I'm pretty green on bolt guns but am looking to add one in 300 Win Mag to the collection. I don't hunt so it'll mostly be a range rig. What do folks like in the $1200ish range? Only real must is 5/8-24 barrel so I can run my suppressor. Two that have my eye currently are the Benelli Lupo and Ruger Hawkeye. Any input is appreciated.

I have an older Tikka and have been happy and I've had it for awhile. But at this point I'm curious why anyone would want .300 WM for anything. But the Tikka Ace model would be what I would get for a range choice.

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Originally posted by hrcjon:
But at this point I'm curious why anyone would want .300 WM for anything.

I usually hesitate to question decisions made about guns for whatever reason(s), but a little about my own experience with a 300 Winchester Magnum rifle:

I have owned bolt action rifles chambered for many different cartridges, but more or less by default most have been 308 Winchester. After deciding that Sako TRG22s in 308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor were not “handy” enough for my purposes I switched to Tikka models. I was so pleased with T3 “Tactical” models in 223 Remington and 308 that I decided to get a T3 in 300 WM that I immediately put in an MDT chassis. By that time I had had a fair amount of experience with longer range shooting and although I didn’t have any real need (that “n” word ) for the 300, I thought it would be sort of an upgrade from what I had experience with.

It turned out to be a disaster. Despite its being a make (Tikka) that I’d had excellent luck with before and the other gear and practices and top quality ammunition, I couldn’t shoot the rifle nearly as well as those chambered for 308 Win, 6.5 Creedmoor, or 223 Remington. Could there have been something wrong with the rifle itself? Possibly, but it was very unlikely. The much greater likelihood was that the increased recoil was the problem, and which is something that’s been noted by many shooters who are more experienced and skilled than I.

For example, it was noted that when highly skilled military snipers were introduced to 50 BMG rifles they had similar difficulties making the transition. The degree of difference between 308 Win and 50 BMG is obviously significantly greater than my going from 308 to 300 WM, but fundamentally the issue is the same. And there are plenty of other anecdotal reports that mention it as well that date back decades to discussions about hunting cartridges.

Does any of that mean I’m making any sort of recommendation about cartridge choice? Only that in your shoes I’d try to research the question before making up your mind.

I, BTW, simply chose to put the 300 WM experiment behind me by selling the rifle (and its expensive chassis) at a significant loss and giving several hundred dollars of ammunition to a friend.

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selling the rifle (and its expensive chassis) at a significant loss and giving several hundred dollars of ammunition to a friend.

Is he still a friend? LOL

Well, if you need to scratch the itch, get one.

But my advice is DON'T.

I have one. A beautiful, walnut and high polish blue Winchester 70. The only reason I still own it is I have a thing for wood and blue guns, and this is the first one I ever bought. I keep it for sentimental reasons. I haven't shot it in years. My record for a range session is 7 shots. 7. And that while wearing a pussy pad. This thing just flat out hurts.

If you want to kill paper at range, there are far better options. Less recoil, less cost per round, less blast, less noise, and if you reload, less powder consumed and cheaper bullets.

The only reason to own a .300 mag, other than just to have one is to actually kill living things at range. If you want to carry elk killing power across a canyon, or moose killing power across a lake, its your huckleberry.

If you want to test and improve your skills at range, there are much better options optimized for long range shooting.

.300 Win Mag is like a dragster. Fabulous at what it is designed for, not much use for much else.

Obligatory picture. It no longer wears those high rings.

I have a Remington 700 5R Gen2, it’s not a rifle you carry very far. Setup with scope and bipod it’s heavy enough that recoil isn’t a problem. With my version of the MK248 Mod 1 ammo I’ve taken it to 1000 yards. It’s accurate and very fun to shoot.
If a range gun is what your after, don’t get a lightweight rifle, get something with some heft, put a beefy scope on it and enjoy.

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Originally posted by gjgalligan:
Is he still a friend? LOL

Oh, yes; my best friend.

