300 win mag deer rifle?
 

How is the 300 win mag? good or no good? im thinking about buying it for a deer rifle. this is what i want Thompson Center Arms Encore Rifle SST 26" 300 Win Mag , do they come with scope mounts or no? another question

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RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Definately on the high-power side. Some guys will tell you its great...I'll tell you its overkill, but if anyone understands the ordeal of not having enough dough to go out and buy an ideal gun for each and every game/situation its me. Besides, its all personal preferance anyways. It may be very easy for you to get a flinch from the higher recoil than other popular deer cartridges. That's about the only objective criticism I can thing of, that and the cost of ammunition.

If you're feeling it...go for it.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I have used both the 300 Win Mag and 300 Weatherby Mag for deer. To me the 30-06 is way more than I need to use for deer so that would tell you that its much more than needed. However if thats what you want, there is no reason not to get one. They work fine and with a good 180 grain bullet you won't have a lot of extra meat damage. To me the 300 Mags are nowhere near as enjoyable to just go out shooting with. My wife kills deer dead every time with her 250 Savage and to me the 250 to the 280 are perfect deer cartridges.

The T/C comes drilled for scope mounts but I don't think it is included.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I'd also echo that it's more gun than you need for deer but as long as you aren't bothered by the recoil enough to degrade your ability to shoot it accurately then there's no real reason not to get one if it's what you truely want. Meat damage can be a problem with light weight or highly fragmentable bullets like ballistic tips so as James said I would stick with 180 grain bullets. If you like to shoot a lot then get a good recoil pad.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I was also thinking of geting a nice bolt action 7mm-mag, or 308 , or 30-06 , or 270, and 7mm-08 ... Its way to hard to pick a new deer rifle, maybe i should just but all of them!

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I have one in a savage 116fss ,I changed the stock to a laminated one from midway arms. it is a good shooter but two years ago the barrel nut broke !!! I noticed it while in my stand and there was a great buck standing broad side at about 100 yards. I wouldnt shoot because I was afraid of it coming off. But before that it shot great ,It is a great round and in the hands of a competent shooter you can kill deer along way. It is usally more then enough for whitetail/mulies.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I would suggest that a 300 Win Mag or 7mm Rem Mag are not good choices if it's your first deer rifle. Recoil on these is quite substantial, which can lead to flinching problems. So, I'd need additional info from you:

Is this your first deer rifle? How much shooting experience do you have? Is it only for whitetail deer, or are you also planning touse it for bear, elk, moose, caribou, etc., etc., etc.? What kind of yardage will your shots typically be?

Any of the rounds you've listed would be more than sufficient to kill deer. It's these other considerations that will lead to giving you good advice.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The .300 Win mag is fine if you can shoot it accurately. I used to use a .300 Wby as one of my rifles for deer hunting, but had it rebarreled this year to .300 Win Mag and am looking forward to using it. The rifle itself (stock design, weight,etc.)can have as much to do with recoil as the cartridge. A friend's lightweight .30-06 model 70 was the most painful rifle I've every fired, a lot more unpleasant to shoot than the .300 Wby.

On the other hand, I think you'd be well served to get something like a .270 Win or maybe a 7mm-08. These are plenty good for deer.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The big down side to buying a higher recoiling rifle with expensive ammo is, you won't practise with it as much as you should!

No matter what you buy, you should spend a lot of time practiseing with it!

DM

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

You can certainly shoot deer with such a contraption. However, by and large, the .300 Win. Mag. is on the "overkill" side for merely a deer rifle. It is also suitable for bigger game, such as elk and moose....

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The 300-win mag is a great all-around choice.

I hunted antelope, whitetail, mule deer & elk with one rifle for several years. The rifle is a Ruger M-77 chambered in 300-win mag.

For the last 8-years I have been adding to my rifle collection. I have been buying rifles to match the game I hunt.
25-06 for antelope.
7mm-STW for deer & elk hunting in the open country.
300-win mag for hunting elk in the timber.
338-06 another elk rifle in a light weight easy to carry package.

If I could do it again? I wouldjustkeep my 300-win mag. I have not made my life eaiser, I have added more confusion.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I agree with the feedback so far. I bought a Savage 114 American Classic in .300 win mag this year and plan to use it in a blind for longer shots during rifle opener. I have shot about a 120 shots or there about through it to break in the barrel and sight in. It has a laminated stock and fairly good weight. I also put a medium sized slip on simms recoil pad over the paper thin stock pad and it has made a huge difference in perceived/felt recoil. I have been shooting 165 and 180 grns through it. It has a good kick, but I have gotten 1" groups out of it consistently and as long as I relax, no flinch of any sort.
Not the ideal gun fo whitetails and not close to my first rifle. There are many more appropriate calibers, but if you want to use it or have not choice but to use it, use it.
Practice, practice, practice....

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

A lot of good points and I agree with at least some of them. Probably the first point is made by DM I can't shoot most 300 Win Mags without uncomfortable recoil. Guess what? after 50 years of shooting, I don't like recoil all that much. This is not a few shots in the field but an hour or two at the bench is out of the question. The old shoulder won't take what the young shoulder would.

