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Do I need a 300 Winchester Magnum

.300 WM is my choice to not only send it out there, but to have enough ass to knock it down when it gets there. If I had one North American hunting rifle it would be a .300 WM. Ammunition is plentiful and widespread. It can kill medium sized game out to a mile, and it is big enough and had enough energy for dangerous game. Yet, you can still drop a white tail in the boiler room without a ton of meat loss. It's perfect, and mine shoots as straight as my comp gun. It just recoils too much to play rifle games with it.
 
yeah, i know it recoils harder. i guided hunts for a hunter and all he shot was a Remington Sendero in 300 RUM with brake. the concussion was not fun.
 
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I shot a 300wm over the weekend that had an apa brake on it, and recoil was less than my .308 gas gun.
 
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if i get a 300 WM its going to get the TBAC can on the end of it. because thats how i usually roll. everything suppressed. i was flirting with a 338 lap but id need to wait another year or more for the can to come in for it.
 
Is this going to be used for hunting? If so, what's the intended range? And how heavy a rifle are you planning to shoot it out of?
 
Is this going to be used for hunting? If so, what's the intended range? And how heavy a rifle are you planning to shoot it out of?

Yeah I'd love to hunt with it. I'm setting up my killing field and I can take hogs out up to 950 yards away.

How heavy of a rifle? Heavy as I can get.
 
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The best color is blue, unless you only have pumpkin for sandwiches. Pants are best for swinging the voting machines with bananas. Yeah, pineapples on pizza.

That all I got to say in this matter. So, if you hear what I am laying out there, get a .300 win mag, especially if you canoe in the bathtub.
 
if i get a 300 WM its going to get the TBAC can on the end of it. because thats how i usually roll. everything suppressed. i was flirting with a 338 lap but id need to wait another year or more for the can to come in for it.

With the modern 30 cal bullets available I would say at this point 30 cal magnums > 338 Lapua. Load some 250gr A-TIPS and I think even 300WM can do anything a 338LM can do only alot cheaper. I don't see the appeal of 338LM in 2020 unless you're going to do a 338 AI and if that were the case me personally I would skip over that too and go for a 37XC. That said I would go for 300PRC before 300WM and the reasons are based more on convenience than performance.
 
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300 wm works, but why not a 300 prc or other easy button long range caliber?

You're going to buy a factory rifle and Factory ammo or going to get a custom rifle with reload?

What is your criteria?
 
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300 wm works, but why not a 300 prc or other easy button long range caliber?

You're going to buy a factory rifle and Factory ammo or going to get a custom rifle with reload?

What is your criteria?

There's a huge used market for whatever I'd like from straight factory to second hand customs. Probably a custom.

I don't really reload, I don't have the time. I can and I have everything to, but with full time job, plus farming/ranching, I prefer to spend my spare gun time behind a rifle, and not a press.
 
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I reload all my .300WM too. It's just if I'm on a hunting trip in Alaska and something happened to my ammo and I need a box of cartridges I can get them at a gas station. They're not going to have 300PRC or RUM, but if they sell ammo they will have .300WM. It's not going to be perfect like my handloads, but it will be close enough with a few rounds to zero.

I don't shoot rifles unsuppressed anymore. There's a TB9 on my .300WM. The recoil is not bad at all, but its bad enough that I can't spot my own shots through the scope.
 
I think a 300wm is great if you want core lokt ammo at walmart. Lol

I would want a custom reamer ("match" or a191) for the 300wm or 300prc.
 
I personally would just go 300 prc over 300 wm. 300 wm works but the 300 prc is designed better, imo. No fiddling to make sure stuff works.
 
I hear the, what if I lose my ammo all the time. I guess it could happen and does. That is a common sense approach.

But, I would buy a new rifle and ammo and roll with it... that's as easy in AK as buying ammo. Of course, I am not going outside of the US hunting.

No way I am gonna leave my 7ss at home and carry a 300 wm cause I might lose ammo.
 
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Favorite caliber, by far, great choice.

I took a 300WM to Africa a few years ago and, with the right ammo, was very successful on very tough game - and hogs are tough game.

Where I hunt, everything as a thorn or pointy teeth, so an animal that runs means pain for me - and possible unnecessary suffering for the animal. To that end, a 300WM is insurance. At closer ranges, you get a bigger bullet moving faster and causing very grisly wounds; and at range, you still have energy that translates to damage.

