300win mag

[Backwoods7]

A few years ago i bought a remington 700 in 300win mag. I live in tn and the biggest thing around here is a deer so why i thought at the time ineeded a magnum is beyondme but in tired of it being a safeueen so this deer season im gonna use it. My shots could be anywhere from 40 yards to 300 yards so whats the best all around bullet to use? Thanks

[Sweet 6.5]

If you reload - 165gr GMX bullets. If you buy, Hornady GMX loaded ammunition.  Push them at 300wm speed
without any worries about meat damage, bullet failure, bullet drop with plenty of killing power. 
(Hornady can at least give me discount  )

[Lloyd Smale]

ive used many bullets on deer out of 300 win mags. For deer sized game it doesnt much matter. I most use the 300 mags for crop damage deer shooting and doing that ranges tend to be on the longer side. Many in the 300 to 400 yard range. One of my favorite bullets has become the 165 nos ballistic tip. It pretty much dumps deer in there tracks at any range and unless you actually put one directly in a shoulder the storys of meat damage are greatly over exagerated. Ive shot quite a few with that bullet under a 100 yards and dont ever remember being upset because they tore up a deer. At ranges where they would do damage its pretty easy to place the bullet where it wont. Now i probably wouldnt use that bullet for hunting a swamp or someplace where id be taking quick shots up close but then i wouldnt be hunting with a 300 mag in those situation anyway.

[shot1]

Use the 165 gr Nosler ballistic tip and the accuracy load given in the 4th edition Sierra manual which is:
72.0 grs IMR 4350 for around 3100 fps. This is a proven over many years accurate deer killing load in the 300 Win mag. Sight in 3" high at 100 yards and you are good for center hold out to 350 yards and not be over or under line of sight 4". I have killed hundreds of deer over the past 40 years helping control a huge farm in NC where we took 100 deer each year for crop damage control with most calibers from 22 through 45-70. We found out what works and does not work. As for excessive damage to meat it does not matter what bullet you use from most any caliber if you hit the shoulder plates (scapula) on a deer lots of damage will be done. As for the average deer there is not really all that much "REAL" meat on their front shoulders except for the triceps. The rest is mostly that plastic like film with a little muscle layered between it. If you were to divide a deers shoulder into 3rds from top to bottom, place your bullet where the first and second 3rd meet in the center of the shoulder and it will usually drop in its tracks and you will not mess up the triceps.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  The .300 has been perhaps my favorite big game cartridge since I had mine built in the early 70's..as Loyld and Shot1 pointed out the 165 grain bullet is a winner...my favorite has been and is the Serria HP BT...It has taken coyotes, chuck, antelope, whitetails, mule deer, bear, moose, caribou and more than a few elk...but for big stuff, I prefer Nosler Part..but for medium game I like the 165 as Shot 1 pointed out 4350 worked well..I used IMR ...in the newest barrel on the old rifle, 4350 gave me too much pressure, so I switched to a top load of Re 22....You can't kill game too dead...

[Lloyd Smale]

said about as good as can be said. Only thing ill add to it is the bullet i use in my 300wby is the barnes tsx 180. Now that gun is new and the reason i settled on that bullet is its the most accurate bullet ive shot in it. It is in fact amazining accurate. It will shoot a 1/2 100 yard 5 shot group out of that gun. I havent killed a deer with it yet but im sure it will kill them and may be a better choise for an all around bullet for the 300 win mag too if meat damage is a consern. But like shot1 said hit them in the wrong spot with even a 243 and youve got ruined shoulders. I too dont get conserned about that because we shoot so many deer every year. Dropping them in there tracks is more important to me then a bit of bloodshot meat.

Use the 165 gr Nosler ballistic tip and the accuracy load given in the 4th edition Sierra manual which is:
72.0 grs IMR 4350 for around 3100 fps. This is a proven over many years accurate deer killing load in the 300 Win mag. Sight in 3" high at 100 yards and you are good for center hold out to 350 yards and not be over or under line of sight 4". I have killed hundreds of deer over the past 40 years helping control a huge farm in NC where we took 100 deer each year for crop damage control with most calibers from 22 through 45-70. We found out what works and does not work. As for excessive damage to meat it does not matter what bullet you use from most any caliber if you hit the shoulder plates (scapula) on a deer lots of damage will be done. As for the average deer there is not really all that much "REAL" meat on their front shoulders except for the triceps. The rest is mostly that plastic like film with a little muscle layered between it. If you were to divide a deers shoulder into 3rds from top to bottom, place your bullet where the first and second 3rd meet in the center of the shoulder and it will usually drop in its tracks and you will not mess up the triceps.

