Moose to antelope; 300 Win Mag?

vaca151

I am about to purchase a new rifle, unfortunately I only have enough money for one for all my hunting needs. I hunt moose, elk, deer, and antelope. My choice at this time is a 300 Win. Mag. Am I making the right decision and if so, what type of make and model do you recommend? Please consider cost, reliability, and out of box accuracy for those 400 yrd antelope shots.

Thank you for your recommendations!

He Dog

You will certainly find some that support that choice, and if it is what you want it will work. Persoanlly I think you are "over gunned." Certainly an -06, 7mm, .270 or, 280 will do all of that. Antelope only have 35-40lbs of usable meat and 30 caliber rifles make big holes. If you place the bullet well you will be ok. The Swedes hunt everything up to moose with 6.5x55, but usually not at 400 yards.

He Dog

Mobuck

I've used the 300wm enough to say that it's well suited for what you're describing. The bullets available today let the 300 do things that a few years back would require a 338 or 375. The 300 has about all the recoil my body can take comfortably. It transmits power better than the 7mm mag and shoots flatter than heavier calibers. I expect someone to argue and recommend an ultramag or something. Consider the price and availablity of ammo and that gives the advantage to the good old 300 win mag.

Mobuck

pack rat633

Good choice!! Don't believe them arm-chair hunters about being overgunned. With the good bullets made now days, you dont have to worry about blow-up, and this caliber is usually accurate. I personnely use a .338 mag on the above named game, and never feal I "have too much gun".

SEMPER FI MAC, SEMPER FI

stalion10

to say that a caliper is over gunning the game is rediculuos in the hands of a hunter, i hunt with more than one caliper because i have the money to do so, and not the need to do so because i cant adjust shot placement or reload my loads down. on the other hand it would be tragic if one hunted below the caliber to do the job for his ability, and there is a big diference between abilities from one hunter to the next, case in point i myself dont have the ability to humanely take game with a under powered gun but i've seen it on more than one occassion. seen it done by my brother, he only hunts with a .243 and has taken every thing with it that you mentioned plus kodiak bear! he has the ability to do that I dont, so if i here you and unable it cut a match stick in half at a true 150 yds and know just here to place a shot on what your hunting like he can(i cant)consistantly, do stick with a bigger caliber, lose a little meat on the smaller game and make all your kills using the formula of one shot one kill, but make sure that kill is fast and humane above all else,because if you dont hunt humanely all you are is a big pile of s$%t

it's not the type of gun you have in the heat of a battle that counts, only if you have enough ammo for it, lets face it, a gun without ammo is only as good as a base ball bat!!

FrancF

What He Dog said- it is alot of gun!

Savage 112 BVSS.

quote:Please consider cost, reliability, and out of box accuracy for those 400 yrd antelope shots.


With a .300 win mag with a 150-165 grn bullet an antelope will drop like a rock @ 450-500 yrds. It truly is alot of gun, If you do your part. There is nothing in North America hunting wise that the .300 win mag can't take humainly. [:)]

savage12bvss300wsm

130 grain barnes xlc for the goats and 168 or 180 grain tsx for the moose. Both will do the job and the x will not damage as much meat as most of the lead core bullets will. Unlike some of the older offerings the tsx shoots real well in just about anything. Can't recall any negative feedback as far as accuracy is concerned. I know my 280AI loves 'em.

Everyone has a photographic memory. Only some have film.

Xracer

Well, .300 Mag will certainly do the job, but it's probably more gun than you need.

.30-06 will do everything you want...and then some.

I agree on the Savage. Not really very pretty, but handsome is as handsome does. Accurate, reliable, and nice shooting.....a good value for the money.

He Dog

Xracer, you must be another of those "armchair experts" if you are not on the magnums only, mine is bigger than yours bandwagon![B)]

He Dog

nononsense

vaca151,

This discussion comes up frequently and generally follows the same format. Both points are good to consider, either 30-06 or 300 Win. Mag. The things that you have to give credence to are:
- Can you handle the rifle/cartridge combination physically?
- Can you handle the accuracy requirements on your end?
- Can you get extremely comfortable with the rifle/ammunition combination so that it becomes a part of you? Do you WANT to take it hunting?
- Do you have the most confidence in the rifle/ammunition?

The 30-06 will handle what you describe but the 300 Win. Mag. can do it just a bit better. I would opt for the 300 Win. Mag. myself and I would consider the Tikka T3 as my choice in moderately priced, accurate rifles. Please be sure to have enough left over for a high quality scope to put on your rifle. It will make a significant difference. Good luck!

He Dog,
quote:and 30 caliber rifles make big holes.
Garbage and you know it. It is the bullet that makes the hole not the caliber or the rifle and it is the type (construction) of bullet and the velocity that determines what size the hole is, along with whether or not it hits bone and a dozen other variables. Selection of the most appropriate bullet construction for the task is the responsibility of the hunter. There are some terrific new bullet designs on the market today that will not leave a "big hole" in your game. Case and point is the Barnes TSX line of bullets that work great at higher velocities and leave acceptable exit wounds.

Best.

He Dog

nononsense- Yep, I do. Got him some reasoned responses going though, didn't it?

He Dog