300 win mag

Does anyone have an opinion of using a 300 win mag for deer hunting? I have an offer to buy one for a reasonable price, but I’m afraid it may be more gun than I need for Texas white tails.

It’s more gun than you need for a Texas Whitetail, but you won’t have to do much tracking with a well placed shot. Plan to give up some shoulder meat. That said, it opens up other opportunities for larger game. Nilgai is on my list and a 300WM or up is what most of the outfitters recommend.

Sure like mine DRT most of the time

It will get the job done...As long as you can shoot it well.

If you ever go out of state for Muel Deer or elk it would be your go to gun. Good deals don't come by everyday.
Snatch it up!

Im not saying it cant be done with less gun(easily can) but if you are paying big money to hunt big whitetails then there is no such thing as too much gun(if you can shoot it well.) The "not so serious" deer hunter can get by with way less gun. If you arent a real serious deer hunter then personally I would go with less.

Been using 300 Win Mag for deer the last 25 years. It’s a bit much for whitetail, but it can be used to hunt all North American game and most African game. I also hunt deer with 270 Win, 6.5 creedmoor, 30-06, 243 Win and 308. It really does not do that much more damage to the meat than the other calibers listed.


My biggest animal killed with my 300 Win

One of the smallest killed with my 300 Win Mag

Not that it won’t work or isn’t a good deer, but you can get the same results (dead deer) with a caliber that is much more shoulder friendly. If you’re wanting a reason to buy a new rifle and don’t a 300 win already, that’s a good enough reason in its self

I completely agree with if you can shoot a big gun well shoot one. I hate recoil and won’t shoot a gun if it has much, that why I like the 7mm-08 and 25-06 so much. A lot of punch without much recoil. I would be more confident hunting any deer, hog, goat, or antelope anywhere with one of these two cartridges than any of the large magnums.

I’m a fan of that caliber... for whitetail or whatever

I shot a .300 Win Mag for a number of years back in Arkansas. Killed a lot of deer with it. 150 grain bullets were bad deer medicine. Just don’t shoot a bobcat at 25 yards, there won’t be enough left for a decent mount.

From time to time I think about getting a Sendero/Beanfield type rifle in .300 Winchester Magnum.

To me the .300 Win Mag is the rifle you take when you are hunting South Texas, you paid a buttload of money for a guided hunt for gigantic deer, it is the last day of the hunt with barely any shooting light left, and the biggest Whitetail Buck you have ever seen in your life walks out into the Sendero 400 yards away from you.

Yes, a lesser rifle in capable hands may make that shot, but will it anchor him DRT in the middle of the Sendero instead of him running into the brush for who knows how long for fun tracking in the dark?

If you get an accurate, quality rifle with good optics, put in the time and ammunition to become proficient with it at distance, and get used to the above average recoil, the .300 Win Mag is a long range hammer for anything in the lower 48.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Dad shot many whitetail and mulies with a 7MMag. Originally got it for CO mulies in 70s. Got tired of the recoil and went back to his go to, Model 70, .30-.06 and never looked back. .300 Win Mag will do fine but so will other capable calibers as has been mentioned.

The bigger the gun, the deader the deer!! Don't over think it, do you want one??

Not too much gun for the deer. Can be too much for the shooter, if they can't handle the recoil or can't afford to feed it for sufficient practice.

Thanks to you all for the great feed back. From what I’m thinking is, that keep using my old faithful 270 for deer will do just fine! The 300 win mag sounded good, but my 69 year old shoulder was going to take a beating. In my younger days l would had jumped at a 300 win. However, time has moved on. Thank you all again for the feed back.

Got into a debate like this on the 338 Win Mag several years ago. Is the 338 Win acceptable for deer? One of my fellow posters said yes. I said no. Just happened to have one in gunsafe, so I used it that year. Whitetail at 150 yards. Shot it in boilerroom and the deer was DRT. No more meat damage than any other of my rifles. Probably wouldn’t want to hit one in shoulder though. Had to eat a little crow there and tell the guy he was probably right. At age 72, I’ve noticed that the largest rifle that I still have is a 300 wsm. That’s about where this old guys comfort level starts to end. Nothing is wrong with that 300 Win though. You really can’t go wrong with either.

Unnecessary, but if you want it go for it. A man can't have too many guns. In my older age (60) I'm reverting back to rifles/cartridges with less recoil.....6.5CM, 7-08, etc.

