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300 Win.Mag Sig. Best bullet/brand for deer hunting

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300 Win.Mag Sig. Best bullet/brand for deer hunting

Old 09-14-2019, 07:49 PM
  #1  
Spike
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Default 300 Win.Mag Sig. Best bullet/brand for deer hunting

I'm asking for advice on the most accurate round for a 300 Win.Mag Sig. for deer hunting? I can shoot up to 350 yards from my stand. Most shots will most likely be around 150 yards.
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Old 09-14-2019, 10:13 PM
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You should prepare yourself for the onslaught of replies coming that will require you to buy fifteen different weights and brands of ammunition to find what shoots best in your rifle. And those replies are not wrong in what they're saying.

Buy a bunch of different stuff. Shoot groups and narrow down what shoots the best.

This can be time consuming, rough on the shoulder and especially rough on the wallet. Although if you just enjoy shooting and don't mind spending the money, it's the way to go.

The truth is that you can probably pick up any box of .300 win mag, sight your rifle in, and go out and shoot a deer at 300 yards. It's not rocket science. Sight in 2" high at 100, you're probably dropping 6-8" at 300. Do some practicing to confirm that and youre ready to kill deer.

Nobody can tell you what exactly will shoot best in your rifle though. Every barrel is different. It can be fun trying to find the best loads.

-Jake
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Old 09-15-2019, 03:45 AM
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while the above info is correct and valid, I'd concentrate the search in the 165 grain-180 grain bullet weight range
simply because thats where the majority of the 300 mag rifles Ive owned or friends have owned seem to find loads that are exceptionally accurate.
powders like h4350, and h4831 or imr 4831 are consistently accurate and youll want a 215 fed or win mag primer
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Old 09-15-2019, 04:45 AM
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I will agree with the 165-180 grain heads, there re so many GOOD one's out there today, and loaded in countless factory loaded ammo offering
the ONLY way your going to find the most accurate one in YOUR rifle is by shooting them and seeing what YOUR rifle likes
that's just how it works, what one rifle likes another might NOT
so, there is no way for us to tell you BUY THIS or THAT
it all comes down to what YOUR rifle likes and to shoot at 350 yards takes some practice its not like on TV where you buy "X" rifle/AMMO< and magically are a good shot far away, all the more so in the field hunting

so, PLEASE before sending rounds at deer , make sure your skilled enough and have the PRACTICE proving so, from your rifle at what ever ranges your going to shoot at them in the field hunting!

just cause the rifle and ammo are up to the task, doesn't mean the shooter is, be honest with yourself, no one here is judging!
ain't no prize for wounding/loosing game!
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Old 09-15-2019, 05:51 AM
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Yikes, this is a tough one. Not so much because there are so many choices available, but because the .300 Win Mag is well above what's needed for deer. Deer aren't that tough. A light bullet, with a light jacket, driven at .300 Win Mag speeds, at moderate ranges, is going to come apart. I routinely have that issue with my 165 gr handloads for .30-06. A tough, heavy jacket bullet, driven at .300 Win Mag speeds, at moderate ranges, has the potential to behave like a FMJ. You effectively become a bowhunter looking for blood sign from an animal with holes leaking from both sides. I've done that with elk. It's frustrating when you do your job and put the bullet where it needs to go, and the bullet doesn't do its job.

A hunting rifle doesn't need to be 1/4-minute accurate. If you can hit a Folgers lid at the ranges you expect to shoot, your ammunition is fine. Just as it's a concern with "too light" cartridges, terminal performance is also a concern with "too heavy" cartridges. My .300 doesn't like anything less than 180 gr. My .300. If it were me, I'd probably look toward that weight in a standard cup-and-core lead bullet (CoreLokt, etc). Slower than 150-165s, which should help it not shed jackets, yet dump enough energy to drop the deer right there. Don't go with premium stuff, that's for things like moose and grizzlies.

I can appreciate that not everyone is fortunate enough to own more than one rifle, and a .300 is a good choice if you can't. I'd put something in the .243 class on your Christmas list somewhere in the future and you'd have everything in North America well-covered.
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Old 09-15-2019, 06:53 PM
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Every rifle will prefer different bullets. What works in my 300, may not necessarily shoot well in yours. The best thing for you to do would be to buy a few different boxes of ammo and test them out at the range. Even cheap Remington Core-Lokt or Winchester PowerPoint factory ammo has the potential to be pretty accurate if your gun likes it. You also have to be realistic about the degree of accuracy you need. Even 100 yard, 2" grouping loads will give you enough accuracy to consistently kill a deer at 300 yards.
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Old 09-15-2019, 06:57 PM
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If you’re reloading, then the world is your oyster. Lots of options to make lots of bullets shoot well.

For factory bullets, the lighter bullets in the 180 class are typically what I see shoot well in factory tubes. Shooting to 350yrds, personally, I wouldn’t accept a load which didn’t print smaller than 1.5” at 100yrds. I restrict myself, for most whitetail hunting, to 4” or less, from field positions, at my huntable range. 1.5” at 100yrds would be a tad over 5” at 350yrds. Outside, but JUST outside my tolerance. So to achieve that, you’re stuck trying different loads. The latest 300win mag I tried was abysmal with Hornady SST factory loads, and with the 200 ELDx factory load, but surprised me by putting the Federal Trophy Bonded factory load into about 3/4” (a load which I’d never had a rifle prefer, ever...). Just have to try them out.

Don’t hate yourself, strap on a shoulder pad, sit up straight at the bench, and see what your rifle prefers.
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Old 09-16-2019, 11:21 AM
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btw the most accurate loads in both my 300 wby and my sons 300 win mag both use a speer 165 grain
https://www.speer-ammo.com/products/...le-bullet/2034
215 fed primers and in both cases about 3 grains under the max listed load of h4831
be aware this bullet expands rather explosively at ranges under 200 yards,
when its pushed to well over 3100 fps,in either rifle,
so limiting the use to lung/heart shots on game is prefered,
where its devastating on deer and even elk if you place shots consistently in that area

Last edited by hardcastonly; 09-16-2019 at 11:24 AM.
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Old 09-16-2019, 03:24 PM
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What everyone else has said. I'm assuming you don't handload. And for deer, you don't need a premium bullet. If I were you I'd grab a box of Remington, Winchester and Federal in the 180 gr variety and try them out first. You can likely pick them up at WalMart. You just might get lucky and have a less costly bullet shoot great for you. If not then you can go to the higher priced ammo. Like Nomercy said, 1.5" @ 100 yards should be easily achievable without breaking your wallet.
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Old 09-19-2019, 11:46 AM
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You might want to check-out the 165 grain Barnes TTSX

The chance of pass-thru's with the TTSX bullet is real...so you might want to consider not shooting a deer with another deer standing behind it.

I do like premium bullets for deer --- especially if one has been wounded --- gets-up and offers a tail end going away anal shot. You want a premium bullet to get to the boiler room with that kind of shot placement.

Last edited by Erno86; 09-20-2019 at 12:12 PM. Reason: added a sentence
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