Tell me what I need

Savage 116, Browning Stainless Stalker, or if you can handle 300 mag in a featherweight rifle Tikka T3 Stainless.
BTW why exactly would you want a 300 mag for whitetail? 243s 25-06s and 270s put them down all across the country, with half the ammo cost, half the recoil and in lighter more compact rifles.

A little more info might help. Any of the stainless rifles are a little easier to maintain. I prefer stainless, because it is a little easier to maintain, but I've got lots of blued guns that are 50+ years old that have been used a lot in bad weather and none have rusted up. They just require a little more attention and must be cleaned immediately after they are brought in after being wet. You may get some surface rust, but anything that builds up enough to cause a problem is neglect on the owners part.

For hunting in bad weather a quality synthetic stock is far more important than a stainless finish. Any problems that could occour with a blued finish will happen very gradually and you should have ample time to correct any issues before they cause the rifle to fail. A little surface rust or wear marks on blue are just character marks to remember your hunts with.

A wood stock however can fail with no warning. You can go from a stock that is 100% perfect to useless in a matter of seconds.


With no idea of your budget or uses my 1st 2 choices are either the Winchester Extreme Weather or Kimber Montana in 300 WSM. If those are out of your budget range my next choices would be the stanless Ruger or a Tikka.

Kachok said:

Savage 116, Browning Stainless Stalker, or if you can handle 300 mag in a featherweight rifle Tikka T3 Stainless.
BTW why exactly would you want a 300 mag for whitetail? 243s 25-06s and 270s put them down all across the country, with half the ammo cost, half the recoil and in lighter more compact rifles.

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I agree & I was wondering the same thing ...............

For whitetail inside of 300 yards, a .300 maggie is a whole bunch more cartridge than is anywhere near necessary.

Another vote on the importance of the stock, since even "stainless" can rust.

for a light and M/O accuracy i would look into a T/C Encore
i dont see the need for a 300 win mag a 308 or a good old
30/06 will do it all

I owned a featherweight 300 Win Mag (savage). I sold it because it was very unfriendly to shoot.

^^^ And I own a 50 BMG.

(I do like shooting my 300 Win Mag, but it's not a LIGHTWEIGHT 300 win mag...)

Way too much gun for whitetail, BTW.

^ +1 300 mags blow up too much meat.

chaddy said:

I take a 30/06 how much money will a good gun and scope cost me.

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.308 would probably be better for White-tail, you can get a nice one from Savage for around $400.00...............

Kachok said:

^ +1 300 mags blow up too much meat.

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There's a few places it's well suited, but mostly that's long range trophy hunting out west (rams, etc). Even then, there's rounds better suited for the task of >600 yard shots - 7mm mag, for starters.

It's a fun cartridge and great for long range shooting but way overkill if the purpose is to put meat on the table.

I have to agree with the guys above, plenty of better alternatives. 30/30, .243, .270, etc.

chaddy said:

I take a 30/06 how much money will a good gun and scope cost me.

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Define "good". There's some guns that are far more expensive than others. Same can be said of scopes.

There's quite a few good options that aren't going to break the bank. Savage w/ Accutrigger is a good start. There are a lot of great scopes can be found in the $150-300 range.

Just don't make the mistake of buying an expensive rifle and putting a cheap $50 piece of glass on it.

http://www.gentrycustom.com/ if you wind up with a light ss/syn 300 win,concider a gentry brake to reduce recoil.ad a pachmeyer magnum decelerator recoil pad,also

Robert, that M70 is one heck of a deal. I'd buy that right now if I wanted a .270 Win. If it were chambered in .308 Win or 7mm-08 Rem it'd be a done deal. I'd sell the scope for $150 and put it towards another Zeiss Conquest.

chaddy, you can't go wrong with a Winchester M70 Extreme Weather SS and if you decide to buy one chambered in .300 WM they're not particularly light so the comments re the recoil may or may not apply. I don't find the recoil to be an issue with my M70 300 WM. Also, Winchester is offering a $50 rebate if you buy more than $50 of ammunition when you buy the rifle. You can find M70s for well below MSRP. Mine was $900 which is quite a bit less than $1,240 MSRP. Add in the $50 rebate (I didn't buy any ammunition) and you're at $850. Here's my M70 with a Zeiss Conquest.