[mannyrock]

Backwoods,

      I lived and hunted deer in West Tennessee for 30 years.  I know that you are right when you say your shot could be anywhere from 40 yards (woods) to 300 yards (beanfield).

       Let me give you a big time piece of advice, though.   When I first started hunting, I had a 7mm Rem Mag.    I thought it would be a great deer rifle.   WRONG.

      On two occasions, I shot large deer at close range in the woods, broadside shots, and the bullets just zipped right through their bodies, with no expansion whatsoever.  It was terrible.  I had to shoot one deer 5 times! before it went down for good, and another 4 times.  I didn't lose either deer, but I almost gave up deer hunting over this.   They kept getting back up on their feet and trying to run away.  I might as well been shooting full metal jacket bullets.  Tiny holes in, and tiny holes out.

   Your 300 Mag (like the 7 Mag) was not designed for close range deer hunting.  It was specifically designed for long range shooting of relatively large tough game.

    If you are going to hunt where shots are 100 yards or less, then please take a .30-30 or a .35 Remington instead.  It will put them down very quickly.

     If you are going to shoot over a 100 yards, then maybe you can use the .300 Mag, but you will need to use light, softnose bullets, no larger than 150 grain. Downloading it to .30-06 power would help too.

     Hope this advice helps you out.  I'm just trying to save you from making the same mistake that I did.

Best, Mannyrock
 

[mannyrock]

  P.S.-  I was stupidly using 175 grain Corelocks  in my 7 Mag.  I see alot of posters are recommending a 175 or 180 grain bullet in your .300 Mag?  Sorry, but I think you will get zero expansion at close range. Using an Elk bullet on a 130 pound deer at 40 to 100 yards is a recipe for disaster.

Thanks, Mannyrock

[mcwoodduck]

I'm going to disagree with Mannyrock.
I think loading a corelock 180 grain bullet to 308 to 30-06 speeds are exactly what you are looking for.
If you are going to use faster bullets.  Shoot them in the boiler room and give them some time.  When you see them go down and get back up and run off give them a full 10 minutes.  The deer tend to run 20 to 30 yards and stop and lay down.  Chasing them gets them moving again.
A friend of mine was shooting the 168 grain Match ammo and they act just like FMJ even though they are a hollow point.
I know what Mannyrock is talking about too I, once hunted with my garand and some new ammo that was just out and being in college, I thought if it cost more it had to be better.  I hit this doe with the garand and since it was a semi the gun cycled before she went down and I shot again, and again the more I shot her the mnore she wanted to run.  Had I shot once and given her some time the first one would have worked right in the boiler room.  The other 6 were wilder, three more in the boiler room and two in the front leg and one in the brisket.

[243dave]

A regular cup and core bullet out of a magnum rifle(300 mag, 7mm mag) will expand quicker than if you slow it down to standard rifle velocities(308, 30-06, 280, 7mm-08).  This is common sense.  Back in the 80's I had a problem with factory loaded 100gr remington core-lokt bullets just penciling thru deer like a full metal jacket at close range.  I knew it wasn't the fault of the cartridge but it was the bullet setting on top.  I switched to federal factory loads and good expansion was restored.  I've now reloaded for around 20 years and can put together a good deer load for even the lowly 223.  One thing I've learned over the years is this,  if a cartridge has trouble killing game its the bullets fault or the shooters,  not that particular cartridge.  A 7mm mag is a great deer killer up close or far away.  A bullet that is too soft or too hard can cause problems with any cartridge out there.  Just my 2 cents.
Dave

[mannyrock]

Guys,

   Don't get me wrong.  I think that a 180 grain soft nose out of the .300 Mag will work OK on deer IF you slow it down by handloading to a .308 Winchester velocity.  I was directing my comments to 180 grain bullets at close range  at .300 Mag velocities.

   As to not letting the deer run off and lie down and die quickly, my experience shows that a deer with a tiny hole in and out will not readily do this.  It leaves almost no blood trail and runs as far as it can.

