Is .300 Weath. Mag too much for Whitetail?

[PowderDriver]

I ask because a friend is considering one for deer, but I have one too and I have been told that it is too powerful and hits so hard it bruises all of the meat....so I just use a FAL. Is there a light load in .300 Weath. Mag made specifically for deer?

[firefuzz]

You already know my opinion so I'll leave it alone.:biggrin:

Rob

[Da Nerd]

Topic: Is .300 Weath. Mag too much for Whitetail?


Whitetail---YES
Mule deer...YES
Cape Buffalo...NO

[ER]

Since you say whitetail. I`ll limit my response to that particular species.

.30-06 is as big as one needs for them. I hunt them with a .35 Remington lever gun, and use a .308 BAR when I hunt in places with shots longer than 150 yds. I see lots of "city slickers" around here on the game lands(when I hunt them) hunting with .300 and 7mm mag`s in thick woods where long shots are 75 yds:rofl: They prolly rarely get to the range, and hate the recoil of the rifle anyway. the .30-06 and .308 are much easier on the shoulder.

I`ve never hunted out west, or mid-west, so I dunno what ranges are encountered out there. I`d venture to say that a respectable hunter who knows his rifle could prolly hunt them out there with a .30-06 or .308 as well. IMHO, most guys who will shoot at a deer in excess of 250 yds are gonna miss or wound it anyway. I hate tracking wounded deer, and will not take a shot that I feel might allow a wounded animal to get away. I know some guys who hunt farms near here that shoot up to 400yds, but they practice at those ranges as well.

Look at ammo availability as well. I know that with the .308 or .35 rem I can get ammo pretty much anywhere I`m at(local mom&pop stores, wallyworld, etc). I`ll dern near guarantee you they have .22lr, 12ga, and .30-06 though. I seriously doubt many small local stores in some of the more remote places I hunt would have ANY Wby Mag ammo of any caliber. Again, I dunno where you and your buddy will hunt.

.300 WbyMag for whitetail? No. Get a .30-06

[FortunateSon]

300 Weath kicks like a cape buffalo. Much better choices for whitetail.

[Windustsearch]

Alot of folks out west here use the .300s and 7mm mags because they can use them over long distances and on all large game. So yes, they do get used quite a bit for white tails.

Since it is a Weatherby, the ammo selection is reduced. Therefore it would make sense to reload specifically for smaller critters.

Do you need that kind of cannon for it? Definately not.

[richbug]

It is too much for whitetail, but doesn't destroy it, maybe a few extra broken ribs etc, just makes tracking easier if there is any. You never know when the loony bunnie huggers are going to put ballistic vests on the deer.


I carried mine last week simply because I have 600 yard shots possible in my backyard. I have a hard time hitting anything past 200 with my 35 remington. With the WBY, if I see it, I can kill it. The load of choice this year was a 180 NTB, on 80 grains of re22. It does about 3050 FPS out of this rifle.

[PowderDriver]

The guy who is considering .300 Weath mag (a co-worker of mine) is not a gun-nut like all of us here and will probably not shoot more than a box of ammo through the rifle all year. He is a big guy and recoil will not bother him... I think he just wants to kill deer... and wants a big rifle to do it with, and I think he can get a good deal on a rifle chambered in this and that is the situation.

I shot my .300 Weatherby Mag Colt Suaer today about 8-9 times. Whew, talk about power.

I think I'm going to try it out on some coyotes this weekend and see what happens. $30-40 bucks a box..ouch
:eek:

[georgestrings]

I've shot a few deer with a .300WinMag - which is nearly as powerful as the .300WBY - and it doesn't cause any more meat damage than any other round, provided you use a proper bullet(soft point), and place the shot properly... I WILL say this much - it's a very flat shooting round, and I haven't had to track a deer that I've taken with it, yet... The WBY has more felt recoil, and is more expensive - but is a very versatile round - ESPECIALLY if one reloads... The .300 magnums are suitable for anything in North America - they offer a wide range of bullet selection, and are very flat shooting...



- georgestrings

[gunseller]

Is the 300 Weatherby too powerful for whitetailed deer? The last time I checked dead was dead. There for the answer is NO. Is it more powerful than is needed? Yes. I have owned and used a 300 Weatherby for around 25 years and like it. German MK V. Before your friend buys one he needs to shoot one. Sometimes big people are more bothered by recoil than smaller people. I am not big by my standards, 6'1" and 220 pounds. If you are big enough you do not or can not roll with the recoil like a smaller person. I have shot coyotes with it and it makes no bigger exit hole than a 243. I have also shot deer and can not tell much differance in damage than deer shot with a 30-06. One time I made a bad shot with a hot loaded 45-70 and lost a ham. The point is shoot what you shoot well and have fun. Oh if your friend is only going to shoot a box or so of ammo per year tell him to get a 308 or 30-06 he will shoot it better.
Gunseller

[PowderDriver]

Thanks, guys.

[bowser]

how bout a .270? they carry distance well, and is a lot more common than the weatherby. reloading would be easy too, since cartridge is necked down 30'06. or if you like, the .280 could use all the popular 7mm bullets available today for reloading, and it's a 30'06 case as well.

