Magnum obsession seems real

[FEENIX]

I do not like to complicate things unnecessarily. The .300 WM remains my go-to chambering from antelope to elk size game up to 1K yards. Where I hunt, antelope, deer (muley and WT), black bear, and elk exists and there's a time they are open at the same time.

 

[littlewhaler]

With the virus going on lots of us have extra time on our hands and therefore chat bout no perfect answers to questions like this one. FOR ME, I shed my 338 win mag browning medallion bolt 2 years ago since I realized it just wasn't necessary for my hunts anymore..I don't hunt Grizz or Cape Buff..Elk is my biggest target and either my 280ai or my 300wsm do nicely on elk and all things smaller. I did love my 338 WM and it would be my choice for Grizz or bigger dangerous game over my 280ai or 300WSM but like most hunters, I won't be going after that size animal and won't shoot elk two canyons away anyway! Yes, bigger and faster will shoot farther and hit harder but I know my chosen limits and have plenty of power to kill elk out to 500 in adverse hunting conditions (wind/rain/ snow/etc with well placed shot..my humble hunting opinion based on what's right for my ability and my target class of animal.

 

[Gunship Guy]

Sometimes a Magnum is just needed. Years ago while hunting in NW Colorado, A hunting buddy hit a bull elk with his 270 that didn't go down. Before he was able to get a follow up shot in, the bull headed down a draw where my buddy no longer had line of sight. I however did, at about 125 yards, and held on his tail as he was going directly down and away from me. The 200 gr Nosler Partition semi-spitzer from my 300 Weatherby was later recovered just under his chest hide, having gone completely through him and into his chest cavity and anchoring him immediately. A wounded animal was thus recovered rather than possibly being lost to a grueling death. Only bad part was the total loss of the right tenderloin.

 

[Tikkamike]

you could definitley say that I am "magnum obsessed" I was born and raised in Wyoming and have been hunting elk deer and antelope since before i was old enough to keep up with my dad. When I became old enough to hunt 23 years ago I killed my first elk deer and antelope with a 7mm Rem Mag. I used that rifle for the rest of my childhood and into adulthood, I still pull it out on occasion. I dont consider that a magnum despite it being in the name. I dont believe I ever lost an elk with it, but in my early 20's Remington released the 375 RUM and I just had to have one. Something about a rifle that is adequate to take anything on earth has always appealed to me. Anyway That rifle was a bit of a let down. I didnt know anything about the merits of an aftermarket stock or muzzle brake. I Had a local hack of a gunsmith put one of his homemade brakes on it which to my recollection did not tame the recoil at all. and I eventually broke the XCR stock. I ended up selling the rifle for what I could and played around with 300 win mag, 270 wsm, and 338 win mag. I liked the 338 win mag the best when it came to killing elk, it seemed to have a more authoritative thump than anything else. Keep in mind I have a relatively good sample of kills with each rifle mentioned. I have killed 1-3 elk every year since I became of age. ( I feel elk is the best measuring stick of cartridge/bullet effectiveness) 1-6 deer and 1-6 antelope anytime I can get a tag or tags. along with a handfull of 6'+ black bears.
After a while still seeing the 375 RUM as one of the ultimate rifles I found a lightly used 700 LSS in 375 RUM, put a CSR brake on it and proceeded to hunt everything with it. This was a considerable step up in horsepower from the 338 win. I eventually rebarrelled it with a 27.5" benchmark barrel. I can not explain it to this day, but the sheer domination that a big .375 has over any animal with a solid hit is something to experience. I shoot a 270 grain TSX at 3260 fps. I have the velocity and mass to be very effective inside 1000 yards which is where 90% of my hunting is done. There is an absolute cool factor for me but I know with my 338 RUM or my 375 RUM I will never be undergunned. and with a well constructed bullet I am not going to "ruin" smaller game like antelope. and in the event of things going south you can put an animal down at a less than ideal angle. As the saying goes.. there is no replacement for displacement....and shattered bone ( I may have added the last part)

 

[Dr. Richard Gray]

I live in deep Southern Illinois on the Ohio River. One mile to the east and I would be in Western Ky. Heavily wooded area, but as I said Ohio River bottoms. I really have no need for the Weatherby 340 Mag or the Ruger Hawkeye 375, but I do love shooting them. I live by the cliche that "I would rather have them and not need them than to need them and not have them". It's that simple. As for the most universal rifle in production for long and short range you won't find anything better than the Reminton 700 7mm mag or the 30-06 (any brand). Both equivalent for any task.