   From my experience of killing more than 100 deer with rifles over a 30 year period in West Tennessee (and only losing one deer), I found that the .308 Winchester, with a 150 grain core-lokt bullet was just about perfect, from 50 yards out to 300 yards.  And, if your shots are limited to 100 yards or less (due to woods hunting) the .30-30 with a 170 grain core-lokt works even better.

Best, Mannyrock
   

[nomosendero]

Guys,

   Don't get me wrong.  I think that a 180 grain soft nose out of the .300 Mag will work OK on deer IF you slow it down by handloading to a .308 Winchester velocity.  I was directing my comments to 180 grain bullets at close range  at .300 Mag velocities.

   As to not letting the deer run off and lie down and die quickly, my experience shows that a deer with a tiny hole in and out will not readily do this.  It leaves almost no blood trail and runs as far as it can.

   From my experience of killing more than 100 deer with rifles over a 30 year period in West Tennessee (and only losing one deer), I found that the .308 Winchester, with a 150 grain core-lokt bullet was just about perfect, from 50 yards out to 300 yards.  And, if your shots are limited to 100 yards or less (due to woods hunting) the .30-30 with a 170 grain core-lokt works even better.

Best, Mannyrock
   

Alot of us here have killed truckloads of Deer, myself included.

It is way too general a statement to say that the 180 will pencil through, the construction of a bullet is more important than the weight. 3 exceptions right of are the SST, Bal. Tip & 185 Berger among others.
I used the 180 BT in mine last year with great results. I had them loaded 3100fps & with a .507 BC, they do well in the wind.

I agree with others that the 165 BTdoes a great job. I like that bullet. I like the new 168BT better, when it shoots good, as it has a BC between the 165 & 180, but only weighs 3 more gr. than a 165, so a good long range bullet. With a diff. ogive, some rifles like it, some don't.
The profile is neat, in that I could seat out further than the 165, I played with it some & will more later. Anyway, the 180BT is great for my uses
at this point.

[parkergunshop]

When I rebarrelled my 7 Mag to .308 Norma Mag, I was looking for high velocity until:

My biggest disappointment was with the 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip out of my .308 Norma mag at a velocity of 3320 FPS, I shot a doe on doe day at 50 yards and the bullet simply blew up on the shoulder leaving a gapping hole 8 inches in diameter.  No follow up shot was needed, but after this I only used 165 Grain bullets of a heavier construction like the Barnes at 3093 FPS.

The 300 magnums all beg for a heavier bullet with heavier construction on game animals, otherwise you may be dissapointed in their performance on game.  I would consider the 150 grain or less bullets, varmint bullets in them.

Some of us have to learn the hard way.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Nomosendero, I have been in Idaho and Montana looking around, and have not kept up with the developments in the gunworld..what is the new 168 gr. BT you are refering too?

[nomosendero]

Nomosendero, I have been in Idaho and Montana looking around, and have not kept up with the developments in the gunworld..what is the new 168 gr. BT you are refering too?

A new Nos. Bal. tip to be a hunting bullet & also compete with some of the Match 168's in BC, which it does. Also, the jacket is heavier than the 165, but still opens up in the front. Also, with the sharper ogive, you can seat the bullet out a little further than the 165 & gain powder space with slow powders, if you have a Mod. 700 length action.

Here it is;  http://www.nosler.com/Bullets/Ballistic-Tip.aspx

It has a BC of .490, right in the center of the 165 & 180, but only 3 grains more than 165, it's a fine bullet. I would loveto see Nosler design a 210 grain with this profile & maybe a .610 or so BC to compete with the 210 Berger !! 

[Sweet 6.5]

A regular cup and core bullet out of a magnum rifle(300 mag, 7mm mag) will expand quicker than if you slow it down to standard rifle velocities(308, 30-06, 280, 7mm-08).  This is common sense.

+ 1
You will have  bigger problem with no expantion if you go slower - go too fast with a bullet that is not strong enough and you would blow it and your meat up. Get the right mix is what it's all about. That is why we reload and chat about it.
This is why I mentioned the GMX - it will expand down to 2000fps and it won't blow up at 3000fps. If you go for Barnes use the tipped one to guarantee expantion - and Nosler even goes down to 1800fps for expantion and still the accubond will stay together at 3000fps. The GMX expanded on a small less tha 100 pound springbuck withou hitting any bone.

