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Old September 17, 2012, 12:22 PM   #26
mapsjanhere
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After trying a lot of guns, I settled on a Tikka T3 in 308 for my walking-around hunting. Acceptable recoil, light enough to carry, affordable price (so you won't make the $700 with optic). But then, usually around 200 yards is where I try to limit my shots, unless I have a fixed stand with known distances to shoot.
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Old September 17, 2012, 06:13 PM   #27
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One man's opinion,2 cents!:

There is a disconnect,

"My .300 Wby hurts to shoot" Valid,reasonable statement!Applause!!Honest.

Is just about guaranteed if you are shooting a rifle that you hate to shoot,you will get squinty eyed and cringy when you shoot it,unless you are accidently very focused and diciplining yourself through the shot.

That being said,as you have demonstrated honesty,how good of an idea is it to focus on the over 350 yd shot?
I am not saying you can't shoot,or shoot 350 yds.

I am suggesting that its not that often (except in dreams)that elk pose out where you can see them during hunting season at a quarter mile away.

If/when they do,OK,you see elk.Do you absolutely have to shoot at first sight,or can you say,if they are not alarmed "OK,now is when it gets exciting,the stalk!Heads down,feeding,I can make it to that tree,slink,slink.Now,to the tree line...slink slink,50 more yds,etc."

If you haven't done that,try it.Its gets tingles.

I believe in carrying the best under 350 yd rifle.It carries better,and it does not hurt you so,by shooting better,it is actually more effective at any range.

At those ranges,350 or less,a .308 will kill elk just fine.So will a .270,7mm express,30-06,etc.

And,if you have a suitable rifle you are familiar with,at this point in time,go with it.

If you are an elk hunter,you can get your elk with a 30-40 Krag,A .303 British,or a Savage 99 in .300 Savage.If you aren't,a 338 Ultra mag is not going to make you an elk hunter.

One option,you like your .243?Some folks elk hunt with them,I'd call a .243 a little light for elk.Maybe leave your .243 a .243,(gunsmith won't have time,anyway) but finding a Rem 700 like your .243 should not be hard. Get a matching .308 or 30-06.Or,some of the other mfg rifles.If you hate your WBY,you don't need money,trade!

Last edited by HiBC; September 17, 2012 at 06:22 PM.
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Old September 17, 2012, 06:56 PM   #28
tahunua001
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for years I was told that i had a flinch. I never noticed it and for the life of me I could not figure out what I was doing wrong. all I knew was that I could not hit a derned thing with my older brothers 243(exact same as the one I inherited). he never had problems with it and liked to show off regularly that I was just a flincher.

well when the family moved away and older brother stayed in town I got dad's gun and threw a scope on it and grabbed a couple boxes of ammo and went about trying to sight it in. it was one of the biggest struggles of my life, no matter how much I shot that thing I could not get it zeroed just right and every time I thought I got close I would take it hunting and miss every deer I saw by several feet. I was getting discouraged.

one day, when it was blatantly obvious that I was not goign to get a deer that year with the current zero on the scope walmart was running a sale and the cheapest 243 ammo was no longer 80 gr remington corelokts but instead were 100gr federal power shoks. I figured that I would give them a shot since money was kindof scarce for a teenager who got by on doing odd jobs and once I got to the range I put out the first 3 round group and was about to do my usual head scratch when I noticed that even though the group was way off center as usual...wait a minute..they were all within an inch of eachother.

less that half a box later my gun was zeroed for the very first time and I have never touched the scope again. however through all those trials I got one very nasty habit which has become detrimental in more than one hunting trip... VERY STRICT CONCENTRATION. even though I hate the kick on the weatherby to a great degree I am usually able to push all that fear and self preservation instinct aside long enough to get a couple shots off.

