.300 Win. Mag. or .300 WBY Mag.?
 

I'm sure you're all getting tired of my post about having a custom rifle built, but I still need some opinions on which caliber I'm going to go with.

I had originally settled on either the 7mm. Rem. Mag. or the .300 Win. Mag.

It seems like everyone I've talked to about choosing between these 2 calibers has said "What about the .300 WBY"?

The "general concensus" seems to be that if I'm going to build a .30 cal magnum, that the .300 WBY would be the way to go.

I know there's a great deal of cost difference in buying factory ammo, but I'm wanting to start reloading again anyway.

I'm curious how much difference there is in recoil between the WIN. and WBY. mags. in the same rifles.

Any input would be appreciated

Recoil difference is noticable. Not as noticable as difference between an 06 and win mag, but near that.

I hope I don't offend too many, but one cartridge I loathe is the weatherby lines. The freebore is just more than I can take. I am talking almost 1/2".

You gaining a modest 100-150fps with a weatheryby. If I was going that route, I would just go ahead and get a 300RUM, which I have had 3. Recoil between RUM and weatherby as more simular than between the weatherby and win mag. At least with the RUM, you headspace on the shoulder. The RUM still has .2" freebore. Dont' dare get one without the freebore. I know a guy who insisted on touching the lands with 3.6" COL partition. The gunsmith did exactly what he said, and he ended up not being able to shoot factory ammo. And was lucky to get 3200fps with 180gr accubond without pressure signs.

I swear my 300win.mag. kicks harder than my .340wby.

Both kick hard/fast, if it's in a standard rifle weight with a nice recoil pad, both are probably manageable and in the same class as far as kick goes.

Technically in the same rifle the Wby will kick harder, but if you're comparing 30ft.lbs vs. 34ft.lbs, etc....is that noticeable?

I believe now you can buy .300wby factory loads for $40. probably not the load you want, but it's a general load, probably would do anything you want it to.

The most popular Weatherby rounds are; 30-378, 300, 257, I'd have no problem going with the .300wby over the .300win.mag., a gas station may not have it, but have you ever needed to buy ammo for a hunt like that? I always hear it, yet it's never even come close to happening...

Admittedly, I'm a classic cartridge guy.

So I would still consider either the 7MM Rem Mag or the .300 Win Mag, even if I was a reloader, for those unforseen times when you need to buy a box of ammo off the shelve.

Have fun with your new project and the decision process a long the way.

I wish I was in your position !!!

The Winchester 300 win. mag. is tried and true. It has been around for many year and is well known far and wide. If you want to consider resale value, I think the 300 win mag. will be much easier resale. The 300 wby. mag. ammo will be higher and harder to find and so will the reloading componets. The Weatherby rifles are made in Japan by Howa. In my opinion, the Weathery magnums are just too exotic and overrated. O.K. O.K. all your Weatherby fans that is my just my opinion. Opinions are like belly buttons everybody has one. Jim

OK. I think I'm scratching the .300 WBY off the list.

The thing that hangs me up about going bigger on caliber isn't RECOIL. I can take a big pop without flinching. Even as a little kid, recoil never really bothered me enough to make me less accurate.

What DOES bother me is "scope cut".

I don't really know why, but I've always had a fear of getting caught over the eye with the scope during recoil. It's never even happened. The closest was a Ruger No. 1 in .300 Win. Mag. that the scope touched my eyebrow during recoil.

It really irritates me because I feel like I'm limiting myself as to the level of calibers I can shoot.

I would have no problem/fear of shooting a buffalo/elephant rifle provided that it had open sights......meaning that recoil isn't the issue.

Can anyone else relate to what I'm saying? Being a little afraid of going up in caliber because of the "scope cut" issue?

May sound stupid to most, but I really want to find a way to conqure this issue.
If this wasn't and issue, I would probably be having this rifle built on a .300 RUM

Before I bought a custom rifle I'd buy and get to know reloading equipment. You don't want to practice reloading with a custom.

Anybody else here agree on that one?

Also I'd never order a custom gun made in a cartridge I haven't shot quite a bit. A custom gun is a losing financial proposition. I'd make d a m n sure it's what you want.

Tom

What's to worry about?

It's either going to happen or not, and if it does you probably won't even know it, a fellow hunter will say, "you're bleeding"

A quality scope with good eye relief will help.

I've always used Leupold, and after looking at everything from Leupy's to Swarovski, the Leupold models still show to have the most eye relief.
I'm thinking a VX3 4.5-14X40 to cover short to long hunting shots and the upper end of magnification would be nice when at the range trying to shrink groups.

As far as reloading goes, I reloaded for years. Life just got so hectic that I slowly got out of it and sold all my reloading equipment. I'm going to purchase a RCBS Rockchucker Supreme Kit to get me going again. I really enjoyed reloading. Just the satisfaction of doing yourself

I've only been scope kissed once, and that was with a 7mm Mag with a short stock and a Tasco scope with very little eye relief. If the rifle is set up correct with a decent scope, getting kissed won't be a problem. Even if it happens, it doesn't hurt at all just a good amount of blood running down the face!