300 win mag

James1873

James1873

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McLennan, Alberta
So i picked up a new rifle....semi impulse buy (knew i wanted a new gun, but walked in not knowing what i wanted). 300 win mag Benelli r1. I have never actually hunted with anything other then a 30-30. Was thinking of making this my only hunting rifle and have other guns for fun or because i like shooting them. Rifle didn't come with and iron sights, but was drilled and tapped for them. Going to order some sights for it (ouch $220) as i don't care to use a scope right now.

Then after i got it home i was thinking maybe 300 win mag is overkill for deer? Its alot faster then 30-30 with similar bullet weights. (170 gr 30-30 vs 180gr 300). but at the same time i want to eventually hunt elk when i know more about hunting.

Should i use the 300 win for all big game or get something smaller for deer? Thanks
 
It's good for Deer , elk , moose , bear etc.
Great caliber overall really. Lots of choices for ammo and can buy said ammo pretty much anywhere too.
I'm a fan of the caliber anyway.
 
R1's are nice guns....oddly mine came with irons but no scope base, tried Weaver bases but never looked right. Base was $100 through Stoeger so I guess a better deal that way lol. Gun was $999 from Coastal Outdoors... I'll have to remember to part the sights out first if I ever sell it.
 
300 Winney is fine for deer, and for that matter anything in North America. Choose the appropriate load for your game of choice.
 
As long as your not bothered by recoil there are few situations that the .300 Win Mag is not suitable for. At the same time variety is the spice of life and I will hunt with three different rifles over the course of a deer season. No reason your other fun guns can't also be suitable for whitetail deer if you choose. A .243 or 6.5 creedmore in a rifle along the lines of a ruger predator topped with a quality optic could easily be both a longer range target rig and a great deer rifle.
 
Nice wood on that unit. I opted for the synthetic comfortec stock version. Oddly mine didn't come with sights, but it did come with a scope base kit.


Hitzy said:
R1's are nice guns....oddly mine came with irons but no scope base, tried Weaver bases but never looked right. Base was $100 through Stoeger so I guess a better deal that way lol. Gun was $999 from Coastal Outdoors... I'll have to remember to part the sights out first if I ever sell it.
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Hitzy said:
R1's are nice guns....oddly mine came with irons but no scope base, tried Weaver bases but never looked right. Base was $100 through Stoeger so I guess a better deal that way lol. Gun was $999 from Coastal Outdoors... I'll have to remember to part the sights out first if I ever sell it.
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Nice hunting rig.
 
A 300 is not a Canon, your not going to ruin meat or dismember a deer. A poor shot would see more meat damage, and hydrostatic shock, more blood bubbles around the wound.

If recoil worries you, the design of the Benelli stock and semi auto action will help. Something like vanilla 150 gr factory ammo for deer, and the rifle has the ability to shoot premium 180,200, or larger for pretty much anything walking in the.continent.

Congratulations on the buy.
 
My only issue is the idea of running iron sights. One of the biggest advantages of a 300mag is the energy and trajectory at ranges over 300m, and I sure wouldn't be using iron sights at that sort of range. Under 300yds, a 308 or 30-06 is plenty of gun...

And Yes, the 300 will damage more meat than the 30 30. It's simple physics - the 300 mag has more energy at 300yds than the 30-30 does at the muzzle. That doesn't mean it'll blow the deer in half, but a bad shot can do a lot of damage to the meat.

Otherwise, the 300wm is a very good candidate for a one gun hunter.
 
.300 WM is a great choice for a "one-gun" hunting battery...

The R1 is not a great choice for a one-gun hunting battery...
 
Suther said:
Why not the R1? I don't know anything about them... Are they heavy? complicated? unreliable?
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Well I picked this one up because it was on sale for $999.94. The rifle itself is easy to take apart and clean with no tools. It feel like quality and there is zero rattling or noise if you shook it. I think it's 7.3 pounds. Not super light but light enough. As for accuracy and reliability I'll have to find that out. I think the argo system is used in there m4 shotgun, which the marine corp adopted, for whatever that's worth.
 
James1873 said:
Well I picked this one up because it was on sale for $999.94. The rifle itself is easy to take apart and clean with no tools. It feel like quality and there is zero rattling or noise if you shook it. I think it's 7.3 pounds. Not super light but light enough. As for accuracy and reliability I'll have to find that out. I think the argo system is used in there m4 shotgun, which the marine corp adopted, for whatever that's worth.
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They are quite well made, I have no complaints here either. The mags are excellent, gas system is robust, 2 stage trigger on mine is light and crisp, the barrel is hammer forged & cryo'd. It took a bit of load development to get it shooting MOA but that's about it. Never jams.
 
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