300win short mag?

Question

Primarily I am a sheep hunter. I've been using a 257 roberts for a while with great results. This year I realized I see grzzlies up on the ridge tops every year, but they usually are out about 300 yds on the next ridge. Another thing- I dropped my 375 ( for moose ) in a river this spring. So I need to upgrade to one rifle for all three situations. I've pretty well decided on a 300 caliber, just can't decide between the ultra mag and the short mag. Considerations for me are gun cost, ammo cost,ballsitics, weight and recoil, and range of bullet size available.
Once I get past this I have to decide on a make and model and barrel length. I am left handed. Thanks for the time.

Answer 1

If you are concerned about selection, availability, ammo cost and recoil, then why are you even looking at the Ultra Magnum and the WSM.

Prices in Federal Premium ammo
300 WSM 180gr $39.99 (that the largest bullet they show listed)
300 Ultra Magnum 180gr $52.99 (that the largest bullet they show listed)
300 H&H 180gr $54.99 (that the largest bullet they show listed)
Now lets look at the original 300 Winchester Magnum
300 Winchester Magnum 200gr $36.99 (that the largest bullet they show listed)

The 300 Ultra Magnum will kick the he11 out of you compared to the others 300 listed.

The 300 WSM does not out perform the 300 Winchester Magnum.

I would say for bullet selection, Price, availability and less recoil the standard 300 Winchester Magnum is a win win situation.

Don’t buy in to all the hype that the New WSM will out perform the original magnums.
That was just a gun manufacture trying to sell me weapons under false pretence that never materialized.


D58


Hunting with Rifle, Pistol, Muzzle loader and Bow for over 3 decades.
Reloading Rifle, Pistol and shotgun for over 3 decades.

Answer 2

None of the 30 caliber magnums will give you anything you can't get from the original 300 H&H, so ballistics won't be much of a consideration unless you feel the need for the 200 grain or heavier bullets for old bruin. The longest bullets do take up a lot of space in a short cartridge. Likewise, if you handload, the WSM makes good sense for a sheep hunter. If you're reliant on factory cartridges, the regular 300 WinMag will be your best choice for availability. Sorry, but with my two southpaw sons I've decided the best practice is to hope they don't ask me for a new rifle, it's such a pain to find wrong-sided bolt guns, so I haven't kept up with who makes what at what price. Good luck. By the way, I'm glad to see there are people who still like the quarter Bob.

Answer 3

I think that you may struggle to find an all round gun for sheep, grizzly and moose. Although I agree that you need a hefty caliber to cover the latter two, you are going to get a lot of meat damage to the sheep. If this is not a problem, any of the 300 magnums will do the job. Probably for the greatest range of bullet weights, the 300 win mag would be my choice, and available pretty most everywhere.

Answer 4

I came to the same conclusion and ended up with a long list of 300WSMs that I could consider. The thing that put me off the Ultra Mag was availability of ammo. You can get about 400 foot pounds more at 300 yards (2800 for RUM, 2400 for WSM) but that didn't seem to be enough to justify limiting my options on ammo and rifles.

At the end my current favorite is the Kimber 8400 Montana. I like the Remington BDL and CDL too. From memory the BDL may be a 300 RUM, I thought it looked really classic, but I prefer the CDL.

I already have a Savage 12BVSS in 300WSM, that will group under 1/2" at 100 yards with a variety of factory ammo. I find the accutrigger wonderful, very light and safe too. I would have looked at Savage but I like to always have something different, so it was off the list for my second 300WSM.

Good luck and good hunting.

Answer 5

It's hard to group Grizzly Bears w/other game. But I think I would actually go w/a .325wsm over the .300wsm. The .300 would, to me at least, be a little light for a big Brown Bear.

Answer 6

I have never missed a long shot with my flat shooting 7mm Rem Mag (Browning A-Bolt)