Companion Caliber for 300WM.

[Fuglystick]

1st post, sorry if this has been asked before. I did a quick search but nothing came up readily.

1st Great site. I passed it by a few times as I thought it was more geared towards hunting. Once I lurked for a while I found the info quite informative.

(brief overview you can skip directly to ? if you want)

I started like many with pistols. As I became more active at my club the friendly membership (you know the guys) hang around together, know a ton about shooting, and are always willing to drag a guy into their respective shooting sport have forced me to take up clays. Like sharks smelling blood in the water the rest see an easy mark (I admit I am) and convince you that what you really need to do is shoot pins, plate. Then the long range / bench shooters start in and before you know it you are completely corrupted.

Questions Sections:

So long range guys currently have their fangs in me. A couple years ago I purchased a AR-30 in 300WM. After reading some of the post here and the thread on budget rifles I noted the idea of a companion caliber (my verbiage). So what is a caliber that behaves similarly to 300WM but a shorter distances? The club I attend regularly only has a 200yd range. While I have no problem shooting there I would like something to practice with that is cheaper to shoot and does not have quite the bark (for surrounding shooters) that the 300WM has with the brake.
From what I read I am probably going to go with a Savage (seems preferred here and I have a BTVSS in .22 I am very fond of). The question would be is there a benefit to stainless vs. blued steel actions aside from the obvious?

 

[Broz]

Hello and welcome to the forum. If you have never had the pleasure of the light recoil and superb accuracy of a 6mm BR I would suggest you shoot one. At 200 yards you will soon be bored with all the one hole groups. And I believe Savage chamberes this round too (6mm Norma)

That my 2 cents.

Jeff gun)----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Fuglystick]

Thanks Jeff,

Looked quick and it does not really show a significant savings over the 300WM. I am not reloading just yet although I am hording 300WM empty cases once fired and collecting reloading equipment. Still have a few things to get.

Do the .204 Ruger, 22-250, or .223 fit the bill of what i might be searching for? My thought would be that .223 would be ideal but I am not sure how it would translate to match the .300WM.

I could easily be blowing the advantage out of proportion. Been know to do that.

 

[Broz]

The .223 would be very cheap to shoot , if factory loaded ammo is the only option. But in my opinion is not capable of the accuracy of a 6 br.

I load for both the 300 WM and the 6 BR. The br is cheap to load once you have the brass. Lapua brass has a long life and goes for about $75 per 100. My 6 br only used 30 gr of powder per load (less than 1/2 of a 300 WM) and shoots 107 gr SMK's for $26 /per 100. Then 100 primers for about 3 cents ea. It may not be what you are looking for, but I feel this is a great round for any type of practice even to distances of 1000 yards.

Jeff

 

[Fuglystick]

Thanks I will keep that in mind. Maybe I will have to look into stepping up my reloading program. Right now it is difficult as I am trying to keep 2 business afloat (restoring old cars and making custom hand guards for Saigas) and have gone from 2 income household to 1. Seems not many people want to play with cars these days unless it is daily transportation.

I was also giving it a little more thought to help narrow it down. Ideally the round would behave similarly at 1/2 distance. Ie out of the box X round at 300yd would behave similarly to out of the box 300WM @ 600yd.

 

[roninflag]

6mmbr. start reloadink

 

[Fitch]

If you are looking for an accurate rifle to shoot for practice and want it last for a long time before rebarreling, give serious consideration to a .30BR. You can read a lot about the cartridge here: 30BR Guide - 30 BR Benchrest Lapua Cartridge with Reloading, .308 Bullet, Accuracy, and Competition Info. Done right, it will shoot with match accuracy to 300 yards and hold match accuracy for 5000 to 7000 rounds.

Find one of the Savage Model 12 short action varmint/target rifles, buy a prechambered .30BR barrel for it, and you are good to go.

You have to reload for it, but then if you are serious about LR hunting you will doubtless end up reloading anyway.

Fitch

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Sounds to me you're looking for a rifle/cartridge that has balisitcs similar to the 300 WM, doesn't kick as much (you can shoot without brake), and has readily available and reasonably priced ammo.