I've had the "Weatherby killed elephants with a .257" conversation, which is the same argument as "you can kill a hog with a 22LR" and can guarantee the jackwads that spout it:
1. Have lost more animals than my 300WM
2. Have lost no animals, because they've never put rounds on living things.

As I have said here before, "too dead" is not a thing, but "not quite dead" is a thing, and can be a dangerous, dangerous thing, especially with wounded hogs.

And suppressed, the 300WM recoil is easy to manage. Factory ammo is plentiful (and much cheaper than 338LM ammo) and you can go almost anywhere in the hunting world and find something on the shelves in a pinch. I have had great success with Barnes projectiles, they aren't match, but they are quite reliable/reproducible, and the purpose-built bullets perform exceptionally well in many conditions.


Awesome caliber, be sure to top it with a scope that matches the need.
 
Well, do I? I mean I own some "obsolete" calibers like the 308 and a caliber .30, model of 1906.

But I don't have any magnum rifle calibers. Should I buy one?

Everyone NEEDS a 300 Win Mag! Mine is a Rem 783 that I re-barreled and re-stocked. Had it out at Spearpoint Ranch this last weekend and it was hammering the 1 Mile gong.

Mike
 
I reload all my .300WM too. It's just if I'm on a hunting trip in Alaska and something happened to my ammo and I need a box of cartridges I can get them at a gas station. They're not going to have 300PRC or RUM, but if they sell ammo they will have .300WM. It's not going to be perfect like my handloads, but it will be close enough with a few rounds to zero.

I don't shoot rifles unsuppressed anymore. There's a TB9 on my .300WM. The recoil is not bad at all, but its bad enough that I can't spot my own shots through the scope.

You can't find 300PRC ammo at the gas station........lol.

I think right now you can't find 300PRC ammo anywhere........zip zilch zero........Midway USA had their last 300prc ammo sale out at $2.30/round before the ammo shortage it was $1.66/round.

That's the problem with a caliber that's only supported by one manufacturer especially to a guy that's getting into that caliber because he's wanting to shoot factory ammo. When something like this happens the price shoots out of control and availability is terrible and I'm sure that'll change but it's going to take awhile. Personally if I were getting into 300PRC and were only shooting factory ammo as the OP stated I'd want to stack enough ammo shortly after buying the rifle to burn out my 1st barrel or at least 500 rounds. Used to be for non reloaders I'd tell them to go with 300PRC because 300WM's factory loads weren't as good for long range performance but Federal is now loading 215 Berger Gold Metal Match in 300WM and that narrows that gap considerably.

Screenshot_20200728-104253_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
I got a 7mm Rem Mag as my belted magnum big boy pants cartridge for elk and long(er) range hunting.

I should've got a .280AI instead and a .300 WinMag as my belted magnum. I say that as a 7mm-phile.

Get a .300 Win Mag.
 
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300AI is a thing, can run factory 300WM ammo to fire form the brass, then you get the advantages of an AI chamber/brass.

If you wanna shoot it just a little dead-er.
 
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Will probably be shooting prone from an elevated platform. Maybe 300 win will be less of a line shot than my 308
 
I have a Mauser M12 in 300wm. I think it is one of the most versatile hunting calibers around, from medium to large game, short to long range. It has a huge selection of factory ammo to choose from, and you can find them practically anywhere. You can travel with your 300wm anywhere globally and never have to worry about running short of ammo. The Mauser M12 was not available in 300prc, but if it was, i would have probably chosen a 300prc instead of 300wm. But if I was travelling and hunting globally, and ammo availability could be an issue, i stick with 300wm.
 
As someone mentioned, if you're going to go with a belted magnum, I'd pick 7mm Rem Mag over 300 WM; brass/ammo is just as commonly available, and grain-for-grain, the 7mm projectiles fly better. Of course, the lastest crop of 30 caliber heavies have no equivalent in the 7mm, but IMO those projectiles are better used in a 300 Norma Mag or 300 RUM. The capacity of the WM case just isn't there to get them much above ~2800 FPS unless you're running a 28+ inch barrel.
 
