Posted: 8/15/2011 8:22:33 PM EDT
| Anyone use a 300wm for deer? Does it drop them? Good enough?? |
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Anyone use a 300wm for deer? Does it drop them? Good enough?? Yes, most of the time within 10 feet, absolutely. For all the naysayers...I haven't ever seen a deer that was too dead from too big of a gun. 
I've seen plenty of people stuff up a shot because they flinched at the recoil of their wonder magnum. The .300 mag will do an excellent job of killing deer. It will shoot farther and flatter then a .308 or .30-06. But that comes at a price. More expensive ammo, heavier recoil, and much louder muzzle blast. Unless you are regularly shooting deer at 400+ yards I don't see a need for the magnums. |
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. |
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I have killed two deer and one antelope with my 300 WM loaded with 125g
None of them had excessive damage to the meat and the antelope had the bullet pass between the ribs on the entry, take out the heart and hit a rib on the exit. they were reloads that my dad made for me. 1/2" 3 shot groups too. I think that a 150-180g or heavier bullet would have probably ruined some meat, just use the right weight bullet and you will be ok -Joe |
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. If you are losing deer after hitting them with a .30-06 it isn't the fault of the gun. Either you are choosing the wrong bullet or you are not placing them well enough. |
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. If you are losing deer after hitting them with a .30-06 it isn't the fault of the gun. Either you are choosing the wrong bullet or you are not placing them well enough. I agree, It is the fault of the powder charge (or lack of). I was using 150 gr. PSP core lokts. Heart lung vital shots. |
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Um no, You might want to upgrade to a 300 Rem. Ultra Mag. just to be sure.  
laugh all you want, but when I am taking a 500+ yd shot on a mule deer, I need max velocity with long heavy sniper bullets. my countersniper 20-60x 44mm scope demands the best! |
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Yeah, that's more than enough even for elk. Heck, .308 is plenty. If they're within 100yds, .30-30 is my first choice for elk or muleys ... Maybe .257 Roberts for whitetail.
Rabid grizzly/kodiak/polar bear on PCP might test the limits of .300WinMag ETA - on the other hand, I usually hunt deer and elk with a Ruger No.1 .300WinMag, just because I can't carry 2 or 3 guns with me. I need a hunting caddy. I won't use it on antelope, though. Since antelope and elk seasons don't overlap, it's not a problem to take the right gun for the job. |
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As said WAY too much gun IMHO.
I've seen meat all blown to hell with a 7mm mag. For that matter I've seen hindquarters wrecked from a 30-30 ass shot too. As always, good bullet, accurate load and good placement. For what it's worth, I rifle hunt whitetails with a 150/168 Nosler ballistic tip out of an -06. (Win. Supreme or reloaded) |
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it will work just fine.
if your going to be hunting at long range it will have an advantage over something like a 30-06. IF you plan on hunting at long range you will need ALOT of practice to get there. if your going to be hunting under 300yards or so, it will work, but you will want a bonded bullet or you risk the projectile exploding on impact and you might not get your deer. if your hunting at shorter ranges, yes, it will work, but its more then is NEEDED. I have put alot of deer down with my .300WSM. ranges from 50-750 yards. currently my goto is chambered in .260Rem with 140gr VLDs at the same ranges. |
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Not trying to sound condescending, but I would suggest you pick up a 22 lr and start practicing until you are no longer losing deer with a 30-06. sounds pretty condescending, espechaly since he never said he was loosing any deer....or hunting with a .30-06 |
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. If you are losing deer after hitting them with a .30-06 it isn't the fault of the gun. Either you are choosing the wrong bullet or you are not placing them well enough. I agree, It is the fault of the powder charge (or lack of). I was using 150 gr. PSP core lokts. Heart lung vital shots. |
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. If you are losing deer after hitting them with a .30-06 it isn't the fault of the gun. Either you are choosing the wrong bullet or you are not placing them well enough. I agree, It is the fault of the powder charge (or lack of). I was using 150 gr. PSP core lokts. Heart lung vital shots. my bad, thought you were chewing out the OP |
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Way over caliber for a whitetail, the max you need is a 30-06 spr., unless, like the guys in the shows your just into killing and not hunting. Recommend a .270 win. or .308, if your into reloading try the 7mm-08. I'm a major fan of the 7mm-08 and 6.8SPC!!! |
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Not trying to sound condescending, but I would suggest you pick up a 22 lr and start practicing until you are no longer losing deer with a 30-06. I've put 10's of thousands of rounds through my 22's. I have one shot-one kill'd my last 8 or 10 deer with the 300 Win Mag. The longest one ran was about 20 yds. That is the kind of terminal performance I need for the places I hunt. I even had a witness on one of the deer I shot with the '06 that said "NICE SHOT" after the deer dropped from about 150 yds. Yeah the deer dropped in its tracks but I still had to nick the heart since the shot didn't kill it cleanly. This whole debate kind of reminds me of the one where somebody asks an old lawman why he carries a .45... |
Ive killed deer with .223 up to my 30-06. I have hunted with fellows who shoot .300 mags and have come to the conclusion of watching them waste more meat, that a .300 Win mag is too much for deer unless you back off to a min of 200 yards and only IF you can reliably hit a deer at that range or greater. I have seen way too many misses and bad hits from people who think they only need to sight their gun in once a year and they are GTG . Shooting is a perishable skill so spend time at the range and shoot from the postions you will encounter while shooting at game. In 38 years of big game hunting I have yet to shoot a big game animal from a benchrest. My rule of thumb , if you can't put a bullet in a paper plate every time, then you are shooting beyond your effective deer shooting range.
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It's more than enough gun. If it is all you have it's fine, but something a little smaller will work just as well. Depends on your parameters. I hunt on property that kind of zig zags around and had too many deer run off onto other peoples property. I went with the mag after having lost too many deer to a 243 and 30-06. losing deer after shooting them with an 06? stop shppting then in the ass. 
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I've shot dozens of deer with 5-6 different rifles, 30-06 among them. I've never had a deer go more than about 20 yards when hit with an '06. Regular old Core-lokts, 165 grain. Works like a charm from 10 feet or 300 yards.
I never will understand people who go for the latest wonder-rifle in the biggest magnum cartridge they can find shooting the most expensive ammunition available. I could see it if you were going on a once in a lifetime elk or sheep hunt, but for white tails? Come on. I was 12 years old laying them out DRT with a Sears & Roebuck 30-30 that had been riding around on my grandpa's tractor longer than my dad had been alive. It ain't rocket surgery people. |
| My 300 WM works very well for me on everything from turkeys to bear. For me it is a matter of familiarity with my round. I`ve been shooting it so long that there is NO wondering about drift or drop hence my ability to make a quick accurate shot is assured. As for "blowing the meat up" don`t worry. I`ve seen .243 wounds that were a complete waste of meet. For my money I`ll take the DRT aspect of the 300 any day. |
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If you can shoot it without flinching go ahead and use it. I have a .300 and it's a damn accurate rifle. I don't use it much, I deer hunt with a .260 custom built rifle and it's enough gun without a pounding for the shooter. Hey, I admit it, I don't like a lot of recoil.
I see more people with magnums F'ing up their shots as they don't handle it well. Of course not all but a lot of guys ran out and bought the big magnums and can't shoot them for shit. They're flinch makers for a lot of shooters. Add the higher cost of shooting factory shells with the magnums usually means there was less practice. In my opinion, less is more. A milder shooting rifle with more practice behind it is a better way to go when the big gun isn't really necessary. Now if you're hunting polar bears get the biggest gun you can shoot.
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