The 270 WSM might be a good choice or even the 270 Win shooting a 130 gr or lighter bullet.

Welcome to LRH and good shooting

-Mark

 

[Fuglystick]

Sounds to me you're looking for a rifle/cartridge that has balisitcs similar to the 300 WM, doesn't kick as much (you can shoot without brake), and has readily available and reasonably priced ammo.

The 270 WSM might be a good choice or even the 270 Win shooting a 130 gr or lighter bullet.

Welcome to LRH and good shooting

-Mark

Mark,

Almost exactly. The kick does not bother me I am just thinking about shooters at the next table. Sitting behind the gun is fine, no real recoil (less felt than the 30/32 lever action. But unless you are the one pulling the trigger you know it is being shot. More of a courtesy thing. My buddy was taking a few shots the other day and I was standing to the side and thought that would **** me off if I was sitting next to it. The rest is spot on. The idea being the closer I can match the 300WM at shorter distances, the better the training will translate to the larger caliber and longer distance.

It may be that any caliber will do this and whatever round allows the most range time is what will benifit most. I do not know, that is why I am seeking the advice of those who are currently shooting long ranges.

I will be checking out the suggested calibers.

This is helping so please either confirm caliber selection or suggest areas for me to look.

I really appreciate all the responses so far. This is not something that I will be rushing into. Plan on making a decision over the next couple of months as the better shooting weather arrives.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

When it comes to matching the ballistics of the 300 WM with reasonable and available ammo, I would say it boils down the the WSM's or 270 Win or maybe even a 25-06. The WSM's are going to give you almost identical balistics but the ammo will cost a little more. The 25-06 and 270 will have a better selection of ammo and cost less, but not quite the ballistics. The 264 WM is another real good option but ammo will be a little more scarce.

 

[Browninglover1]

Quote: "The idea being the closer I can match the 300WM at shorter distances, the better the training will translate to the larger caliber and longer distance."

I know this might be a stupid question but what do you mean by this? Are you looking for similar trajectories, similar recoil. etc? I found that when I was shooting at shorter distances and didn't want to waste my ammo for my 300 that a 22-250 was what I was looking for. I bought one that was super accurate that really allowed me to practice my technique and translated to way better groups when I would finally get behind my 300. Shooting the 22-250 also allowed me to shoot without much recoil until flinching was no longer a problem for me and anytime I notice myself feeling like I'm going to flinch with the 300 I put it away and shoot the 22-250 until my form is good again.

However, I know people will tell me I'm stupid for this but I have loved shooting the 17 HMR for practice. My first one was a Savage that would honestly shoot 1/2 inch groups on calm days and that rifle taught me more about shooting than any other rifle I've ever owned. Those little 17 grain bullets get blown in the wind like spit wads and it really makes you start to pay attention to the wind and learn how to dope it. Granted the dope you have to give the 17 at 200 yards is way more than you'd give your 300 at that distance but the principal has allowed me to judge wind and make first round hits on rocks at 500 yards with my 300 that I never would have made without all the practice the 17 gave me.

 

[Fuglystick]

I would like a round that I can use from 2-600 yds (ranges around my area). I would like it to mimic the 300WM at 1/2 distance. For example I would like to make similar corrections for wind and distance @ 200 with x caliber that I would with 300WM @ 400yd. So if the wind will push the round 10 inches @ 200 yd the round would push somewhere around 20 inches 400 yd.

I would like a lighter round more for the enjoyment of those around me than myself. Range time and available benches are not as open as they are in other areas of the country. If I am shooting with someone they are an arms length away.

As I am not reloading yet the ideal round is in expensive to shoot and has a wide variety of available ammo.

 

[rscott5028]

Different cartridge with similar elevation adjustments from factory ammo?
I don't think that's realistic.

I would go with 6BR and order Lapua match ammo.

Second choice would be 243 Win.

My third choice would be 260 Rem.

All 3 will respond well to handloads and will perform well with the right twist for your bullet. While factory ammo is a little less prevalent with the 6BR, that shouldn't be a problem for 260 Rem and definitely not a problem for 243.

There are many fine cartridges to choose from and you ultimately just have to please yourself.

The particular rifle you choose will make more difference than the caliber.

-- richard