[Lloyd Smale]

you guys have kind of got it wrong. The problem you have with expansion isnt the fact your shooting to close its your using a bullet to heavy. I dont know how many deer ive chased up here because guys that dont know better use 180 grain o6 ammo. Mostly because thats what there dad used. The bullets are moving slower and are construted to hold up on bigger animals like moose and elk and blow right through deer which have thin skin and bones. Slowing them down sure wont make them expand faster. Speeding them up if anything will help. 180s will for the most part work in 300 mags because they have a bit more velocity but ive seen them not really anchor deer in the mags too. A big thing to keep in mind is what bullet were taliking about. A seirra or a nos ballistic tip will expand much faster then a interlock or corelock or one of the new bonded bullets. So if your going to use a 180 use a bt or a seirra and youll probably not have problems. Me i look for knock down. When we shoot crop damage deer we try to stay out of the crops. We like to shoot them on the edge of the field comming in so we dont have to tramp through the potatoes. We look for a gun that will drop them in there tracks so there not in the potatoes and we dont have to go chasing wounded deer. We might loose 2 lbs of hamberger meat but even that isnt a given. Ive shot deer at 50 yards with 300 mags and even the 8mag and if hit behind the shoulder no meat damage is done and thats whats good about something like a 300 mag with 150s or 165s or a 7mag with 140s. You can hit them behind the shoulder and 9 times out of 10 they still drop in there tracks and if anything take one leep and pile up. there are a few bullets i trust to work for what we do. The sierras and bt are probably the best. Corelocks and ww power points and horndy interlocks work pretty well too. Ive never had a nosler partition not work and use them often but there a bit more expensive and for deer sized game are probably not needed. I dont care for any of the new bonded bullets as they just dont expand fast enough and ive never tried barnes tsxs but this year ive got 3 guns loaded with them and one with the nos Etip solid so im going to give them a workout.

[Lloyd Smale]

Ill probably get a bit of flack on my dislike for the bonded bullets but all ill say is my advice comes from shooting many deer not from one or two kills. Any bullet will work most of the time. Not all will dump a deer every time. Shoot enough deer with those bonded bullets and mark my words your going to eventually be standing in the woods with a flashlight.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  Lloyd,  You have hit the nail on the head.. I have NEVER heard of slowing a bullet DOWN to get it to expand more..maybe to prevent it from blowup, but not to aid expansion...I haven't shot many of the bonded bullets..on game..killed maybe  3 or 4 head, but they were elk, and worked ok..As you say, a bit of meat lost is better than tracking a wounded deer whether daylight or dark..One thing that must always come into this discussion, it the type of hunting a person is doing...while it can all be deer hunting, situations vary greatly from one part of the country to the next...If you notice guys with long seasons, liberal limits, and often able to hunt over bait usually advocate smaller calibers..not a problem..this can also work in very heavy cover where shots are seldom long, but for those who hunt open country, public land, where the hunting pressure is intense..a more powerful weapon is indicated...We cant kill game too quickly or too dead...we owe that to the animals we hunt...On much public ground, if you don't get the animal down quickly, someone else will tag it...

Nomosendero, thanks for the info ... on the 168 Nosler...I will have to get a few of these to try...my rifles are all on the long 700 action so seating is not restricted by the magazine length..thanks again...

[yellowtail3]

a 300 WinMag story:
back in the 90s when I started hunting, I joined a hunt club in eastern NC. Thousands of acres, ran dogs on the weekends, great fun. We had a range. I went there to confirm zero on my rifle, a Savage 111f. While i was there another was there, sitting on his ATV which was sitting in the back of his truck. It was a breezy day. He was taking shots at target about 150 yards out. He'd shoot once, and his buddy standing on the ground would say, "it's about five inches low, maybe five inches right" and Dan'l Boone would adjust windage/elevation, and fare a single shot, get more feedback from his spotter, adjust... this went on for a while, chasing holes around the target. I chimed in, that maybe it would be helpful to shoot a group, then adjust for that. He looked at me and said, "well, what are you shooting?" and I replied a Savage chambered in win w270. He replied, "this is a 300 WinMag, and ammo is $35 box. You shoot a deer with that .270, he's gonna laugh and run away!"

Well, I know why his deer all laughed and ran away....

