Thoughts on short mags

[cbrooks]

I've been looking at getting a 300 short mag. Did some googling on that caliber. I'm starting to lean on getting just a 300 winmag or 7 MM mag instead. Does anyone have an opinion good or bad on short mags?

[Archerysniper]

My friend has the short mag .300 and if your just shooting deer it is to much he shot 3 with it and almost cut them in half. Another thing is the ammo price and availability in some of the out state areas. I have a Weatherby Vangaurd from the 60's or 70's in .300 win mag and love it,however it is still a little much for deer but great for elk and works for moose with the right bullet selection.

[cbrooks]

Yeah-this gun will be intended for elk ,moose, bear. I would like to get into elk hunting on a yearly basis in the future so this will be that gun. the price of ammo might push me over to a your 300win mag but I found a nice price on a Browing X-bolt 300 wsm so I'm just debating...

[fishattacker]

I have a .300 WSM and love it. I shot a mule deer with it and it did not cause any excess damage. The shot was under 100 yards.

If you are planning to hunt just large game such as elk, moose and bear may not be a bad idea to check out a .338 mag.

[Gordie]

To me between the 7mm mag and .300 win mag it nearly the same debate as the .270 and 30-06 other then fact they are not mags maybe I'm wrong but I think I would also look into the .338 for myself befroe the other two

[cbrooks]

338 never cross my mind. I'll look into that Caliber and see what I think. Thanks fellas

[HNTNBUX]

WSM guns are probably shorter, lighter and recoil more.

300 Win Mag and 7mm Rem Mag will handle any of the above without question as well in a heavier rifle with less recoil. 7mm should have the lowest recoil if that is a concern.

[shortfatguy]

I went with a model 70 winchester in 300 wsm. I have shot whitetail and antelope with it so far. Its flat shooting for a 30 cal with a point blank range of over 300 yards. I have shot many whitetail with it at close and long range with no issues of excessive damage. I like the shorter action and lighter rifle. A little extra recoil isnt an issue for me since i didnt buy it to go plinking. I can easily shoot 10 shots off of a bench and have never needed to shoot more. I cant remember ever noticing the recoil of any rifle when shooting at game. Its a short action rifle capable of taking any north american mammal from coyotes to bears or moose out to 300+ yards with no adjustment for bullet drop.

[cbrooks]

good to hear about your Winchester shortfatguy. I did find a good deal on a model 70 extreme 300 wsm this weeekend. My current big gun is a 30-06. I don't find the recoil to be a big deal whats so ever. I'm sure the bigger calibers will change that. At 6 feet about 210 or so. Most of it is in the midsection . I shouldn't have a problem with the recoil. Here's a table with recoil of different cal. Some of you may be interested in it.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

[boatfixer]

I was ata gun range in Colorado several years back and there was a fella trying to sight in his rifle. Couldnt hit a darn thing with it. He was shooting a .338 and couldnt stop flinching. He had hunted elk and moose with an .06 for many years, killed everything he hit ( so he says, I had no reason to doubt him I guess) Anyway his buddies convinced him the .06 was too small and talked him into the .338. He said this was a huge mistake and a big waste of money. The gun was immediately for sale.

[benelli_dude2002]

i got one. i do a lot of hunting in Ontario so i have taken down a few moose with a 300WSM. most of them went down with one shot. and i have yet to cut a deer in half with it like someone mentioned. lol. i got the 300wsm a year after it came out. been a good one for me.

[cbrooks]

I will be picking up my model 70 exteme SS in a 300 wsm after work today. I got a great deal on it. Now I just need to find a scope for it. Thanks for all the advice guys

[NoWiser]

I think you will be happy with that gun. I have a 270 WSM and really do like it a lot. I had trouble with bullets holding together, but since switching to Barnes TSX have not had that issue. The ammo is spendy, but I handload so it isn't as much of a concern.

I think you made a good choice in caliber. I would not have wanted to go up to a 338. I have a couple friends that got them in their younger years thinking they were tough. Most have since sold them because they are not necessary, and the recoil is just too much. You do not need those big calibers. I shot my moose this year at 300 yards with the 270 WSM and it only went about 50 yards before keeling over. I would not be afraid to hunt any game animal in North America with my gun. Considering you will be doing more elk hunting in the future, I think the 300 WSM will be a perfect fit for you.

[cbrooks]

Thanks for the info on ammo No wiser. I will keep that in my mind.

[HARDTIMES]

Owner of a .300 wsm tika ss 3-9 scope on it i have shoot antelope to deer with it over all i like it. pros very accurate out 300 yards. Nothing as ever ran away after being touch with the.300 wsm. Cons 26 ft lb of recoil. Like said not for plinking if you want to plink get a lead sled of put muzzle brake on. Ammo i dont think you would ever need anything more then 150 gr. I'm shooting winn power max 150 gr fly true and are lights out.

[mtheis]

I have to say though that when I browse the used gun racks I see a LOT of .300 WSM rifles for sale. I hope that you enjoy your decision!

[cbrooks]

Its not the first time someone pointed that out to me. I suppose the price of ammo has alot to do with it. I just think recoil in a gun is way over hype. Looking at a recoil table I google, my 12 gauge has more recoil than alot of the bigger caliber rifles. I mainly shoot 3 1/2 shells also. I don't notice the recoil at all. When I do get a scope and test this gun out I will come back on this thread and give my honest opinion on that gun.

[cbrooks]

Well, Took the gun out to test fire it. Had some issues. Took it back and got in store credit for it. I did buy the gun off the used rack. I don't think I will buy used again. So I'm right back where I started. I really liked how that Winchester felt, oh well.

[cbrooks]

I ended up getting a Sako 85 hunter in the 300 wsm. I have a Tikka(same brand as the Sako) that shoots the tightest groups of all my guns so I expect the same out of this gun. I'm gonna go with a Swaro z5 3X18 power. It will have ballistic turrent on there that I can adjust to 4 different ranges. I will have them at 200yds out to 500yards. See how straight I can shoot now.

[DRH1175]

I was going to chime in on cailibers but since you made the purchase. All I can say is Nice Gun! Sako makes some of the nicest guns money can buy period!! You will enjoy that gun. Any of the cartridges are spendy for ammo. It is not a gun you are going to shoot hundreds of rounds thru each year. Good luck you will really enjoy that gun!