300 WSM too much?
 

I had a 300 win mag about 10 years ago and shot a whitetail at about 70 yards right behind the shoulder and the exit wound was about the size of a softball.
Also, did quite a bit of damage to meat with a 180 grain bullet.

Would the 300 WSM do the same thing? If not, what would be the best bullet to use in the 300 WSM? The last two years I have been hunting with the 270WSM and have killed 2 deer: 1 mule,1 whitetail and one cow elk. They all dropped where they stood...and I mean RIGHT NOW! One deer was shot in the chest as it was angling towards me, the other was shot in the chest as well as that was all I could see of it cuz it thought it was hidden from me in a hollow. The elk surprised me when I came around a corner and I had about 2 seconds to get off a shot. I hit it in the neck and it went down like lightning. The deer were shot with 130grain silver tips and the elk with a 140grain failsafe

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

Given the same bullet construction, angle and shot distance the 300wsm probably wouldyield the same damage as it's cousin the 300wm. Is it too much .... nah, is it required....nah. Pick the right bullet for your situation and you'll be hard pressed to see much difference between a standard and magnum in terms of damageor meat loss.By picking the right bullet I mean match to the hunting conditions by taking into count the species, distance of shot you expect to shoot and point of aim.

Sounds like the 270wsm is working well for you, so why the change?

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

Ditto what Skeeter said. I've been handloading for 48 years and bullet selection is the key. No such thing as TOO MUCH gun but there is too little a gun. The animal deserves more than to be chased all around hell's half acre before it bites the dust and proper bullet placement isn't always an option.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

A friend of mine bought a 300WSM a few years ago and has used it to kill a number of deer. In my opinion it is overkill on a deer size animal. Hit a deer in the shoulder and it blows up the whole front end.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

i will be hunting this year with my 300wsm at a max range of 100yards have had them come in at 30 before tho. 30-30 at 40yards demolished a nice 6ptr.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I've had a .300WSM for 4 years now --- and yes, at short range with a shot square in the shoulder, it does create some significant damage. But if you slide it just behind the shoulder into the ribs, you won't cause nearly as much meat loss, and that goes for most calibers, magnum or otherwise.

I've really enjoyed the short mag --- it flies flat, hits hard, and doesn't really kick that much worse than my .30-06. I shoot the 150gr Ballistic Silvertips, sighted about 2 1/2 inches high at 100yds, and feel comfortable shooting out to around 375yds with it.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

It's more than you need for deer, but Its always good to have a little reserve in the tank:D. try useing barnes X bullets or nosler partitions. The reason I say this is that these two bullets stay together even after hitting bone, no explodeing bullet, no meat damage. W/ a 180 out of a 300win mag my brother put a bullet from the rear end hit the hip/femur joint , took out some ribs, then broke his sternum. All the way though the body andthrough his sternum,breaking several bonesand the only meat damage was about 2-2 1/2inches around the wound chanell. The 300WSM will definately do you better than the 270 for Elk, you wont be able to get neck shot every time, and when you dont that 300WSM is going to shine for you.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I have been shooting an Encore in 300 WSM for 3 years and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I have killed deer from 25-300 yards using Winchester Supreme 150 gr ballistic silvertips and not one has taken a step. I had shot a 270 for about 15 years and killed MANY deer with it,and I don't see any more carcus damagewith the 300 WSM than with the 270. InMY gun, the recoil is less with the 300 WSM than the 270. I have had a 300 win magand like the 300 WSM alot better.

My opinion only!

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

The reason many hunters? use magnum firearms for hunting medium and small game is because they can't hit the side of the barn with their ass against it. So they shoot a deer in the butt with a 375 H&H then brag about it. An animal with 80 lbs. of useable meat and you just shot 15 lbs. away. Learn to shoot and you won't need a canon to harvest a white tail.[:@]

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I think its plenty gun...(IF NOT TOO MUCH). But yeah, it would be just fine to use it. do some research on slower bullets and the way they penetrate the target. With proper shot placement and a bit of research, you should do fine. Even a 30-30 is plenty of gun for whitetails inside the 180- 190 yd range. and for longer shots, a nice .243, .257, .260, .270, .308....you get the gist. find what application you will need as far as distance, you already know what species of animal you are hunting. And there are plenty of cartriges out there that are sufficient or more than sufficient for whitetails.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I can’t see why the 300WSM would be any different then the 300 Win Mag. Allot of gun for deer but with a well placed shot in the ribs, should do the job with minimal damage.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I am curious as to what caliber Sniper151 shoots, but I would rather see a deer killed with a "cannon" than have wounded deer running around from the guy shooting a 22-250 or 243. I have seen more deer wounded or lost with a 243 than any caliber. I have personally never lost a deer, but I have aquaintances that lose deer every year trying to use small calibers because they are good shots (obviously NOT).

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

From what I remember it’s a 308 and that’s an excellent cartridge for deer hunting but I’m sure he’ll be back to confirm this.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

Its way more gun than I would ever use again but if thats all I had I would use a srong bullet and try not to hit any major bones. On the hitting end it will do just what the 300 Win Mag does, no more, no less. I seldom if ever need to shoot more than 200 yards but if I do, the 25-06 and 270 size calibers are more than up to the task. I refuse to shoot past 300 yards with any caliber. My personel Limit.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I have not had one deer say anything bad about my 300 wsm after being killed with it ..

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I feel like the 30 caliber rounds, starting at the 308 and going into the 300 magnums, are the most practical hunting rounds ever made. If you are using a bullet that expands very rapidly you will have to be careful about meat damage. You could try moving to a failsafe or a barnes x where the bullet doesn't expand as violently, and it stays together better without creating multiple meat destroying wound channels.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

A buddy a mine hunts with a 300 win mag during rifle season in Ky and he shot a deer in 2003 i jus happen ta be wit him on this hunt i i also shot a deer at about 150 yards with a 270. it was a doe the deer that he shot was a monster 8 point and he was about 100 yards away from us chasing a doe down the edge of the field an he shot this deer right in the a** and the exit woundcame out its neck thats a bit to big a gun if you ask me


David



.........ALWAYS THINK LIKE A DEER NO MATTER HOW WIERD IT GETS.............

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I shot a deer last season with my Ruger 77 Mk II 300 WSM using a 165gr Barnes XLC at about 3100 fps.. I shot it at 130 yards in the vitals just behind the shoulder. The exit hole was about 1.25-1.5" and preformed very well.

RE: 300 WSM too much?
 

I hunt deer in New Hampshire with a bow, a 50 cal Encore or and 30-30, but I've recently purchased a Winchester Model 70 in .300 WSM and put a nice Burris Signature Series 3x12x44 scope for use out west, but----I'm thinking of giving it a whirl during firearms season this year at home.
My thought is that the flat trajectory and good scope (I usually use open sights) may enable me to "thread the needle" through trees and give me excellent shot placement. I believe that with a 'non-expanding' round it should punch right through if I don't hit bone mass; ie. shoulder.