[nomosendero]

a 300 WinMag story:
back in the 90s when I started hunting, I joined a hunt club in eastern NC. Thousands of acres, ran dogs on the weekends, great fun. We had a range. I went there to confirm zero on my rifle, a Savage 111f. While i was there another was there, sitting on his ATV which was sitting in the back of his truck. It was a breezy day. He was taking shots at target about 150 yards out. He'd shoot once, and his buddy standing on the ground would say, "it's about five inches low, maybe five inches right" and Dan'l Boone would adjust windage/elevation, and fare a single shot, get more feedback from his spotter, adjust... this went on for a while, chasing holes around the target. I chimed in, that maybe it would be helpful to shoot a group, then adjust for that. He looked at me and said, "well, what are you shooting?" and I replied a Savage chambered in win w270. He replied, "this is a 300 WinMag, and ammo is $35 box. You shoot a deer with that .270, he's gonna laugh and run away!"

Well, I know why his deer all laughed and ran away....

And the moral is or could be idiots shoot big guns, little guns, whatever. I don't see why this is a 300 mag story, rather an idiot with a 300 Mag.

[mcwoodduck]

a 300 WinMag story:
back in the 90s when I started hunting, I joined a hunt club in eastern NC. Thousands of acres, ran dogs on the weekends, great fun. We had a range. I went there to confirm zero on my rifle, a Savage 111f. While i was there another was there, sitting on his ATV which was sitting in the back of his truck. It was a breezy day. He was taking shots at target about 150 yards out. He'd shoot once, and his buddy standing on the ground would say, "it's about five inches low, maybe five inches right" and Dan'l Boone would adjust windage/elevation, and fare a single shot, get more feedback from his spotter, adjust... this went on for a while, chasing holes around the target. I chimed in, that maybe it would be helpful to shoot a group, then adjust for that. He looked at me and said, "well, what are you shooting?" and I replied a Savage chambered in win w270. He replied, "this is a 300 WinMag, and ammo is $35 box. You shoot a deer with that .270, he's gonna laugh and run away!"

Well, I know why his deer all laughed and ran away....

I had a guy that was trying to sight in his rifle before he tightend his scope.  You have missinformed people all over the place.

On of my friends hunts with a 300 Win almost exclusivly.  He loads 180 grain bullet about 100 FPS faster than 30-06 speeds so about 3,000 FPS.  He shoots Deer, Pigs, Elk, and Javilina with it.  Most of us do not like his rifle as it has the Browning Boss on it and it is just loud.  I have learned to keep a set of ear protection with me when hunting with him.  His game room shows many mounts all taken wiht his 300 Win and reloaded 180 grain bullets - his new load is lead free as he hunts the tajone ranch.  But his shots to the boiler room do not have deer or pigs going far.
 

[yellowtail3]

Whoa now, 300 WinMag fellows; nothing personal. It's a pretty good story, though, related to... Magnumitis.

no 300 for me; I'm a recoil wuss, and I never have shoots past a couple hundred yards. Shot a 30-06 A BUNCH as a kid, without hearing protection, developed a bit of a flinch; took a while to overcome it. I've become enamored with the 30-30.

I'm thinking about getting another 270; wish I hadn't sold the one I had.

[nomosendero]

Whoa now, 300 WinMag fellows; nothing personal. It's a pretty good story, though, related to... Magnumitis.

no 300 for me; I'm a recoil wuss, and I never have shoots past a couple hundred yards. Shot a 30-06 A BUNCH as a kid, without hearing protection, developed a bit of a flinch; took a while to overcome it. I've become enamored with the 30-30.

I'm thinking about getting another 270; wish I hadn't sold the one I had.

May have been Magnumitis, maybe not. i have seen knotheads do the same stuff sighting in their rifles by shooting a pieplate at 25 yds, more often by 30-30, auto 30-06 types than magnum shooters where I have seen this stupidity.
This is very off topic & time to drop it.

Back to the original subject please.

[Hooker]

Another vote for the Nosler 165gr Ballistic Tip BT.
I have no experience with the 300win mag ,but I have used the Nos  in my 308s for quite a while.
The bullet has performed perfectly at hand shake distances out to 500 yards on hogs and deer.
My hand loads are running on average in the 2725 fps range which is about 300 fps slower than the 300.
The extra speed from the 300 shouldn't have adverse affects on the bullet at normal ranges.
The bullet is also very accurate I get solid performance around the 1/4 MOA range with an occasional group in the very low 2s from my
short barreled Remington.

Pat