Caliber Options: International Do It All Short Barreled Magnum

[Cactus kid]

Time to re-barrel my primary hunting rifle and was curious if anyone has any input for what I am looking for.

The rifle is currently a 300 win mag. It is a standard length action

I am looking for a caliber that is readily available in remote places and shoots well with a 20-22'' barrel. Barrel life is always a consideration, I average about 500-700 rounds a year out of my hunting rifle.

My max hunting range is around 600 yards, though the closer the better. This rifle will be used for everything from deer to moose, though the international hunts are sheep/goat hunts.

My inital thought would be stay with the 300 win mag, but I am limited by magazine length. 3.340 COAL is the maximum. This caliber has worked well for me, but I have not shot anything heavier than the 180gr bullets.

A 7 mag is possibility. Higher B.C. bullets if shooting 180 gr. Concerned with barrel life.

Any thoughts?

 

[Wapiti1]

.300 Win Mag. Asian and former Soviet Block countries are dodgy for any ammo, but .300 Win is one of the better bets. You are probably going to have to bum ammo from another hunter in camp.

What is the make of the rifle? Since you are having it barreled, that is a good time to lengthen the mag box if possible.

Jeremy

 

[tdot]

I've never heard of anyone shooting 7RM or 300WM from a 20" barrel. I'm sure it's been done, but when I looked into it awhile ago, I couldn't find very much info on it. My vote would be 300WM if you had a longer action and a touch longer barrel.

That action length sounds like something for a WSM. The 30WSM is likely to be found in any hunting town in North America, but dont know about Asia or Europe.

Any of your other shorter Wildcats, or SAUM or RCM cartridges are going to be tougher to find in the remote towns, and I wouldnt have a clue on the availability over seas.

 

[WesternHntr]

Time to re-barrel my primary hunting rifle and was curious if anyone has any input for what I am looking for.

The rifle is currently a 300 win mag. It is a standard length action

I am looking for a caliber that is readily available in remote places and shoots well with a 20-22'' barrel. Barrel life is always a consideration, I average about 500-700 rounds a year out of my hunting rifle.

My max hunting range is around 600 yards, though the closer the better. This rifle will be used for everything from deer to moose, though the international hunts are sheep/goat hunts.

My inital thought would be stay with the 300 win mag, but I am limited by magazine length. 3.340 COAL is the maximum. This caliber has worked well for me, but I have not shot anything heavier than the 180gr bullets.

A 7 mag is possibility. Higher B.C. bullets if shooting 180 gr. Concerned with barrel life.

Any thoughts?

Must be a Tikka action??
Id go 7 saum throated for 180's or 195's with at least a 22" barrel.
If it's not a real light rifle the 300 wsm would be awesome throated for 215's.
Forget the what if I lose my ammo overseas Bs...
Just mail your ammo over in advance, and pack more in every bag possible

 

[Wapiti1]

It isn't that simple. Ammo has to be in a locked container separate from a firearm for overseas airline travel. It is a real possibility to get your rifle, and not your ammo. Especially if you have to change airlines at some point. I haven't had issues in my trips overseas, but others I've met along the way have.

Ammunition will not be accepted for shipment overseas by any US shipping service (UPS, FedEx, etc). Sure you can lie to them, but that is not advice I'd give anyone. That said, you can have your outfitter buy some for you just in case.

and now back to the OP's question.

Jeremy

 

[Formidilosus]

I've never heard of anyone shooting 7RM or 300WM from a 20" barrel. I'm sure it's been done, but when I looked into it awhile ago, I couldn't find very much info on it.

All the time.

20” barreled 300WM. 1120 yards.



You do not lose velocity like people think- it’s still a 300WM.

 

[Wrench]

Look up frank green and Charlie sisk studies on barrel length vs velocity. I'd take a 22" over a 26" myself.

For international travel....300 win or 375 h&h.

 

[WesternHntr]

It isn't that simple. Ammo has to be in a locked container separate from a firearm for overseas airline travel. It is a real possibility to get your rifle, and not your ammo. Especially if you have to change airlines at some point. I haven't had issues in my trips overseas, but others I've met along the way have.

Ammunition will not be accepted for shipment overseas by any US shipping service (UPS, FedEx, etc). Sure you can lie to them, but that is not advice I'd give anyone. That said, you can have your outfitter buy some for you just in case.

and now back to the OP's question.

