I am seeking recommendations / opinions concerning selecting a rifle in 30 caliber. The rifle will be a Tikka T3 stainless laminate. I am considering 30-06, 300 Win Mag., and 300 WSM. It will be used for larger CXP2 and CXP3 game. I already have rifles in 270 Win. and a 243 Win. The 30 will fill out my rifle battery. I hunt in Kansas, Wisconsin, and am looking forward to hunting in New Mexico and Idaho. Then there is always a dream of Alaska.

Thanks in advance.

I would go with the 300 win mag. as it will handle the bigger bullets better than the other two.

I would take the 300 Win mag over the 3 choices you have made. The ammo choices are good and easy to find and it's a great time tested round.


Hoeram :D

Just looking at the rifle you wanted. With a 24" barrel, will the 300 Win Mag really be that much more effective than a 30-06? I've heard that you really need a 26" tube to reap the benefits of a magnum cartridge. In that package, the -06 is being robbed with only a 22" barrel as well.

I may be in the minority here, but I would take the 30-06, especially since you already know what rifle you want. You already have a 270, but the 30-06 is still a decent step up from it. A 300 Win Mag seems like you would just be burning extra money on feeding it so it can beat up on you a little more than the -06.

With the places you mentioned, I imagine Elk hunting is the reason you are looking for a new rifle. Now, the 270 has been proven good enough for Elk. And I bet the -06 has taken more than any other cartridge. I don't understand why everyone thinks they need a magnum to kill an elk.

A 300 yard shot is a long shot, especially in field conditions with the adrenaline going. The 30-06 with a 165 or 180 grain would be fine to that range, and it would deliver plenty of punch with any good bullet.

But if you think you need more, then go with one of the magnums. Personally, at the ranges I would be comfortable shooting at an animal, other than vermin, the magnum cartridge is nothing more than overkill and an obscene waste of powder.

I know, the 30-06 is too time-tested, and it's just plain boring. But it works for everything in North America that a 30 cal Magnum would work for.

Just my opinion.

amndouglas

The Tikka T3 is only made in one action length, so I would choose the 300 Win Mag. I wouldn't want a WSM in a long action - it just seems to defeat part of the reason for the short cartridge. You will have to decide if the velocity difference between a 22" 30-06 and a 24" 300 really matters.

The Tikka T3 is only made in one action length, so I would choose the 300 Win Mag. I wouldn't want a WSM in a long action - it just seems to defeat part of the reason for the short cartridge. You will have to decide if the velocity difference between a 22" 30-06 and a 24" 300 really matters.


I currently shoot the T3 Laminated Stainless in .270. Love it.
Hands down a MUCH MUCH better looking gun than the T3 Lite, or basically any syth stock Ive seen. Not too heavy, either. And most importantly, it shoots much better than I can!

As for the action length, I believe in oder to keep costs down, the guns are manufactured with the same action length. For the Short Mags, I think they add spacers, so in theory, you should have a shorter bolt pull. They fiddle with the clips the same way...keeps them from having to make multiple versions of the same part for multiple calibers. Tikka (Sako (Beretta?)) has made a point of simplifying the construction to make a great gun affordable. Could be wrong, but methinks thats the story.

good luck

jonas

for the messages. I will be going with the 300 Win. mag. Your comments, plus the fact that it is an established round with more power than the 30-06 makes it a winner. Thanks, again.

well i think they will all work but i would probably go for the wsm just because i like to try new stuff but the 300 magnum would be excellent as well just depends on your preference.

Going in to place the order for the Tikka
T3 in 300 Win. mag., the dealer had just taken in an older (manufactured in 1982) model 70 XTR in 300 Win mag in near perfect condition with a muzzle brake. Even with its push feed it is a beautiful gun and (for a regular customer) a great price. So I walked out with a Winchester. Maybe someday I actually get the Tikka, but I have a very suitable 300 Win mag.

Well, despite AMN's helpful stuff on another thread, I disagree. The mag's do indeed generate the heat, so to speak, and don't need 26" barrels to do it. A recent post on another site from a guy testing 270 'mag' vs. 270 Weatherby found a huge difference between velocities, and those both well over usual factory .270.