On the original topic, though, I haven't asked in a while if he still has his Sako 300 WM rifle. I believe he may have decided as well that it wasn't doing anything that a less-powerful cartridge wouldn't accomplish.

Thanks for the input everyone. I realize it’s way overkill for a range toy. I mostly just want something potent in the 30 cal family I can still run my suppressor with combined with a bit of just feeling like it’s a good idea to have something potent in the collection.

Well then, you will have fun with it. They are a hoot. Kind of a painful hoot, but a hoot none the less.

Good luck, and please post pictures of what you go with.

Just my $.02….a couple of months ago I scratched a long standing itch and bought a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight, a traditional walnut/blued bolt gun. I originally went to look at one in .270, a cartridge I really like, but the one in 30.06 had a beautiful stock on it so I chose that one.

A couple of days later I picked up a Browning X Bolt 2 Speed, in 30.06 as well, on sale at my local Cabela’s, the version with the Recoil Hawg muzzle brake and a synthetic stock.

I took both to the range for the first time a day later. The difference in recoil was amazing! Despite the Browning weighing 8 ounces less and the Featherweight having a thick recoil pad the Winchester kicked significantly more than the Winchester. In fact, while the Winchester was a bit of a thumper the X Bolt kicked about as much as my Tikka T3x with a muzzle break in .243 Winchester!

If you want to own a bolt gun in .300 WIN Mag you might want to consider a modern rifle with an effective muzzle brake. I would think the shooting experience would be much more enjoyable even if it isn’t quite as nice to look at.

Many years ago, I read a firearms magazine article about a new corrosion resistant version of the Remington 700 bolt action hunting rifle.
Standard hunting rifle barrel profile, synthetic stock, stainless steel barrel, receiver, bolt. Nickel plated trigger group. Nickel plated screws and hardware.
Remington had a short video on their website explaining the technical details concerning the upgraded corrosion resistance on the new model.
Basically they started with a stainless steel barreled action. Then it was electroless nickel plated. The nickel finish was protected with a PVD coating.
PVD is a type of finish applied in a vacuum chamber, and done in the same manner as the coatings applied to riflescope lenses and binocular lenses for improved light transmission.

In that short Remington advertising video, they had performed an "official" mil spec salt water spray test on one of the new corrosion resistant Remington barreled actions.
They also had included three other of their competitors stainless steel bolt action barreled actions mounted in the same "rack" for the mil spec salt water spray corrosion test.
Long story short, the Remington 700 barreled action still appeared as new. The three competitors stainless steel barreled actions?
Beyond severely rusted. Old steel "T" post rusted, like when pulled out of the ground surrounding a urine & feces soaked barnyard.

I was instantly "hooked" and soon decided I had to have one. The issue? What caliber. I already had (and still have) multiple stainless steel/synthetic stocked Remington 700 rifles in assorted calibers.
The biggest caliber owned before the purchase of the "new" rifle was 30-06. So what did I buy for the "new" rifle caliber choice? .375 Holland & Holland Magnum.
My Dad had a Winchester Model 70 in .300 Winchester Magnum. I recall shooting it as a teenager, and considered it as something to be looked at, not shot.
The new rifle in .375 H & H is beyond punishing recoil compared to my Dad's Model 70 in .300 Win Mag.

I still have the .375 H & H rifle and honestly, I shoot it infrequently. I have successfully used it on whitetail deer, and it's no more destructive/meat damage than the 30-06.
The why about not being much more destructive/meat damage? It's the velocity, not the bullet weight. 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, The Weatherby 7mm and 300 Mags, all destroy lots of deer meat.
The .375 H & H, not so much.

My former residence city, the local PD Swat Team crew was at my former "home" outdoor range facility shooting their Remington 700 heavy barrel sniper rifles one day when I was using the 300 meter rifle range.
I was shooting my .375 H & H Remington 700. We were joking around, as their firearms training officer was my former neighbor.
I asked them if any of those SWAT pussies wanted to shoot a rifle in a real mans caliber. They wandered over, looked at the loaded ammunition on my bench, and all of them declined.

