New 30 cal rifle

[mtang45]

I have a Stiller LA and a Krieger .308, 10 twist, Remington Varmint barrel. I want a hunting rig and I can't decide what to have it chambered in. I keep waffling between 300 Win Mag, 300 WSM and 300 SAUM. I like the idea of seating heavies (220g and up) long and not running out of mag space with the short mags, but on the other hand the Win Mag is a classic and has slightly higher velocity and energy. I like the 300 WSM for availabilty of ammo and brass but it has a shorter neck than the 300 SAUM which I read that the longer neck helps with the consistancy of the longer projectiles. The 300 SAUM comes in 3rd place on the velocity and energy chart and the brass and ammo is a little more difficult to find.

So, all the above is what I understand on the pro's and con's of each. I would like help on which one you would pick if you were bulding this rifle and why. AND since we are opening this up to "what would you build" let me know what barrel length you would go with for your cartridge selection. Please keep in mind we are building a hunting rig.

 

[nchunter243]

300 win mag for simplicity. Best energy/velocity, brass is everywhere compared to the other two and lastly since its a hunting rifle almost all gun stores have 300 win mag ammo if you lose/don't pack your. You already have the long action might as well use it to its potential

 

[mtang45]

300 win mag for simplicity. Best energy/velocity, brass is everywhere compared to the other two and lastly since its a hunting rifle almost all gun stores have 300 win mag ammo if you lose/don't pack your. You already have the long action might as well use it to its potential

Thanks NCHunter for your input. Does anyone run 220g or 230g VLD's in their Win mag? If so, do they fit in the magazine; or do you seat them deep?

 

[tt66]

I would look at a 30-06, set up to shoot the 208-220 class.

 

[steve123]

The perfect 30 cal for a long action with regular magnum bolt face is the 30-375R Wildcat. 230 hybrids at mag length going 2940 fps.

Of the ones you've mentioned I'd pick 300WSM. Two reasons, first is no belt and second is I saw 10 bullets make a 3.9" group at a 1000Y benchrest comp, and right before my eyes. It was a world record for a few years.

 

[mtang45]

The perfect 30 cal for a long action with regular magnum bolt face is the 30-375R Wildcat. 230 hybrids at mag length going 2940 fps.

Of the ones you've mentioned I'd pick 300WSM. Two reasons, first is no belt and second is I saw 10 bullets make a 3.9" group at a 1000Y benchrest comp, and right before my eyes. It was a world record for a few years.

Steve, I currently have a 7mm STW and case resizing is sometimes a little problematic with the belt and one of the cons in my mind for the 300 WM. I was not aware that the 300 WSM held a 1000 yard world record, that is one impressive group! Do you know what projectile was used for the world record?

TT66 thanks for your vote for the 30-06 but its the wrong size case head for the magnum bolt face.

 

[steve123]

IIRC, his name was Charles Greer and I think he was shooting 210 Bergers.

 

[nchunter243]

With all due respect are you building a benchrest gun? If so the 300 Hulk printed a 1.403 group at 1000 with Tom Sarver shooting it but thats highly unlikely with a hunting rig ( I'ld be equal surprised if a hunting rifle did 3.9 for five shots at 1000). Using benchrest guns to evaluate a cartridges accuracy is all fine and dandy but remember these are flat bottom actions using stocks with parallel fore-ends and butts needed to recoil completely ( or damn near) straight back in highly expensive adjustable rest and super smooth actions that allow very fast shooting during wind lulls, which is something a tactical or hunting rifle is not going to do nearly as well.

 

[oinco]

Anymore, I strongly weigh-in what preferred powders a candidate caliber has and does it "line up" with what I have in quantity or can potentially get reliably...sad state for sure, but reality. If you do see shooting it a lot, component availability and barrel life may be as good of a reason to choose one caliber over another as anything?