Case in point:
I got the weatherby out to the range on saturday just incase I end up having to use it for elk season and even though I was only able to get 5 shots off before the shoulder said "no more" and the barrel got so hot I figured any more groups would going to spread out, I was able to get a decent 1 MOA 3 round group, make a correction and shoot 2 more into a 1 1/4 MOA group, just short of 2 inches above POA, at 100 yards.

it's not really a matter of "I can't make the shot" it's more of a matter of "I don't want to make that shot".
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Old September 17, 2012, 07:52 PM   #29
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If you don't mind me asking, in what general area do you hunt?

I know you said that you do not like the recoil from the 300 but I can tell you from personal experience that a lot depends on a particular rifle.

Case in point my two brother in laws and one of their freinds bought Rugger 7 mags from the same shop just west of I.F. the oldest BIL and the friend bought their guns at the same time with consecutive serial numbers. The youngest BIL bought his a year or two later. You can literally lay all three side by side and not tell them apart. All have the same scope rings base wood lam stock the whole nine yards. The ones with consecutive numbers are fine to shoot while the one bought later kicks like a mule. All three shoot the same reloads my oldest BIL produces. I bought a Rugger 7 mag with the old boat paddle stock and it was somewhere between the two extremes as far as recoil.

I have since sold the rifle and they still have theirs, but I did wind up with a RMEF raffle gun that is a Winchester 300 win mag. I think it has less recoil than the 7mag I had and definitively less than my youngest BIL'S. I am even loading some near max 180 grain loads over some reloader powder(don't remember which one of the top of my head)

The point is, I don't think you are going to solve your problem by just switching from one magnum to another, you might just need to try a whole new rifle altogether, the 30 cal magnum may be just fine. If I were you I also would consider a non magnum caliber. Depending on which elk unit you hunt I believe you may be right about your yardage limitations. But I have yet to hunt an area in south east Idaho where you could not do it with a 30-06 or 270. I know you don't want another 06 and you don't like the 308 both of which are fine calibers for this area, but have you looked at a 270?

Marlins XL line is a good option for your price range, I really like my 308 that I got and I was just about 500 for the rifle and the scope. I bought a Vortex scope that seems to be holding up just fine, even the one on my 300 is doing well.
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Last edited by grubbylabs; September 17, 2012 at 10:43 PM. Reason: clarify post
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Old September 17, 2012, 09:26 PM   #30
tahunua001
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Quote:
If you don't mind me asking, in what general area do you hunt?
generally I hunt in 11 and 11A but I got drawn for the late cow elk in 11X which is only about the northern half of 11 where Hells Canyon meets Craig MT.

my brother has a Ruger MKII with ultralight stock in 7MMRM which he constantly whines about shooting. my brother in law has a remington 700(lefty bolt) with heavy wood stock also in 7 rem mag. back a month or so ago when we were chronographing our intended elk loads I finally got fed up with my brother's complaints of a sore shoulder and fired it after already having bruised my shoulder with the weatherby. needless to say I was disappointed. even with an ultralight stock his 7MM still failed to even make me wince on with a bruised shoulder and then I shot the brother in laws which reminded me more of the kick from a 1903 springfield than a magnum hunting rifle.

as a kid I remember going to the range and shooting next to a cop that we "knew" calling my brother a wuss for rubbing his shoulder from a 7mm kick while he was shooting a 338 lapua. my brother gave him the rifle and said "you try then". I then proceeded to watch a police officer(which I never had much respect for to begin with) aim, fire, scream and drop my brother's rifle as his eyes filled with tears and his hand went to his shoulder...

I figure that my brothers 7mm might be a little above average when it comes to recoil and still does not hold a candle to my rifles recoil. I think I would be happy even with that small step down of going to one identical to his, though my brother in laws is more of the target area that I am hoping for.
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Old September 18, 2012, 03:33 AM   #31
HiBC
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Looking through the rifle inventory you post,I see a 1903A4 Springfield.

Now,I do not know what you call fun,but if I lived in Idaho and had a cow tag in a good place to hunt,I know what I'd be carrying!
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Old September 18, 2012, 05:32 AM   #32
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The 7 mm rem mag is a decent elk cartridge. it what I will use when I get the call.
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Old September 18, 2012, 07:26 PM   #33
tahunua001
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Quote:
Looking through the rifle inventory you post,I see a 1903A4 Springfield.