Now, I'd pick the .300 Weatherby over the Win mag if it's available. That's the classic, and you'd find ammo readily available if you ever needed it. Either one would do, tho'. Sadly, you'll feel overpowered in the lower 48. I've had a .300 for near 20 years now, and it kills deer just dandy indeed! But, the price is a much heavier rifle, recoil, cost, etc. So I carry my .308 BLR more and more. Just so sweet, and with the SST's, you know what, it kills deer in their footsteps just like my .300. When/if I get to the mountains for elk and mulies, know what's #1? Yeah, the 'little' gun....

So if you don't have real solid plans for Alaska, get a .308 and enjoy the heck out of it. When/if you get to Alaska, hmmm, guess you'll just need a new gun!!

i agree the .308 is terrific and would handle moose if oyu wanted, very accurate and in a short action ya cant lose. but the 300 wsm and the 300 magnum are still very good but im sure they will punish your shoulder quite a bit more

I did not mention that I also have a lever gun, a BLR in 308. It is a sweet brush and deer gun. I have taken it on black bear hunts, but have yet to shoot at a bear.

Well, why didn't you mention that you already had a 308?

JR1 might have disagreed with me on that one point, but I think he and I agree on the 308 being a great cartridge. I shoot 165 and 168 grainers out of mine and would feel quite comfortable Elk Hunting with it.

I thought I was bad at duplicating utility with both a 270 and 308. You're even worse with a 270, 308 and now a 300 Win Mag :) Now, you've got 3 cartridges that can take care of anything in North America except for the big bears with the right bullets and good shot selection.

Like JR1 said, you probably won't use that 300 WM very often. My friend in Washington had one, forget what kind, and all but one time that I hunted with him, he used a Sako Finnbear in 308 or a Winchester Model 94 in 44 Mag. He said that the 300 was too heavy, and it just tore deer up too bad.

My 270 has a BOSS on it, and thankfully, they make the CR version to get rid of the muzzle brake feature. After shooting it in the field with the muzzle brake version, I will never buy a rifle with a brake on it, unless I get such a great deal that I can hack it off and recrown it. My ears honestly rang for a full day after shooting that gun in the field. That was just a 270. I can only imagine what a 300 Mag would be like.

I mean hunting rifles are loud, but ones with muzzlebrakes are REALLY LOUD!

By the way, a similar thing happened to me. I spent all kinds of time asking people on this board their opinions, going to every local place that had guns feeling them out, and deliberating what rifle I was going to get. I thought I had decided on a Tikka T3 Hunter, but when I went in to order it in 308 (they didn't have any 308's in stock), I ran across a used Sako 75 in 308 that I had to have. All that comparing and contrasting didn't mean a thing as I ended up with a rifle that I hadn't even considered. Funny how that works isn't it :)

amndouglas

Well, why didn't you mention that you already had a 308?

In the BLR with its carbine length barrel I do not get the full potential out of the 308. In asking the question I was looking for something that has the reach of the 270 but is clearly up to all CXP3 hunting.

I thought I was bad at duplicating utility with both a 270 and 308. You're even worse with a 270, 308 and now a 300 Win Mag :) Now, you've got 3 cartridges that can take care of anything in North America except for the big bears with the right bullets and good shot selection.

You are right. But it always good to have choices and a backup option.

Like JR1 said, you probably won't use that 300 WM very often. My friend in Washington had one, forget what kind, and all but one time that I hunted with him, he used a Sako Finnbear in 308 or a Winchester Model 94 in 44 Mag. He said that the 300 was too heavy, and it just tore deer up too bad.

Again your on target, I do not plan to use the 300 Win. mag. as a primary, except for Elk. The only rifle I have ever owned with a muzzel brake (really porting) was a Marlin Guide Gun in 45/70. The noise did not bother me, but I may be surprised by the 300 Win. mag.

By the way, a similar thing happened to me. I spent all kinds of time asking people on this board their opinions, going to every local place that had guns feeling them out, and deliberating what rifle I was going to get. I thought I had decided on a Tikka T3 Hunter, but when I went in to order it in 308 (they didn't have any 308's in stock), I ran across a used Sako 75 in 308 that I had to have. All that comparing and contrasting didn't mean a thing as I ended up with a rifle that I hadn't even considered. Funny how that works isn't it :)

I guess. This is the first time for me in 45 years of buying guns, and I will see if it works out. Thanks for your post.

I think you will like the 300 winchester. My son shot one for a few years and I built a 308 Norma Mag back in the 60's. It was the pre-curser of the 300 Win Mag.

