Which .300 Magnum and platform?

[Nutjob]

Looking for advice on a mid weight (max 9.0 lbs all up) .300 Magnum. I want it all, a rifle that feeds and functions, is accurate, good for the dark timber or open sage, and doesn't kick the snot out of you without a muzzle brake. I have Remington and Sako preferences. Looking primarily at 300 Wsm, 300 Win Mag, or .300 Weatherby. I have shot all of these chamberings with no recoil issues. At this time I'm ruling out the .300 Rum. I own an accurate braked .338 RUM and while it kicks very little braked the extra length in the timber and extra noise are annoying enough to consider something with a little less of both.
Elk and mule deer are the quarry. Ranges less than 700. Grizzly in some of the areas we hunt. At this time I am primarily looking at factory rifles but considering semi or full blown custom in the near future.

Is there a .300 that is easier to get to shoot well?
Is there a factory rifle that seems to deliver function and accuracy over the other depending on chambering? (ie 300 WSM in a Sako Vs, Rem.)

Thanks,
Russ

 

[fisherman983]

300 weatherby...but you might have a hard time finding one in a remington or sako so i would recomend the accumark but it might be a little too heavy for your requirements
just my .02

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Sako makes a far better rifle than remington if those two are your choices. Since you have the braked ultramag I would think a sako light 300 wsm would fill a niche that you don't have. I have a tikka t3 300 wsm that I like. It shoots great out of the box and is only 150 fps or so off the big 300's. Splitting hairs, of the ones you mentioned the 300 wsm overall would be the easiest to make most accurate if you were shooting matches. With the less recoil in a light rifle you will be able to shoot the 300 wsm more accurately in the field at game.

For the money the synthetic stock Weatherby vanguard in 300 weatherby is light, accurate and plenty of power for the grizzly you may meet up with. Considering quality of action and out of the box accuracy at $300 for a used one or $399 for a new one it is a very good deal. The 300 weatherby mag is one of the all time most accurate cartridges ever developed and near the ultramag in peformance. And it can be shot without a brake. If your looking at sako dollars I would prefer the wby accumark in 300 wby. Then you have the top of the line mk 5 action you can build anything on in the future if you want. I have bought wby's for many years because of that fact. I own probably 30 mk 5's right now in every wby cartridge except the 460 and several wildcats.

 

[winmag]

Sako Tikka 300wsm.
I own a 300 wby, and love the performance, but Im seriously thinking of letting it go to a buddy of mine so I can get a 300wsm.
Costs WAAAAY less to load and no belted cases to mess with.
Wby kicks butt, Thier rifles are worth it, but the $'s you fork out to shoot one arent worth the hassle IMO. I think wby got too used to being the production king when it came to ''ultimate performance'' and charged Dearly for it!! But aparently No one told them theyve been bested by the RUM in 7mm/300/and 338. So they should drop thier prices, but they wont. They want the ''mystique'' and so will continue to bleed thier owners dry untill one day, no one will buy one (in one of those chamberings) because they can get more performance and options for less $ elsewhere.
I love wby's rifles, but Im a little bent theyre still on thier high horse when it comes to the price of brass, and ammo. And the way things are going now-a-days its just gonna get worse.

 

[highridge1]

All are great rounds but the 300 wsm isn't in the same performance level. I would go with the 300 weatherby or 300 win mag. I own both and it's just opinion on which is better ,they both will shoot very accurate. The 300 win will be less spendy to shoot. I run 180 gr partitions and accubonds at 3100 fps out of the 300 win.The 300 weatherby will edge it in velocity but will kick a touch more too.Close between the two.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Winmag, Weatherby makes rifle lines in all price ranges but the big 30-378 wby and 338-378 wby that go well beyond the ultramags in performance are only offered on the big strong mk 5 action and cost the money for that top performance. I make all my wby mag cases out of standard magnums or buy remington 300 wby brass so brass cost doesn't bother me much except for the ones off the 378 case. But then they are about the same as the lapua's anyway. Like I said in another post the performance is out there but for a price. You can get about all the other wby mags in the vanguard for $399 and they shoot great. They will outshoot anything but the ultramags. Then you can go beyond the ultramags performance with a synthetic 30-378 or 338-378 for the price of a remington. Or you can step up to the cadilac Accumark which is in line with other premium rifles.

I am with you and bent out of shape over the ammo prices but like I say if you reload you can get around that. Or like you say, do what I did and get a 300 wsm tikka that weighs 7 pounds 2 ounces scoped out only 150 fps behind the wby and is a great 600 yard rifle. Ammo is cheap and if you backpack like I do weigh a box of big magnums and a box of short mags and see which one you prefer to pack.

 

[winmag]

Winmag, Weatherby makes rifle lines in all price ranges but the big 30-378 wby and 338-378 wby that go well beyond the ultramags in performance are only offered on the big strong mk 5 action and cost the money for that top performance. I make all my wby mag cases out of standard magnums or buy remington 300 wby brass so brass cost doesn't bother me much except for the ones off the 378 case. But then they are about the same as the lapua's anyway. Like I said in another post the performance is out there but for a price. You can get about all the other wby mags in the vanguard for $399 and they shoot great. They will outshoot anything but the ultramags. Then you can go beyond the ultramags performance with a synthetic 30-378 or 338-378 for the price of a remington. Or you can step up to the cadilac Accumark which is in line with other premium rifles.

I am with you and bent out of shape over the ammo prices but like I say if you reload you can get around that. Or like you say, do what I did and get a 300 wsm tikka that weighs 7 pounds 2 ounces scoped out only 150 fps behind the wby and is a great 600 yard rifle. Ammo is cheap and if you backpack like I do weigh a box of big magnums and a box of short mags and see which one you prefer to pack.