Now,I do not know what you call fun,but if I lived in Idaho and had a cow tag in a good place to hunt,I know what I'd be carrying!
I've thought about it but the last thing I want to do is to be banging my $3000 C&R sniper rifle(which I spent much of my summer restoring) off of rocks all day...

sorry to say but the A4 will not be making this trip.
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Old October 30, 2012, 10:37 PM   #34
KonaTom
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About that awful Weatherby 300 mag recoil

I think you might not find it so bad in an actual hunting situation. (adrenaline). I too was disappointed with the recoil at the range after I bought it, but when I brought down a nice elk at the Salmon River Primitive area in Idaho, I fired 3 shots and I swear it felt like squeezing off three .22 long rifle rounds. ;-)
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Old November 2, 2012, 03:38 PM   #35
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If you like the rifle, but hate the recoil, there are a few options you can go to. 1st is to install recoil pad designed for that purpose. Kick-eze comes to mind. That should reduce felt recoil. 2nd would be to install a muzzle brake. That will reduce recoil some. If you dont care for the looks of your rifle, then get another stock. Personally I like Richards Micro-Fit, but dont go for one of the factory 2nds. They have a lot of styles to choose from, different woods, grades of wood, and laminates in varying colors. Prices will vary depending on type of wood and grade.
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Old November 2, 2012, 06:05 PM   #36
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How about a 270 wsm almost mirrors 7 mm rem performance. And should have relative recoil. Plus you have good selection of bullets. A 160 grain partition would be a good bet.
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Old November 2, 2012, 08:12 PM   #37
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I'd say restocking your rifle or buying a new rifle and using your current glass are your two cheapest options.
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Old November 2, 2012, 09:58 PM   #38
Rebel9793
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If Only you lived in florida... I have two 7mm mags I would like to get rid of.
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Old November 3, 2012, 09:14 AM   #39
hooligan1
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Quote: How about a .270 wsm almost mirrors a 7 mm rem performance. the 7mm rem mag has better downrange performance because it can use heavier bullets.
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Old November 3, 2012, 06:28 PM   #40
Major Dave (retired)
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Have you ever tried...

a "sissy pad"? You know, a 1/2 inch or so thick protective cushion that straps on your shooting shoulder. Mine is made by Allen.

I wear it at the range, because I practice during the summer and early fall, when I am usually wearing only a thin shirt (warm weather).

I am shooting a Win Mod 70 Classic Featherweight chambered in 270 WSM.

During hunting season, my hunting clothing has enough layers (cold weather) that I don't need the pad to absorb the recoil. Also, as someone already said, the adrenaline related to shooting at game makes recoil pretty well unnoticed.

Try it - it might work for you- AND it is a whole lot cheaper than a new rifle and scope. Of course, maybe you just want a new rifle and scope.
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Old November 3, 2012, 06:51 PM   #41
Ridgerunner665
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I just invested a year of time and a good chunk of $$$ building me an elk rifle...its a 30-06...because, while I can shoot a 300 mag just fine, I simply don't enjoy shooting it as much.

You don't need a magnum for 350 yard elk...a properly loaded 30-06 will work just fine out to 500 (even 600 in the right hands).

Pay attention to the weight of the rifle...lighter is better (easier to carry at 5,000 feet), at least up to the point that it gets painful to shoot.

My rifle came out at 9 lbs. even...and in a 30-06, its a dream to shoot, no problem at all...it may be a bit heavier than many of the so called "mountain rifles", but not so much that I can't carry it...light enough to carry, heavy enough to shoot...thats where its at.

If you really want a magnum, get one...but you don't "need" one.
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Old November 5, 2012, 11:17 AM   #42
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I'm not bothered by shooting magnums but if it ever gets to the point I am I'll put on a muzzle brake as was previously suggested. I've seen women on tv shooting big magnums with muzzle brakes and it doesn't appear to bother them at all.
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