Which brand of 300 win mag

[Don Titus]

There was a similar thread posted last month and so I will just copy and paste my reply to that thread as it seems to fit yours as well. He had the Savage High Country as a possibility as well.

There have been a lot of answers to your questions in this thread but no one has brought up the limitations of the platforms. It seems that some of the posters are not exactly doing you a service with their answers. I don't pretend to have all the answers but I hope I can give you some things to think about and help you with your decisions.
As far as the Bergara, I don't have experience with them but you do.(ETA: The other poster did.)

Tikka: You said you wanted a 300 WM. Unless something has changed, and it has with their twist rates going to 1:10 so maybe it has, their mag box length is very short as they did not make a true long action last time I checked. You are really limiting yourself to short bullets or really jamming the long bullets back into the case...If you are thinking about going with a short action cartridge Tikka is a great answer though. 300WSM....go for it.

Savage High Country: I was about to get one of these, but while doing the research I found that the OAL length is again limited. Not near as much as the Tikka but still limited, and with the bottom bolt release it may be harder to find magazine boxes to extend that. I will say that barrel changes are awesome and of the choices I would probably take this, if you are getting the WM. There are other Savages as well that you could look at, like the 110 Tactical. I believe it takes AICS mags at 3.850.

Browning: If you are the kind of guy who goes out and shoots 20rnds a year they are good to go. I have had multiple Browning rifles and they are very nice. I would not buy another one. I basically think that they are a throw away rifle, as unless you are friends with a gunsmith or can do it yourself with your own lathe etc the barrel replacement process is prohibitive. You might as well buy a new rifle, and finding a gunsmith to even work on them is a pain in the ***. My Brownings now sit in the safe doing nothing. A 300WM will eat a barrel in around 1200 to 1600rnds. Do the math and see how many years that will last you. That's why I said what I did in the first sentence.

If you can, I would save up and spend the money on a custom action that you can put prefit barrels on yourself. My last rifle is a Zermatt Arms Origin. I can switch bolt heads and barrels easily. Just some things to think about.

Just to take your thoughts on Tikka in 300 WM; the mag limit is 3.370". Hammer developed their 174 gr. Hammer Hunter with short mag lengths in mind. My T3X shoots the 174's loaded at mag length very well with1/2" groups the norm using 76 gr. of H4831sc in Peterson cases and Fed 215M match primers. Velocity is 3050. RL 22 works just as well @3100 FPS, but is temp sensitive.

 

[hunter0528]

I broke down a couple of years ago an got a Blazer R8 in 30/06. I later got a 300 Win barrel. The 300 shoot 1/2" groups at 100yds. The best part is I can change Calibers and still have the same feel when shouldering and firing. Trigger is the same as all I change is the Barrel. The scope mount is great as it is repeatable when removed and remounted for the same barrel.

 

[RevJim]

I shot my Bergara B14 at 3.50" OAL with the 175 LRX exactly .50" off the lands. Its a Mod 700 Clone as is the Mesa. I forgot to say that yes, the Mesa stock felt a little "slick" for me. I also want to add that I'm not a LRH, so my itch gets scratched long before you LR guys! ha I understand the "need" for specialized equipment out past 500-600yds.

 

[Trm82]

Don't let these guys scare you away from the 1-11 twist on the tikka . I have owned many 30 cal tikka and never had a issue obtaining 1/2 moa or better.
You can load any Berger 30 cal hunting bullet except the 245 gr elite in a 11 twist.
I would not hesitate to own a 30 cal tikka

 

[floyd kittrell]

Call Parish Davis " Extreme Rifles" in Mobile , Al . Had him custom my L.H. Brown. Bolt Action , didn't cost a lot and did a great job . McMill stock , Krieger 5 1/2 barrel , blueprinted and trigger at 1 pound . shoots a number of loads from 1/8" MOA to 3/8" . If you are looking at longer ammo ,maybe the 700 ADL is your action . Just my thoughts . Good luck Sir

 

[emp1953]

Good pricing can be found on new Weatherby Rifles. I'd throw one of those into the mix for consideration as well.

Weatherby - Vanguard Accuguard IBEX Camo 300 Wby Mag

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE IS STANDARD.THE FASTEST, FLATTEST SHOOTING RIFLES on the market. Delivering the unmatched knockdown power of both Weatherby® Magnum and standard calibers. Providing the confidence of guaranteed SUB-MOA accuracy. Add in a match quality, two-stage trigger that breaks crisp...

www.gricegunshop.com

 

[George Dean]

Check out the new Savage Impulse Big Game,; Hog Hunter & Predator models in .300 Win Mag. They're all 'Straight-pull' rifles, the Predator having a one piece bottom metal & 10 rd AICS mag. Will accept a 5 rd;, the others box mags. Full review in the Aug. edition of American Rifleman (pg.40) . $1449.00 for the Impulse. I predict this rifle's family will bring stiff competition for other brands. 8lbs 8 oz out of the box, but with a 20 MOA rail in the action. Threaded barrel and AccuFit w/AccuStock chassis insert.

