30-06 or 300WinMag?

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rbernie

rbernie

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I've got a bubba'ed 1917 Enfield sitting here and I'm gonna start working on it pretty soon. One of the questions I've been pondering is whether or not I should have it reamed out to 300WinMag or if I should leave it chambered in 30-06....

I've got 308s and 303R's and 7.62x39s in the safe already - I feel like I have the 125gr to 180gr 30-cal based pretty well covered. So if I look at the 1917 as the basis for a 180gr-220gr game rifle, I start to wonder if I wouldn't be better off setting it up for 300WinMag. Looking at the load data for both seems to indicate that there's a pretty big boost between 30-06 and 300WinMag - moreso than the jump from 308 to 30-06...

Anyone with words of wisdom for me on this?
 
Well, good question. An '06 will handle anything in N. America. But the .300 will do it a little bit better. For your criteria (ie heavy bullets) the .300 is a GOOD choice. I have both '06's and a .300 and I love the .300, even for the lighter bullets as it is scary accurate for me.

Since you specify the heavier bullets AND since the '17 is a LONG action, that will be a great conversion. The '06 length actions suffer a little in .300 since the heavy bullets can not be seated out very long in many of them. Not so with the .17 and the heavy bullets in .300 can be seated out like they really should be. (Wanna really go nostalgic? Go to the .300 H&H just for jollies!)

Remember, though, that you will need bolt face and perhaps rail modifications due to the larger belted head magnum in the .300.

In all this rambling, my opinion is that the .300 will offer you a substantial advantage for the applications you specify. Good luck with the project.
 
I totally agree. Using bullets weighing between 125 grains and 180 grains there isn't enough difference between the .308 and the 30-06 to worry about. From 180 grains on up to 220 grains the .300 Win Mag shows its stuff. I've used all three for taking big game over the years, but I've retired both my .308 and .30-06 now. The .300 Win Mag is just so much more versatile. I use my .300 Win Mag with 165 grain bullets for Mule Deer. It's really flat and super accurate. Of course you're talking a substantial boost in recoil going to a .300 Win Mag. For some people that can be a problem.
Not to give you more to think about, but if I was going to build up a custom .30 caliber, it would probably be a .308 Norma Mag. In reality, it would be no better than a .300 Win Mag, and factory ammo would be hard to find, but I've just had a hankering for one since the 1960s when a lot of hunters were converting there 30-06s.
 
If you don't mind the recoil, and since you allready have a 308, do the 300. I got rid of mine for an 06, but I only have one sporting bolt gun and I didnt like the recoil.
 
The .300 Win Mag is a fine cartridge. But IMHO it doesn't gain as much over the '06 as some people think, especially when shot over a chronograph.

If I'm going into a situation where I'd feel "undergunned" with a .30/06, my inclination would be to move up to something like a .338 . . . not that there's anything wrong with a little extra velocity, but a little extra velocity with the same bullet isn't going to be very noticeable on big game.
 
Because it is a M-1917 action, able to handle ANY modern cartridge, and bubbizing this action is a such a major sin, I would try to make amends by using the reciever for a .675 Tyranasour or some similar monster cartridge.

It's 1973, a boy, a primo M-1917 Enfield, a bench mounted grinding wheel, a copy of Williams "Converting Military Rifles to Sporters", and Old Man Murphy looking on in horror as the ears of the reciever glowed brightly under the grinding wheel.

For this I am trully sorry.
 
So Bwana - you mean to tell me that I wound up with the detritus of your youth? :D
 
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The 06 is capable of cleaning taking any animal you are likely to ever get a shot at on this side of the pond.

The 300WM is an excellent cartridge. Why you would "need" one I have no idea. I use one in "F" class competition when the wind is blowing like hell.... othewise I shoot a 308... which will also cleanly take anything on this side of the pond.

Unless you plan on shooting bull elk at ranges in excess of 400yds (which is stupid in my opinion as Elk are much easier to approach than white tails are....)
the 300, 338 and most other big bore magnums are just a waste of good gun powder and a quick route to a sore shoulder.

Magnums are like Porsches.... guys with little weenies need em! (jest kiddin)

:D
 
I'm trying to come with a comical analogy between MAGNUM'S being a waste of time like BIG TIT$ are a waste of time, but I'm coming up short --- must be my little weenie... :rolleyes: ;)

To answer the original question:
HELL YES you need a Magnum! :evil:
 
The 300WM is an excellent cartridge. Why you would "need" one I have no idea.
Click to expand...
Heck, I don't *need* it any more than I need additional ventilation in my head. It's just a way to justify having yet another 30-cal... :D
 
Once upon a time, you could get mil surplus .30-06 ammo and find cheap brass. Those days are pretty well over. I had an '06 Springfield sporter that I eventually sold, then had the opportunity to buy a Rem 700 BDL in .300 Win Mag for $200. (Yes, it was a l-o-n-g time ago.) I could load the .300 to push a 180-gr bullet at the same speed the '06 will shoot a 150-gr bullet. I used it on deer and elk in Washington state, taking a large cow elk at 275 yds, and the last deer I shot out there was across a canyon at 600 yds. :eek: With an '06, I'd have practically had to lob the bullet into the air at that range and hope it fell on Bambi. :D :neener: :neener:

If the .300 is a bit stout for your tastes, you can always load it down to '06 or .308 velocities. But if you're hunting elk or deer at fairly long ranges, or want something to put you on a little more even footing with the odd Griz you might encounter, I'd go with the .300 Win Mag.
 
Hey rbernie,
I have to qualify my earlier recommendation of having your Springfield bored out for a .300 Mag. How long of barrel does it have? I suspect if it only has a 22" barrel, and you have it's chamber bored out to accomodate one of the .300 Magnums, what you'll essentially have is a very loud 30-06.
 
Bernie and Busmaster you guys crack me up!!!! :D

Now we weren't talking about no magnum boobies being useless!!!! don't be changing the subject.....

EVERYONE can use magnum boobies.... till the gal gets past about 30 anyway....

ain't gravity a bitch?

Oh the P14 - P17s all came with 24" tubes....

Still too short to take advantage of 70grs + of powder.... most magnums need a 26" tube to see any real advantage.
 
Still too short to take advantage of 70grs + of powder.... most magnums need a 26" tube to see any real advantage.
Click to expand...
Both you and SS mentioned this, and thanks for that - I hadn't really thought along these lines yet.

Barrel length sounds like the defining issue - no sense in spending the money and time to further hack up the 1917 just to wind up with the equivilent of a louder '06...
 
The greatest gain in the 300 over the 30-06 is range. You can shoot from a greater distance and produce the same result. For a given expanding bullet design, penetration becomes inversely proportional to velocity at short ranges (higher velocities) which may be a consideration. I guess your decision depends on the type of game hunted and the distances involved.
 
If you're looking at range, check out the ballistic tables - the .300 Win Mag will produce terminal ballistics very much like a .30/06 will about 100 yards closer. (I say "about" as it varies by bullet type and weight, but 100 yards is pretty close.)
 
The short neck on the 300 Win Mag can be problematic in reloading. Nosler Bullets has finally admitted that a possible problem exists and has designed a 180 gr. Protected Point Partition bullet specifically for the .300 Win. Mag.
 
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