First Mag Rifle

B

BoogieMan

New member
I have 303, 30-06, 30-30 but I want a Mag for no other reason than they are a Mag. I checked out a Browning A Bolt 338wm. Great rifle, but I dont think I want to pop on the smaller short mag and ultra mags. I want a full size Weatherby mag. I dont have any experience with any of the mag cartridges. At the range I will have the oportunity to shoot it at 300yds, when I get up to my property in NE PA i can shoot out to 600-700 yds. The only possible practical use I have for this rifle may be a mouse hunt. I do reload.
So lay it on me. Which one and why? I will be buying used. Right now many people seem to be trading in the big bolts for AR's and the such so many on the shelves. Often having a scope. The A-Bolt today had a Leopold VX 3-9x40 on top and was tagged at $600 for a SS.
 
Mice are not considered hard to kill so you may be over gunned with a Weatherby Mag:D Sorry, could not resist.

If you want a magnum and your heart is set on a Weatherby, I'd go with the 300. Far more bullet weights to choose from in .308 caliber than in the .338.
 
Without your insistance on it being a Weatherby magnum I would say look for something in the very versital 7MM Remington Magnum. But If you have to have a Weatherby magnum, and you seem to favor 30 caliber, go for a 300 Weatherby.
 
I want a Mag for no other reason than they are a Mag
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I want a full size Weatherby mag
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Depending on what you mean by "full size", I think you'd be smart to look at a 257 Weatherby.

Lower initial cost and cheaper to practice with (especially since you reload). Still a very capable hunting round.

And if I'm not mistaken, some very high BC hunting-suitable projectiles are out there now.

If "full size" means something else... find a boomer someone bought, put part of a box of rounds through then decided he'd like to keep his retinas attached, thank you very much.

I'm trying to acquire a 375 H&H via the above method at the moment and am oh so close.

Luck.
 
By full size I dont necessarily mean a weatherby mag. I just dont want one of the short or ultra mags.
300wby mag has been on my short list.

The mouse is much more of a challenge to kill than a moose. :D
Try and hit one with a 30-06, the muzzle blast send them flying before the bullet gets close
 
Weatherby ammo can sometimes be a chore to find. If you reload, you are good to go. If not , stay with regular magnum calibers ie...7mm rem mag, 300 win mag.
 
If not a Weatherby magnum take a close look at the 7mm Remington magnum. It is very easy on the shoulder, much more so than a 300 mag. It is accurate and there is an excellent range of bullet styles/weights available.
 
I have a .300 Weatherby mag Accumark and it is a big fairly heavy rifle. Ammo is not available at a lot of places and can be very expensive, especially now. I reload for it so that is not a problem and I see you reload also, I would recommend a .300 instead of the .338 because of bullet availability and type. Like I said it's a little pricie to shoot but it's a great rifle and cartridge. I have shot a few deer with it, but it's a little overkill on Pennsylvania whitetails under a 100 yards.
 
I avoided the 7mm Remington mag for years - because it was so popular...

Doh! ( Smacking forehead )

I sure am glad I finally got past that attitude. I can see why it's so popular, it really is a great cartridge.
 
Even though you mentioned you did not want a WSM, if you are seriously considering a 7Rem mag, you might want to look very closely at a 7WSM. The WSM is much more efficient that the Rem mag. You also get rid of the belt. Velocity is very similar.
 
I don't have a belted magnum but being a handloader, I would choose one that did not have a belt because I've heard that belted brass isn't reloadable as many times. I'm sure someone on here has reloaded both and can offer first hand experience with the issue.
 
300 Win Mag

The 300 Winchester Magnum is common, and not too expensive. You can find it in many rifles. It is a huge round and is capable of quite a distance. That's your best bet.
 
In my experience, belted lasts as long as non belted so long as you leave the H&H stuff out of your comparison. I actually like belted cases myself, but in the last 10 years the belt has become evil:D to many. A belted case is harder to develop a super accurate load for than a non belted case. The 300 Win Mag still does very well in 600 yd and 1000 yd benchrest. I dont see a lot of practical difference between belted and non. If you split a case, the belt sure is a nice thing to have.;) Keeps the hot gas going the direction it should. The headspacing argument kind of flies out the window because nothing is stopping you from neck sizing a belted magnum if you so desire. I neck size my .300 Win mag 600 yd rifle brass.
 
I happen to pick up some range brass that was 300 Win mag. Not very many people at the range with any type of mag rifle. Thanks for the advice, I have a better idea of what to look for on the used rifle rack.
Other than that I tend to like the Browning A & X bolt but they are a little limited. I would also look at the M77's and Weatherby. Any issue with any of those rifles?
 
I'm perfectly happy with my 7 Rem Mag and have been shooting it for 30 years. The deal about the belt is mostly hot air. If it bothers you, there are now specialized dies that let you size the brass all the way down to the belt, one of the arguments made against the belted mags. The keys to accuracy are at the other end of the case IMHO and they can be controlled just like any other cartridge.

The 7mm projectiles are inherently more accurate than the 30 caliber bullets which gives the 7 Mag a downrange advantage over the 300 Win Mag any any other 30 cal (see Brian Litz's article on this HERE. Brian is the chief ballistician for Berger Bullets.) And take a look at that short neck on the 300 Win Mag while you're at it.

The other advantage of 7 Rem Mag is the availability of ammo and components compared to something like Weatherby ammo. Just my opinion of course. YMMV
 
Did you read the article? Perhaps I mispoke. The 7mm bullets have ballistic advantages over the 30 bullets downrange. The lighter flat-base bullets used in BR may be very accurate within their parameters, but when you get downrange beyond the effective range of those bullets, the ballistics of the longer, narrower bullets take over.
 
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BoggieMan, you might want to try shooting your friends magnums before you invest in one. Not everyone's cup of tea. You didn't make clear what you need a magnum for. Brown Bears? If you just want to shoot a "magnum," the 7mm mag or the 257 Weatherby are good recommendations. They shoot flat without kicking you to death. The only thing I use my 338 on is moose and to be honest, my 7mm mag works just fine on them.
 
For mouse I tend to lean towards the .22 LR and the bb gun. Although my 12 and 20 gauges have done swell in the past.

If we're talking moose and mag then I'd without a doubt go with a 7mm or 300 win. Both are very common, more than powerful and flat shooting. I love my 7mm but wish it was a 300 win so I could use the same bullets as my 30-06's. So my vote is 300 win mag. You can't go wrong with a 30 cal.
 
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