My current gun is a weatherby 300 wsm 24 inch barrel and a regular old 3x9 leupold, great gun and would probably do wonders with a better optic. Appreciate your advice and I MAY just skip the new gun pry and put a nice stock and new scope on and call it good for now till it does settle.
Caliber choice
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Was looking at buying a 338 RUM that "MTbackwoods" posted on here but don't have the ability to comment on his post as I am too new here yet. Also still not sure if it would be the best gun for me at my current skill level and or best for packing around on hunts but appeared to be a great deal.
Haha he was pretty adamant about sticking with 30 caliber at least. I have owned my Weatherby Vanguard in 300 wsm and only that gun for hunting since I was 18, now 28, and have been wanting something new for a while. It is a great gun but the stock is a little chewed up and is a wood stock. The barrel is not threaded and I also want a break on it to make it "more fun" to shoot, by no means is it a mile of a kick but still enough to not want to shoot a ton. I thought about tossing a new barrel, stock, and getting a break with a new scope as well but I figured I'd be spending about the same as getting a new rifle and scope, and that would give me two rifles instead of just one (which is always a plus) "decisions decisions"Your buddy gave you some good advice!
I may have misread your original post- I somehow took it as you were also wanting to get into loading your own AND beginning to shoot further out.
Your 300wsm is a great cartridge and has the ability to reach out there. An elk at 400 is no joke! If you want more, I certainly understand that. I would still consider learning all you can about hand loading though, and if not already doing so, fine tune a loads for that 300wsm you have. Maybe tweak the rifle, too, so that it is better suited for LR.
If you really just want something new, and don't want to load, any of the magnums already listed will do it. Even bigger, the 338 Lapua will pack a punch! Factory ammo is expensive, and currently it is quite scarce, so I still recommend diving into the deep end of the hand loading pool no matter what you end up with. Plus, it's fun!
vortech347
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This is my 300wsm with a less than max 178 eld-x going 2930. You can see it's a 650yd elk gun if you stick to 1500 ft lbs as the minimum for elk.
If you can push a 200gr at 2800+ you get a little more range. But 650yds is a long shot for most people, myself included.
If you can push a 200gr at 2800+ you get a little more range. But 650yds is a long shot for most people, myself included.
baldhunter
Well-Known Member
300 Winchester Magnum is a great choice.
Wow.............this is where the fight started. I strongly recommend that you go simple, the 7mm Rem mag would be a way to go for a number of reasons. (1) it is easy to reload for, (2) components are readily available (until recent), (3) there's a large selection of quality bullets for whatever game you want to hunt, (4) the cartridge is easy on the shoulder, (5) the round is not a powder hog (6) it has been around since 1952 and I don't see it going out of manufacture anytime soon (like #5 to selling cartridge). I try to stay away from the designer cartridges because they are the latest and greatest cartridges, "but" the designers are here today and gone tomorrow. Capitalism will drive the cartridge making department because they sell ammunition and they will sell guns by touting on the "new" cartridge. But......when you try to find ammo you will pay premium prices, then when that "new" designer cartridge is no longer the latest because another "new designer" cartridge is being touted by the manufacturing industry the ammo and the components will be hard to find and most will cost $3+ plus for one piece of brass if you can find any. Sometimes the KISS principle is the best way to go, especially when one is first starting out. You certainly opened a big can of worms here because you are going to get a number of opinions, however that's exactly what they are opinions. You have to also know what your limitations are and what your pocketbook can handle. Some of the new Nosler cartridges carry some pretty fast/impressive ballistics, however they come with a "price", like how long the barrels are going to stand up before they burn out, recoil, cost of components, availability of components to name but a few. Cartridges like the .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, 30-06, 7mm RemMag, 300 WinMag have been around for a very long time for a reason. I could write a dissertation on "The Best Long Range Caliber", however I suggest that you do some research on whatever cartridge you want to settle on.
littlebighorn
Well-Known Member
20 years ago I bought a 300WSM and after a few years I had a break installed. It's a Browning light weight that I bought specifically for my first sheep hunt in 2004. I have enough confidence in it that I used it on two more sheep hunts and after installing a good scope I gained confidence that I could take it on most any hunt , even elk, and shoot out to 700 yds. It does not give up anything to a 300WM so I would agree that if you want to still use it you can.