[Chainsaw]

Sorry that I am late posting this. I have had a 300 Wby for over 23 years and have shot over 1200 rounds form one. It can kick but you do not want to use the 150 gr load, the 180 gr is best, it cuts the velocity down and shoots flatter over long range better than the 150. A friend of mine has had a 300 Wby for about 20 years and has killed many Texas White tail deer with his. He used the 150 gr bullet, but was tearing them up pretty good at less than 50 yrds. I got him to use the 180 and now it works great and he has no problems with it. And he can make some of the 300+ yrd shots he makes now. He should get the 26 in barrel to get the most from the gun. I have a load of 80 gr IMR 7828, Rem or Wby case and Speer 180 gr sp cronographed at 2960 to 3080. The Remington 180 cronographs at about 3150. The 300 Wby factory 150 runs about 3450 in my Accumark and the Wby 180 Nosler Part. in my old Japanese 300 ran a little over 3000 fps, not worth paying $40.00 for. I am very pleased with my Accumark in 300, Leupold 6.5x20. HTH Randy

[Opie]

Originally posted by PowderDriver
I ask because a friend is considering one for deer, but I have one too and I have been told that it is too powerful and hits so hard it bruises all of the meat....so I just use a FAL. Is there a light load in .300 Weath. Mag made specifically for deer?

As for the question on whether or not the caliber is too much for Whitetail I would say that it depends on what conditions you are shooting in. Close range I would say probably, but if you are shooting at longer ranges then no. It is a pretty flat-shooting round. You are, however limited in what factory loads are available as stated earlier in this thread so unless you are reloading I would go with something in a different caliber that is cheaper to shoot and more common at local stores. .270 is a good choice as well as the .30-06. Ammo for both of those calibers can be found pretty much every everywhere as well as different loads. I personally do not have much real experiece with too many Magnum caliber rifles. I've shot some before, but I don't own any. I don't think that the extra beating that you take in recoil is worth it and all that power and speed is useless if the bullet is not placed where it needs to be. Hope this helps and good luck.

[Treborer]

When using the .375 HH and 300gr FP, if you wanted to shoot a small deer, you waited until it went behind a 8-12 inch tree, and then squeeze one off.
:)

[jaykden]

the caliber does not matter when you shoot em in the head

[chico80x]

If your friend wants a magnum rifle maybe he should consider a .270WSM. I just bought a Remington 700 SPS chambered for this round and it has a very short chamber. So short that I'm able to seat bullets right up against the lands and still have them feed perfectly. Although factory ammo for this caliber isn't available everywhere, it is much cheaper than Weatherby ammo and it recoils about half as much yet still has over 3000 ft/lbs of muzzle energy which is more than enough to drop anything but the largest game.

I'm planning on taking this rifle on a hunting trip next week and I just finished working up a load that has this rifle shooting 3/4" 5 shot groups at 100 yards out of the box. I also bought a box of Federal 130 gr Ballistic Tips and these were also shooting under an inch which I thought was great for a stock factory rifle that only cost me $420 with taxes.

I also own a custom .300 Win Mag that I originally bought to hunt deer with but to be honest with you, it really isn't needed at all unless you are hunting at distances over 300 yards where a 30-06 starts dropping rapidly. If he's going to take shots under 300 yards most of the time you really can't go wrong with a 30-06, .270, or .270WSM. All three of these calibers fairly comfortable to shoot and will drop any medium sized game in their tracks.

[lhofeld]

As some have said depends on the distance of the shot. If there is the posible shot out past 300 yards I say no. I have used a 300 win mag to take deer and they fold up pretty quickly. One never knew what hit him. If you stick with heavier bullets 180-200 grain you will still drop them in their tracks and not destroy the meat. If your buddy is a patient person and can wait for the shot a head or neck shot doesn't destroy any of the eating part. I generally shoot through the rib cage as the white tail down here don't have much wrth eating there.

[Para Driver]

if it's a good deal AND he wants to hand load... then he should buy it...
you can always load it down to 30-06 levels..

the 300 mags are only truly usefull if you expect LONG shots 400+ yards.. then you can run with full power loads and crank it up..

otherwise, if you need more punch, you need a 375 H&H...

[Powderfinger]

Originally posted by PowderDriver
Is there a light load in .300 Weath. Mag made specifically for deer?

Yes-It is called .30-'06.:tongue:

[High Tower]

I think that is definitely overkill for whitetails. The last mule buck I shot, I did it with a Yugo SKS which is 762x39. Shot placement is critical.

[gearlogo]

Is he set on 30 cal? If he's not a shooter he may be happier with a 270win or a 270 WSM. They are both great, mild recoil and will go up to elk with no prob. If a brown bear is in his future both and hunted and hunter :| then a 300 doesn't look all that big to be carrying for mule deer.

[GSF1200]

The 300 Weatherby is a sweetheart round, I love it! You can get Federal Premium with 180gr Noslers at Academy for $26 a box, not much more than other ammo. I have a light load for 150gr bullets, use a Rem case, Fed 215 primer and 67grs of AA-4064, with a 150gr Noslet Ballistic tip. It's sub moa in my Vanguard, and the recoil is about like a 180 gr in a 30-06.