300 win mag question

[Alex4200]

I have been thinking about having my dad’s old hunting rifle upgraded to a 300winmag. Just because I don’t want to get rid of it and it does need some work done to it anyway. The new caliber would give me something different in the safe, but really no other reason. I have been reading a lot of comments on here about recoil with the 300 wm. This got about something we did when I was a kid. One of our hunting buddies had a 300 H&H and I remember shooting factory loads in that thing. Not something you wanted to do for very long at range. He brought it down here when he moved here from Alaska. He used it mostly for elk hunting. He didn’t use it for deer because he thought it was a bit of over kill. We talked him into working up a load with 150 grain bullets that had basically the same ballistics as a 30.06. That gun was a real pleasure to shoot at that point. Just needed to adjust sighting based on what load you were going to use.

So here is my question, so have any 300 wm shooters out there come up with lighter loads based on what you are targeting???

[jackelope]

I shoot a 9 pound .300 win mag rifle with a muzzle brake on it and love shooting it. The recoil isn't horrible...the noise kind of is. I've been shooting Nosler trophy grade ammo w/ 180 grain Accubonds.

[Oh Mah]

I tried light loads to sneak up on accuracy nothing in the 30-06 range would fire very accurately.I did same with my h-h and 30-06 load in the h-h is awesome. don't know why though.

[bobcat]

You could shoot 150 grain Barnes bullets (or any 100% copper bullet) from a 300 Win. Mag. on just about any animal out there. I'd even be confident with that for use on a grizzly bear. Wouldn't even need to be the highest possible velocity either. A couple hundred feet per second less than max and you'd be just fine. You might consider a 300 Win. Short Mag. too if that's an option.

[Igor]

I've had two .300 Win. mags, and loved them both.  I currently shoot 180 gr. premium ammo.

My advice would be to NOT use 150 gr. ammo.  I have a friend who has had a .300 Win mag forever, and he only shot 150 gr. ammo for years.  The amount of bloodshot meat on the deer he killed was amazing.  Once he switched over to 180 gr. premium ammo it really made a huge difference.

Just my 2¢.

[Alex4200]

I tried light loads to sneak up on accuracy nothing in the 30-06 range would fire very accurately.I did same with my h-h and 30-06 load in the h-h is awesome. don't know why though.

Very interesting, thanks for the input

[bobcat]

Using a lighter bullet is how you reduce recoil. Like in my 338 Win. Mag. I've been shooting 200 grain bullets. Shot an antelope with it and it wasn't any deader than normal and the meat was fine. You do need to be a handloader though, if you want to keep the velocity down. It's the higher velocity that damages meat, not the fact that it's a lighter bullet.

[Alex4200]

I am not worried about recoil in the gun I am considering, it is a very heavy gun. Mostly just wondering if anyone has come up with a lighter load for the 300 wm that works well. Could be any weight bullet. Just looking to compare results with what we saw with the 300 H&H.

[Igor]

Using a lighter bullet is how you reduce recoil. Like in my 338 Win. Mag. I've been shooting 200 grain bullets. Shot an antelope with it and it wasn't any deader than normal and the meat was fine. You do need to be a handloader though, if you want to keep the velocity down. It's the higher velocity that damages meat, not the fact that it's a lighter bullet.

"It's the higher velocity that damages meat, not the fact that it's a lighter bullet."
That's exactly right, and the point I was trying to make.  If you shoot factory ammo that is the problem.

[WSU]

Why a 300 win if you don’t want to shoot a 300 win?

[Oh Mah]

Why a 300 win if you don’t want to shoot a 300 win?

  what i was thinking,Just get a good 30-06.But you do you and that's all that matters.Everyone should always have 1 more.

[Bob33]

Using a lighter bullet is how you reduce recoil. Like in my 338 Win. Mag. I've been shooting 200 grain bullets. Shot an antelope with it and it wasn't any deader than normal and the meat was fine. You do need to be a handloader though, if you want to keep the velocity down. It's the higher velocity that damages meat, not the fact that it's a lighter bullet.

Most major ammunition companies offer "reduced recoil" options in popular calibers.https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1001689821

[jasnt]

I’ve run some 125gr sst’s At 22/250 speeds for coyote.  Made a mess but it was fun and recoil was nothing

[ckr]

180 accubonds at 2900fps. Not crazy speeds or recoil but it’s the sweet spot for my Tikka.  I tried lighter bullets but could never achieve the accuracy I was looking for.

[birdshooter1189]

I loaded up some 110 gr V-max's at 3,500 fps for my 300 win.  Only shot a few rounds of them so far and don't have conclusive results, but the first few rounds seemed to work fine.  Recoil was noticeably less. I have a heavy gun and recoil is mild to start with.  18lbs and 1 in 10 twist barrel.