.300 WinMag for Whitetail?

[45crittergitter]

I have shot about as many deer with the .300 as I have with the .30-06, and in my experience, deer shot with the .300 fall down much faster; 99% of them within 1 step of where hit, assuming a good hit. With the '06, about 50% of my well-hit deer fall down right there, and the other 50% go less than 100 yards.

 

[Marshall]

It's a good Whitetail load, especially the big ones. It's on the heavy side but if you're hunting Elk as well, it's a dang good choice.

The 300 Win Mag falls somewhere between the 300 H&H Mag and the 300 Weatherby Mag. 180gr bullets are the most popular and there's a good choice too choose from using factory loads or handloading. Zeroed at 200 yards, a 180gr Power Point Plus for example, will rise about 1 1/2 inches at 100 yards and drop about 6 1/2 at 300 yards. Very similar trajectory to a 130gr .270 Winchester except it puts out roughly 3070 fps at the muzzle and 3768 ft lbs. It's the best selling 300 Magnum. You also have the 300 WSM which is a short action cartridge with almost exact ballistics as the 300 Mag, if you like short action better.

Plan on paying around of $25.00 per box of 20 for the PP Plus. Regular Power Point will save you $5.00 per box.

For comparison, 30-06 will cost you somewhere between $14.00 - $15.00 for standard factory ammo and $20.00 a box of 20 for some 180gr Hornady Light Mags, which by the way have about the same ballistics as the 300 Win Mag above, even out to 500 yards. Chew on that thought for a while.

Good luck whatever you buy.

 

[Blue Line]

I think you'll do fine with the 300 if your comfortable shooting it. You know the old saying"Beware the man who has one gun- he probably knows how to use it". The 300 can be loaded up or down as needed if you take up handloading as well as all different types and sizes of 30 cal bullets available. You can cook up a load for just about anything that walks with the 300. That way your covered for the deer and elk. Its easier to download the 300 that push the other caliber to upper presure limits.

 

[cracked butt]

Its only too much gun if it causes you to flinch and not shoot it accurately.

If you reload, you can reduce the loads somewhat for whitetails- it doesn't take much to kill them. I don't even shoot full power loads through my .308 for whitetail hunting.

 

[Byron Quick]

Good points here. Some I learned on my own. Such as stay away from the lighter bullets. 150 grain bullets are varmint rounds. I've never seen such a mess in my life.

Recoil? Yes, on the bench. I've never noticed recoil when shooting a deer or hog in my life. Maybe y'all have.

 

[Sam]

When you get down to brass tacks, the difference between a 308 and a 300 is about 115 yards. Whatever teh 308 will do the 300 will do 115 yards farther.

Sam