The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Hide > The Hunt

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old December 13, 2010, 01:45 PM   #26
publius
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 25, 2005
Location: Mississippi/Texas
Posts: 2,505
I know several people who have used them for a lot of years with great results. It's not too big but also isn't needed.
__________________
"Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress, but I repeat myself." Mark Twain
publius is offline  
Old December 13, 2010, 02:00 PM   #27
jmr40
Senior Member
 
Join Date: June 15, 2008
Location: Georgia
Posts: 10,786
It is bigger than needed, but if I didn't have any other rifles I'd use what I had and not worry. If you handload you can easily load down to 308 levels. Remington makes some reduced recoil loads that would probably be perfect if you don't handload. Use the full power stuff when needed.
jmr40 is offline  
Old December 13, 2010, 04:31 PM   #28
mwal
Member
 
Join Date: February 24, 2009
Posts: 91
I have a hunting partner that used a 300 win mag when he went out west alot. Now that he hunts MN/WI and doesn't shoot long range. 25 yards average for 20 or so deer in the woods . He has finally given the 300 up at close range the bullets open so violently that he often ruins at minimum 1/4 of the front, if he hits shoulder blade we have lost the whole front half. He now has acquired a 7mm-08 which seems to drop the deer quickly with out the mutilation to the deer and your shoulder. IMHO 300 win mag overkill except at the long range. The .243 is a fine deer killer. Unless you just want a 300. IF that is the case get one. A man can never have to many guns

Mwal
mwal is offline  
Old December 13, 2010, 05:07 PM   #29
GeauxTide
Senior Member
 
Join Date: April 20, 2009
Location: Helena, AL
Posts: 4,413
Shooting a 7mm RM and loading for friends on the same size deer, standard bullets made a mess on any chest shot. For example, a 145gr Speer @ 3130 on a front quartering shot, destroyed the lungs, heart, liver, and blew half the vicera out the far side. Distance was 100 yards. The 300 has the same velocity profile, so I would suggest 165-180 in standard bullets.
GeauxTide is offline  
Old December 13, 2010, 06:21 PM   #30
boltgun71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: January 4, 2006
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 547
Is it too big, no, not in my opinion, but its not necessary either. A 243 Win, 260 Rem, 7mm-08 Rem, 7mm RM, 30-30, 30-06, 308 Win, 300 WM, 35 Rem, 45-70, or any other of 100 other cartrdiges that have sufficient power to use and have been used on whitetails. Its all about your personal prefrence and what your comfortable with.

Myself I do use a 300 WM for whitetails and several other game as well. I decided on the 300 WM over 10 years ago with the intention I could use it to sufficently take any game in North America if and when I get the chance to travel around and hunt them. Plus I was also well aware of its accuracy potential at extended distances for target shooting, which I do quite a bit of. Over the last 10 years I have taken about 20 whitetails, a coyote, and several woodchucks as well with it. Can it be considered overkill for all of them, yup, but I'm comfortable with it and its my choice. I practice with my hunting rifle out to 400yds regurarly, and that practice has allowed me to take 3 whitetails at over 300yds. With some lesser caibers I don't know if I would have taken those shots, maybe but I dont know. I was confident with the 300 WM though.

I hear this talk of meat wasted quite a bit in conversations but I think the meat waste is more on the bullet design you select and shot placement. I have seen lesser calibers but with premium expanding bullets ruin just as much meat as my 300 WM. Poor shot placement though has ruined much more meat than any particular bullet type or caliber in my opinion though. If I lose a little bit of meat in the front shoulder region though, its no big deal to me, I'm content with the fact it was a humane and quick kill and feel I owe that to the animal. I use as much of every animal I shoot as possible but the day I have to nit pick about throwing a half pound of meat(+/-) out because the rifle caused too much damage and I really NEEDED that meat then I have much more to worry about than meat being wasted from my bullet.
boltgun71 is offline  
Old December 14, 2010, 02:14 AM   #31
bamaranger
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 9, 2009
Location: North Alabama
Posts: 8,262
much rifle

Its certainly more cartridge/horsepower than you need, but isn't that the American way?

Depending on how you hunt, it may be more rifle than you need too. Most mag bolt rifles have long 24-26" bbls, big scopes and recoil pads, and as a result, weigh plenty and are a bit clumsy.

If you walk, climb and cover ground and get in some thick stuff to hunt, it may be more than you want to carry. Personally, my whitetail rifles (and who am I kidding, that's ALL I hunt) are getting shorter and lighter all the time.

But......if you ride the 4x4 or ATV to within 100 yds of the stand/shooting house, spend a few hours there and come out, the big mag likely won't be to much trouble.
bamaranger is offline  
Old December 14, 2010, 10:47 AM   #32
Brian Pfleuger
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: June 25, 2008
Location: Austin, CO
Posts: 19,578
Quote:
Originally Posted by boltgun71
I hear this talk of meat wasted quite a bit in conversations but I think the meat waste is more on the bullet design you select and shot placement. I have seen lesser calibers but with premium expanding bullets ruin just as much meat as my 300 WM. Poor shot placement though has ruined much more meat than any particular bullet type or caliber in my opinion though.
This is truth.
__________________
Nobody plans to screw up their lives...
...they just don't plan not to.
-Andy Stanley
Brian Pfleuger is offline  
Old December 15, 2010, 01:31 AM   #33
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 19, 2009
Location: Deary, Ideeeeeeho
Posts: 531
Is the 300win. mag. too big for whitetails?????

