Which 30 cal?

[Alex Wheeler]

The only reason so many have used and still use the 300 win is because it was the only choice for a .30 in that class for a long time. Theres nothing about the design you would intentionally design into a new case today. The 300 PRC or 30 Nosler both are better designs, give a small performance edge and are capable of the same or better accuracy. With those 2 choices theres no reason to use a 300 win unless your tooled up for it already. For non reloaders I recommend the PRC, with Hornady marketing behind it, its going to be huge. Just look at the ammo selection of 6.5 creed at the local shop. The 300 PRC will be the same way in a couple years. Lapua knows it too, thats why they picked up the brass for quickly. They dont pick up new cases very often.

 

[Rum Man]

300 Rum , 28" carbon , 1/9 twist , t-3 Termanator, 245 bergers. Hands down a Punisher on Elk at long range . Brass and dies are everywhere!!
Wow ..I just talked myself into a new Rifle !
But I'm a little partial to the Rum !!
Best of Luck in your choice !

Rum Man

 

[shinbone]

The only reason so many have used and still use the 300 win is because it was the only choice for a .30 in that class for a long time. Theres nothing about the design you would intentionally design into a new case today. The 300 PRC or 30 Nosler both are better designs, give a small performance edge and are capable of the same or better accuracy. With those 2 choices theres no reason to use a 300 win unless your tooled up for it already. For non reloaders I recommend the PRC, with Hornady marketing behind it, its going to be huge. Just look at the ammo selection of 6.5 creed at the local shop. The 300 PRC will be the same way in a couple years. Lapua knows it too, thats why they picked up the brass for quickly. They dont pick up new cases very often.

This is spot on. The 300 WM is a great cartridge, but there are better options nowadays. Not huge differences, but if you are starting from a clean slate, why not go with the best option for your application?

The 300 WSM will perform similarly to the 300 WM, but can be found in a smaller action, making it an excellent option for the western foot hunter willing to buy the right rifle. The 30 Nosler will have a slight edge on speed. The 300 PRC will have a slight edge on shooting the high BC bullets. Lot'sa other options, too. If building a rifle, I'd take a serious look at the Sherman magnums, too.

Battle of the 30 Cals

What is the "best" 30 cal magnum? Let's compare the 300 Winchester Mag to the 300 PRC and the 30 Nosler with 215 grain Bergers.

www.rokslide.com

 

[Lahunter76]

I had this same issue not too long ago! I will fill you in on how I made my decision

1) just now starting to reload
2) mag length was limited to 3.8" or less
3) wanted to shoot atleast 200gr but would rather be 215-230ish
4) wanted to be 3000-3100ish with the 230s being just over 3000 and the 200s being over 3100 fps, I deal would be the 215-220 at 3100ish
5) Head stamped brass
6) ADG brass

After a 5mo research and Q and A on this and other forums..... I settled with a 30 Nosler with a longer cut throat, so I wouldnt be limited to a 3.34 saami length, now I will run 3.69 with the 215s should in theory give me 3100ish with a load of N570

I did not want to fire form brass and didn't trust my reloading ability to resize a cartridge to another.

felt the Nosler gave me that modern cartridge design but also wasn't such a huge powder dump as the RUM and allowed me to stay less then 3.8" COAL. This rifle is going to be primarily a hunting rifle

I am not saying the 30 Nosler is end all be all, just felt for my wants and my expectations that this round fit me the best... gun should be ready in next month or two!

PS

at the time I was doing this the 300 Sherman you still had to fire form the brass or that would have been very high on my radar...

 

[greenejc]

Having Oregon mountain rifle replace the barrel on my rem 700. Been looking at 300 prc but can't find brass for it. Should I go with 30 nosler or should I go 300 win mag?

Go with the one that's easiest to get ammo for. Both will do the same thing out to any distance within 1200 yards. But ammo for the 300 can be found world-wide, and that's important right now. A second thing to think about might be how often you want to re-barrel your rifle. None of the newer, bester, faster magnums have a really shining barrel life, even compared to the 300 Winchester Magnum. As to accuracy, the 300 will shoot into less than 1/2 inch with the right loads, and do it with several bullet weights and brands. I shoot two Remington ADL 300s because they were at the right price. Both had to have triggers adjusted for pull weight, but that was all I had to do to get them to shoot inside 0.7 inch and 0.5 inch respectively,consistently. I could probably get either one re-barrelled, but I think that anything under 1" at 100 yards, and under 4" at 500 yards is good. I was told a long time ago that perfection is the enemy of good enough. For a standard weight barrel, 5 shots into 4" at 500 yards and 4 1/2 at 600 yards is good enough for me.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Just buy your brass FIRST and then go and have your rifle built. I went with a 30 Nosler on a long action but the PRC would have been fine too.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

Ballistics are one thing but accuracy is another. Factory ammo is a roll of the dice. It may shoot in your barrel it may not. It has nothing to do with the quality of the ammo, its got to do with whether its tuned for your particular barrel. "Pet loads" dont work. If a rifle shoots factory ammo well, great, but do not bet on it. Especially if we are talking past 500 yards. If your rifle will group sub moa at 1000 with factory ammo, you had better buy a lottery ticket, and as much of that lot as you can find, because the next lot WILL be different. Long range hunting and factory ammo don't mix well in my opinion.

 

[Deleted member 115654]

Sell the gun and buy a 300 RUM. The ultimate long range 30. You can always load it down to the poopers you are considering.

 

[Orange Dust]

.300 RUM gets it done in a big way.

The standard against which all other 30's are judged. As it should be.

 

[Lahunter76]

30-378?? If I was going to roll bigger why not go BIGGER! Lol all these RUM ppl but the true man of the 30s still a weatherby!
Rum is a great round al kidding aside also

 

[UmpquaBuck]

What bullet weight are you wanting to shoot? I'd say 180-200 grain the 300 WM or 30 Nosler if barrel life isn't a huge concern. 200 grain plus go w/ the PRC.

 

[clark33]

I asked Berger earlier this if they planned on adding the 300 and 6.5 PRC to their factory ammo line up, they said they were planning on it, but given the current state of things who knows when that will be.

 

[Moose47]

Just a little 30 cal history for those taking 300 Win Mag, great cartridge. The magnums started in 1925 with the 300HH stil around, 300 Weatherby 1944, still considered by many as the best all around hunting cartridge and finally the 300 WM in 1963 a relative new comer. For me the cartridge being most over looked is the 30-60, a really fine hunting rifle for North America. Great to see all the new calibers and read some really good info and comments. Keep the thread moving.

 

[Quintus]

The standard against which all other 30's are judged. As it should be.

With all due respect the RUM in the 30 discussion is just one of the cases in the 'too Over-bored' column. It's Like saying anything but the Nosler Partition is the hunting bullet all others are judged by. I am not saying it's not in the 'best 30' discussion, just not the baseline.