Choose your new bolt action rifle caliber carefully!

Why not a AR 10 in .300 Win Mag ? That is a range toy...lol

My question is why a .300 WM if you're going to suppress it?
Yeah, take off will be a bit quieter, but my understanding is that the sound barrier being broken immediately after leaving the suppressor is still going to be mighty loud right?

That sound issue is one true for all supersonic cartridges. But suppressed takes a serious amount of the edge off anything.
The other gun I have in .300WM is a Sako TRG. It built like a tank, shoots fine, its very accurate. Its heavy enough that its not terribly unpleasant to shoot. But I'm not smart like sigfreund and I don't sell stuff so it mostly sits. Because why shoot that cartridge when so many better choices exist for just about any use. Yes there might be some real use for .300WM somewhere but I don't know what it is anymore, at least in New England. I doubt there are more than a couple of places in NH to actually stretch its legs. And the number of choices that qualify as "potent" .30cal is huge. Maybe also look at .300PRC. But if its what floats your boat, have at it.

If I were smart, I wouldn't have so many guns I needed to sell later.

300WM in a hunting style & weight rifle is not pleasant to shoot in any great volume at the range. The Lupo is definitely a hunting rifle. Depending on model, Hawkeyes can be heavy for range use or light for hunting use.

You state you are new to bolt guns. 300WM is not the place to start for a range rifle. A quality suppressor helps with 300WM recoil, but it's still stout enough to require well-developed marksmanship skills to be consistently accurate. Out to 700-800 yards, there are much more enjoyable & accurate cartridges with low-ish recoil -- like 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 6 Creedmoor, and a few others. If you're going beyond 1400-1500 yards, there are better .30cal cartridges than 300WM -- however it's unlikely that's your intended type of shooting. IMO if you buy a light-ish 300WM rifle, you'll shoot it rarely at the range -- after finding that recoil is tough to manage and that accuracy is inconsistent. A 300WM can definitely be quite accurate, but with an experienced shooter.

Consider why you want a 300WM rifle.
- To say you own a 300WM rifle.
- To have a rifle you enjoy shooting, and can shoot accurately at a wide variety of distances.

It is a great round and rifle. But I would not buy new. I have a stainless Weatherby. You can buy several great versions used for a great discount. Ruger, Weatherby, Browning to just name a few. And better rifles imho.

I prefer the 300wsm myself. Hopefully you have access to a 1000yd range.

I have not shot a lot of 300 Win Mag, but I have shot some 300 Weatherby Mag and even in a nice Mark V setup with Zeiss glass it was a miserable SOB to shoot. Yes - its a bad ass round, but its not fun to shoot at all. 308 will do everything most people can use it for out to 800 yards with really great accuracy and it won’t beat you to death to shoot it.

There is zero need for a 300WM in the northeast. Want, is another question. If you want to drop the coin for one to hang on your wall then go for it. Otherwise....

I haven't shot mine in over twenty years. I don't need to. Anything that needs killing on this continent can be killed sufficiently with far less painful calibers. As I recall, recoil on a 300WM is a roughly 50+ pound slug to the shoulder (and a scope scar) vs. about 25 for a 7mag - with nearly equal ballistics.

I've dropped elk in their tracks with a 257 Weatherby (that doesn't hurt any more than a .22).

My advice? Don't waste your money.

My 300 mag is a WSM, don’t use it much, still not selling it. I shot one elk & one black bear with it.

I bought a 375 Ruger a few years ago, really don’t ‘need’ it, the 300 is more than I need. I just wanted a 375. I reload, may not make sense, but I can easily tame it.

In American Sniper he did say the 300 win mag was his favorite rifle, so there’s that.

Truth be known, I can do 90%+ of everything with my boyhood model 70 Winchester in 308. The next part is, a gun guy is gonna do what a gun guy does.