NOPE!

Been there and done that a goodly number of times.

Do you need a rifle that large? NOPE!!!, but if that is what you have, use it.

The problem if there is one, is the use of bullets which lack integrity!

Bullets such as typical cup and core numbers which tend to cause excessive meat damage.

Use a preminum bullet, of which we currently have a good number of examples.

Bullets of the quality level of the Nosler Partition.

My son has used a Speer 150gr Boat Tail in his 270win for years, because it shoots very well.

However, he KNOWS if he has a poor hit, one involving shoulders or hind quarters he will pay the price in great amounts of meat loss. Fact of life with that bullet and other of like design..

On the other hand, over the years since I began to use the Nosler Partition, back in the 60s, the year after a cup and core bullet came apart on me, I have seen the results of a number of pour hits.

Sorry to say a couple were even mine, but the meat loss with a premimum bullet such as the partition is clearly less.

The worse meat loss I can recall was from a cousins 30/30 into the hind quarters of a mule deer buck back in the 50s.

So go ahead and use that 300, they are great rifles, but do yourself and the game you hunt the favor of using the best bullets available.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot is offline  
Old December 15, 2010, 01:34 AM   #34
kenno
Junior member
 
Join Date: November 3, 2008
Posts: 180
I think it will work out for you!
kenno is offline  
Old December 17, 2010, 03:28 PM   #35
L_Killkenny
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 2, 2007
Location: Iowa
Posts: 2,676
I'm not gonna sit here and blow smoke up your......

Is it too big? No. Neither is a 50bmg. But then again a person would have to be a moron to deer hunt with a .50bmg.

I can't help but to wonder why someone would want a .330 mag unless they are shooting long range or hunting large, dangerous critters. You want one...fine, get one. But don't expect me to sit here and tell you it's a fine idea. Me? I keep a howitzer next to my bed for HD.

LK
L_Killkenny is offline  
Old December 17, 2010, 04:15 PM   #36
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 19, 2009
Location: Deary, Ideeeeeeho
Posts: 531
Just check'in back in for a moment.

It is a very well know fact that "big" kills very well.

And it can do so with less meat damage, PROVIDING!!!!!! the choice of bullet is suitable for the size and velocity.

However, a great deal of weight should be factored into the choice as per shootability.

Not trying to put anyone down as to their "manlyness" or ability to absorb the beating rendered by "big."

But for many of us, shootability is enhanced by light recoil.

So, #1, how does recoil effect you over the amount of shooting which should be done before heading into the woods?

#2, Just how much shooting are you willing to do to insure your ability to hit with your choice of weapon?

#3, Do you reload and are thereby able to provide yourself with lots of ammo and if shooting a "thumper" willing to shoot reduced loads for practice - many of them - for lots of trigger time, before hunting?

For my wife, daughter and a young female friend, I have loaded reduced loads for their 270s which gave them the oppertunity for lots of trigger time, while at the same time NEVER being hurt or abused by their firearm.

Prior to hunting, for wife and daughter, I assured the scope/rifle was properly sighted in and the few shots taken at game were never felt by the shooter.

There was no flinch or fear of the rifle as there had never been a cause too develop such problems.

So again, no the 300win mag is not to large for whitetail. Surely NOT needed if that is what your buying the rifle for, PROVIDING proper bullet selection is made, even with the smaller calibers.

But it is a fine caliber for the one rifle hunter if some of his/her hunting includes long and/or big. If it does not include those factors, there are a lot more pleasent and cheaper to shoot rifles available in the 6mm, 7mm, 6.5mm, 270 and smaller 30 calibers

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot is offline  
Old December 17, 2010, 11:55 PM   #37
BIG P
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 8, 2010
Location: North Georgia
Posts: 1,679
HERE'S a little different idea go to the near by cooler & hang around & look you'll see whats what pretty quick most guys will tell you what they use look at the damage for yourself.Most of the best deer rifle rounds will make a mess with a bad hit. Get alittle bone or bad angle whoop there it is. 300 mag is great I love mine.have i lost meat YEP.But I've lost meat with my 223 also.ITS just one of those thangs.
BIG P is offline  
Old December 18, 2010, 12:14 AM   #38
T. O'Heir
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 13, 2002
Location: Canada
Posts: 12,453
Yep, but you can load it down. Use a lighter bullet for deer. Can't imagine using a 110 grain bullet in a .300 mag, but Hodgdon gives data for 'em. A 130, 140 or 150 would be more practical. Uses a bucket full of powder though.
__________________
Spelling and grammar count!
T. O'Heir is offline  
Old December 18, 2010, 12:25 PM   #39
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 19, 2009
Location: Deary, Ideeeeeeho
Posts: 531
With lighter bullets, normally comes lighter construction and less integraty.

In other words, the high likelyhood of much increased meat loss.