Personally I think it's a perfect all around caliber, now I'll take the Weatherby over the Winchester but that's just me. You'll hear comments about it being too much gun or tears up meat. When I hear a person say it's too much gun what he's really saying is it's too much gun for him and I have no problem with that. Some people just can't handle the harder recoiling magnums and shoot them accurately and if that's the case don't use one. As far as the tear up to much meat all I'll say is don't shoot them in the meat, problem solved, that's why I shoot Nosler Partitions, it gives me an option of a heart lung shot or a shoulder shot if I have to.

If possible, I would shoot it before you buy to see if it's something you'll enjoy, rather than something that makes you drudge pulling the trigger.

Some 300 win. have more recoil than others. I had a Sig Sauer that I just hated. Every time I shot it, felt like a punch in the right cheek. Shot a Remington 700 with the 5R barrel, it was much more easier to shoot. Most likely due to the total weight of rifle, and lighter trigger.

I honestly think the 300 win mag is a great caliber and I've had both 7mm mags and 30WSM that kick far worse than the 300s I've owned over the years.

Also, if you handload you have a huge choice of recipes and bullet sizes to choose from.
Last, it is known to be a very accurate caliber and of the ones I've owned over the years, probably 7 or 8 there wasn't one that wouldn't shoot under 1" at 100 yards and 3 or 4 were far better than that with handloads.

any center fire caliber is good if you're proficient with it. I use sharpsticks to 300 win mag. They all take game.

A .300 win mag is one of my favorite calibers and I love mine, but I generally don’t deer hunt with it. I will take it on a mule deer hunt if we are in mountain type terrain because it’s chambered in a lightweight rifle.

There are lots of other calibers better suited to whitetail hunting than a .300 win. And contrary to popular belief, a deer hit in the lungs with a .300 win can still run off a ways ....seen it plenty of times. And a deer hit in the shoulders with most .25 caliber and up centerfire cartridges are going to drop. Basically what I’m saying is it doesn’t have any real value as a deer only rifle...it won’t do anything different over what most other common calibers will.

Where it does shine is shooting bigger animals where you need the extra horsepower that non-magnum cartridges just won’t give you. African plains game, Elk, Moose, Nilgai....that type stuff is prime .300 win territory

I love shooting mine but it weighs 14lbs and has a brake.

My 300 WM only weighs 6 lbs. but it is a pistol. Love shooting it

After whitetail hunting with everything from 22 Hornet to .375 H&H I can say that you can’t have too much fun for the animal, but you can dang sure have too much for the shooter. If you’re 69 and honestly don’t anticipate chasing larger game the rest of your life than whitetail I’d say it’s more than you need. Now I’m a firm believer in the answer is always yes when there’s a question about a new gun.

I do on the other hand believe you can have too little gun to be ethical. I’ll never hunt whitetail with less a .257 something again, but that’s just me. I never lost an animal due to a poor caliber choice, just poor choices.

I've been hunting with a 300 now for 25 years. I started with a Savage in 1991, went to a Sendero, got a Browning X-bolt and this weekend I'm going to get a Benelli Lupo in 300 wm. I've shot whitetails and muledeer with this caliber using a 150 gr bullet. I think if your confident in your abilities and your gun, any caliber will do. I'll be shooting a 180 gr this year on our Colorado elk hunt.

Is it necessary for medium sized big game? No. Is it too much for medium sized big game? No. And it’s more versatile because you can use it with confidence on larger game.

I think many people are intimidated by the .300 Win Mag for no reason. It’s not a cannon by any means. It doesn’t vaporize animals. It has slightly more recoil than the milder calibers (.24s - 27s) but it’s not punishing by any stretch.

I always get the feeling when I read these threads that many who post about it as a vicious shoulder-eating meat destroyer have little to no experience with the caliber.

Have hunted with the caliber for 40 yrs, and absolutely love it. Has great knockdown power, and I have never ruined any meat. The recoil is modest. Outside of Dangerous Game, I would recommend for anything else.

The vicious shoulder-eating meat destroyer reputation IME comes from one thing...a lightweight or poor fitting rifle.

I look at something like a Ruger American with a 24 inch lightweight barrel in .300 Win Mag, 7 pounds or thereabouts, and my shoulder hurts just looking at it. Add a pound of weight or more and a good recoil pad to that rifle and it is a much easier to shoot rifle.

