300 wm change my mind.

[Ucsdryder]

Have fun with it. I hated my 7.7 lb tikka 300wm. It kicked the piss out of me and made it downright miserable to shoot. You don’t need a 300wm for elk, so why not shoot something that’s more pleasant at the range and will still kill them dead!

 

[k80Titus]

WHat do you reccomend instead of 300wm

 

[justin davis]

300 win mag is the do it all caliber

 

[Jonn44]

Have fun with it. I hated my 7.7 lb tikka 300wm. It kicked the piss out of me and made it downright miserable to shoot. You don’t need a 300wm for elk, so why not shoot something that’s more pleasant at the range and will still kill them dead!

Was 7.7 overall weight of your rifle? I am planning on shooting suppressed also; so hoping that negates the recoil. It’s worked well on .308 and below that I’ve never fired anything over .308 suppressed.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Was 7.7 overall weight of your rifle? I am planning on shooting suppressed also; so hoping that negates the recoil. It’s worked well on .308 and below but never fired anything over .308 suppressed.

ThT was scoped. Tikka super light was under 6 pounds without a scope. Like I said, it’s unnecessary. 280ai, 7mm rem mag, 3006, 270. Lots of choices.

 

[fightthenoise]

300 win mag being the do all cartridge is a vestige from back when bullets sucked. Bullets have come a long way. You don’t need to shoot magnums anymore, but if you can shoot them well, there’s no reason not to. If you can overcome all the downsides (expensive to practice with, prone to causing flinches, requires a 24” barrel which extra sucks with a suppressor, eats double your powder stash if you reload) then you won’t ever complain about hitting an elk too hard.

 

[Jonn44]

300 win mag being the do all cartridge is a vestige from back when bullets sucked. Bullets have come a long way. You don’t need to shoot magnums anymore, but if you can shoot them well, there’s no reason not to. If you can overcome all the downsides (expensive to practice with, prone to causing flinches, requires a 24” barrel which extra sucks with a suppressor, eats double your powder stash if you reload) then you won’t ever complain about hitting an elk too hard.

Overall length hit home there! With a can I’m looking at a 5’ plus rifle. While that may be fine for a PRS setup I know it’s not optimal for the woods. I do some reloading in normal times when supplies are easily acquired. Probably wouldn’t shoot a .300 wm much so probably wouldn’t have any interest in reloading it with the abundance of choices in a normal market. From a hunting standpoint what are the new calibers that you prefer? Thanks for your feedback.

 

[CApighunter]

Overall length hit home there! With a can I’m looking at a 5’ plus rifle. While that may be fine for a PRS setup I know it’s not optimal for the woods. I do some reloading in normal times when supplies are easily acquired. Probably wouldn’t shoot a .300 wm much so probably wouldn’t have any interest in reloading it with the abundance of choices in a normal market. From a hunting standpoint what are the new calibers that you prefer? Thanks for your feedback.

Nothing wrong with a 22 inch 300 win mag or even shorter. With the right powders you can get much better performance out of a short barrel.

 

[fightthenoise]

Overall length hit home there! With a can I’m looking at a 5’ plus rifle. While that may be fine for a PRS setup I know it’s not optimal for the woods. I do some reloading in normal times when supplies are easily acquired. Probably wouldn’t shoot a .300 wm much so probably wouldn’t have any interest in reloading it with the abundance of choices in a normal market. From a hunting standpoint what are the new calibers that you prefer? Thanks for your feedback.

I’m building a 20” 7 SAUM on a Tikka action. 180 ELD-M’s at 2800+. Run the numbers and see if you can find anything wrong with that.

 

[Jonn44]

I’m building a 20” 7 SAUM on a Tikka action. 180 ELD-M’s at 2800+. Run the numbers and see if you can find anything wrong with that.

That sounds like some wizardry to me. I know my way around a AR platform build all day, but the bolt game is Greek. Being a bolt gun greenhorn I’d guess you would recommend Tikka for starters.

 

[fightthenoise]

That sounds like some wizardry to me. I know my way around a AR platform build all day, but the bolt game is Greek. Being a bolt gun greenhorn I’d guess you would recommend Tikka for starters.

Tikka for a handful of reasons but the main one being folks make shouldered prefit barrels for them. If you can fog a mirror you can rebarrel a Tikka. The action length is ideal for short mags but limiting for full length cartridges. I wouldn’t run a 300 win mag in one. Too short and twist is too slow. But the ease of switching barrels when/if you decide your needs have changed is nice and helps with the commitment issues.

 

[OutdoorAg]

I’m going 7mm something and shoot the 162 ELD-M.