 

[UplandFreak]

Sometimes a Magnum is just needed. Years ago while hunting in NW Colorado, A hunting buddy hit a bull elk with his 270 that didn't go down. Before he was able to get a follow up shot in, the bull headed down a draw where my buddy no longer had line of sight. I however did, at about 125 yards, and held on his tail as he was going directly down and away from me. The 200 gr Nosler Partition semi-spitzer from my 300 Weatherby was later recovered just under his chest hide, having gone completely through him and into his chest cavity and anchoring him immediately. A wounded animal was thus recovered rather than possibly being lost to a grueling death. Only bad part was the total loss of the right tenderloin.

I have seen a 270 take the legs out from under a lot of elk. I would argue bullet selection and shot placement is more important than the cartridge. It wasn't the 270's fault, it was your buddies poor marksmanship.

 

[epoletna]

The longest shot on game I've ever made was a measured 475 yards. It took me a quarter hour to reach the downed animal, and that got me to thinking about what a disastrous situation it would have been if the animal was not DRT when I hit it.

So I read about people shooting elk a ridge away, and remember the shot I made. And I wonder, if by some fluke I had made a bad shot, or the bullet had been pushed just two inches left of right by a gust of wind, what would I have been left with? And I wonder about those guys hitting an elk half a mile away, but maybe having to walk down a canyon and back up the other side to get to their animal, and what they would have done if they had not made a DRT shot, and on top of that, how they're going to get the meat home from that one-half mile shot.

I stil think about making long shots, but I have gotten beyond all that.

Guy M: That's a beautiful Model 70. I had a pre-64 Model 70 in .375 H&H that I used for several years in east Africa. Absolutely loved it, and am sorry I ever gave it up. Great cartridge, great rifle! The 475 yard shot I described above was made with my .375 H&H at a Thompson's gazelle that looked like it would go into the record books. It did -- #14 in Rowland and Ward at the time. I haven't looked recently.

 

[bdyal1972]

I've hunted in a few states. Never used a magnum other than a .257Wby and that was only on paper.
I mainly hunt with a 6.5 Creedmoor and rarely exceed 350y on game. Most shots here in SC are under 150.
Now, it seems like every time a cartridge discussion comes up, 7mm or greater mags are the go to.
I know that some folks on here feel that velocity and mass will always trump a well placed shot and we are called Long Range Hunting, but at what point is a magnum necessary?
I guess what I'm asking is at what point did you decide a magnum was the best all around cartridge for you?

In the nature of full disclosure, I also currently own a 6.5PRC, had a 6.5x284, 257WBY and a 300WM(never fired ). The PRC's performance(a hunter) reminds me most of my 6.5x284, which was an F Classer.

I'm also considering having a new WSM built. So there's that.

In my family growing up in Oregon the 30-06 and sub 400 yard shots with a 3-9×44 or 4-12x44 bushnell with bdc ranging reticle were the norm for "long" shots across clear cuts...

Banging rocks at estimated 400 yards over spring break, labor day and some weekends was normal... All 6 of my uncles, inlays, godparents participated...

Then

A cousin, a God brother and myself all qualified in the military with the m16A2 at 600 meters with peep sights,my brother bought a prismatic rangefinder, we started hunting eastern oregon and eastern washington where ranges of 1200 yards were normal, there rarely was rain to dilute a blood trail, there was no longer 8' tall rhododendron and marion berry jungles of spikes to hide an animal!!!

Rock shooting became a 800 yard game!

Shepard's scopes, mul dot reticles, high bc bullets in federal and hornady ammo....

7mn mag, 300 win mag, 338 win mag became a NEEDED option as we saw marginal bullet performance from the 06 and 150, 180 core locts...

PaPa (roughly 75?) asked to shoot my brake and mercury recoil reduce equipped 338 win mag shooting 225 barnes x bulkets
He looked at my dope taped on the stock, looked at the treetops for wind...

Shot a rock the size of a 5 gallon pail up the road.... 922 paces, he guessed 900 yards...

Big smack, big chunk missing out of the rock...

"Yep its better" is all he said

Magnumitis or a NECESSARY Solution to put more meat in my freezer?

In Papas lifetime they went from 44-40, 300 savage and 30-30 because it allowed them to put meat on the ground as far as they could hit with the naked eye...
Then quality non fogging scopes became available with decent scopes in the 50s.
The 70s brought bullet drop compensatory.
80s brought better ammo, better bullets.
90s brought grandsons used to shooting long range with higher bc bullets and better bullet designs.

We regularly put meat on the ground ACXURATELY at ranges they dreamed of in the 1930s

In the west it is not MAGNUMITIS!!!

It is neccesity.

It is meat on the ground.

It is EVOLUTION!!!

 

[Pinoniper]

I know that some folks on here feel that velocity and mass will always trump a well placed shot ...

Respectfully, I believe that to be a false premise.

