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.300 Weatherby and .300 WSM
- Thread starter nsf003
- Start date
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
I've been catching up on reading gunzines after four months; stuff sorta blurs as to which one said what. Anyway, some records were checked for a whole bunch of Alaskan bears. From a percentage standpoint, there were fewer shots fired with .300 Magnums than with .338s. Maybe it has to do with deeper penetration of heavy .30 bullets? Dunno.
The main thing is being able to shoot accurately at a time of possible very-high stress. If a magnum rifle gets you flinching during your hundreds of rounds of off-hand practice, you're gonna have problems trying to be a bear hunter.
Art
The main thing is being able to shoot accurately at a time of possible very-high stress. If a magnum rifle gets you flinching during your hundreds of rounds of off-hand practice, you're gonna have problems trying to be a bear hunter.
Art
Al Thompson
Staff Alumnus
Are you planning to hunt or for defense?
The WSM is ballisticly equal to a .300 Winchester mag, the .300 Weatherby is about 200 FPS faster - needs a long action.
IMHO, the end all, do all bear caliber is a .338 Winchester.
.44 with good cast bullets and lots of practice is a good handgun for SD.
Giz
The WSM is ballisticly equal to a .300 Winchester mag, the .300 Weatherby is about 200 FPS faster - needs a long action.
IMHO, the end all, do all bear caliber is a .338 Winchester.
.44 with good cast bullets and lots of practice is a good handgun for SD.
Giz
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
Keith Rogan, who survived a bear mauling, has posted here numerous times. His advice is that a .44 Mag is marginal to useless if the bear is actually charging. Self-defense against bears is best done with something like a .45-70 Guide Gun and Garrett loads.
While some hunting guides will accept a skilled hunter with an '06 and heavy bullets, I'm of the "more is better" school--from many years of reading, going back to Russell Anabell's stories. (Annabel?) I'd most likely go with a .338 or .375.
Purely opinion,
Art
While some hunting guides will accept a skilled hunter with an '06 and heavy bullets, I'm of the "more is better" school--from many years of reading, going back to Russell Anabell's stories. (Annabel?) I'd most likely go with a .338 or .375.
Purely opinion,
Art
From personal experience,
I don't care for .30 caliber anything on big bears. Minmum should be a .338 and depending on the area probably a .375. Many folks out there are using the .416's on bear now days and futher I know of several guides who will only use .458's and such as backup guns. There have ,however, been a multitutde of brownies and grizz killed with the various .30's and lesser cartridges.
My personal experience is a long story but the meat of it was a friends .300 mag a good bear killed later and a complete failure of a Nosler 180 gr to penetrait on a frontal shot at about 35 yards. Fast light bullets + heavy boned critters= uncertian penetration characteristics. You want heavy and slow on these types of critters.
I don't care for .30 caliber anything on big bears. Minmum should be a .338 and depending on the area probably a .375. Many folks out there are using the .416's on bear now days and futher I know of several guides who will only use .458's and such as backup guns. There have ,however, been a multitutde of brownies and grizz killed with the various .30's and lesser cartridges.
My personal experience is a long story but the meat of it was a friends .300 mag a good bear killed later and a complete failure of a Nosler 180 gr to penetrait on a frontal shot at about 35 yards. Fast light bullets + heavy boned critters= uncertian penetration characteristics. You want heavy and slow on these types of critters.