.300 Win Mag Recoil

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

Hello forum,

I just recently purchased a Howa 1500 in 7mm Rem Mag. Compared to my dads old .30-06 rifle with a Woodstock, it hardly kicks at all.

I’m considering buying a .300 Win Mag now, because I previously wouldn’t dare to buy one because I thought all magnum cartridges kick more than my dad’s .30-06.

I have fired 140, 150, 162, and 175 grain bullets out of my 7mm Rem Mag and none of them hurt me at all, and I’m able to maintain fundamentals and shoot Sub MOA groupings because the stock fits so well.

That rifle is a Howa 1500, and Howa also makes a .300 Win Mag version of the rifle, and if I were to buy it, I would have an identical rig to what my 7mm has right now. (Scope, Bipod, Neapreme ammo holder.)

I’ll be shooting off the bench and proned, with no muzzle brake.

Would I be able to handle the recoil of this rifle shooting 150 - 180 grain bullets from 2800 - 3300 FPS? (Im 5’6, 13 years old and 121 pounds.) Thanks.

 

[Huskydriver]

300 win will kick a tad more than 7mm mag with 180 gr class bullets if both rifles weigh the same imo but that will heavily be dependent on how heavy the 200 wm rifle is compared to your 7mm mag

 

[skipjack]

It’s going to kick hard than the 06. The biggest thing with recoil is your tolerance and your fundamentals.

 

[Harman117]

If you just bought the 7mm Rem Mag why would you want to go buy a 300 win mag?

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

If you just bought the 7mm Rem Mag why would you want to go buy a 300 win mag?

I originally wanted both, but decided not to because the .300 I thought kicked too much.

 

[swampbuck]

My rule of thumb is, Actually this is Jon Sundra's rule of thumb. If you don't know who that is he is a long time journalist and shooting editor at one point or another for just about every shooting publication out there. Anyway according to Him

You can go up a cartridge class in 7 mm and get the same recoil more or less as the 30 caliber in the lower class

308 win about equal to 280 rem
30-06 about equal to 7mm Rem mag.
300 mag about equal to a 7 RUM.

Anyway. Given your weight and age your more of a man than I am. I am sure that you will grow into a 300 win mag just fine. But right now you are at a critical window of your development and the skills that you develop now are likely to impact you substantially. I would err on the side of caution and avoid developing a flinch at this point with such a heavy cartridge.

You say that you have no trouble now but it is my experience that most boys your age develop a flinch with a 30-06 or heavier. Even if it is not noticable and on a subconscious level. I recoend that you stick to 308 class cartridges.

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

300 win will kick a tad more than 7mm mag with 180 gr class bullets if both rifles weigh the same imo but that will heavily be dependent on how heavy the 200 wm rifle is compared to your 7mm mag

They will weigh the exact same since I’m looking into getting the same optic, rail and bipod. (They are the exact same rifle.)

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

My rule of thumb is, Actually this is Jon Sundra's rule of thumb. If you don't know who that is he is a long time journalist and shooting editor at one point or another for just about every shooting publication out there. Anyway according to Him

You can go up a cartridge class in 7 mm and get the same recoil more or less as the 30 caliber in the lower class

308 win about equal to 280 rem
30-06 about equal to 7mm Rem mag.
300 mag about equal to a 7 RUM.

Anyway. Given your weight and age your more of a man than I am. I am sure that you will grow into a 300 win mag just fine. But right now you are at a critical window of your development and the skills that you develop now are likely to impact you substantially. I would err on the side of caution and avoid developing a flinch at this point with such a heavy cartridge.

You say that you have no trouble now but it is my experience that most boys your age develop a flinch with a 30-06 or heavier. Even if it is not noticable and on a subconscious level. I recoend that you stick to 308 class cartridges.

Thanks for that tip about .284 vs .30.

I’ve been shooting .30-06 for 2-3 years and have been able to shoot Sub-MOA at 100 yards with no problem, I don’t have a flinch, but I was worried more so about the .300 Win Mag making me lose fundamental skills then I was worried about it actually “hurting”.

