Why the .300 Win Mag?

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F23Blackwidow2

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I was looking at some guns that professional hunters use. You know, the guys on all those TV shows and the guys that get paid to test gear. It turned out that 9 out of 10 of their guns fired the .300 win mag. All the things I've read say that there is almost no difference between the .30-06 and the .300 win mag out until 400 yards. So why the .300? It's not like they're getting 500 yard shots.

Thanks,
Ken B.
 
In my more cynical moments, I write it off to the American penchant for "More, more!" It's cars'n'houses as well as guns. :)

I don't see them as a need, but if that's what some guy wants, that's fine by me.
 
Folks tend to fantasize about the 1% shot,and gear up for it.

Not knocking the 300 Win mag,

but in most cases,a .308 works just as well,maybe better if you like to eat what you shoot.

Most folks can shoot a milder cartridge better,or,most folks will have to overcome the tendency to flinch if they choose a 300 mag.

Its cheaper and easier to practice with a 308(or any number of other great cartridges).

Keeping your eyes open and placing a 308 will give better results than closing your eyes as you pull a 300 Magnum trigger.

Some folks shoot a 300 magnum real well.Some don't.
 
So why the .300? It's not like they're getting 500 yard shots.
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Actually they are. And that is the reason in a nutshell. A 300 WM, 30-06, and 308 shoot the same bullets, just at different speeds. A 308 gives almost exactly the same energy and bullet drop at 450 yards, as a 30-06 at 500 yards, and a 300 magnum at 600 yards. And with the best loads these are about the max ranges each would be effective on elk size animals.

If the trigger puller is capable of making the shots. Most are not. A 308 is about as much rifle as the average hunter has the skills to use. But that does not mean others don't have the skills to shoot game at longer ranges.

People who really work at shooting skills can make a 500 yard shot look darn easy. Many of them are on the TV shows you watch

They can also shoot heavier 200+ gr bullets fast enough to be very effective on really large game. For the guy who wants to hunt the world a 300 mag would be the perfect 1 gun rifle batterey. There are only a couple of animals on the planet where you would be undergunned and if you have the skills most can be taken at very long range.
 
The 300wm has more knock down power and less drop then any 308 or 06 at any distance. If you had to defend your life or the life af a client from a charging/wounded animal which would you rather have? To me the real issue is recoil, if you don't like or can't shoot a heavy recoiling rifle then a 308/06 would be a better choice but if recoil is not an issue then the 300wm is a great round. The same can be said for the 7mm mag vs 7mm08, 308 vs 30-06, 270 vs 270wsm. Love mine.
 
The 300 win mag will cover all hunting needs and do them all well. Since I own all the other guns it covers I rarely hunt with it. But it would be last to go if I had to sell my guns.
 
Years ago my brother got back from sighting in his 300 mag.. Then a month later asked me if I wanted to go shooting,, We went he shot the mag a few times & asked me to take a few shots to see if i could hit POA. One shot was plenty for me.
The thing about it is the futhest shot he has is 200 yards,, I told him to get a 06 and be done with it ; ) PS He sold the gun a few years later

Y/D
 
I think the question is why not the .300 win mag? It'll do the same thing as the 06' or .308 in a flatter shooting form. It'll literally get down range faster, which helps if your target is moving or plans on moving while the bullet is traveling to it's intended target. It'll also hit harder and cause more devastation to the target (which could be negative if you want to preserve meat)

The only reason I can see why you wouldn't want the magnum is recoil. In a bolt action recoil is pretty negligible, IMO. As long as the shooter doesn't flinch there's no real problem. Also you could always back down a magnum load to reach velocities closer to the .308 or 06' if recoil was that big of a problem.

personally I'd go with the .300 win mag. You know what they say... Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.
 
My rifle--a Weatherby Vanguard--was a gift with a story.
It can cause a sore shoulder and it is heavy to carry, but I have no reason to not want to keep it or not use it.
 
The 300 Win mag is a great cartridge.I'd suggest someone new enough to the game to have to ask questions not make it the first choice.Work up to it if you need it.

If you have access to the PO Ackley books,there is an article in one of them by Les Bowman?I hope I spelled his name right.He was an established big game outfitter in,I believe,Wyoming.

He commented that he had an indcation how the hunt might go if the client had a 270,30-06,etc..adequate but not excessive.Odds were good the client could place the shot,and did not have illusions about 675 yd shots

A brand new shiny .340 Weatherby was a caution flag.

Once again,to those who carry a 300 mag,no disrespect.Great tool if you master it.

A .308 will make fine 300 yd kills on elk.

IMO,the real juice in a hunt is getting closer.
 
As a former guide myself and as a hunter who’s met professional guides and hunters in 9 states and 5 countries, I can tell you that I have never known one that used a 300 mag.

Maybe the TV is showing some, but I don’t own a TV so I can’t say.

That's not to say anything bad against a 300, but every pro I ever knew ----if they carried a rifle at all ---carried a heavy hitter or their own hunting rifle. The “heavies” I have seen were 12 gauges with slugs, 458s, 375H&Hs, 416s and 404s.

The guides that carry their own rifles which they hunt with when not guiding carried mostly 30-06s and 270s one carried a 7mm Rem mag, and one carried a 338-06 which I made for him.
Also one man I know in Alaska carries an M-1 Garand with his own hand loads, (180 grain Barnes X bullets) but tells me he’s never had to use it.
 
Nothing wrong with a .300 Mag, but I tend to agree with what Jack O'Connor wrote. He said it was neither fish nor fowl. It was not powerful enough to use on the large bears, and kicked too much for smaller game.

I realize it will take large bears, but I do not believe it is that much better than a 30-06 with heavy bullets. On one hunting trip both my partner and I took Kodiak bears with .300 Wby Mags, and both required 3 shots in the shoulder area.
The next time we used a .375 and a .35 Whelen. One shot in the shoulder area finished them.
I won't argue as to what cartridge will do what, but my own experience, admittedly limited, caused me to prefer other cartridges.

Jerry
 
having hunted with a 308 for the first 33 years of my life, the 300 mag brought something diffrent to the hunt. I had my 300 custom built. I use 180 Barnes TSX @ 2929fs out of a 26 inch barrel.

the first time I downed something other than wart-hog it was an oryx. the old bull was standing alone and the bullet hit sqaure in the vitals from the side. I remember being very impressed with the effect that it had on the animal. it was in a word deadly. I use it on bigger game on long distances.[ not more than 350yards]

however I tend to use my 308 more.

over here, we only have guides if the hunter is looking for dangerous game and then pro hunter that does the guide will have to cary at least 375
 
In my more cynical moments, I write it off to the American penchant for "More, more!" It's cars'n'houses as well as guns.

I don't see them as a need, but if that's what some guy wants, that's fine by me.
Click to expand...
Like the guys at my work that have a 300 win mag but think they need a 300 RUM because it has more power and a flatter trajectory.
 
Its the same action as the 30-06. When you see it from rifle design perspective its simply the best use of a standard length action in 30 caliber.
 
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