Great for varmits but not eat'in critters!

On the other hand, larger and or heavier bullets (you still need to pick an choose), may offer a much higher degree of integraty and less meat loss.

A bad hit is a bad hit is a bad hit, period. But, I have over the years seen situations where the damage was less because of a premium bullet then would have been the case with the typical lower quality/price offerings.

Look at it this way, if you have a lessor bullet which encounters heavy going, it keeps expanding until it runs out of bullet or energy, while the explosive forces of "expansion" stop much sooner with a premimum/controled expansion bullet allowing the bullet to continue on but with lessor damage.

Keep em coming!

Crusty Deary Ol'Coot
Crusty Deary Ol'Coot is offline  
Old December 18, 2010, 01:21 PM   #40
seansean1444
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 28, 2010
Location: ithaca, new york (home of the ithaca shotguns!)
Posts: 395
my buddy uses the 300 and it is perfect sized imo
seansean1444 is offline  
Old December 19, 2010, 01:32 AM   #41
sc928porsche
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 29, 2008
Location: now living in alabama
Posts: 2,433
I have hunted with the 300WM since the very early 70's. A lot of Mules and Whitetails have been harvested with it. I have always found an exit wound, be it through both sholders (waste of meat) or ribs. Usually it is quite large. The bullet seems to carry enough energy that when it strikes bone and starts to come apart, it also turns the bone into projectiles. I have had only one that did not strike bone (rib) on either entering or exiting. Furthest I have had to chase a deer was 40 yds or so. Almost all of them dropped within their body length. I also seem to get about the same results with elk. For me, there is nothing I would rather use for deer or elk.
__________________
No such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is not asking it.

Last edited by sc928porsche; December 19, 2010 at 01:41 AM.
sc928porsche is offline  
Old December 27, 2010, 12:20 PM   #42
Ticonderoga
Member
 
Join Date: December 23, 2010
Posts: 48
what boltgun said...

Boltgun71 is right on target.

Use a heavier bullet that doesn't have a Nosler BT type constrution (rapid expansion) and stick to side-lung/heart shots. Someone else suggested handloading some "light" loads. If you load a .30 bullet to 2700 fps, that's no different than shooting a .308 or 30/06.

I'm shopping for a .375 H&H Mag and I plan to temporarily "retire" my Rem 700 .308 for the next two years and use the mag for deer hunting exclusively. I'll either use a low expanding bullet or else go to a lighter load; I found some commercially available - .375 moderate recoil ammo

Any ways, it is all about shot placement as many have said, I'll stick to side shots behind the leg getting the heart and lungs and ribcage.

Perhaps you'll use it for a season and go back. My goal is rifle familiarity and comfort level...
Ticonderoga is offline  
Old December 27, 2010, 01:53 PM   #43
Saltydog235
Senior Member
 
Join Date: October 20, 2010
Location: Pawleys Island
Posts: 1,563
I no longer own a .300 Mag of any make/caliber but that's a personal choice. As a handloader I weighed the benefits of what I got in performance, price, pain etc from shooting a belted magnum or any magnum for that matter. To me, the rewards were few and the negatives were many. I shot a .300 Wby Mag for years and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread and I still love to shoot my No.1 7mag but its expensive and not a go to gun nor needed. But dead is dead and my little 7mm-08 kills them dead as a doornail if I can see them in the scope. I wouldn't be scared to take one of my 30'06's for just about anything out there unless it was a Cape Buffalo, Lion or some big African game then again I haven't been to Africa and have no desire to go. If I want to hunt a bear then I'll take my .338 but I don't shoot it more than a couple of times a year.

Its all personal preference and what you want to shoot. One thing that I have noticed from people shooting the magnums is that many bought these guns that shoot a pound of powder each pull and every time they flinch. Especially after a couple of rounds at the bench, it gets to their head and their afraid of it subconsiously. If you can't shoot it effectively, practice with it practically and be steady when it counts it doesn't matter. Hunting is about shot placement first and foremost. Heck, I got a neighbor that has killed 4 deer this year with a .204 Ruger, not one took a step but they were all headshots and he's really comfortable shooting the gun.
Saltydog235 is offline  
Old December 27, 2010, 11:59 PM   #44
rdx4me
Member
 
Join Date: November 18, 2008
Location: NW Florida
Posts: 46
Head-shots don't waste much meat....
__________________
"What's the speed of dark?"
rdx4me is offline  
Old December 28, 2010, 07:17 AM   #45
Regolith
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 30, 2008
Location: Pacific Northwest
Posts: 400
Quote:
Head-shots don't waste much meat....
They're also difficult to make properly; there's a high chance of simply wounding the deer and having it run off to die in a few days or weeks because you blew its jaw off and it can no longer eat or because of infection.

It's not generally a good shot to go with in the vast majority of situations.
Regolith is offline  
Old December 28, 2010, 07:57 AM   #46
Hawg
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 8, 2007
Location: Mississippi
Posts: 16,175
When I use a cartridge gun it's a hot loaded 30-06. It's almost to 300 mag pressures. I use 165 gr. bullets with no problems.
Hawg is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.11120 seconds with 10 queries