Which heavy 30 Cal would you buy?

[CB900F]

Archangel;

The Lapua magnum really doesn't offer all that much more than the .338 Winchester magnum. And if this isn't going to be a hunting gun, it's just a little bit faster velocities aren't going to matter at all - except to your shoulder. I'm not particularly recoil sensitive, but my .338WM is about all I want to experience. I can do the range work from a bench, but I'm not going to call it enjoyable. The accuracy can be outstanding, but for a pure fun gun, I'd probably go with something that walloped me less. Recoil does affect accuracy over the course of either a match or just a day at the range. You'll find very few of the thousand yard guys shooting a magnum anything. I'm still voting the .300WM.

900F

 

[On An Island]

.300 WSM. Relatively easy to get + relatively forgiving to shoot + good accuracy = fun gun.

 

[627PCFan]

The H&H, just so you can say you have a Holland & Holland

 

[Geno]

The .300 H&H has impressive ballistics! When loaded properly, you can achieve higher velocities with it, than with a .300 Win Mag, and using less powder. I wish it were easier to find current production rifles in .300 H&H Mag.

Geno

 

[Saleen322]

.30-.338 Win Mag

I hope this is not too far off topic but here is some background on the .30-.338 Win Mag. Around 1958 Winchester comes out with .338 Win Mag. Great round but bullet selection back then was not so good for .338s. Fred Huntington (RCBS founder) makes dies to neck the round down to .30 caliber, calls them .30-.338 (to show the current caliber and parent cartridge like the 22-250) around that same year, 58, and everybody was certain that Winchester was going to standardize this as their .30 Mag. The round delivered good ballistics as expected but it turned out to be scary accurate as well. Ok, in 1963 Winchester comes out with the .300 Win Mag. and they had pushed the shoulder farther forward to get a little more powder capacity and still fit in a standard long action so it was not the same as the .30-.338. The new .300 Win Mag had good ballistics but the accuracy supposedly was not as good as the .30-.338 and folks were convinced it was due to the short neck that caused more bullet run out than the longer neck of the .30-.338 that kept things more concentric plus there was little velocity gain. Gun guys are superstitious and once they had it in their heads the .30-.338 was the better shooter, it took decades for the factory round to overtake the wildcat in the competition circles.

In the 70s, I had never heard of a .30-.338 and I had a Remington 1917 Enfield (small world montanaoffroader!) that I knew I wanted made into a .300 Weatherby Mag. So I go to a great local gunsmith, Howard Wolfe, to have it rebarreled. Howard was such a nice guy who made many 1000 yard winning rifles and he said he could do the Weatherby but would I trust him and go with .30-.338. I did and it was the berries! I sold the gun years later (dumb!!) but kept the dies so I jumped on the 40X when it came up. The .30-.338 has the distinction of being one of very few calibers that a factory rifle was produced but never any factory ammo. Sorry for the long post.

 

[captain awesome]

Just a fun gun and not needed at all? why not go with the baddest 30 cal in the group? The 30-378 is ridiculously powerful, and unusual and it fits the "unneeded but awesome anyway" bill pretty well. that would make a great range toy.

 

[mavracer]

I'd go with a 300 win mag and I'd do a 26 or 28" heavy barrel and make me a 1500yard gun.

 

[Caliper_Mi]

First off please understand, I have no need for this rifle whatsoever.

I voted .338, thinking .338 Lapua just for fun long-range possibilities. Second idea would be .375 H&H in a double rifle just for the fun of it. I hope you hand load considering all the options being kicked around.

What are you going to do with this rifle anyways? What kind of distances do you have available to shoot out to?

 

[ArchAngelCD]

Without a doubt I handload or I wouldn't even consider most of this.

It's not really the distance I'm looking for, if it were only distance I would probably opt for a 6.5mm. I'm an old guy being childish just wanting something bigger! lol none of the ranges around here are past 300 yards and mostly only 100 and 200 yards.

I'm really leaning towards the 300 H&H right now...

 

[desidog]

If you're looking to buy used; I'd go with the best one you find for the cheapest you find. Also consider ammo cost and availability.

 

[sage5907]

I'm working on building a 338-06 on a pre 64 Model 70 action. I have the dies and most of the parts but it will take me a year or so to get the project finished. I'm going to shoot targets, hogs and maybe draw an elk tag sometime in the future.