Or 6.5 something and shoot 147s

Way more fun than 30 cal

 

[Jonn44]

Tikka for a handful of reasons but the main one being folks make shouldered prefit barrels for them. If you can fog a mirror you can rebarrel a Tikka. The action length is ideal for short mags but limiting for full length cartridges. I wouldn’t run a 300 win mag in one. Too short and twist is too slow. But the ease of switching barrels when/if you decide your needs have changed is nice and helps with the commitment issues.

Sounds like the learning curve isn’t as steep as presumed. I will look i to a Tikka and what those rifles transform into. I recently found a Tikka thread on snipershide and as very impressed. Not assuming cause we all know how that goes; so
you’d pick up the 300wsm over the 300 wm when searching for elk!

 

[fightthenoise]

Sounds like the learning curve isn’t as steep as presumed. I will look i to a Tikka and what those rifles transform into. I recently found a Tikka thread on snipershide and as very impressed. Not assuming cause we all know how that goes; so
you’d pick up the 300wsm over the 300 wm when searching for elk!

If you’re looking at Tikka and the choices are 30 cals, the WSM is a no brainer just due to action length and mag length. SAAMI length 300 win mag is at the limits of that platform. The elk won’t know the difference, WSM is actually on the shelf, and you’ll have the flexibility to load them long if you end up reloading down the road. If you go 300 win mag, look into what bullet you want to shoot and make sure the gun and magazine can accommodate it. If you were okay with running SAAMI length 300 win mag you wouldn’t be here asking good questions.

Factory 30 cal Tikkas are twisted slow at 1:11. They can shoot 200’s fine. Probably bigger at altitude. It probably won’t be an issue, but just look into stabilization on the bullet you want to shoot with the Brian Litz calculator on Berger’s site.

None of this is more complicated than building an AR. Just different. I cuss more installing the roll pin on my bolt catches than I do rebarreling any Tikka’s. And I’m no gunsmith, just a dude with a barrel vice

 

[TNKnoxville]

My XBolt Max Long Range weighs 10.5 lbs including scope, with the muzzle break feels like a 308. I'm shooting 220 Grain ELDX. It is a 1in 8" twist.

Just to add some spice, I just picked up a XBolt Western Hunter RMEF edition in 28 Nosler. Sweet gun, 8.8 lbs with scope. Hoping to shoot 162 or 175 grain ELDXs. So far could only find 2 boxes of 162's. Shoots them pretty good, not sure of the MOA, still breaking it in!!!! Shot my first elk with a friends 28 at 550 yards, one shot drop!!!!

Only downside is finding ammo.

 

[Wapiti1]

@Wapiti1 I was smellin what you were sellin! Agree with the sarcasm and transcendence. My response was typed with a grin! Any recommendations?

The usual list of suspects: Tikka, Weatherby Vanguard, Winchester M70, Kimber, Bergara, Savage 116, Sauer 101 or 101, Mauser M18, Browning.

All good options.

I would not suggest an ultralight. Maybe a standard weight in the 7-8lbs without scope area. I'd hate to see you hate it right out of the gate, and even in a standard weight rifle it will be snappy for recoil. If it is threaded, good. If not, that can be changed.

Of the ones above, my personal list would be Weatherby Vanguard (one with a B&C stock), Winchester M70 all weather or featherweight, or Sauer 101 in blued and walnut. The Sauer rifles are very nicely made and usually have a little better wood on them.

Jeremy

 

[FLAK]

About to head out for an Aoudad hunt very soon.
Guess what I'm taking?
Win Mag loaded hot with 200gr. Partitions.

 

[NeverSummer]

I'm a CO resident and if I could only keep one rifle it would be my 300 win. I was running a Bergara B14, and now I'm running a Weatherby Vanguard, the Meateater edition, but a Vanguard is a Vanguard. Decent rifle. With the wonderful variety of bullets available now you can run the perfect ammo for any situation, from close range still hunting elk in the lodgepole to long, windy shots on the antelope plains. But like other's have said, make sure you can shoot it. Lots of people are pretty recoil sensitive and won't admit it. More elk are killed around here (on the Front Range of CO) with .270s and .308s, so there's that. Good luck,

 

[Jonn44]

I'm a CO resident and if I could only keep one rifle it would be my 300 win. I was running a Bergara B14, and now I'm running a Weatherby Vanguard, the Meateater edition, but a Vanguard is a Vanguard. Decent rifle. With the wonderful variety of bullets available now you can run the perfect ammo for any situation, from close range still hunting elk in the lodgepole to long, windy shots on the antelope plains. But like other's have said, make sure you can shoot it. Lots of people are pretty recoil sensitive and won't admit it. More elk are killed around here (on the Front Range of CO) with .270s and .308s, so there's that. Good luck,

Thanks for the input. Why did you make the switch from Bergara to the Weatherby?

 

[EmperorMA]

I'd look at the 6.5 PRC, .270 WSM and 6.8 Western. MUCH LESS recoil and absolutely no difference in how fast the elk dies. A case can be made that the smaller cartridges kill faster.