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As someone mentioned, if you're going to go with a belted magnum, I'd pick 7mm Rem Mag over 300 WM; brass/ammo is just as commonly available, and grain-for-grain, the 7mm projectiles fly better. Of course, the lastest crop of 30 caliber heavies have no equivalent in the 7mm, but IMO those projectiles are better used in a 300 Norma Mag or 300 RUM. The capacity of the WM case just isn't there to get them much about ~2800 FPS unless you're running a 28+ inch barrel.

7mm Mag is just so inefficient though. Barnes reloading materials are showing similar velocities (171grs at ~2,850 FPS out of 24” barrels) between .280AI and 7RM but with ~6 more grains of powder in the 7RM — more than a 10% increase. Just not worth the blast, recoil and barrel life when the .280AI does the same thing IMO. If I wouldn’t take a bath on it I’d probably sell my 7RM and turn it into a .280 and a .300:
1595978287969.jpeg



300 prc. Longer barrel life and new cartridges generally = better factory ammo due to less old sloppy chamber guns in circulation...

Very good point here. PRCs get no cool points for having a belt though 😂
 
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300 Win Mag, McMillan A5, KMW cheekrest, Surgeon 1086 action, Surgeon DBM, barrel is Obermeyer, now has TT Diamond trigger, and threaded for the TB.
Shoots the 230gr Berger Match Hybrid OTM Target like it should.
Jon Beanland build, it is a keeper
Oh yeah, I have a stash of RWS brass, and the Oby is one of Boots typical "tight" bores.
 
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The best color is blue, unless you only have pumpkin for sandwiches. Pants are best for swinging the voting machines with bananas. Yeah, pineapples on pizza.

That all I got to say in this matter. So, if you hear what I am laying out there, get a .300 win mag, especially if you canoe in the bathtub.
I’m Joe Biden, and Joe Biden supports 300 wingchun margarine as a top notch, deep sea diving flavored banana hammock
 
Barrel life.................HA HA HA HA...............first of all, you'd have to shoot it awhile to wear it out.

Second, there is like THREADS on the barrel so that it can be removed and replaced by your friendly rifle smith.

Hell, your 'smith needs to eat and make mortgage payments, too.
 
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Yes but by some magic the prc is supposed to have longer barrel life over the WM. Longer barrel life = less barrel costs = more money to buy more ammo and shoot more.

Plus the whole better factory ammo aspect
 
Yes, two, a light or med hunter and a kit for your mrad.
 
7mm Mag is just so inefficient though. Barnes reloading materials are showing similar velocities (171grs at ~2,850 FPS out of 24” barrels) between .280AI and 7RM but with ~6 more grains of powder in the 7RM — more than a 10% increase. Just not worth the blast, recoil and barrel life when the .280AI does the same thing IMO.
The way that kind of thing works is that the smaller case can run with the larger case up to a point... running light/medium-for-caliber projectiles, the smaller case is right there; look at .308 Win and 30-06 for another example of this. It's not until you get into the heavy-for-caliber projectiles that the capacity of the larger case starts to shine.
 
I agree with JetMD. To your original post:

Yes. You may not "need" one, but it sounds like you WANT one. That's enough reason to get one. No such thing as too many rifles.

I built one just because I had a spare magnum receiver, McM A5 stock and an old .30 cal blank laying around. Didn't really want one, but built one anyway. Now its one of my favorite precision rifles. Haven't even started reloading for it to maximize performance and I still like it.

Do it.
 
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Absolutely yes. I bought a used 700 sendero 2 300wm for a potential hunt out west this year. Didn’t think I’d ever own or need a magnum, but after smacking steel plates at distance with all that energy I doubt I’ll ever be without one.
 
Well, do I? I mean I own some "obsolete" calibers like the 308 and a caliber .30, model of 1906.

But I don't have any magnum rifle calibers. Should I buy one?
Your papers, please?? It is un-American not to have at least one .300WM. Thread ended.
308 as obsolete??? Hardly, it is still a very viable round for work within 800yds and even 1000yds. Some refer to the 308 as KING for learning ballistics and wind proficiency. So much such, that USSOCOM incudes the 308Wn (along with the 300NM and 338NM) in the newly released MK22 Advanced Sniper Rifle Deployment Kit (Barrett MRAD) for shorter range work, practice, and ability to be used on most ranges units might have available up range,
KIdding aside, as always, what will you use a 300WM for? Just because...."no papers"....BUY IT!!! For hunting, steel ringing, competition?? Range?? For out to 400yds, buy it. For well beyond 400yds, 300WM is still a proven performer, BUT, there may be better choices today.....application considered.