My apologies L.T.L.R., I completely forgot about the 30/378 and 338/378. You are once again correct. I was thinking 7wby, 300wby, and 340wby. Sorry I had a brain fart. I LOVE Wby's Rifles, and I even love thier cartriges. I do hand load, but It seems to me, for my shooting purposes, Id be $ ahead if I were to load for the wsm even if it were based on powder consumption alone. Im aware Ill give up some velocity, and the ability to launch heavier bullets as effectively by going the wsm route. Ill have to do some research on some more brass. Have you tried Hornady's Frontier brass? I may give some a whirl. Heck I can buy Hornady custom ammo (300wby, 180gr) for $40 a box loaded, and use the brass for my testing. Weatherby wants $84 bucks a box for anything loaded in 180gr, and $35 for 20 empty's!!! I could have twice as much fun emptying the loaded cases for $5. And I cant find bagged bulk brass around here without ordering it, unless I go to Nosler. $65 for 50 brass(not a bad price). But Nosler WSM brass is about $53 for 50, and Win. wants $35 for 50 wsm brass. I dunno, maybe Im splitting hairs, and should quit whining about $ saved vs velocity lost. I need more $ so I can have both.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

I have several rifles that just don't get work any more. Five 300 wby's from years back and now I either shoot the 300 wsm or the 300 ultramag. The wby just gets lost in the shuffle. Same with my 7mm rem mags and 7mm wby mags. I either shoot one of my 7mm stw's or 280 AI, 7mm jrs or 7mm gibbs. The 7mm rem mag just has no place anymore. The smaller ones just about equal it and the stw blows it away. I could go on but you get the idea as new things come out you got to have the old ones fade away because they are just to close to either but one smaller or bigger is better and the in betweeners just get no work. Another would be my two 338-300 ultramags. I spent a year developing the thing back in 98-99 and then the 338 rum comes out in 2001. Now I either shoot my 338 RUM or 340 wby and if I want a big long range gun one of my 338-378's. I need to have a sale on all my in betweeners I don't use anymore. They are still great rifles and kill stuff just the same but just don't fit into my arsenal anymore.

Since I got that tikka 300 wsm I liked it so much I got the tikka in 300 and 338 winny's. The 300 winny gives me a few fps over the wsm and the 338 winny puts me in a big time light weight elk/bear gun. So now where does my 300 wsm fit. If I went broke and had to sale them all but a couple I would tear my hear out deciding. The gun manufacturers stay rich because there is always something out there that fills that niche just a bit better.

If I was nutjob and knowing what I do after having everything and understanding he has a 300 ultra I would do the lightweight 300 wsm. Then he has all bases covered for just about anything that walks and from backpacking to a long range heavy performer.

 

[Savage 300 wsm]

I just got a new Savage model 16. 300 SWM. First time taking it out it look me 3 rounds to get it 1.6 inches high at 100 yrd. The next 4 shots where in one whole i was very very happy with it i never seen a rifle out of the box shoot this great i am shooting 180 Winchester silver tips. I hear lots of guys who hate on this rifle but i have shot lots of rifle and this is by fare the most accurate rifles i have ever shot out of the box..

 

[Nutjob]

Thanks guys for all the replies. Let me get help the conversation by getting a little more specific. I am very much thinking of getting rid of my .338 ultramag . So this .300 magnum would replace it as my "Big" rifle.
Also, I have no need for another competition rifle. This would be purely for hunting. I might go to 9.5 lbs but that would be the absolute limit as I often travel steep ground at altitude. I have been impressed with ability of the Remington CDL stock with the R3 pad for moderating the recoil of my buddies .300 Weatherby. His Weatherby is an older 700 classic in a CDL stock and will shoot .3 " three shot groups @100 with 165 Barnes TSX. I have a line on both a .300 Weatherby and .300 Win Mag in a 700 classic. Both rifles have 24" barrels.
I am also thinking on a Sako in a .300. I bought a Vixen 2 years ago and love the little rifle. Fantastic workmanship and accuracy with flawless functioning. (pretty much what I'm looking for in this rifle). Considering a L61R/AV in .300 win mag or a 75 or A7 in .300 win mag or .300 WSM or the Tikka in .300 WSM.
I haven't had the pleasure of examining the Weatherby Mark V actions but I would be more tempted if they were in a Remington classic type stock as they fit me well. I understand that the Howa/ Vanguard is modeled after the older Sako AV/L61R. And the one in .223 I had was fine except the trigger. I have more questions concerning the Weatherby Mark V and Vanguard but I need to stop typing and post. So... to sum up. Which rifle? Looking to drive a 200 AB at 2900ish into 6"(or less) at 600 in something without a brake.

1.Sako L61R or AV in .300 Win mag 24"?
2.Remington Classic .300 Weatherby 24"
3.Remington Classic .300 Win Mag 24"
4.Sako 75 in .300 WSM 24"?
5.Sako 75 in .300 Win Mag 24"?
6.Tikka T3 in .300 WSM 24 3/8"
7.New Remington CDL .300 Win Mag 26"

Thanks,
Russ

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

That being said the 300 wby is your rifle and you can drive the 200 AB near 3100 fps with a 26" barrel and over 3000 fps with a 24" barrel. It is the best without a brake on it. The power of the 300 wby can not be beat without a brake and will give you better killing power at longer ranges. I hunt some with a guy in Colorado who uses a Vanguard 300 wby 24" barrel. It shoots amazing and he has taken several elk at 600-700 yards with it. I don't know why the vanguard is so overlooked because it has one of the best actions out there and is very accurate out of the box if you freefloat the barrel and bed the action.

 

[Johnboy]

why not a 5R milspec in a 300wm.mine shoots the 210 and 208gn bullets really well with H1000.