What caliber should I use?
I realize that this is going to be a very opinionated post but I am interested to hear some expert responses. I live in Alaska and do a lot of hunting both here and in the lower 48. I am currently shopping for a new rifle and am having trouble deciding on a caliber. I hunt a lot of medium sized game whitetail deer, blacktail deer, mule deer, mountain goats, sheep, caribou , and black bears. I typically use a 1904 springfield 30-06 that has been in my family for a long time and am planning retiring that weapon. With proper bullet selection I have no reservations about shooting any north american game with that rifle but I would not push the shot beyond 300 yards. I have taken brown bear as well as moose with that weapon at ranges under 200 yards. On a recent hunt in CO I took a large bull elk at 424 yards with a single shot from a tikka .300 wsm. I have been looking at that caliber quite a lot since then but am hesitant to purchase one because of the "young age" of the cartridge. I dont want a much larger cartridge because I do primarily hunt medium sized game and do not want to do excessive damage to the meat. I have looked at the 7mm Mag also but while it is a great cartridge and with proper shot placement and would certainly kill a moose or brown bear the round is a little light for me to be comfortable hunting those two animals. So what would you choose?
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If you like the .300 Winchester Short Magnum but worry about its future (as I do) then look at the regular .300 Winchester Magnum. It is a LITTLE bigger but I doubt the game will know the difference. 0 -
I would recommend the 375 H&H. It will handle anything in North America, ammo is usually available, and if you can handload it can be used for most game. 0 -
I have found selecting a cartridge to be a very personal thing.
I don't know if you handload, but I personally favor the 30 cals myself and found that 300 magnums (Winchester and Weatherby) will nicely do just about anything with proper bullets and loads.0 -
When I lived in AK I too hunted with a 1903A-3 Springfield, I loved it and still have it. The only other gun (caliber) that impressed me more was the 338 Winchester Magnum. There are some very good bullets available for the 338, it is great at long ranges too. If you want to stick with 30 cal go with a 300 Winchester Mag. 0 -
Why was the .300 WSM created? The .300 Win Mag is a great cartridge, what is the expected improvement with the WSM? 0 -
I'm not an expert, but I do like to post on this forum. [:D]
I say just get another '30'06.
Why punish your ears, shoulder and wallet with more gun than that when it sounds like its been working for you for some time, and it should continue to do so for the majority of your hunting?
If you just HAVE to go bigger, then I second (or third) the .300 win mag.
That ought to be enough gun for anything you'd likely encounter, plus its the most readily available of the common magnums, and isn't likely to go away any time soon.
Edit: By the way, I think its awesome that you've been doing all your hunting with one gun. There is something to be said for that.
Edit #2:
quote:Why was the .300 WSM created? The .300 Win Mag is a great cartridge, what is the expected improvement with the WSM?
There isn't really any expected improvement in terminal ballistics.
The idea is to get .300 Win mag performance out of a smaller overall length cartridge. That lets you use a gun with a shorter action, potentially making the gun itself lighter, and also making it faster to cycle.
Also, in theory, a shorter overall cartridge case length should lead to more uniform powder ignition, as all the powder is closer to the detonating primer on ignition. So again (in theory) you might get better accuracy. In practice, I doubt 98% of shooters would ever notice the difference, let alone be able to take advantage of it.
Also in practice, personally, I don't want a "light" .300 magnum gun. . ouch! I also don't care if it takes another inch of pull and a half a second to cycle the action. . .with that sort of cannon, I'm not in any rush!
Some make claims about lower recoil from the short magnum cartridges, but I don't buy them.0 -
I agree with beantown on the .30/06. You're retiring your family's low-number Springfield (unless that was a typo and you meant 1903)that you've had wonderful luck with over the years--get another '06. Any rifle you like will have a model chambered in .30/06. Cartridges are available anywhere ammo is sold. It's been a great cartridge for over a hundred years; why try to improve on a good thing and something you're used to? 0 -
I think you answered your own question. Stick with the 06 but do a upgrade on the rifle. Pick up a new Savage or Remington and stick with what works. Invest in a good quality scope. There is a lot to be said about price and availability of ammo. 0 -
You may wish to consider the .338 Winchester Magnum as well. It is shorter than the 300 Winchester and 300 Weatherby Magnums, and will work in an action about the same length as a 30-06. It is not known for punishing recoil, and is available in many rifles, including the Tikka. You can load it with lighter bullets for lighter game such as deer, or heavier ones for moose and bear.
I have hunted with a number of guys who use it on the same hunts for deer and elk.
The .338 Winchester Magnum case is essentially the case that has been used to make the .264 Winchester Mag, the 7mm Remington Mag, and others.0 -
The .264, .300, .338 and .458 Win Mags were all designed for the '06 length action, the .300 Win is a hair longer than the others, but not enough to make any difference. The .300 H&H and .300 Weatherby were the original commercial long action .300's.
If you want a mag, use the .338 or .300 Win mag. If not, get another '06. You'll do well with any of them.0
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