It proved a great deer and elk rifle for shots out to 400 yards, I could see good then, and really whacked them. I used 180 grain Noslers pretty much all the time with it.

The first deer I killed with that 308 Norma mag was a muley doe and I shot her I thought in the back of the neck walking up a trail with five or six others. It was about 75-100 yards away.

I was a young fella and wanted all the velocity I could get so I loaded a 150 grain bullet as hot as I could.

When the gun came down from recoil the deer were still walking up the trail and I was sure I had missed. When I started pulling down on another one my hunting partner started yelling at me not to shoot I had hit her.

Well we walked up the hill and there she was about 30 feet down the bank. That 150 grainer had hit her right in the back of the head. All that was left was her neck and pair of ears.

That was the last time I used 150's in the magnum and went to better constructed 180's which with a higher sectional denisty actually carry up better at long range anyway.

good luck with your new Winchester, I think you will like it. By the way they perform well with the 24 inch bbls, all mine did.

Yeah, what amndouglas said!!! All of it!!!!

And if you're just looking for an excuse for a new rifle, let us not interfere! But...I think that if you don't feel that you're getting the potential out of the .308, then you're not using the right bullets. I am serious: the .308 165 gr SST's at 2700 fps are making as big a holes in my deer as my .300 Weatherby shooting 180's over 3000 fps. On a deer, or similar size critter, it don't care. We're well over what it takes to kill reliably anyway. Going for more weight and velocity is just wasting your money and shoulders and sending all that added energy right out the deer anyway. Again, if you want one, go for it. But man, having what you already have, scoot past the .300's and go for a .338/.340, the new .325 or the .358. Now that's an improvement in your battery, big time!

I've always figured that if money and aggravations didn't matter, I'd love to complete my set of .308 based cartridges. I use .22-250, .45 auto and .45 WinMag, and .308. A .243 and a .358 would be really cool to add....

With all the new maganums, the 30-06 is being overlooked and under-rated. It'll take any and all North American game you choose to shoot. Just taylor the type of bullet to the animal.

* Shot Placement
* Bullet Construction
* Choice of Caliber

With all the new maganums, the 30-06 is being overlooked and under-rated. It'll take any and all North American game you choose to shoot. Just taylor the type of bullet to the animal.

* Shot Placement
* Bullet Construction
* Choice of Caliber


So will a black powder muzzle loader.

Hay 147grain

I like the pix of the bullet opening up, thanx.

In raising the question of a 30 caliber choice, I was not attempting to say the 308 in not able to take deer or black bears, etc. I have used a a 243 Win and 25-06 for plenty of deer over the years. I have had several 30-06 and 7.65x54 rifles. The 308 or 30-06 can be a wonderful Elk round as well, it just is the my 308 BLR is better suited to brush/woods hunting than the open field long range hunting. The 270 does well, but I was looking for something in 30 with a bit more energy and good range of Elk. The 300 Win. mag. fits the bill.

I am thinking about a medium bore (i.e., 338 Win. or 375 H&H, or 9.3x62) to fill out the top end of my battery.

Paulinus,
If you already have the 300 Win Mag, I would skip the 338 and go straight to the 375 H&H, depending on your intended use. If this last option might be used to carry to Africa for Cape Buff or other Dangerous Game, I'd even consider the 416's.

The 300 is a heck of a round, it combined with a 375 H&H or even 416 could easily handle anything the 338 might be used for. Basically, I wouldn't worry with an over 30 caliber magnum unless some type of dangerous game is on the menu, including brown bears in the coastal thickets or polar bear on the Arctic ice floes. For everything else up to and including Elk and Moose a 30 caliber rifle will handle those fine.

If you were looking for one rifle to do everything, yeah a 338 Mag or 8mm Mag is an outstanding choice, but if you already have a 300, I'd skip the sub 375 bores.

Paulinus,
alyeska338 is right on the money. I have an 8mm Rem Mag and it fits right in the same catagory as the 300's and the 338's. The next step up from that catagory is a 375 H&H. With the right bullets it shoots as flat as an 06 or 308 and carries enough energy to do in most anything that has teeth and horns.

I've got friends here in Idaho that hunt deer and elk and black bear with the 375 and though like my 8mm some think it is overkill, when offered a shot of a lifetime on a big bull elk quartering up the trail away from you, it'll punch through a lot of meat and bone to a vital area.