That said, I also like "new toys". and I don't blame you a bit if you want something different.
Four years ago, I had a friend put together a 6.5 Creedmoor for my last Sheep hunt. (Stone). I liked it so much I then had him remodel an old 7mm Rem Mag into a 28 Nosler specifically for a big bull elk at distance. That is now my extended long range rifle.
I'm in the twilight of my hunting career and I have more expendable income than ever. I'm old enough to easily be your grandpa, but with that in mind I was having so much fun with my new toys, I had him turn a 257 Roberts into a 6.5X284 for smaller game long range options.
You have lots of choices. I'd say think carefully about what you "need" as opposed to what you "want". Think specifically about what game you will hunt with it and know if you start going down the "rabbit hole" I jumped into, it could be expensive! Best of luck.
That said, I also like "new toys". and I don't blame you a bit if you want something different.
Four years ago, I had a friend put together a 6.5 Creedmoor for my last Sheep hunt. (Stone). I liked it so much I then had him remodel an old 7mm Rem Mag into a 28 Nosler specifically for a big bull elk at distance. That is now my extended long range rifle.
I'm in the twilight of my hunting career and I have more expendable income than ever. I'm old enough to easily be your grandpa, but with that in mind I was having so much fun with my new toys, I had him turn a 257 Roberts into a 6.5X284 for smaller game long range options.
You have lots of choices. I'd say think carefully about what you "need" as opposed to what you "want". Think specifically about what game you will hunt with it and know if you start going down the "rabbit hole" I jumped into, it could be expensive! Best of luck.
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375fan
Well-Known Member
300winmag simplest choice for LR and hunting elk. Easy to find ammo and components to reload. Granted during this Covid times that may be difficult but the same can be said for every other cartridge.
I've got the 300rum and now the 300prc, if your on a trip and your ammo gets lost try finding those, 300wm pretty good chance you can find some.
I've got the 300rum and now the 300prc, if your on a trip and your ammo gets lost try finding those, 300wm pretty good chance you can find some.
epoletna
Well-Known Member
I can't believe we had to wait almost to the end of these messages before anyone mentioned the word "Creedmoor." That usually comes up earlier, and they don't very often explain that you have to grow your hair long and wear a man bun.
That said, I think the 7mm is an excellent all-around caliber. Good bullets available, good ballistics, don't need to build a special build for it as there are good cartridges already out there: 7 mm Rem Mag, 7mm-08, etc.
Your 300 WSM is a good cartridge. Maybe just concentrate on tuning your rifle and developing a specific LR load, then shoot it a lot. Hard to beat that unless you just need to spend money!
That said, I think the 7mm is an excellent all-around caliber. Good bullets available, good ballistics, don't need to build a special build for it as there are good cartridges already out there: 7 mm Rem Mag, 7mm-08, etc.
Your 300 WSM is a good cartridge. Maybe just concentrate on tuning your rifle and developing a specific LR load, then shoot it a lot. Hard to beat that unless you just need to spend money!
xsn10s
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I agree with FEENIX that the 300 wsm is a a good choice. Yes you could spend close to a new rifle by getting a new stock, adding a brake and changing out the barrel. But if your rifle is a shooter then you'd be looking at a stock and scope. Do you have a Vanguard? If so then you could get a Criterion barrel later on. If it were me I'd bed the stock myself and load for it. If the barrel proves out with heavy bullets I'd use the money towards a high end optic and brake. After the barrel is toast you could always rebarrel with the 300 wsm or look at 7 saum or wsm.
gbett308
Well-Known Member
In the times we are in, I would definitely look at tightening up the optic, new stock w/ bedding or trigger. Switching to a new caliber may be difficult right now. My buddy bought a 6.5 PRC ad can't get any ammunition...think everyone should have options for calibers though and there's always a reason to get a new gun.
Tend to fall in the tried and true crowd...308, 30-06, 7mm mag, 300 wm, 338 wm.
Orange Dust
Well-Known Member
Exactly. The WSM is a pretty easy cartridge to load for. Get a good scope that you can dial and spend the rest on components. Practice is the key. If I still had mine I would try some 190gr ABLR's in it. By the time you get to where you feel confident in it way out there, you won't be asking us what to get, and you will have a good scope to go on the new rifle.
