This ammo seems to be plentiful, well, compared to other calibers, that is. I go to Bass Pro occasionally and it's the only ammo on the shelves. Good quality ammo, too.

I haven't owned a belted magnum in a long time. I just don't have the need for one. But still I've been toying with the idea of adding another .300 Win Mag to the safe. I know the .300 WSM pretty much duplicates the .300 Win Mag in terms of velocity and trajectory, offers shorter actions, and dispenses with the belt.

Who has one? What do you like about it, or don't like about it?

I have one. A Browning A-bolt Stainless Synthetic. I haven't used it in a few years, but from what I recall:

Like the short action for scope mounting.

It somewhat duplicates the .300WM up to about 180 grains. The case is a bit short for 200.

It doesn't feed as smoothly as a .308 due to the wide shoulder and you give up a round of magazine capacity.

Performance on deer sized game seems similar to a 30-06

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MNSIG,

I have a few. I like it. But i do not play the 6 game very much. I like heavy caliber rifles. I have a lighter weight Tikka and a M77 that was rechambered for it. Both primarily big game hunting rifles.
I am using 180 grain projectiles. Both highly accurate. Can reach out a good distance.
Yes, they do have big recoil. No doubt about that. I do not mind it. If I did not hunt large game and in area's where dangerous critters exist's I do not see a need. A want, just because is normal I suppose
As far as factory ammo goes. I do not or have not seen much on any shelves to speak of.

Yeah, I don't know. If I bought it, it would be an impulse buy. A caliber I'm not too familiar with. My .30-06s do everything I've ever asked of them.

Thanks for the comments.

I wandered into one a few years back at a gunshow where the dealer had had it longer than he wanted/thus low price. Winchester model 70 laminate. Ended up bedding and freefloating it as it wandered a bit when shot. Turned out to be a great shooter. Usually does one hole groups with Blackhills factory 175 BTHP as well as handloads. It does a hell of a great job on whitetail out to 290 yards. DRT. Since I use it for hunting and have a thing for flat/non shiny stuff we parkerized it while bored at work one day long ago. Ended up coating it with some matte finish to be more "protective" on top and it has been excellent to hunt with in a hell of a lot of environments. I scored an old 3-12X Burris Signature scope for dirt cheap that has proven itself over and over. I admit I have loved finding the ammo on shelves in some local "smaller" shops that ordered it by mistake for 300WM and have been sitting on it long enough that I bought some cheaper than dirt. It all makes for good loading brass once shot. Mine tends to like the 150-175 grain loads better then the 180 which is fine as that is most of what I load. I've made some loads that are real soft/light on the recoil and some that has been rather "hot". Just took some experimentation but has been well worth it. If you can find one cheap enough I think you will be happy as long as you know its limitations and what may need to be done to make it shoot well if it doesn't to begin with. I have even had fleeting thoughts of re-working one of my Model 7s into 300WSM for a "light weight" rifle.

Thanks, BBL. I have a line on a NIB Browning X-Bolt Composite Stalker for a really nice price. My problem is, I just don't think I need it.

I have been toying more and more with the idea of a guided hunt for elk or moose now that I'm in a position in life that makes that possible. So I've been considering a harder hitting gun other than my .30-06s. But I shoot those very well. The outfitters I've spoken to actually told me that they would rather a hunter show up with a .30-06 they shoot well than a .300+ that they don't. I think I will stick with what I know. I think my .30-06 would fine for elk or moose. I have a couple of new Remington 700 BDLs (.30-06 and .270) that I haven't even scoped yet. I probably need to round them out before I jump into my next rifle.

I bought one back when I didn’t have a 30-06, thought I’d try something more than my 308. I bought a standard, wood stocked A-Bolt.

I shot one Elk & a black bear with it, hand loaded to just above 30-06 levels.

My buddy took his 30-06 elk hunting, one shot, elk down.

I like the gun but seldom use it, favor something smaller for deer & even black bear hunting. For the once in a while elk hunt, your 30-06 is fine.

If VA deer are on the list I’d go smaller, Creedmoor ammo seems fairly common. I have a few extra rifles though, nothing wrong with variety.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
I bought one back when I didn’t have a 30-06, thought I’d try something more than my 308. I bought a standard, wood stocked A-Bolt.

I shot one Elk & a black bear with it, hand loaded to just above 30-06 levels.

My buddy took his 30-06 elk hunting, one shot, elk down.

I like the gun but seldom use it, favor something smaller for deer & even black bear hunting. For the once in a while elk hunt, your 30-06 is fine.

If VA deer are on the list I’d go smaller, Creedmoor ammo seems fairly common. I have a few extra rifles though, nothing wrong with variety.

Thanks.

The .30-06 is really just what I am used to. Of my deer rifles, that's the rifle caliber I've hunted with the most. But I agree, the .30-06 is more than I need for Virginia deer, or any deer at reasonable ranges.

My preferred load is a simple Remington Core Lokt 150 grain (or Winchester or Federal equivalent). At reasonable ranges, a .30-06 will drive it all the way through a deer from any direction. Heck, the hardest deer I have ever put down was one I took a shoulder shot on with a lowly .30-30 at a little under 100 yards. That shot, unfortunately due to the animal's sudden movement, hit just forward of the shoulder and the deer actually ran towards me up the ravine side I was on and stopped about 50 yards away. The deer was uphill and quartering towards the left giving me a hard shot. My goal at that point was to just put him on the ground since he was wounded. Just as I shot he turned right and the bullet hit the left ham, obliterated the thigh bone, went through the abdominal cavity, the diaphragm, nicked the heart and exited the chest between the neck and front shoulder. That was a 150 grain Hi Shok Federal bullet out of a .30-30. That went all the way through him, lengthwise, hitting the biggest bone on the body and shattering it. That put him down for good. That 150 grain soft point bullet ruined that ham. Blood shotting was near total. I've always felt bad about that deer. I've never had a similar experience with my .30-06. And I've never had one fail to go all the way through. Those jacketed soft lead bullets are devastating.

I love the .300wsm especially if you do a lot of high country stalking. Used to carry a Remi 700 SS DM with a Douglas barrel in a .300wmag until I bought a Browning ABOLT SS stalker in a .300wsm,a lot easier to carry around,very accurate and great for wintry conditions. Liked it so much I bought a Sako SS Finnlight in a .300wsm also, another tack driver. Again main advantage is doing a lot of stalking in the high country. Every ounce helps.

I loved the WSM's and still have several. In my experience they tended to be more accurate than the 300 Win Mag due to better quality brass and better head spacing due to cartridge design. In fairness to the 300 Win Mag, the Win mag is a good 100 to 150fps faster with 180gr bullets if you handload. It's easy to get 3100 to 3150 with 180's in a Win Mag and you are most likely over pressure if you load a 300 WSM over 3000fps.

I do prefer short actions and lighter rifles so prefer the WSM's for that alone but better accuracy, slightly lower recoil, better efficiency etc made the WSM's really attractive to me. Like Valkyrie I have a Sako Finnlite in 300 WSM that I lost count on the 3/4" 3-shot groups at 200yds I shot with that rifle and that was with a premium hunting bullet. The Sako also was always dead on with it's cold bore shot. It's still towards the front of my hunting rifle safe. I shot the most game with a 270 WSM but the 300 was equally capable and excellent. STILL Great rounds!