 

[gunsablazin]

For your use the H&H all the way, besides, since you reload you can make it whatever you want, a cannon to "plink" with, or download it for deer etc. Have fun, I've always wanted a .458 Win Mag for much the same "reason" .

 

[Bobson]

Assuming I could afford enough ammo, I think I'd look at the 300 Win Mag and get into the long range game. Maybe even a nice .338 Lapua with a solid break lol

 

[Flatbush Harry]

I'd go with a .300 H&H Mag. I like oddball, "obsolete" and unusual calibers and currently have 6.5x55 SE, 7x57 and .375 H&H rifles for which I handload that I shoot regularly. Even though "hot" .30-06 loads can pretty much duplicate the original .300 H&H ballistics, I'd go for the .300, probably in a Ruger No. 1. Indeed, when I shoot out a 7mm RM I currently use, I'll probably have it rebarreled in .300 H&H.

FH

 

[IWAC]

Ain't many problems a man can't fix with $1,000 and a 30-06!

 

[peacemaker45]

Ain't many problems a man can't fix with $1,000 and a 30-06!

Inflation. I think it used to be a few hundred, then it was seven hundred, now it's a thousand?

 

[peacemaker45]

Depends on how much of a factor coolness is for you. If you just want something relatively cheap to feed, but makes a big noise and can shoot fast and far, then the .300 Win Mag. If history, cachet, and other such imponderables weigh more, then the .300 H&H, .300 Weatherby, or .30-338 seem like the better choices.

 

[Warp]

Id say the Win because its easy to find.

That's my thinking

 

[bubba15301]

i would own a .300 mag anything

 

[jmr40]

I just want to buy a used 30 Cal magnum class rifle to load for and shoot at the range, just for the heck of it!

Then you want the 300 WSM. It is proving to be the most accurate of the bunch setting a new 1000 yard benchrest record a few years back. A few years ago there were concerns about it staying in production and ammo availability. The 300 WSM is officially here to stay. It has only been around for 12-13 years and is selling faster than most any other round has in that short of a time frame. Factroy ammo is still about $3 or so higher than 300 WM, but I haven't seen a store that sold one and not the other in years. If you reload then the WSM is going to be cheaper because you'll use less powder.

It is the best balanced of the group. You get about 98-99% of the 300 WM's velocity with about 15-20% less powder. Recoil is also about 10-15% less than 300 WM, almost exactly 1/2 way in between 30-06 and 300 WM. Which probably helps make for more accuarate shooters.

As a range gun it can be set up heavy for further recoil reduction, or as a hunting rifle can be put in a lightweight, compact 308 sized rifle.

I bought one 4 years ago simply because the price was too good to pass up. To be honest I've hunted with it sparingly simply because I can do what needs to be done with my 308. But I have to admit the round has won me over. It has a lot going for it and I plan on keeping mine. Someday I might actually need the extra power.

I paid $400 out the door for everything you see here, including the scope and mounts. I couldn't leave it on the shelf at that price.

 

[Hokkmike]

I think the .300 Win mag is the most ubiquitous...

 

[joed]

I chose the .300 H&H about 10 years ago in a gunshop. I'd make the same choice again today too. It's a great cartridge no matter what others say. It's underloaded in factory loads because of it's age, but it can be loaded to do anything a .300 Win Mag can do. In fact it will move heavier bullets better than the Win Mag.

My rifle is a Rem 700 Classic in .300 H&H. Some of the things I've noticed with it are it does not kick as bad as the .300 Win Mag, brass lasts forever and rarely needs trimming. I've also noticed it will shoot any weight .30 cal bullet accurately as long as you choose the right powder.

 

[LeonCarr]

IME the .30-06 will do anything the .30 Magnums will do out to about 400 yards. For a hunting rifle, making the jump to something like a .338 Winchester Magnum makes more sense to me. I don't ever seeing myself taking a shot at an animal past 400 yards, so I don't see the advantage of the .30 Magnums. More expensive to shoot and more muzzle blast and recoil than the '06.

For long range target shooting out to about 1200 yards I would pick something like a 6.5-284 before getting a .30 Magnum.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[Henryfan1]

The 300 Weatherby Magnum is a favorite of mine but then I have not shot all the the options you have up.

 

[ssyoumans]

Another vote for a 375 H&H magnum. Step out of the 308 class.
I shot a Win 70 in 375 H&H, and it wasn't nearly as "bad" as I had feared. I'd like one, but the $1500+ price tag puts it out of my reach for a "fun gun".