Something heavier, like a Remington 700 Sendero or heavy barreled Savage, is not only much easier to shoot but fun to shoot. If it is fun to shoot, you get more proficient with it, and when Muy Grande walks out at 400 yards he is toast.

I personally am not a big fan of Muzzle Brakes, but they can make something like a .300 Win Mag much more tolerable to shoot, at the expense of more noise and muzzle blast.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Gots a Kimber 8400 300 win mag. It weighs 7 lbs 4 oz I believe. Personally, I thought it was even heavier, but that's what google tells me. Put on a sling and 40 mm Leupold and it adds more. No muzzle break and it shoot just fine. Shoot 180 grain bullets time after time as they fly true. A friend told me that was what should go through a 300 and boy, he did not let me down.

My Sako Finnlight in .300 WSM weighs 7 1/4 lbs “all in”. I don’t notice its recoil any more than my Sako .270 Win. I have no doubt it’s more but it simply doesn’t register as a lot more. IMO rifle fit to the shooter is paramount.

I also prefer 180 grain bullets in both my .300 Win Mag and .300 WSM.

So much great information on this thread about the 300WM.

And I couldn't agree more with the poster who says it has a very undeserved reputation for bad recoil because that is certainly not the case at all.
Yes, if you get it in some kind of ultralight mountain rifle that weighs 5 lbs it is gonna buck a little.
But if you are wanting it for a blind rifle why not get one in a heavy barrel that weighs 13 pounds, sits on a rest better because of that weight, and will likely have about as much recoil as the average 270 rifle does!

I also agree about it not being some kind of cannon that destroys meat by the ice chest full. It is simply not the case when shooting good bullets and I promise you I had a 264WM that would destroy a hell of lot more meat than a 300wm does. Man that 264 was nasty when that bullet hit.

"And I couldn't agree more with the poster who says it has a very undeserved reputation for bad recoil because that is certainly not the case at all.
Yes, if you get it in some kind of ultralight mountain rifle that weighs 5 lbs it is gonna buck a little.
But if you are wanting it for a blind rifle why not get one in a heavy barrel that weighs 13 pounds, sits on a rest better because of that weight, and will likely have about as much recoil as the average 270 rifle does!"

Yep and that's why my Tikka T-3 Stainless Lite chambered in .270 is being sold. That thing kicks more than my 300 WM.

I've had a Ruger 77 for 30 years. Sent barrel to Magna-Port to try help with recoil but didn't. Took a lot of deer but got 7-08 and hadn't been out of the safe since.

That would be me too. I’m a recoil wimp

Three guns people need, 30/06, 300 win mag and 375 H&H, hunt all over the world and never look back.

lol

Hey Pine knott, I had a 7mag in a ruger 77 and I swear that thing would absolutely kick the living daylights out of you....and I'm a pretty big boy!
In fact, I shot my brothers 300WM one day at the range after checking my 7mag and it felt like a 270 comparatively speaking. He then asked to shoot my 7mag and of course I obliged....with a little head turn and a smirk. He was older than me but not nearly my size or body mass. I of course stood to the side and watched his face as he squeeze one off and his reaction was priceless as were the choice words he let out. roflmao

I don't know what it was about that rifle but I'd have folks shooting 3 tables over ask me what the hell caliber I was shooting because they could feel the muzzle blast from it.

I never minded it out in the field because it was deadly but if you had to shoot more than 7 or 8 at the range to dial it in with new loads it certainly wasn't pleasant.

Recoil is funny. My father and I had matching 700 BDL’s for a while. His had recoil but isn’t unpleasant to shoot 15-20 times and mine shooting the same factory loads from the same box and equal weight rifles was straight up nasty. I wanted no part of it after 3 shots, it beat the everliving snot out of me. My dad thinking it was in my head and he even noted that it was quiet uncomfortable to shoot. I very quickly traded the rifle off for a 7mm-08 and haven’t wanted a big magnum since

Don't give up on the 300 Win Mag. I have a Browning A Bolt in 300 Win Mag with the BOSS system (muzzle brake) and the recoil is less than my Remington 700 30-06. On the downside, the vented BOSS is the loudest muzzle brake that I've ever heard. Any 300 with a muzzle break should tame the recoil for your shoulder, thus you're less likey to flinch and pull your shot off target. Mine shoots great, is deadly on deer and bigger game, has low recoil, but just don't forget your hearing protection.