 

[Muddyboots]

The one aspect of a magnum like the 300WM is you can load it for anything you want. Go light for deer size game or go big for bigger game. Sometimes the overall flexibity of the 300WM is completely overlooked as part of its total performance. Heck I load it down to 30-06 or stoke it to take out anything. If I needed only one it would be the 300WM. But who needs only one? Like saying one club in the bag is all you need! I like my .270, 300WSM, 243, 357Max, and even 12 Ga slug gun and they all have their moments to enjoy.

 

[BrianID]

There are two main reasons I like my 300 Win Mag and 338 Lapua.

#1 energy retained by a bullet from a magnum is going to be significantly higher at long range than smaller cartridges such as a 6.5 Creedmoor. If you are only shooting up to 400 yards at deer a 6.5 Creedmoor has more than enough energy. At 1000 yards I don't think a 6.5 creedmoor is going to retain enough energy for even deer.

#2 wind drift from my 338 Lapua and 300 gr Berger is going to be significantly less than a smaller gun/bullet. On my Wyoming Pronghorn Hunt last year I brought along my 338 Lapua just in case I was it was extremely windy. Gusty wind combined with a small target like pronghorn can make even a 400 yard shot challenging. Why not make the shot easier with a gun/bullet combination that has 1/2 as much wind drift.

 

[memtb]

My wife and I fall into the "magnum" category of hunters/shooters. We, each, have "only" one hunting rifle....and wanted to be prepared to hunt various game on various continents! Hunting various continents, has taken a "swift kick in the pants" and may never happen. We've used the same rifle/cartridge for many years....she for 24 years and myself 29 years. We've taken big game from antelope/deer, to elk, moose, bear, and never felt under-gunned.....or over-gunned! Very capable from muzzle to well beyond 600 yards on most any big game. And they have taken a few varmints, as well as "pine" grouse and rabbits. We see them as "just right"! memtb

 

[Rich Coyle]

First of all, I'm not co.pletely sure what defines a magnum. And even if I did know, I think some cartridges are deserving of the magnum designation that dont have it right now. That might be a good post for later, but not the question here. In my opinion, the answer is pretty simple, and for me is data driven. What conditions will I encounter in the way of shot distance? What velocity do I need to achieve proper bullet performance (per manufacturers rec.). What is the margin of error that I want to afford myself as it relates to the numbers. Then find bullet/cartridge combo that gets me to that value. One thing that should also be said is that I have seen guys shoot whitetails with too much gun. 4years ago, a friend lit the wick on his Christiansen 300Rum on a Big North Texas whitetail (over 225 lbs). He shot the buck, and then an hour later the buck showed up again with a through and through type wound in high lung area. He took him down with a second shot in the high shoulder area, but it too pencilled through the animal at that short distance, and high velocity. To me, with max shots in that area being 200 yds, he was over gunned and it almost cost him his hunt.

It would make no difference what he fired those bullets from. A good hunting bullet would open up at close range.

 

[bdyal1972]

I have seen a 270 take the legs out from under a lot of elk. I would argue bullet selection and shot placement is more important than the cartridge. It wasn't the 270's fault, it was your buddies poor marksmanship.

Possible yes.

I have packed out over 200 elk ROOSEVELT AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN BETWEEN 600LBS AND 1200LBD x3 that in BLACKTAIL, WHITETAIL AND MULE deer in OR,WA,KS,VA,MS,AL over the past 48 years.

I have seen 90lb deer hit and run 1/2 mile with no heart, lung or front shoulders working.

I have tracked bulls over a mile with similar hits.

Adrenaline does wonderful things.

I HAVE ALSO SEEN A 300LB MULIE DRT WITH A 10MM, A 1000LB+ ROOSEVELT DRT WITH A 25-35!!! LOL

My brother and I have dropped deer elk and bear DRT withh 1 arrow or 1 10mm bullet, yet we have both opened up animals with volleyball temporary would channels, holes in hearts, shredded lungs and 2" exit holes AFTER WALKING RUNNING STUMBLING A MILE!!!

NO BULLET OR SHOT IS PERFECT!!!

For me I want a rapidly expanding bullet, impact velocity of 2200fps

I want an exit wound

I want to be as CLOSE as possible!

I want hydrostatic shock and GIGANTIC TEMPORARY WOUND CAVITY DAMAGE!

Hydrostatic shock and HUMONGOUS temporary wound cavities seem to OVERLOAD the central nervous system and drop an animal DRT...

If someone develops a 1 shot guaranteed DRT cartridge inside 300 yards please let me know!!!

Btw ITS NOT 378 weatherby with 235s on elk, saw a spike take 3! All through heart lungs... 223 with 55grn speer in his neck dropped him lol