9.3x62.
 
I have Voere LBW in 300WM, great caliber for long shot but in Poland, allowed distance shot is 200m so I can't use full potential of this caliber. I've got about 50 red deers, few roe deers and about 20 wild boars. I've never had a problem to find any animal but if you use light bullets, roe deers or small wild boars have huge destruction. My favorite bullet in 300WM is Sako HammerHead 14,3g (V100=about750m/s). Since I bought rifle in 9,3x62, 300WM use my father.
 
My 300 WM is a Sako TRG-S and yes its a hard hitter and if a 'too hard' bullet is used they will punch pin holes
I rolled a sambar stag with this rifle using a 180 gr Nosler partition and it punched through both shoulder`s like a dart,the stag died of course a few hundred metres away,a softer bullet would have expended its energy inside and the deer most probably would have folded on the spot.
The 300 WM imo is rather overgunned for most of the deer species except the larger red upwards animals,providing the right ammo is used.
 
GREAT CALIBRE. I've used a custom 300 WM based on a Sako action for a few years. Boy did I regret having sold that rifle. The only negative thing I could say is weight. To tame the recoil you need weight. A T3 lite in 300WM with a 6x42 scope would be a nightmare to shoot. The same T3, with a 3-12x56 scope, moderator and bipod will be O.K.
Mine was 4.3 kg including a 1.5-6x42 scope and this is to much for me. If I would buy a boar rifle, it would be a Browning BAR light in 300 WM , detachable scope mounts and 2 scopes ( 1 driven + 1 stalking) . A strong 180/200/220 grain bullet out of a 300 is super good. After witnessing several 9.3's , I think that the 300 is the better boar calibre.
In France ( 30-06 illegal ) the BAR 300 will be "the" deer/boar rifle.
 
I see that a few of you had the sako trgs which look a nice rifle would you guys think that they would be a sensible buy nowadays or would a more modern version be a better bet as i am looking for a 300wm myself
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Cheeers
rick o shea
 
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