Around here, something I have seen over the past year is the shelves always have 375 Ruger cases sitting there...steve123 brings up a great point with the 30-375Ruger option... I was heading that route after talking with Dave Tooley about it and seeing others' results posted here, but ran across a 300wm (damn SH classifieds) that I couldn't be happier with. Worst case scenario of your decision, is that you will still have a nice rifle in a very potential caliber!

 

[Walsh]

Exactly, your building a practical rifle..... who cares what records it sets at a 1,000 yard benchrest competition. Get the cartridge that you enjoy most and go shoot out your barrel and have a literal blast!

That said, if I were building a magnum .30, it would be a .300 Winchecter Magnum, it has a great history and a round you can find anywhere in America. I do not get to hyped up on the new uber magnums though, some might even call me old school..... but if it ain't broke.....

 

[wvlapua]

I'd go 300wsm or if you wanna go bigger 30-378.

 

[wadebrown]

I took the 30-375 Ruger on my last build and I like it. I have not finished load development with it as it has been a little cold up here, but it is showing real potential. For dies you can use a Redding type S in 375 Ruger with smaller bushings for the 30 caliber or get custom dies. I have Mark Spencer making me a set of custom dies for it, cost is like $137 a cheaper route to go then the type S route.

I reduced the neck size in three passes using neck sizers I made with the reamer. I threaded some stock to 7/8 x 14 to fit in the press, reamed a hole to .308, and passed the reamer in to just past the shoulder and then reamed out the neck so that I could gradually reduce the neck in three passes. The neck sizers did not need to be hardened as they will only be used about 200 times and the final neck sizing stage is done with a 300 RCM dies. The neck is very thick after sizing to .308 so I had to use an expander so the bullet would seat easily, I had the reamer specc'ed for a no turn neck and Kiff did his job so I do not have to turn.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

Cant go wrong with the .300 WM. Thats for sure. Another you may wanna check out is .300 Dakota Mag. Its a .30-06 length RUM case. AFAIK, RUM brass is fairly readily available. Basically you end up with ~4-5gr more capacity than the Win Mag and no belt, plus a little bit shorter cartridge for a little more play in COAL. .30-375 is very similar. And yes the WSMs seem to be the hot ticket in 1000yd BR currently. But remember, before that the big full length H&H mags dominated, eg: .300 Ackley Mag, .300 Weatherby, .308 Baer and even .300 Win Mag in some cases.

Another that would be similar is the .300 Norma Mag. .30-06 length necked down .338 Norma, I dont see why you couldnt form it from .338 Lapua if its all you can find but it would be fairly labor-intensive. From what Ive read, the Norma Mag actually has the more consistent brass as far as weight-sorting. .300 Norma would give you RUM performance in a case that allows to seat the bullets pretty far at mag-length.

If what youre looking for is BR-type accuracy in a rifle that doesnt weigh over 15 lbs., look no farther than a case that was made for it. 6mm or .22 PPC, or 6mm or .22 BR or Dasher. The PPC and BR cases and their improved variants are gonna be far and away the easiest to find a consistently very accurate load for.

 

[PatrickChewing]

300WM and run the 208 AMAX or some of the bigger Bergers.

 

[mtang45]

Nope not planning a bench rest rifle, but it doesn't hurt to have a utility rifle that hits hard and lights out; especially at distance. I'm getting more interested in the 30-375R it sounds like it might be just what I'm looking for. Doing some reading on it now. I like the 300 Norma Mag but again wrong size case head.

 

[Mackay Sagebrush]

Of your three choices, I prefer the 300 win. This is primarily due to years of experience with the cartridge.

That being said, frankly for a hunting type rifle, I would opt for a 30-06. In lighter rifles most guys that I have seen afield cannot shoot the heavy recoiling rifles, such as .300 win, anywhere near as well as a rifle chambered in a 30-06, 280 rem, 270 class cartridges. With modern projectiles they are far more capable than they were 30 years ago.

Being able to drive tacks matters much more than FPE, for the most part. As an example, the last 4 elk I have taken have all been with a .308.

Overlooking the 30-06, with modern loads would be a mistake.