30 Cal Mag for Hunting

[middleofnowhere]

With improving bullet, chambering and powder technology, it seems the benefit/need for RUM level cartridge capacity is less and less.

My choice in cartridge would be between the 300 PRC and 30 Nosler over the Win Mag due to lack of belt.

 

[jessej]

Need is one thing. WANT can be a beast.

 

[Wrenches]

I have all the big thirties like many above have stated. I use the 300WM the most followed by the 300WSM. I haven't used the 300 RUM or the 30-378 in several years. I have taken Elk and deer with both and I will again one day. At times it hard to decide witch one to take and use a primary. I always take two and have one for back up. Probably the most fun I had bagging and Elk was with my Pre 64 300 H&H with a 180 grain Silver-Tip. I reload for all my chamberings but I used some factory that year in the H&H.

 

[Aussie Hunter Steve]

I have the Win, Weatherby, and RUM.... but I like the RUM best. If I'm on an important hunt, this is the one I take, always.

 

[th82457]

WSM for me. I have had a few & all were easy to find an accurate load for. Biggest issue is getting a rifle that feeds the cartridge well from the magazine. I usually hunt with 150, 165 grain bullets, occasionally 180's - so no need for a bigger case for the heavier bullets. Keeps rifle weight & bulk to a minimum in the mountains. Recoil is manageable without a need for a brake or anything else that adds bulk/weight. It helps that everything that I have shot with a 300 WSM up to a large Alaskan bull moose has pretty much dropped within feet of where they were standing.

 

[Jcook02]

1 RUM- 230 Berger OTM. 86.5 H1000(Start lower than this) Gunwerks brass with 10 Twist at 2913 muzzle velocity. Fed215M set at 3.66". Only three deer and one cow elk this year and has been nothing short of fantastic for me. I haven't had the chance to take this out past 600 yards, but it was shooting under 3" group when I did. Will take it right to 900 when the land freezes or dries up.

2nd RUM- 200 AB. 93 Ramshot Magnum(Start lower) Nosler Custom brass, 10 twist,. Fed215m, muzzle vel. 3151. set at 3.58". Nothing surprising about this load, very accurate and DRT on a cow elk.

Only thing I would change is to add +P and two more inches of barrel. Both are 26", both Remington 700's.

 

[BPollard]

So RULES FIRST, this isn't a caliber debate, I know there are other options, I own some of them.

I just want to hear what everyone likes for a 30 cal magnum hunting rifle and why. . . 300 WM, PRC, WBY, RUM, NOS etc. .

I reload, so we are splitting hairs on costs. Im just curious on performance, velocity, bullets weights, COALs etc.

AND GO. . . .

300SAUM

 

[Quintus]

When I started shooting you needed a belt to be cool. Now belts are not cool and need one to keep my pants up. Roys 300 was the best then and it is the best now. Long neck, perfect capacity, great brass (and always available) great factory ammo, very easy to load for, and it just keeps getting better with the new powders and projectiles.

 

[AZShooter]

JCook. Also using a 300 RUM almost identical load, 230 berger 86 gr of H1000 and 24" barrel. Velocity is a bit lower than yours but the rifle is 8 1/2 lbs, short and handy for the kind of elk hunting I do in Az. Doesn't have a muzzle brake. The last elk, a 6 x 6, was mashed flat at 156 yds only made a few steps, little meat damaged.

 

[JMW67]

So RULES FIRST, this isn't a caliber debate, I know there are other options, I own some of them.

I just want to hear what everyone likes for a 30 cal magnum hunting rifle and why. . . 300 WM, PRC, WBY, RUM, NOS etc. .

I reload, so we are splitting hairs on costs. Im just curious on performance, velocity, bullets weights, COALs etc.

AND GO. . . .

I am very fond of the 30-338 win but the 300win 300wsm 300 weatherby 300 prc along with some others throw them all in a box shake it up pull one out and you have got a great gun

 

[JohnyRingo]

I like the 300 H&H Mag. It shoots 180 grain bullets right at 3000 fps. The brass has good life. It doesn't kick your head off. And above all, hardly anyone else shoots it. It is the original 30 Cal Mag. It was once known as the Super 30.

 

[MagnumManiac]

I have gone full circle and back to the 300WM.
I have 5 rifles chambered for it, a comp rifle with 3 barrels and planning on another.
Have had 300H&H Ackley, 300Bee, 300-338WM & 300RUM.
The simple fact is, none of the above have been as accurate as my 300WM's...not one. The WSM's have been considered, but I have no interest in them.
I can buy factory ammo practically anywhere, which is a bonus when travelling.
The ballistics are nothing to sneeze at either, it just gets it done right out to 1200 or so.

Cheers.

 

[JohnyRingo]

I have gone full circle and back to the 300WM.
I have 5 rifles chambered for it, a comp rifle with 3 barrels and planning on another.
Have had 300H&H Ackley, 300Bee, 300-338WM & 300RUM.
The simple fact is, none of the above have been as accurate as my 300WM's...not one. The WSM's have been considered, but I have no interest in them.
I can buy factory ammo practically anywhere, which is a bonus when travelling.
The ballistics are nothing to sneeze at either, it just gets it done right out to 1200 or so.

Cheers.

I agree with just about everything you said. I have an H&H and have tried to stay away from the WinMag because it is so popular. It's popular for a reason. I think it checks all the boxes. If I don't build a custom H&H, it will probably be a hotrod WinMag...maybe the Fierce Carbon Rival.

 

[GLRUT]

I like the 30-338 Lapua Improved. Shooting the berger 230 hybrids at 3,180 FPS. Brass lasts longer than the 300 ultra. And it is a tack driver.