 

[swampbuck]

It's likely to hurt your fundamentals. Something that will be hard to break once you exit the learning age or "window" that you are in.

Like I said. You don't want anything to hurt you even on an subconscious level at this point

 

[Harman117]

I originally wanted both, but decided not to because the .300 I thought kicked too much.

Let re-phrase my question; But why two rifles that are identical with just a slight difference on caliber.

To ME it just doesn't make sense.
I would say you'd be MUCH better served by using that money for a better optic or stock/chassis for your current rifle.

 

[FatBoy]

How does a 13 year old buy a 7mm rifle? Is your Dad (or Mom) on the forum?

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

How does a 13 year old buy a 7mm rifle? Is your Dad (or Mom) on the forum?

Neither of them are on the forum. My dad does the paperwork and orders the rifle, and I pay him back with the money i saved, and I shoot the rifle.

 

[FatBoy]

Neither of them are on the forum. My dad does the paperwork and orders the rifle, and I pay him back with the money i saved, and I shoot the rifle.

Interstand I'm not trying to discourage a kid from learning how to responsibly handle and shoot firearms. I started my daughter off shooting 1k at about 8 years old, but if you're 13 you're writing is exceptionally and you also need to understand that giving minors advice as a non-custodial person is a bad idea. I'll bow out now....

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

Interstand I'm not trying to discourage a kid from learning how to responsibly handle and shoot firearms. I started my daughter off shooting 1k at about 8 years old, but if you're 13 you're writing is exceptionally and you also need to understand that giving minors advice as a non-custodial person is a bad idea. I'll bow out now....

I only give knowledge when the knowledge I’m giving is knowledge that I’ve learned from other adults. If the information I’m giving is right, then it shouldn’t matter who it’s coming from, regardless of age or whether or not I’m a minor.

When it comes to ballistics of the 7mm Rem Mag I’m actually relatively knowledgeable because I was studying this cartridge’s ballistics for around 4 months before I got around to buying it.

 

[hafejd30]

My advice I don’t think there’s any gains getting the identical setup in the 300. Shoot your 7 and keep saving money. If you want a 300 then get one but do more research and decide what discipline of shooting you truly want to get into. Then purchase a rifle in 300 for that purpose if that’s still what you want.

The 300 will be a bit more recoil depending on load. But your gains on the other end aren’t worth two identical guns. Your 7 will do everything your 300 will.

 

[Harman117]

Do you plan on hunting with this/your rifle?

Your post says you'll be shooting off the bench/prone. If you're not hunting then I would say there's way better options for target shooting than either of those caliber choices.

You really need to reconsider your optic choice at the minimum. Most here would agree it is the most important part of the system.

 

[aoisdff8a7ytuigh]

Do you plan on hunting with this/your rifle?

Your post says you'll be shooting off the bench/prone. If you're not hunting then I would say there's way better options for target shooting than either of those caliber choices.

You really need to reconsider your optic choice at the minimum. Most here would agree it is the most important part of the system.

I will be hunting with this, yes. The game most likely I’ll take are Deer, Elk, Boar, and depending if I can get the tags in the states I’m in black bear, bighorn sheep and moose.

Target shooting from 100 - 600 yards. All of this I will be doing with the 7mm. But I wanted to know if the .300 was a better and more efficient caliber for what I’ll be using it for.

 

[mtnhunter22]

I love the 7mm bullets. There’s some good options out there to push fast heavy bullets without the recoil of the 30 cal. And the 7 will kill most anything a 30 will, including deer, elk moose, sheep etc.

 

[Steel head]

My advice I don’t think there’s any gains getting the identical setup in the 300. Shoot your 7 and keep saving money. If you want a 300 then get one but do more research and decide what discipline of shooting you truly want to get into. Then purchase a rifle in 300 for that purpose if that’s still what you want.

The 300 will be a bit more recoil depending on load. But your gains on the other end aren’t worth two identical guns. Your 7 will do everything your 300 will.

^^^^^
this!