300 WM: rifle weight vs. felt recoil

[Jon Bischof]

I had a light 300 Win Mag which I sold this Fall for this very reason--it was no fun to shoot, even though it was very accurate with its preferred ammo.

Since you are hunting elk, you don't want to go too light on the cartridge. If you can find a balance between power and weight that will be comfortable/tolerable to shoot and still light enough to carry that is the perfect rifle everyone is looking for. If you absolutely hate muzzle brakes, there is one that I thought was different. You can open it when you want the brake and then close it when you don't want the brake/blast/noise. I would love to try one on a truly long range rifle that I would be trying to keep under 12 lbs. They are made/installed by https://www.eabco.com/brockmanbrake.html

I sure would appreciate a review from anyone who has one.

 

[Pinoniper]

I own a Sendero in 7 Rem mag and I agree whole-heartedly that it is a very heavy rig to haul around all day. A lighter rifle will make your hunt more enjoyable, all except for the shooting part. And a decent muzzle break would offset the increased recoil of a lighter rifle. But the downside is much greater noise and muzzle blast. Noise is not to be underestimated, either. When hunting, one does not know if the shot will present at fifty yards away or 700. At distance, you may well have a chance to put in hearing protection, but if the animal is spotted suddenly and close-in, there might not be time. A magnum rifle even, without a break, is extremely loud; with a muzzle break hearing damage could occur with even one shot. At fifty-plus, our precious hearing is trending downward anyways, and if we can avoid accelerating the decline, we should definitely do it.
So, since you have expressed concerns about both the weight of your rifle and managing recoil, I would recommend exploring a different, smaller, caliber for a lighter rifle. 6.5 PRC or 7Rem mag spring to mind, but you get the idea. And if you aren't after the longest of the long shots, something like 308 or 7mm 08 might be just the ticket.

 

[WYO300RUM]

I've got a Sendero 300 win mag that sucked shooting on the bench with 190 Bergers @ 3000 FPS. I put a 4 port brake from Muzzlebrakes & more on it, and yes.....it's loud as hell, but my accuracy is better due to not anticipating the recoil. This gun is my primary weapon for long range shooting & I also hunt with this rifle, usually over watching a field or power line in a tower stand, and to date my longest kill on an animal is 825 yds on a Pronghorn Antelope buck in Wyoming . I had a Kimber 8400 Montana in 300 wsm that would make your teeth hurt shooting 180 Accubonds @ 3000 FPS .....and trust me, if I could have put a brake on that gun, I probably would not have sold it .

A friend had a Kimber 8400 in 300 wsm that kicked like a mule. He hated it. I let him shoot my 300 RUM with and without brake. He got one put on and was a happy man after.

 

[WYO300RUM]

I have a very nice Remington Sendero 300 WM. It has a 26" fluted heavy contour barrel (0.820" Muzzle O.D.) and a muzzle brake.
The stock is composite reinforced with aramid fibers and has a wide contoured beavertail fore-end and full-length aluminum bedding blocks and a recoil pad.
Spec weight before the rail, rings and scope is 8.5 lbs.
I am guessing that currently with 3 rounds, muzzle brake, sling, 20 MOA rail, rings and a Leupold VX-3 6.5-20 x 40 scope I am easy 11 lbs.?
It is extremely accurate and groups very well. Sitting on the bench it is enjoyable to shoot and not too punishing on the shoulder.
I live in Northern Utah and hunt mule deer and elk. I am mid 50's and it seems that each fall maybe the hills get a little steeper and the brush gets a little thicker.
During last fall's elk hunt I decided I wanted another 300 WM for hunting. I want a long range rifle with great, consistent accuracy. I reload and feel comfortable in my reloading ability as I have the experience and use premium components. On the bench I am capable of very solid and consistent groups.
I have spent the past 5 months reading and studying and research some of the new new long range rifles trying to decide what I wanted.
Many of the so called "long range" rifles are 9 lbs. to start and when I visit the stores and pick up the rifles they are too heavy to me.

Here are 6 rifles that I looked at today and their weight:

Bergara Highlander: 7.8 lbs.
Christensen ELR: 8.4 lbs.
Christensen Ridgeline: 6.8 lbs.
Cooper Open Country: 9.0 lbs.
Cooper Open Country Lightweight: 7.0 lbs.
Cooper Timberline: 7.0 lbs.

The Christensen Ridgeline and the Cooper Timberline felt the best when I picked them up. They should quickly and easily and felt great to hold and to aim and swing.
The Christensen Arms Ridgeline is $1,749.99 (SUB-MOA guarantee) and the Cooper Timberline is $2,549.99 (1/2 MOA accuracy guarantee). Is there really $800 difference between the two?
(The Cooper Open Country Lightweight w / Proof Research carbon fiber barrel is $3,995.00 so $2,245.01 difference).