I wouldn’t use it I just don’t see the point. I have shot deer from 6.5 to 300rum and on whitetail the bigger gun offers no advantage to me. Straight through the lungs they can run with that range of calibers and hit in the shoulder they will drop with the same. The powder and recoil increase isn’t worth it on whitetail

Op- Older I get more I personally see no point in a 300 mag under 500 yards, Especially when considering that you are comparing it to a 270, the 300 is twice the recoil factor(per chuck hawks tables speed x energy) of a 270 or 257wby etc. not sure I want to carry hearing protection every where with me for a break either.

If you enjoy the recoil more power too you. I hated my Browning 300wm, I killed a pile of stuff with it but it never killed anything more quickly then any of my other calibers. Still remember the great day I sold it. Now if you want to shoot or hunt extended range where the addition k-energy numbers make sense compared to others, absolutely, it’s hard to agrue against it. If I was building a long range hunting rig 300wm, 30nos, 300 PRC or 28 Nos makes a lot of sense.

I would say .270, .300 Win Mag, and .416 Rem Mag, but that’s just picking nits.

I also like the .338, so can we throw it in there too?

And the .257 Wby?

Heck can we just say a medium game rifle, a large game rifle, and a large dangerous game rifle?

I’ve never had a big mature buck run away from a well placed 130gr. bullet from a myriad of calibers much easier on the shooter which means more time shooting at the range which means high confidence in well placed shots FME...

Are you shooting 130s in the .300 Win Mag? A buddy has a Winchester Model 70 in .300 Win Mag and it shoots its best groups with handloaded 130 Speer HPs.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

This right here is where most have their problems with the heavier recoiling calibers. I love the 300 Weatherby but sitting down and putting 9 to 12 rounds down range from a 8 to 9 pound rig is not something I look forward to, but it's just something that has to be done. If all i did was shoot 300's from the bench it most certainly be with a different rig a little more suitable to taming it down a little. In a hunting situation I don't pay any attention to the recoil. Recoil is the price you pay for the performance you get, so far the price hasn't run me off yet. If a person is going to get a 300 make sure you get one that fit's, that goes a long way in taming recoil. If you bring it up to your shoulder and have to fidget to get it just right, it's wrong.

Not that I'm biased but I would go with.

240 Weatherby

257 Weatherby

300 Weatherby

340 Weatherby

Lord help me if I ever get in a situation where I have to carry a 460 Weatherby, put 9 rounds through one for a buddy of mine, took me 45 minutes. I had to wait for my shoulder to stop trembling.

I've put 110's and 125's through a 300 Weatherby.

I would love to see what a .300 Weatherby Magnum shooting a 110 grain bullet at around 3900 fps would do to a Prairie Dog (Ya'll have a few of those in Howard County, even at the airport lol).

I am guessing red mist.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

My opinion, since you asked for opinions, is that: Go for it, IF you are willing to pay the price to be a good shot with it. When I was guiding the guys shooting 300 Win Mags had more wounded (and lost) deer than any other group. And it wasn't that we couldn't track the wounded deer. Next up were the guys with a 7mm mag. The problem, for both groups, was they did not practice enough with the rifles.

Roger that, same experience here. I’ve done a lot of unnecessary tracking because most clients that hunted whitetails with a 300 were not good with them. They were not good with them because they didn’t actually shoot their 300’s much. They didn’t shoot them much or get them sighted in properly because of the recoil at the bench. While checking the zero upon arrival, most of those guys had three things in common. They fliched and/or jerked the trigger anticipating the recoil, they all shot pretty crappy groups, and they all believed that that bigger gun gave them a much greater margin for error so the “tight groups” weren’t all that important lol.

Some people just can’t handle recoil. Heck, my BIL can’t even handle the recoil of his 270 and he’s a stout dude. The 270 was my first deer rifle and even as a kid I shot that rifle very well, recoil wasn’t that bad. But, he’s horrible with his. I don’t know why he still has it. He hunts exclusively with his 223 and here recently a 6.5 CM.

Yep, so true. You can't overcome inadequacy with higher firepower.

its a good 30cal. definitely more than you need, but most guns are more than you need. as long as you can shoot it well, its a very diverse caliber. shooting good bonded bullets like nosler partition or similar will help reduce meat damage. if you do any hand loading it can be loaded down some i'm sure.

I am not recoil shy in the least - but that’s a rifle I would never shoot.