Next point is that many consider the 30-06 to be a very good all around big game rifle. I agree but the 300 Win Mag is a bit more versitils yet and other that adding 3-5 lbs of recoil, its hard to argue that it is not at least as good as the 06 for all around hunting. Of course this line of thinking would never end. If the 300 Win. is a great all aroud cartridge, then would not the 300 Weatherby which adds another 150 fps or so be even better? Of course this would make the 30-378 even better? It comes down to how much pain do you enjoy.

I could live with having the 300 Win Mag as my own MAX for deer. With the Shooters Friend recoil pad, I could even handle a little practice with it. It would however, for recoil, be the absolute Max for me. I would also add that for deer, it would be no more effective than my 7MM-08. Or my wife's much loved 250 Savage.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

There is no doubt that the 300wm is a great choice for hunting species including deer,elk and moose.However,if I was only going to hunt deer,I would not be using any .308" bullet as it simply isn't required.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I've been using a 300WM as a deer rifle for 8 years and it is a little much for a "deer only" rifle. Recoil, muzzle blast, weight/length of rifle (oftentimes) and cost of ammo are all increased for gains in performance.

Next year I'll be seriously considering a 25-06. Quite a few people have recommended it and it seems like a more sensible choice.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

With that Shooters Friend pad even 300 recoil is pretty tolerable. If you can stand the recoil I imagine it would make about a perffect all around gun....just like James said..how much pain can ya stand.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Oh come one, it's not that bad :eek:. It can be a little stout, especially during a long bench session, but it's not on my list of painful calibers. The 300 WM is a good all around cartridge, but I believe it's best suited for longer range shooting/hunting when whitetail deer are concerned. If most of your hunting is in areas where shots will seldom be over 250 yards, a standard long action caliber will serve you just as well without the added recoil and muzzle blast.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

A lot of standard "short action" calibers will work too... i.e. .308, 7mm-08, .260, .243...

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Also you won't have any troubles with deer out to 400 yards with cartridges like the 270, 280, and 30-06.

Recoil is different for different people. I have a very bad shoulder, that is, the matter that is supposed to be between the two parts of the shoulder joint is completely gone. All movement is now bone against bone. Try telling that shoulder that the recoil from the 300 Mag is not bad.:D

If you look at the picture of the Shooters Friend Recoild pad on the Cabelas site, you can see where this pad makes shooting higher recoil rifles much easier. Its soft and nearly 3 inches wide at the shoulder end. This spreads the recoil are out over more distance. Whatever its made from absorbs recoil like a sponge. They claim it reduces felt recoil by 70 percent. They are right.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Won't argue with you there. I personally like a good .308 winchester for deer size game.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Its about a tie between the 6.5x55 and the 308 for which rifle I have killed the most deer with. These two have to be amoung the best deer rifle calibers ever made.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

Chris in my case after too many mt biking crashes my shoulders are pretty tender. Maybe I'll grow out of it by the time i hit 50 :D

James just wait till ya get a load of that 7-08 for deer hunting. I bet it makes the list pretty quick...sweet is an understatement.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The 7mm-08 is without a doubt an excellent deer cartridge, I would also not hesitate to take it elk hunting, the 7mm-08 is quite possibly one of the greatest cartridges for such applications. IMHO

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

It should have been her by now but still has not showed up. I had a NEF in that caliber but never used it much. Many years ago I had a Browning lever in that caliber as well. However it wouldn't handle reloads very well. This SPS with the 24 inch barrel should get the most of the caliber. I picked up some Barnes 120 grain TXS bullets to try out first.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

James B, the Remington 700 SPS in 7mm-08 is going to be an awesome combo for you sir, great gun in a great cartridge, I own one.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

James when you get that thing expect to have to do the trigger right off the bat...possibly a spring change on it to match the adjustment. Nothing a newbie like yourself cant handle :DI sightedbroke inthat same gun in for a friend last year and it was one heckuva sweet grouping gun. He managed to miss several deer with it though..lmao.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I usually have to adjust the Remington triggers. I really like the SPS too. I had quite a few of the ADL Synthetics and was glad to see the 24 inch barrel line come out. Only one thing wrong, they didn't chamber it in 260 or 280. Remington is great for not supportin their own developments. The 5MM and 8MM Rem Mag come to mind.

NMM 300. Glad you like yours. I think they chamber a good number of cartridges and I like the SS ones to although I havn't tried of of those. YET:D

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

It would not be my first rifle, I have had many. I am just thinking about buying a new one

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

I would say give it a whirl.:D. I have told myself that for years.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The .308 will do anything the 300WM will do within 300 yards, but with a lot less recoil and a lot less expense to shoot.

RE: 300 win mag deer rifle?
 

The question seems to be about recoil tolerence and confidence in your gun. I don't mind the recoil of my 300WM and it shoots 1/2 MOA with factory ammo (yup, it's a Savage). So, yes I am using my 300WM for whitetails. Myother setup is a 30-06and my oldest son will be shooting that this year. 150 gr loads and a good recoil pad make that a nice shooting gun for him.