.30 Cal Magnums for UK Deer

Tackleberry270

Well-Known Member
I have owned or tried most of the common calibers for Deer and fancy something new with some poke to it.

I just wondered how many people out there use .30 cal magnums out there and how they have performed on our larger deer species?
I have been toying with the idea of .300 Win Mag but a .300 Rem Ultra Mag has also come up lately as well. I like the idea of being able to visit friends in the states and using it on big game over there as well.


Ben
 
I have owned or tried most of the common calibers for Deer and fancy something new with some poke to it.

I just wondered how many people out there use .30 cal magnums out there and how they have performed on our larger deer species?
I have been toying with the idea of .300 Win Mag but a .300 Rem Ultra Mag has also come up lately as well. I like the idea of being able to visit friends in the states and using it on big game over there as well.


Ben

ive just stepped up to the 300 win mag , mainly i wanted a traveling rifle without a moderator fit to just about take anything in the world .

i do also plan to use it on deer in the uk , just as my tickle my fancy rifle if i fancy a change from my .270.

i didnt get much hastle from norfolk about it really , but i did have to proove good reason (which i did !) and my ticket came back fully open and with any lawful quary , so happy days
 
I have had a couple of 300 win mags and one was completely unuseable due to the recoil and one was an absolute pleasure to shoot and they do a great job. I had the itch to buy the ultra mag but never scratched it, i do know a bloke who has one and he has had to do a lot of work to make it shootable as when he first got it he broke his nose when his thumb smacked him in the face during recoil! Call me boring but that really does'nt sound like fun! Every time you would walk in the door with blood pi**ing from your face the wife would say "oh you got one then dear".
 
I have had a couple of 300 win mags and one was completely unuseable due to the recoil and one was an absolute pleasure to shoot and they do a great job. I had the itch to buy the ultra mag but never scratched it, i do know a bloke who has one and he has had to do a lot of work to make it shootable as when he first got it he broke his nose when his thumb smacked him in the face during recoil! Call me boring but that really does'nt sound like fun! Every time you would walk in the door with blood pi**ing from your face the wife would say "oh you got one then dear".

Heh Heh! The 300 RUM I have seen is more of a heavy target rifle than sporting. This would help a little with recoil I think. What makes did you have? What do you think made the better one more user friendly?
 
i have had both calibers and there is better calibres for the uk but the ultra mag does get boring from 600-1000 yards (paper targets and ballons).
 
I used my .300wsm last week again on hinds and roe. I have 4 rifles of deer calibre i can use and i'm just as happy using the .300wsm as any of the rest of my rifles. I love it. Less recoil than the .300wm and a shorter action. I dont notice the recoil when i'm on beasts. I have a Browning A-Bolt synthetic/stainless with Jet z compact. There is plenty of RFD's doin the ammo now as well and easy to homeload.
 
It was years ago and the first was a wooden stocked Mauser Deluxe it was a nice looking rifle but jesus it was like waking up with a land mine under your face! The second was a Steyr Pro Hunter Tactical heavy barrel which was a nice enough rifle and very nice to shoot (although i really do not like Steyr rifles if i am honest) i think the extra weight and the synthetic stock made it. A little while ago i had a custom 30" barrelled 7mm rem mag (very heavy) but what a machine. There is a good choice of very high BC bullets in the 7mm range and it would shoot 2" groups at 600 yards regularly whilst messing around with my friend on his farm with him and his RPA 6.5-284. The 7mm would get my vote as its very flat shooting and very pleasant to shoot.
 
I had a Remi 700 .300 win mag and it was a pleasure to shoot without a moderator. Used Federal 180grain partitions in it and shot Roe to Sika with it. Great gun which was sold to fund another rifle.
 
Hi Ben,
I have used .300 win mag for a few years in UK and in South Africa. It's a very good choice of calibre with flexibility to use anything from 130gr to 220gr. I have a Mauser MO3 with a shortened barrel of 19 inches and a suppressor, I hand load a 180 Barnes TSX and have used it without meat damage from Roe to Wildebeast.

Keep in mind an increased cost of reloading (one third more powder powder than a .308). However this should not be too much of an issue unless you are doing lots of range time.

Hope this helps, I have more info if you need it.
munty
 
Ben.
Many posters will tell you that you do not need a 30 cal magnum to shoot UK Deer and they will be correct. But what the **** has `need` got to do with anything? Want and need seldom make for comfortable bed fellows.
Sometimes you just get an itch that needs scratching and if you have the 30 Magnum itch then life is too short not to scratch it.
I did the same thing with two Ackley Improved Rifles. One a 25-06 and the other a 30-06. I just fancied something dfferent and happy i did despite all and sundry telling me i did not need them and the Ackleys are not worth the bother.
The 300 Ultra is wonderfull. Very accurate, recoil is fine with a Mod fitted and launches 200 grain bullets at 3000fps. My Stalking mate has one and shoots everything from Roe to Boar with the 200 Grain Sierra.
If you fancy one then go for it and enjoy:D

Yorkie.
 
A gentleman would get a 300 H&H. :stir: Not easy to get ammunition for it though.

David.

I have always liked the look of one - Boddington in "Safari Rifles" suggests its one of the best for Africa - can shoot the bigger bullets pretty flat without too much recoil or high pressures and its really flat with the lighter weights. If you need more thump then go for a bigger calibre, but then he is talking big African game rather than long range sniping.
 
Question ! is this not a bit of a overkill for deer? surly it is going to do a lot of damage to the meat

I don't think so.

I use a .30-06 on Carrion crows, though I resist the urge to post photographic evidence of this on here even though some of my pics are in regular circulation on't interweb, thanks to friends disputing the "overkill" idea. I don't think those crows got "overdead".
 
I don't think so.

I use a .30-06 on Carrion crows, though I resist the urge to post photographic evidence of this on here even though some of my pics are in regular circulation on't interweb, thanks to friends disputing the "overkill" idea. I don't think those crows got "overdead".

:rofl:
 
Well you will have the licensing system to deal with and of course the fact that you want to shoot our tiny lickle deer with a huge magnum will give them palpitations no doubt. Mentioning 30-06 is bad enough in some areas it seems let alone a dreaded MAGNUM :eek: this ain't Africa you know :doh:.

Of course the fact that many differing levels of energy are available in at least the .300 Winchester magnum is besides the point for these officials. As Tamus has rightly pointed out you cannot get deader than dead.
 
I have a Steyer-Mannlicher in .300WM, used here and abroad - kills deer the same as my other calibres. In my experience antelope dont like it either. A bit heavier to carry though. Maybe reloaded down to 150grn (over 180grns bullets) if you are wary....

I have tried a friends .300WSM - not the same for me and prefer my .300WM.
 
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