1. ANyone who has experience with the .300 Win Mag and .300 WSM please share your thoughts. I am considering one of these cartridges.
2. Recoil. I'm a bigger guy and it doesn't bother me TOO much. That said, I've never shot a rifle bigger than a .270. I shot my gramps old single shot 12 gauge with a 3 inch slug and it kicked pretty hard, but just looking for a comparison.

Your OK!

I've shot both and didn't see a whole lot of difference in recoil between the two. If you devolop good shooting form,neither will be uncomfortable or uncontrollable to shoot. Both are comparable ballistically,recoil wise,and power wise. I believe both will be available for a long time so the decision all comes down to which rifle you prefer and personal choice as you won't go wrong with either. One main source of felt recoil isnot enougheye relief so be SURE and adjust accordingly to avoid "magnum eye".

I just got a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 WSM. It has some recoil to it but it has less then my Mossberg 835 with 3in slugs. It is similar to my Mossberg with 3.5in Turkey loads. Now this is the Lite version and only weighs about 6# total.

Gramp's old 12-ga shotgun with 3" shells, particularly if it was not too heavy, has recoil similar to a .416 Rigby with 400-grain bullets. The .300 magnums of various designs only produce about half as much. However, you will FEEL more pain when shooting arifle from a bench while zeroing and testing ammunition than you will notice when shooting a shotgun at game in the field. But when you shoot your .300 at an elk or moose, I guarantee you won't feel any recoil at all..... (IF you can shoot that old shotgun with slugs at a paper target from a benchrest, you will have NO TROUBLE at all with one of the .300 Magnums!)

I don't think you can get a kick any harder than a 12 gauge 3" slug in a Gramp's old single shot. I would liken the kick of a 300 win mag to about a 20 gauge slug or maybe alittle less. Nothing to bad at all to deal with.

Try a nef 12 with turkey loads. The .300wm is a great cartridge.It will serve you well with all NA animals. It has some recoil but its not unmanageable.It will gett-er done

I just shot my 300 win mag today for the first time. I can agree with stalkingbear in that proper shooting form will cut back on "felt" recoil. Just 2 or 3 years ago I had a hard time shooting more than about 5 rounds out of my Marlin 336W in 30-30 off a bench. I have since improved my shooting form and after 12 rounds today I feel great. No pain at all. By the way I am a slim person at 5' 10" 170#

Either cartridge will fit the bill for anything in North America. It really just depends on what you want. I personally would go with the regular 300 Win mag, I like to shoot heavier bullets out of magnum rifles, and the longer case will do a better job with 180+ grain bullets. If you don't handload, it should be easier to find ammo (and possibly cheaper) for the WM also. And there are lots more used rifles out there in WM since they have been making them for much longer.

Recoil is going to be very dependent on the gun, stock design and gun weight will make a big difference in felt recoil. Recoil between those two cartridges should be almost identical - one uses less powder so it should recoil a little less (WSM), but the other one will most likely be in a little bit heavier rifle (WM).

My main deer guns are a Sako 75 7mm STW and a Remington 700 30-06. According to the calculations the STW should have 50% more recoil than the '06, but you can ask anyone who has shot them, the Remington hits harder. The stock on the Sako is much more comfortable, and a little heavier, so even with more recoil, it is more comfortable. Neither are even close to a buddies single shot 10 gauge turkey gun. That thing will bring a tear to your eye.

Jason