Mexico Bison cartridge

[Antarcticchamp]

I'm considering booking a cow bison hunt in Sonora. Mexico doesn't permit cartridges larger than 8mm.
I have a long action savage and a short action zermatt and have no desire to buy a CIP length action.
That leaves me with 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 300 WIN MAG, 8MM REM MAG, and 30 NOSLER as choices.
What would you pick and why? Would this change if you were going to take the same rifle for coastal brown bears?

 

[2ATexan]

I'm considering booking a cow bison hunt in Sonora. Mexico doesn't permit cartridges larger than 8mm.
I have a long action savage and a short action zermatt and have no desire to buy a CIP length action.
That leaves me with 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 300 WIN MAG, 8MM REM MAG, and 30 NOSLER as choices.
What would you pick and why? Would this change if you were going to take the same rifle for coastal brown bears?

I would opt for the 325 WSM or 8mm Rem Mag out of your list. They're pretty close in performance. The Remington Magnum having a slight velocity advantage, but not much. I would choose the .323" simply for the added frontal area, due to the size of the animal. The biggest hole you can make is going to be the best with those being the only options. Same for Brown Bear, except I would think your options are wide open for that. In that case, I'd go with a 9.3x62 or a .375 of one variety or another.

 

[257Tony]

8 rem mag, then have it bored to 358 sta when you get back

 

[Deleted member 115360]

Or just go 300, either win mag or wsm. Buffalo were almost eradicated with muskets that would hit with the equivalent of a 450 bushmaster on their best day. Either of them with a 200gr bullet will kill any Buffalo on the planet, and you won't struggle to find factory ammo or brass and bullets if you choose to.

I'd go 300wm, with a 26" 1-8 twist or faster barrel and launch 230gr bergers. You'll basically have a 300 prc anyways.

 

[Antarcticchamp]

Or just go 300, either win mag or wsm. Buffalo were almost eradicated with muskets that would hit with the equivalent of a 450 bushmaster on their best day. Either of them with a 200gr bullet will kill any Buffalo on the planet, and you won't struggle to find factory ammo or brass and bullets if you choose to.

I'd go 300wm, with a 26" 1-8 twist or faster barrel and launch 230gr bergers. You'll basically have a 300 prc anyways.

I'm leaning towards the 300 WM too. The fact that it's the only one of the above I already own is significant.

 

[Dosh]

A, with quality brass, bullets and practice your 300 Win Mag should not have any issue killing a bison with one well placed shot. A friend who guides in Mexico said they usually get you within 100-200 yards.

 

[Scott E Ames]

Bison are not that hard to kill if you remember that the heart and lungs are very forward in the chest cavity. 300 Win Mag with a heavy triple shock or Nosler partition will do the trick. Wait for a broadside or slight quartering away shot and you will have no problem.

 

[HARPERC]

8mm Remington Magnum as I've always looked for a reason to own one, and never found one.

Load with a 220 grain Shock Hammer, as it's not likely a long range event.

 

[FEENIX]

I'm considering booking a cow bison hunt in Sonora. Mexico doesn't permit cartridges larger than 8mm.
I have a long action savage and a short action zermatt and have no desire to buy a CIP length action.
That leaves me with 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 300 WIN MAG, 8MM REM MAG, and 30 NOSLER as choices.
What would you pick and why? Would this change if you were going to take the same rifle for coastal brown bears?

8MM RM with the heaviest bullet you can get to shoot accurately. Yes, "I" would want a .375R/H&H min for the brownies

 

[HARPERC]

I already have the .375, but with some of the good bullets out there today, I'd take an 8mm.

 

[8x68s]

A famous brown bear guide from Alaska by the name of Phil Shoemaker has used an 8mm Remington mag for years. Google him...

 

[iShoot17]

Another vote for the 8mm Rem Mag! I have an M700 BDL that launches a 200gr TSX at 3,120FPS with a less than max charge of RL22.

I'd imagine it would kill a buffalo, or brown bear, pretty dead pretty quick.

If you end up picking one up and need some brass, shoot me a note!

 

[Jeffrey Van Zandt]

I'm considering booking a cow bison hunt in Sonora. Mexico doesn't permit cartridges larger than 8mm.
I have a long action savage and a short action zermatt and have no desire to buy a CIP length action.
That leaves me with 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 300 WIN MAG, 8MM REM MAG, and 30 NOSLER as choices.
What would you pick and why? Would this change if you were going to take the same rifle fo

I'm considering booking a cow bison hunt in Sonora. Mexico doesn't permit cartridges larger than 8mm.
I have a long action savage and a short action zermatt and have no desire to buy a CIP length action.
That leaves me with 300 WSM, 325 WSM, 300 WIN MAG, 8MM REM MAG, and 30 NOSLER as choices.
What would you pick and why? Would this change if you were going to take the same rifle for coastal brown bears?

300 win mag and would use for brown bear also

 

[HRM Johnny]

I'm leaning towards the 300 WM too. [ICODE][I][U]The fact that it's the only one of the above I already own is significant[/U][/ICODE][/I].

What?!! And miss out on a perfectly good excuse to buy another rifle?

i'm certainly no expert on anything. I've never hunted bison. But when I look at this, my question would be why not take the largest diameter heaviest bullet possible; and launch it at the highest velocity possible? There is a guy on the forum : @memtb Who has a tagline from Bob Hagel (Hagel is an old-school hunter from the past.) The tagline basically says you shouldn't take a rifle that will do the job when everything goes right, you should take a rifle that will do the job when everything goes wrong. So I read Hegel's book and his point is: supposing things are bad. Visability is low. There is some wind. maybe some rain. We have to shoot from an uncomfortable position. Maybe you're shooting across the creek. Etc. suppose the animal is worse than quarterEd away from you. Maybe 1/8 away. do you have to go through at least one if not two ribs. - can you take the shot with the rifle you are carrying. There is another member on this site @340Wby-4-everything. His tagline is something like bring Enough gun a 340Weatherby is enough gun.
my point being that there are some people who believe in large caliber powerful weapons.
That having been said, i'm sure you could take a buffalo with 300 WinMag. And, Despite my smart *** comment about getting a new gun, if you have a 300 WinMag and it shoots well I'm sure it would be fine in most cases. Heck, in most cases you could take a buffalo with a lot less than a 300 WinMag.
Just my two cents worth. And of course we all know that 6.5 Creedmore is the most powerful cartridge ever developed.