The 300WM is a proven venerable old solider. Ammo availability is great almost anywhere, and reloading has been thrashed to death over its life. But, introduced over 50 years ago, technology has advanced offering improved options. I offer a segment......300WM vs 300PRC.....of an article comparing the 300PRC to most other 300 cartridges. There are also many other options to consider......300RUM, 300Norma Magnum, et el.

300PRC vs 300 Win Mag.jpg

300PRC - left; 300WM - right

For ELR (extra long range) work, Hornady’s new .300 PRC cartridge (left) has an advantage over every popular 30-caliber magnum currently on the market.

When it comes to hunting inside 400 yards, the Hornady .300 PRC cartridge does nothing more and nothing less than the passel of already existing .30-caliber magnums. It’s past that where it becomes significant.

Designed specifically for ELR (extra long range) use, the .300 PRC is optimized for shooting way, way out there. It’s engineered to provide inherent accuracy and to offer ideal performance with heavy, aerodynamic projectiles that shrug off wind and maintain velocity better than common .308-diameter bullets.

Hornady .300 PRC (left) and .300 Win. Mag.

300WM's biggest disadvantage is a quite short 0.72-inch “head height,” which is the distance between the front of the case mouth and the cartridge’s SAAMI maximum overall length. Ammo factories must load to this standardized maximum, which prevents factory ammo from being loaded with long, super-sleek bullets with the very fine, gradual entry that so benefits extreme-range aerodynamics.

In contrast, the .300 PRC is engineered with the latest cutting-edge cartridge design principles, and features a 1.12-inch head height, enabling the use of very long, low-drag projectiles without intruding inside the case. (You’ll find this is a common thread throughout most of the other 300 caliber comparisons.)

300WM is a belted design headspacing off the belt.....less precise than the 300PRC, and many other newer cartridges, which is non-belted....... headspacing more accurately off the shoulder.

Another short coming of the 300WM is the 0.315 throat versus the 300PRC at 0.3088 dimension. Resulting less controlled, variable bullet presentation to the rifling.......more variation. Remember, Consistency is King for accuracy in long range work.

The 300WM is, again, proven cartridge with great ammo availability. But, technology has moved on.

That said, YES, you need a 300WM, or.....Your Papers, please!!! :) :) :)
 
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Well, do I? I mean I own some "obsolete" calibers like the 308 and a caliber .30, model of 1906.

But I don't have any magnum rifle calibers. Should I buy one?


308 is FAR from obsolete. Said the guy who hasn't one, ha ha. It's a classic utilitarian round.

What is your purpose to use if for? Perhaps the most relevant question.

Do I need my Weatherby 300 Magnum?
I'm not going to Africa to hunt medium sized big game.........I'm not even hunting elk or such here at home. I just like big calibers with lots of stopping power. Since it was our last president who got me back into shooting (since my Army days forty years prior), and since he's still out there pulling strings to try to bring about TEOWAWKI, I'm still trying to be as ready as possible for when he does. Call me paranoid, but I'm having fun, too, so what the hell? And if I end up getting to shoot some zombies, hoot hoot!!! (For the record, "zombies" is NOT color specific.)

Do NOT get a Weatherby 300 Magnum! Rifle shoots great, and mine is not an expensive one. Sub-MOA, like they promise. BUT TRY FINDING AMMO. I make my own now, but for a while it was really aggravating. Finally just ordered the cases online, gave up finding the cartridges. BUT 300 Remington Mag are very easy to find.

I DO want to go shoot the White Buffalo, it's on my bucket list. A huge steel mother target set out at 1135 yards, I believe, at the NRA's Whittington Shooting Center in Baton Rouge, NM. Then I'll proudly wear the NRA's I Shot The White Buffalo cap. Then some American Indian will scalp me for desecrating their sacred white buffalo symbol. Oh well, I'll go out fulfilled!
 
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Related to the intended use question is how does what you have now NOT do what you intend? The .30-06 can be loaded nicely hot with modern bullets and powders to do a lot of what the Win Mag does. The decision should be made based on problems or limitations actually encountered.
 
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I’m Joe Biden, and Joe Biden supports 300 wingchun margarine as a top notch, deep sea diving flavored banana hammock

I'm Joe Biden, aka Hiding Biden.........and I likes to SNIFF THEM..........