Which 300?

[booche]

Hey Guys,

I am new to this website. Need a little help. I have been shooting the same old Browning A-bolt .280 for about 15yrs now. Good gun and great caliber. But I got an itch to get a new rifle and I am leaning towards the 300's. Which one performs the best and is user friendly as far as buying ammo. I do not reload yet.

 

[Hogbear]

.300 Win mag has plenty of performance if you don't mind a long action gun with a 24" barrel. Ammo is pretty much everywhere.

The new Ruger Compact Magnum (.300 RCM) is neat because it gets magnum performance out of a short action gun with a 20" barrel. It's very new and finding ammo may be a problem depending on how popular it becomes. You can always just order it online. http://www.rifleshootermag.com/ammuniti ... index.html

.30-06 is plenty of gun for everything up to elk and it's one of the most common calibers around so ammo is the easiest to find. There's not much difference between it and the .280 though (same brass) so it would be kind of redundant to own both.

 

[booche]

Thanks for the input. I have been leaning towards the 300 Win Mag, or even the 300 WSM. My thoughts exactly on the 30-06. However, I don't know much about the .300 RCM. I guess I'm going to hve to ask around, find who has what, and go to the range and try them out.

 

[Model70Man]

The 300 Win Mag will be the easiest to find ammo for. I like the 300 WSM so much I have 2. I like the short action, uses less powder, and has the same performance as the Win Mag with less perceived recoil.

I have read some posts on other forums from people who own the 300 RCM. Most are highly upset. They are not getting the velocities stated and when they reload, they are getting worse performance. Hornady is the only company that manufacters the ammo and they use a proprietary powder that gets more fps than powders available to reloaders.

 

[paradis1142]

300 win mag

 

[BucknBass]

If I could only have 1 rifle it would be my .300WSM. It's a Browning Stainless Stalker and always goes with me when I hunt a new species. I do reload though and while I would expext the factory loads to be fairly close in price to .300 Win Mag the bullet choices and weights will be much fewer.

 

[FLTENNHUNTER1]

300 win mag in a model 700 remington.

 

[Tikkabuck]

Had both,300WM will be the easest to get ammo for but I like the WSM much better.

 

[SALECREEKHUNTER]

I have a 300 win mag and a 300 remington ultra mag. Remington has come out with new power level ammunition for the ultra mag. Power level 1 is equivalent to 30-06 performance, power level 2 is equal to 300 win mag performance and power level 3 is the full power of the ultra mag. I know the power level 1 cost per box is about the same as a box of 300 win mag but the ammo is harder to find. i would go with 300 win mag

 

[holstonangler]

I would stick to the A-Bolt if you like your old one. I love mine, and can't think of anything on it that could use any improvement. I second the 300 wsm, its a great all around caliper. If recoil is an issue pick up a Limbsaver recoil pad, they are worth every penny.

 

[booche]

Thanks Guys. I am leaning towards another A-Bolt or even one of the BAR's. I don't think recoil will be much of an issue but if it is then I'll look at the limbsaver pads.

 

[Grizzly Johnson]

Don't know how much you are wanting to invest, but I have been looking into the Browning A-Bolt M-1000 Eclipse in 300 WSM. It comes with a heavy barrel, thumbhole stock, floated barrel, has the BOSS system with both the ported and non ported ends.

I would shoot a bolt action over a semi-auto for accuracy & distance though....that's MHO