 

[bamban]

Good pricing can be found on new Weatherby Rifles. I'd throw one of those into the mix for consideration as well.

Weatherby - Vanguard Accuguard IBEX Camo 300 Wby Mag

EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE IS STANDARD.THE FASTEST, FLATTEST SHOOTING RIFLES on the market. Delivering the unmatched knockdown power of both Weatherby® Magnum and standard calibers. Providing the confidence of guaranteed SUB-MOA accuracy. Add in a match quality, two-stage trigger that breaks crisp...

www.gricegunshop.com

^^^ The Vanguards Sub MOA shoot. Here is one, bedded, adjusted trigger, and Micro B with 9/16x24 thread. Target shot at 500 yards on the KD range. Rifle is mine, I did not shoot the group. This was with MK248 Mod0 ammo. Target center is a SR3.

 

[DWier]

Sounds like you would be well served with Browning X Bolt or and old A bolt II (not an AB III). I have not rebarreled mine but have discussed it with more than one GS and none have balked at the idea. To remove the barrel you need to use heat as Browning used something similar to loctite red. Mine is an old AB II and is a true tac driver straight from the factory.

 

[Papa762]

I don't have any customs for hunting, but Sako in about any caliber they make suits me well. Use Sako 300 WM the most, my pet if going about there with Swarovskis. Weatherbys but 300 Weath, don't use much, and 7mm WM.
Usually .308s for most stuff.

 

[nikeandros]

There was a similar thread posted last month and so I will just copy and paste my reply to that thread as it seems to fit yours as well. He had the Savage High Country as a possibility as well.

There have been a lot of answers to your questions in this thread but no one has brought up the limitations of the platforms. It seems that some of the posters are not exactly doing you a service with their answers. I don't pretend to have all the answers but I hope I can give you some things to think about and help you with your decisions.
As far as the Bergara, I don't have experience with them but you do.(ETA: The other poster did.)

Tikka: You said you wanted a 300 WM. Unless something has changed, and it has with their twist rates going to 1:10 so maybe it has, their mag box length is very short as they did not make a true long action last time I checked. You are really limiting yourself to short bullets or really jamming the long bullets back into the case...If you are thinking about going with a short action cartridge Tikka is a great answer though. 300WSM....go for it.

Savage High Country: I was about to get one of these, but while doing the research I found that the OAL length is again limited. Not near as much as the Tikka but still limited, and with the bottom bolt release it may be harder to find magazine boxes to extend that. I will say that barrel changes are awesome and of the choices I would probably take this, if you are getting the WM. There are other Savages as well that you could look at, like the 110 Tactical. I believe it takes AICS mags at 3.850.

Browning: If you are the kind of guy who goes out and shoots 20rnds a year they are good to go. I have had multiple Browning rifles and they are very nice. I would not buy another one. I basically think that they are a throw away rifle, as unless you are friends with a gunsmith or can do it yourself with your own lathe etc the barrel replacement process is prohibitive. You might as well buy a new rifle, and finding a gunsmith to even work on them is a pain in the ***. My Brownings now sit in the safe doing nothing. A 300WM will eat a barrel in around 1200 to 1600rnds. Do the math and see how many years that will last you. That's why I said what I did in the first sentence.

If you can, I would save up and spend the money on a custom action that you can put prefit barrels on yourself. My last rifle is a Zermatt Arms Origin. I can switch bolt heads and barrels easily. Just some things to think about.

I may be conservative.. but as per myself i went with a remington 700 long range 1:10 26" barrel and i have even more fun installing the whole shabang in atactical chassis... oal of the bullet with this " cheap " rifle is about 3.650 and 250 gn hornady.. 1/4 inch at 200 mt... but that's me...

 

[Joefrazell]

I'd buy a Tikka and live with shooting 180's

 

[Trm82]

I don't have any customs for hunting, but Sako in about any caliber they make suits me well. Use Sako 300 WM the most, my pet if going about there with Swarovskis. Weatherbys but 300 Weath, don't use much, and 7mm WM.
Usually .308s for most stuff.

Had many Sakos and they definitely have a flaw with ejection on certain calibers and the copy of the Sako that Fierce has shares the same issue. For that reason I think I'd take a tikka over a Sako for half the price.

 

[Trm82]

I'd buy a Tikka and live with shooting 180's

I had a 300wsm a few year back shooting 168 ttsx at 3250 FPS that would stack 3 shots at 500 yards in about a 2" group.
one of the ones you regret getting rid of.