My Uncles have all been hunting elk for years and have all switched from 30-06 to 300 WinMag. Eli have been taken anywhere from 50yards to damn near 800yards and they all like the 300.

I am a C&R guy plus my AR and know jack shit about modern hunting rifles.

I'm looking for a magazine fed rifle that can take use and abuse in all weather. Optics will end up having to come later.

Suggestions? Pics?

Savage Weather Warrior series is offered in 300 win. But... its an internal magazine...stainless steel though.

The only thing I saw that had an external magazine was their law enforcement models which only showed as 308 or 338 Lapua. Prob way out of your budget though.

??? Bolt or Semi Auto ?
Did you mean detachable mags.. I will assume this..and not drop down...? Does money matter ?
Several options in bolt guns. Not nearly as many in Semi Auto.

edit: I should have asked if you ment Tactical Style or Ordinary Sporting w\ detachable Mag ?

I'm looking for a bolt action with a detachable magazine. We are constantly in and out of vehicles out there and moving around a lot, a detachable mag would make life a bit easier (though it makes me look like a lazy ass I'm okay with it).

ETA: just a sporting rifle.

An internal mag with a floor plate release will suit your needs for less $.

If you decide you can live with an internal magazine I would recommend the Remington Sendero. I love mine and it shoots excellent groups with Barnes Vortex 180 grain bullets.

Pics are always necessary.





Apparently photobucket is down like it does everyday. Hopefully they will pop up........sometime.

I didn't realize the price difference between internal and external magazines.

I'll have to check a few stores to see what they have too, so far it has been all online surfing.

Tikka is pretty good bang for the buck, with a detachable box mag.  

Not to mention, magazines tend to get misplaced, dropped or dislodged at the wrong time. I have a mag savage 99. I've only carried it on a few hunts so far and the mag release got bumped once already walking thru the woods. Didn't lose the mag fortunately.

Here is my 300 Win Mag with a detachable magazine.

Browning A Bolt


$799 used.
$300 brake
$850 Scope

It has a floor plate and the magazine is up inside.  That way, when you drop the mag, you close the floor plate and you don't have a giant hole in your rifle.

Nice. Have you noticed much difference with the Brake?

It kicks a little bit less than a .243.  Everyone who has shot it is amazed at how light the recoil is.  The best loading I have for it is the max load for H1000 powder.  It's pushing a 168gr bullet at 3320fps.  Pretty stout, and the kick in the rifle is almost not there.

Downside is muzzle blast.  Ear pro is not an option, it's a requirement.

If you don't want to spend a lot, you can get a Remington 770 in 300 WM for under $400.  Under $500 stainless.  Plastic stock, detachable magazines.  They aren't the highest quality, but they do ok.  They come with a Bushnell 3-9x scope too.  I guess it depends on how much you are going to use it.  As an occasional hunting rifle, it might be a better choice than a really nice rifle that won't get used much.

I own a 710 (previous model) in 300 WM and like it.

It'll definitely get used for elk and deer season every year. Elk is a full week in the bush, deer tends to be the same.

I might have to give the A-Bolt a good look. I really like the safety setup for thumb reach and the adjustable trigger.

This is the 4th A-bolt I have owned, they are great rifles.  

The only thing I don't like is having to have the gun on FIRE to open the bolt.  The X-Bolt fixed that, but the A-Bolt is still set up the old way.  When the gun is on safe, the bolt is locked.

I really like the floorplate with mag inside.  

My Winchester Model 70 does not have a detachable magazine, but has been a great elk rifle for me. It does have a muzzle brake, which makes it a little softer shooting. Without the brake I have to admit to developing a flinch, and the brake makes it comfortable. I like the .300 mag for elk, of the 3 elk I have been fortunate to harvest, they all went down quickly with this cartridge and well placed shots. This rifle is also very accurate, and will shoot MOA with good ammo if I do my part.

I have also shot the Browning rifles in other calibers, the ones with the detachable magazines, and found them to be accurate nice shooting rifles, so that would be a good choice if you want the detachable mag.  

Would definitely recommend stainless if most of your hunting will be west of the Cascades. Probably less important on the dry side of the mountains.

Have found that shooting sticks give me good versatility in field situations, and prefer them to a mounted bipod. I like some kind of a rest if I have time, even leaning against a tree, or on top of a convenient stump, but if neither of those is present, the shooting sticks work well. I can shoot off hand too, and do, but the excitement and adrenalin of the moment make me less steady, so that works best for close range. A range finder also helps, they are large animals, and I have been fooled into thinking they were closer than they really were and missed because of that.

Thanks again for the input.
We hunt the Manashtash area so it's on the dry side but everyone seems to use stainless so I will most likely go that route.

Eventually I'll get a good range Finder and a better pair of binoculars. I'll be u ting along side family members who have those items so I'll be okay for the time being, you are spot on with misjudging distances easily though. When my uncle took down his cow he ranged her at 175yards, I could have sworn we were within 100 but the hills really throw you off!

I really like the Tikka T3 lite stainless.

The sendero is good, but it's a pig. The T3 will weigh less with a scope (and maybe full of rounds) than the sendero by itself.

Plus its butter smooth action is fantastic.

My oldest son has the Tikka T3 stainless with a wood stock.  

I have to admit it is a really nice rifle and the action is like melted butter.  Or, as Jerry Glower put it, goose poop in a galvanized pipe.  It is the smoothest out of the box action I have ever seen.

My dad has a small gunshop and guys would bring their guns in to be sighted in.  When I got old enough, that was my job.  I also test fired many of them after service was done.  I have fired hundreds of guns, been battered by many.  I always shook in fear when some idiot would bring in a 12 gauge with 3 1/2" slugs.  But I did my job.