If I drop down to one of those lighter rifles, even with a muzzle brake, how much more felt recoil am I going to experience than with my heavy Sendero?
Is it going to be punishing on the shoulder?
Am I going to be able to spend time at the range practicing and not regret it in the morning?

Sorry for the long post - I greatly appreciate and value the knowledge and experience of this group!

I have a Ridgeline in 6.5 PRC and love it. They come with a radial brake . I put on one of their side port titanium breaks . Mild recoil with either. The 6.5 PRC comes with a 24 in. barrel. The 300 Win. mag, 300 PRC, 28 and 26 Nosler come with 26 in. I liked how light it was but after a Leupold VX6 4x24x52 on it. A carbon fiber bipod, sling, ammo etc. it weigh 9 lbs plus. It's still light to me tho. My Cooper mod. 52 6.5x284 is no light weight . With scope alone it's 9 pounds plus. I put a 28 in. Varmint contour barrel on my Rem 700 . It went from 10 lbs to 13.5 lbs. . No longer my mountain/packing rifle .

 

[MagnumManiac]

My Kimber 8400's 300WM and Super America's 300WM handle the recoil better than my Winchester Super Grade in 338WM. I also have the above Kimbers in 338WM as well, recoil feels like a 30-06 with a 220gr.
The WORST rifle I ever owned, besides my 505 Gibbs, for recoil that bruised me was a boat paddle stocked Ruger in 300, nasty ***. It even made the scope slide in the rings.

Cheers.

 

[WYO300RUM]

While muzzle brakes are loud, they are extremely effective. I have Witt clamp-on brake on my pencil barrel 300 WM Savage and my 105lb daughter has no trouble shooting it with 200+ grain pills. You still know its there, but its not punishing. Plus there are far more aggressive/effective brakes out there.

I just put a Witt Machine clamp on brake a Weatherby Vangaurd 300 Win Mag that is very light weight with pencil barrel. Kicks worse than my 300 Rum. I was at the Weatherby factory/shop few months ago and bought 2 of their "2nd's" stocks for $20 each. Paint jobs weren't perfect. A deal to me. They were lighter than plastic factory stock but had a better recoil pad on them. I put new stock on and the brake. Recoil was a little better but still nasty. Especially the 5th shot when brake blew off. Lol. I found it exactly 50 yards downrange. I used loctite on barrel and screws threads. Even tightened more than spec. The next time I used a lot of loctite on barrel. Shot it Fri. and it stayed on. With Hornady 200 gr. The recoil is still nasty. I'm not recoil sensitive either. I guess I'll have to get the barrel threaded. I have a half inch Magnabrake I had on my Rum that cut recoil 40% I can put on it.

 

[WYO300RUM]

My Kimber 8400's 300WM and Super America's 300WM handle the recoil better than my Winchester Super Grade in 338WM. I also have the above Kimbers in 338WM as well, recoil feels like a 30-06 with a 220gr.
The WORST rifle I ever owned, besides my 505 Gibbs, for recoil that bruised me was a boat paddle stocked Ruger in 300, nasty ***. It even made the scope slide in the rings.

Cheers.

Lol ! I have a Ruger Mk II stainless all weather in 7 mag that had the boat paddle stock on it. I don't think I even shot it with that stock before I replaced it with a B&C stock. Then later an HS Precision stock. I still have the boat oar. It might be a collector

 

[Rflshootr]

Well....since you already have a good action and a decent stock, I'd go a different route and put a little lighter barrel and brake on it, and with some of the left over cash, I'd also put a Jewell trigger in it. You could also do a caliber change to another belted mag of your choice if your little heart desired to do so.
You still be ahead of the game money wise and have your choice of barrel weight, brand of custom barrel, type of brake and a top of the line trigger to boot. Even then, you have money left over for reloading components or loaded ammo. And one more thought....if you ever wanted to put the factory barrel back on for whatever reason, you'd have that option as well.