Jeremy

Good catch on the shipping part..
At any rate we're talking long range hunting, you lose your proven LR load and you'll be short range hunting.
Any old factory replacement isn't going to cut it, In which case you might as well be using a borrowed rifle from a guide

 

[Wapiti1]

Valid point, and you may get ammo you've never heard of before. Borrowing is a crap shoot. I've seen really nice stuff from Blaser and Steyr to beat to hell BRNO and Mauser sporter rifles. All work in a pinch, I suppose. I take mine and hope my stuff arrives.

I take a .300 Win Mag. In Africa good bets are .375 H&H, .416 Rigby, .416 Rem, and .458 Win.

Asia is a crap shoot. Many countries don't allow private ownership, so gun stores aren't normal.

Jeremy

 

[tdot]

All the time.

20” barreled 300WM. 1120 yards.
View attachment 130407


You do not lose velocity like people think- it’s still a 300WM.

Awesome. What sort of loads are you shooting? Velocity?

Did you happen to have a longer barrel and cut it down? Record the speed changes?

 

[tdot]

Look up frank green and Charlie sisk studies on barrel length vs velocity. I'd take a 22" over a 26" myself.

For international travel....300 win or 375 h&h.

Funny, I remember reading those along awhile back. But you think I could find them when it was time to do a build. Thanks for mentioning them.

My 22" build just shipped from my Smith. So I'm pretty excited to finally try a shorter rifle. One 6.5mm barrel and one 338 barrel. Should be fun.

 

[Formidilosus]

Awesome. What sort of loads are you shooting? Velocity?

Did you happen to have a longer barrel and cut it down? Record the speed changes?

No, those rifles come with 20” barrels. Have had dozens of 300WM’s from 18-27”. You lose around 20-25fps per inch. That’s a good trade.

215gr Bergers are around 2,600fps, 220gr SMK 2,650, 185gr Bergers 2,700’ish.

These aren’t hand loads. Loading could probably gain another 50-75fps.

 

[16Bore]

If you got the coin for that kind of travel, barrel life would be the least of my worries.

I’d stick with what I knew..300WM.

 

[Cactus kid]

Any old factory replacement isn't going to cut it, In which case you might as well be using a borrowed rifle from a guide

Not at all. You will be much better with a reliable rifle that you brought. My guide in Kygyzstan brought his wolf rifle- some early 20th century military bolt gun- and i think the scope was held in place with bailing wire. His gun was the only non-hunter rifle in camp.

No, those rifles come with 20” barrels. Have had dozens of 300WM’s from 18-27”. You lose around 20-25fps per inch. That’s a good trade.

215gr Bergers are around 2,600fps, 220gr SMK 2,650, 185gr Bergers 2,700’ish.

These aren’t hand loads. Loading could probably gain another 50-75fps.

That is very good to know!

If you got the coin for that kind of travel, barrel life would be the least of my worries.

I’d stick with what I knew..300WM.

Coin is all relative I guess. I am as middle class as they come. I only own one hunting rifle- instead of buying more guns/gear I put that money in to hunts i can afford overseas. Most ibex/goat hunts overseas are cheaper than an elk hunt in the US. Rebarrelling costs me time. Also having a barrel shitting the bed right before season isnt confidence building.

 

[16Bore]

Note to self: Never trust a hunter that owns one rifle because he probably knows how to use it!

 

[Formidilosus]

Coin is all relative I guess. I am as middle class as they come. I only own one hunting rifle- instead of buying more guns/gear I put that money in to hunts i can afford overseas. Most ibex/goat hunts overseas are cheaper than an elk hunt in the US. Rebarrelling costs me time. Also having a barrel shitting the bed right before season isnt confidence building.

What rifle?

 

[Cactus kid]

What rifle?

It's a sako a7 range. I had such great luck with a tikka varmint in .308, which i had cut down to 18'', and later regrettably sold to a friend. At the time tikka didn't make a heavy barreled magnum in the US. I figured the A7 was basically an upgraded tikka.

I have replaced the stock with a MCM HTG after breaking the factory stock and the rifle wears real bottom metal now.

 

[Formidilosus]

It's a sako a7 range.

Ah. If it was a T3, you could go WTO Switchlug and the barrel thing wouldn’t matter.

 

[Cactus kid]

Ah. If it was a T3, you could go WTO Switchlug and the barrel thing wouldn’t matter.

The switch lug is interesting. any experience with these? does the locking mechnism ever work loose? that would be my only concern.

 

[Formidilosus]

The switch lug is interesting. any experience with these? does the locking mechnism ever work loose? that would be my only concern.

No issues that I’ve seen. Couple thousand rounds.