^ +1 300 mags blow up too much meat.

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I agree with most of what you post friend, but bullet selection and shot placement matter more than the round used. The biggest mess I've ever seen inside a whitetail was caused by a .223.

A controlled expansion bullet that doesn't contact bone generally won't damage much meat, no matter the round. Now there are always exceptions when the bullet doesn't do exactly what it is designed for.

I agree that .300 isn't necessary for whitetails, but the idea that when you shoot one with a magnum round, there isnt' anything to pack home but hide and hooves, is just not accurate. I've shot deer with a .280 Rem, and .30-06 and didn't place the shot just right. They hit shoulder bone and the off side shoulder was worthless. And that's not a magnum round.

Someone on here, I think it's Art always says, "Don't shoot em in the eatin parts." That's wise words. If they're hit behind the shoulder, not in it, there will be minimal if any meat destruction, it matters not whether the round is standard or magnum.

Savage Axis in .270. We all know what the round is capable of, I've shot the Axis in 3 different calibers so far and all have been sub-moa out to 200 yards and as far as weather goes you could drag it it through the snow, mud and deer blood then wash it down with the hose pipe when you got home. Dry it off throw a lil oil on it and it'll look like new. The best part is you can buy them all day long in the $350 range with a scope. The glass that comes with them ain't bad. It's not a VX-3 but it ain't a Centre Point either. If you are just looking to fill the freezer and the gun may take a beating in the process an Axis is the ticket IMO.

303tom said:

.308 would probably be better for White-tail, you can get a nice one from Savage for around $400.00...............

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+1. Was just at LGS, and the stainless Savage Precision is just a touch over five hundred, in 308 no less.

I'll agree that you really don't need a 300WM for most game inside of 600 yards or so. .308, .270 or .30-06 will get the job done and without beating you up.

As for the stainless option, stainless is nice; but it doesn't mean that the gun won't rust. It only means that less surface maintenance will be required.

Whether blued or stainless, I duracoat my field rifles. That's the only way to be sure.

Ya don't ruin meat if you don't shoot the eating part. The idea is to hit a specific place on a critter, not, "Somewhere in the brown..."

Art Eatman said:

Ya don't ruin meat if you don't shoot the eating part. The idea is to hit a specific place on a critter, not, "Somewhere in the brown..."

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Sometimes though, shock can rupture muscle fibers giving the coagulated patches near wound channels. Also, if a large bullet happens to fragment, but has enough weight and energy in said fragments after having hit the critter, this also can ruin meat or even send "shrapnel" into the gut. Ewwww!

Also, if a large bullet happens to fragment, but has enough weight and energy in said fragments after having hit the critter, this also can ruin meat or even send "shrapnel" into the gut. Ewwww!

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Which is why, if you are hunting thin skinned animals with a magnum round, you use controlled expansion bullets, not ones that fragment.

The thing is, both extremes of the magnum argument are invalid. Many think if they shoot a magnum, the deer always drop in their tracks. That isn't the case either. I remember my brother shot one with a .300 WSM and it ran about 50 yds before expiring. Hmm. That's about the same distance the one ran that I shot last year with a .243 Win. Sam distance, same shot placement.

That's not to say I have a problem with magnums, I don't. It's your money and your shoulder. Shoot what you want. I want a mag, simply because I don't have one. Don't really need it, but that's beside the point.

As far as the OP, if you take proper care of any rifle, you won't have rust issues. I don't have a single stainless firearm and I don't have a single problem with rust issues. Clean em properly and apply a thin coat of Barricade and you'll be golden.

The 600 is for a rifle and glass or just the rifle budget? I put together a Marlin XS7 and Burris 3200 10X for around $550 a couple of years ago. You actually could go with a Stevens 200 and have enough for a decent scope.