My deer rifle has been a Remington 700 in 270 win, topped off with a Leaupold 3x9x50. I love that rifle, and can honestly say that I will never part with it for any reason(it was my first rifle, and I have killed all my deer with it). Well, not long ago, my dad picked up a Howa in 300 WSM topped with a nice(not nearly a Leaupold) 3x9x44 scope. After a season with this gun, my dad just up and gives me the Howa and says he's lookin for something different. Sweet[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I'll just put my Remington up for awhile and let the Howa take over duty. What experiance do yall have with the WSM. Everyone I have talked to say that it is a mean little round that likes to drop deer sized game in thier tracks. The gun he gave me shoots great, is practically brand new, and had a scope, sling, and camo stock with it. Needless to say, I was pretty pumped when he told me that it was mine. I was just wandering what yall had to say about the Short Mag.

 

Always fun to get a new rifle! I shoot a Browning BAR .300 Win Mag with Leaupold 4x12 A/O. It is a great gun. Takes everything from whitetail (back when I lived in MN/ND) caribou, moose, and bear. The .300 WSM has almost the exact balistics (in a 24" barrel), excepet it will kick a heck of a lot more. Click here Chuck Hawks for some great gun and caliber info. Good luck and be sure to practice with it!

 

Catterman, did you mean to say that the 300 WSM will kick harder than the 300 Win Mag? It was my understanding that the WSM had the same balistics w/ far less recoil. I have never shot a 300 Win Mag, but the WSM kicks imo, about like a 7 Mag, maybe less. The gun I have is about a 7-8 lbs rifle with a 24 inch barral, so its not a lightweight and tames the kick pretty good. I was just confused when you said the WSM would kick a lot harder than a 300 Win Mag.

 

Now granted, all .300's kick, as far as recoil, A typical 8 pound .300 Win Mag rifle with a 180 grain bullet will hit you with about 22 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. An 8 pound WSM will be around 26 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. An 8.5 pound .300 Weatherby Mag. rifle shooting the 180 grain bullet will hit you with about 35 ft. lbs. of recoil energy. They say that the average person couldn't withstand over 20 ft. lbs. of recoil without flinching, and 15 ft. lbs. of recoil is the most recomended. (these numbers are off my memory, so someone can feel free to correct me, as I have been know to be wrong in the past!) Either way, it should be able to tell that the .300 WSM kicks more then the 7mag, as the .300 is a bigger gun.

So, maybe I shouldn't have said "it will kick a heck of a lot more", but it will kick more. My BAR is super heavey, way more then 8 lbs., so compared to my buddies 7.5 pound Remington Model 700 .300 WSM my gun doesn't kick that hard. (Note I am not saying a heaver gun is better, as it is tourture to carry it 1 mile through the tundra with a hind leg of a moose on your back...)
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Catterman, you must know a lot more than me. I would have never guessed that a WSM would have more recoil than a 300 mag. It seems that with less powder and the same bullet, a WSM would have less recoil. I'm a big ole boy, and the Howa is a larger rifle, so I dont really notice the recoil. It does not bother me to shoot the rife several times in a row. The only rifle that I have ever shot that was uncomfortable for me was a 1970's model Winchester Model 70 in 264 Win Mag. I dont recall flinching, but it was uncomfortable to shoot. I have also shot a 7mm Weatherby mag in an Ultralight rifle. It wasnt that bad, but it was more than the WSM. Maybe I have just always imagined that 300 Win Mag to be a cannon becouse I have heard bad stories about the recoil. Maybe I can come up to Alaska with you and try my WSM on some Moose[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I would also like to catch some of those big King Salmon.

 

I've had my .300wsm for two years now and would'nt trade it for anything else. Check my pics and see what it got me last fall! I would'nt say it kicks that bad either but when I bought it they had a Pachmayr (spelling?) decelerator pad that replaces the stock recoil one, and looks the same. It reduced the recoildown to that of a .243 I also own a .243 and have compared back and forth and there is basicly no difference in recoil with that new pad on. Good luck with the Howa, you'll love it

 

Not sure about a 300WSM. I have found the ammo costs more than a 300 Win Mag. Funny, since they perform about the same. I just took down 9ft 8inch Brown bear with my 300 WIn Mag in the spring season.

My 300 Win Mag has a bugger of a recoil but, I expect that with a just under 7lb gun. I have a 416 rigby that has about the same felt recoil as my 300 Win Mag. Then again it weight just over 10lbs!

I have heard lots of things about the 300WSM, none bad. Should be a great gun though. If you come to Alaska come packing. We Alaskans are even known to shoot fish every once and a while, but usually only when they are over 300lbs! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

The advice my Grampa gave me on hunting guns is this: Shoot the largest caliber gun you can shoot and still hit what you are aiming at. If that's a 50Cal BMG go for it. I try to stick to it and hasn't let me down yet. Although I am toying with the idea of taking a brown bear with a pistol. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

they are a beast of a gun and the ammo is more exspensive then normal but. but i would take one in a heart beat