 

[dmj]

I have been down this road and I will try and share what I believe I have learned. And please understand I'm not saying that I'm right. I had a 300wm built with a goal of a 6 lb bare rifle. When done it was slightly over the 6 1/2 lb range and by the time it was ready to hit the field it was slightly over 8 lbs. Had decided on the 181 hammer bullets. It shot them quite well and was pleasant to shoot. Should mention it has a radial brake on it. Fast forward, my goal was to have a rifle ready for the field in the 7 to 7 1/2 lb range. So I purchased a cooper backcountry in a 300wm and ready to hunt it weighed just over 7lbs. Rifle came with a radial brake. Broke the barrel in with some 165 rem core lock, was pleasant to shoot and shot them well. Was intending to use the 181 hammers. So decided to load up some the same as the other rifle. After the second shot I told my wife that I just plain wasn't man enough to enjoy shooting this set up. These weren't hot loads well below pressure. But will admit at 71 probably not as tough as I use to be. Did work up a load with some 168 berger that shot well and was plenty tolerable to shot. So basically a lb difference in the weight of rifles made a significant difference in recoil to me. Now I do believe that different stocks do absorb recoil differently but don't know if this is part of the issue in my case. The other thing to keep in mind is what you want the effective kill range to be. Now will a 168 berger kill an elk, I'm sure it will but I don't think it will be as good as some of the heavier bullets. But then a lighter rifle isn't as easy to shoot long range as a heavier rifle. Not sure if any of this is of any help to you. Best of luck with making your decision and be safe.

 

[skipglo]

I have a very nice Remington Sendero 300 WM. It has a 26" fluted heavy contour barrel (0.820" Muzzle O.D.) and a muzzle brake.
The stock is composite reinforced with aramid fibers and has a wide contoured beavertail fore-end and full-length aluminum bedding blocks and a recoil pad.
Spec weight before the rail, rings and scope is 8.5 lbs.
I am guessing that currently with 3 rounds, muzzle brake, sling, 20 MOA rail, rings and a Leupold VX-3 6.5-20 x 40 scope I am easy 11 lbs.?
It is extremely accurate and groups very well. Sitting on the bench it is enjoyable to shoot and not too punishing on the shoulder.
I live in Northern Utah and hunt mule deer and elk. I am mid 50's and it seems that each fall maybe the hills get a little steeper and the brush gets a little thicker.
During last fall's elk hunt I decided I wanted another 300 WM for hunting. I want a long range rifle with great, consistent accuracy. I reload and feel comfortable in my reloading ability as I have the experience and use premium components. On the bench I am capable of very solid and consistent groups.
I have spent the past 5 months reading and studying and research some of the new new long range rifles trying to decide what I wanted.
Many of the so called "long range" rifles are 9 lbs. to start and when I visit the stores and pick up the rifles they are too heavy to me.

Here are 6 rifles that I looked at today and their weight:

Bergara Highlander: 7.8 lbs.
Christensen ELR: 8.4 lbs.
Christensen Ridgeline: 6.8 lbs.
Cooper Open Country: 9.0 lbs.
Cooper Open Country Lightweight: 7.0 lbs.
Cooper Timberline: 7.0 lbs.

The Christensen Ridgeline and the Cooper Timberline felt the best when I picked them up. They should quickly and easily and felt great to hold and to aim and swing.
The Christensen Arms Ridgeline is $1,749.99 (SUB-MOA guarantee) and the Cooper Timberline is $2,549.99 (1/2 MOA accuracy guarantee). Is there really $800 difference between the two?
(The Cooper Open Country Lightweight w / Proof Research carbon fiber barrel is $3,995.00 so $2,245.01 difference).

If I drop down to one of those lighter rifles, even with a muzzle brake, how much more felt recoil am I going to experience than with my heavy Sendero?
Is it going to be punishing on the shoulder?
Am I going to be able to spend time at the range practicing and not regret it in the morning?

Sorry for the long post - I greatly appreciate and value the knowledge and experience of this group!

I would drop down a caliber or two if recoil is really a factor to you! 270 WSM...280 AI...or even 257 Weatherby or Roberts...new Weatherby Vanguards have improved dramatically...won't come close to breaking the bank and are generally under 7 lbs....take a look

 

[Cassman]

why not put a RAD 2 on your gun you got? you want even know your shooting the gun....

GRACOIL Recoil Reduction System

 

[Sneuses]

If your looking at getting a complete new rifle and are worried about recoil why not reconsider a different caliber. Something like a 280ai or the 270 wsm. I think many would agree that you won't be undergunned in the lower 48. Now to stay on topic... I have a 700 with a Ross shuler 4 port break on a 300 win mag and you can shoot it all day long off the bench with 180 class bullets. Of the rifles you listed I like the ridgeline. Just something to consider

Picked up a fierce edge in .280 ai and it is very accurate, 6.8 lbs without rings and optic 21.4 ozs. 8.25 pounds maybe going into the hills. As I have 2 .300 win mags and 7mm rem mag and they all weigh a good bit more or are a bit more punishing to shot at least the hells canyon 300 although the HC is my backup rifle. Kinda the same thoughts getting to 60 years old headed into western Montana for guided hunt this year. Weight equals pain trimming down the weight of everything should lead to a more enjoyable hunt. Just thoughts

 

[ObiWanKannoli]

If you don't mind my asking, what is your budget?