.300 WSM and Tikka T3, Sako 75/85 rifles

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

    Have asked in Bolt Action Rifles but as it specifically is about the Tikka and Sako rifles thought it best to ask in here!

     Have a friend who already has a Sako Finnlite and a Tikka T3 Tactical both in .308 winchester he now has a notion to get a .300 magnum suitable for driven Boar shooting first he thought of the old .300 Win mag but lately has been thinking about the .300WSM. As I ahve no experience with tany of the WSM cartirdges I am asking for those who have to let me know how they fair. I recall that there was some feeding problems with some rifles so how the the Sako 85 and Tikka T3 fair in this area? I know that the old .300 Win Mag has none.

    Another point is that he will be using factory ammunition soe of the time and looking at the loads available for the WSM cartridge I see that in a lot of cases only a 180 grain bullet is offered which is a far cry from the wide range offered in .300 Win mag. I also wonder just how long the WSM's be be offered?

    So any help and experinces with the .300 WSM and especially in the rifles mentioned would be most helpful. Thank you in advance.

[quickdtoo]

I have neither, but just bought a 338 Win Mag T3, my thoughts are that since ALL T3s are made on long actions, there's no advantage to the short mags unless you like spending more money for ammo that's not as widely available. I made the same decision on the 338 Win Mag over the 338 Federal, basically.

Tim

[1sourdough]

 I have a Sako 75(243) & a 300WSM(A-Bolt Browning). The Sako is a recent addition but I like what I see & feel about it. I have had the 300WSM a few years. I bought it because I wanted the short action & I also reload my own. Yes I believe most store 300WSM ammo is 180 grns & I have seen a few 150 grn choices. I'd like to see more 165 if I was a store shopper. I used a 180 grn Nosler partition on a black bear this Fall. It went through & may of been a little more than I needed but it all worked out.

 If you bought a 300WSM that had the same length action as a 300 win mag it sorta defeats the purpose. I would think for factory offerings the win mag has more choices. From what I have seen the 300WSM has gotten some good traction & should be around for awhile.

[Luckyducker]

I have a Tikka T3 Lite chambered in 300WSM and it is a very accurate and easy to handle package.  I have only shot handloads in this rifle so I don't have information about factory ammo offerings in this caliber.  I shot a doe with it a couple years ago with this rifle at 300+ yds.  She was running away from me as I was getting out of the truck after driving into a stubble field but she made it to the far end of said field and stopped to turn and look back and that was all I needed to fill the tag.  I couldn't see anything but the neck and head and put the crosshairs of the Leupold scope on her neck and that is exactly where the 165 grain Hornady SST entered.  I had the rifle zeroed at 3" high at 100 yds.  Oh yeah, I have had no feeding problems at all with this gun and believe the bad feeding of this cartridge was with the Winchester model 70's chambered in the WSM.

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

     Thank you for your input. I am glad to hear that the feeding seems to be a non issue as for the action lengths well I am told that Sako make different actions lengths it's Tikka which seems to have only one or two length actions. I will pass on your comments and see what he has found out himself.

[BoarHunter]

For driven boar hunting, the .300WSM with the heavier bullets will do. Some thinks that the disadvantage of the .300WSM compared to the .300WM is to be limited to the 180gr.

I hunt Boar a lot and for stand/stalking I use a Sako in .300WM. Should I change, I would definitely go for a.300WSM.

The Tikka will be suitable for drive hunting too but if it is just for drive hunting,  pick a bigger caliber, the king of the road being the 9.3X62 or its copy the 35Whelen.

Better yet, get an SA in these calibers or a lever action in .444M, 450M, 45-70 or a double in 9.3X74

[Brithunter]

Hi Boarhunter,

For driven boar hunting, the .300WSM with the heavier bullets will do. Some thinks that the disadvantage of the .300WSM compared to the .300WM is to be limited to the 180gr.

I hunt Boar a lot and for stand/stalking I use a Sako in .300WM. Should I change, I would definitely go for a.300WSM.

The Tikka will be suitable for drive hunting too but if it is just for drive hunting,  pick a bigger caliber, the king of the road being the 9.3X62 or its copy the 35Whelen.

Better yet, get an SA in these calibers or a lever action in .444M, 450M, 45-70 or a double in 9.3X74

      Hmmm Semi-Auto rifles in all but .22 rimfire are banned here in the UK so that option is not open to us. I have suggested a nice double rifle and even pointed him twards an auction a few weeks ago which had some new Merkels in it in suitable chamberings. However as he had correctly pointed out a variation is required to add another rifle to his licence and "Good Reason" is required, hunting Boar is good reason but for some reason he wants to stay with .30 calibre. Getting a variation can take weeks or even months depending on how the firearms licensing officer feels at the time!  We are shooting together this evening so I will discuss it further with him then.

    Thank you for your comments and experience 

[oldelkhunter]

I have had 300 wsms in Winchester Model 70 SS classic, Browning abolt SS stalker,Howa 1500,Weatherby VAnguard(reg and submoa) models and I now own a Sako 75 SM 300 wsm. It is the smoothest shooting ,smoothest feeding and most accurate rifle out of the bunch. it's not close

[Minnesota1]

I have a tikka stainless t3 in 300 wsm.  I bought into the hype of the short mags but realistically I think the only one that offers better performance over its counterpart is the 270 wsm.  I love the gun and the caliber has never failed me but if I were to do it again I would go with the 300 win mag.  The reason is bullet selection in factory ammo plus if you don't reload you are looking at a real expensive rifle to shoot.  With the 300 win mag you can pick up a box of core-locts at walmart for a lot cheaper and they would slay any Boar any where any time.  Plus if you went on a moose hunt or anything else you can get the 300 win mag in 200 grain or I believe 220 grain bullets where the largest I've seen for the 300 wsm is 180 grains. This is just my opinion.

Good Luck.

[Brithunter]

Once again thank you for your information, things have been moving slowly this side of the pond and he is just finishing his house move and as he needs to change the address on his licence it seemed sensible to do the swopping around at the same time. he has just put up for sale on commission his Tikka 595 in 222 Rem and is swopping that for a .22 Hornet CZ as it seems neither Tikka nor Sako now offer the Hornet. He is also swopping his .308 Finnlite for another Finnlite in 7-08 keeping the Tikka T3 tactical inn.308 and adding a .300 magnum. More than likely the normal Winchester 300 Win Mag as ammunition is far easier to come by.

The reason for the swop of the 222 Rem to 22 Hornet is that for his particular shooting needs the 222 rem was just a little too much and the 22 Hornet is just that little bit less and is of course quieter without using a Sound Moderator and swopping a 308 for a 7-08 means that using the lighter 7mm bullets will deal with the longer range Fox control nicely. He feels it will make a more balanced set up all round.