300wsm v 300 min mag and other big 30cal rounds

T

thepolinator

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Hi all. I picked up a used tikka t3 in 300wsm recently and was wondering what you opinion of this round is. I will be using it for whitetail deer. I know it packs more punch than a 308 or 303 but how does it compare with a 300 min mag or some of the other 30cal magnums? Do you guys think it would be big enough for some more dangerous game like moose or big bears?
 
Little slower than the 300 Win and Weatherby but not by much. It's very close to the old 300 H&H. A deer won't be able to tell the difference between any of them. The 303 has put down more moose and bear than any magnum calibre yet invented, your WSM will do fine. Invest in quality projectiles.
 
SuperCub said:
I think once you shoot that T3 300WSM, you're gonna wish it was a 308. Them T3 magnums are kickers.
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Hey SC.........Never had a Tikka but I keep hearing this same thing over and over, is it just bad stock design and crappy recoil pad, combined with light weight? My super Ultra LW Mod 700 Ti 300 WSM doesn't bother me at all, it let's you know when it goes off but certainly no worse than a 30-06 or 35 Whelen and no where near my 350 RM. It doesn't even have a recoil pad, just a rubber anti-skid plate. Several people have shot it and commented that it wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be..........Must be something wrong with the design of the T3 Lite stock or perhaps the material it's made of. I have never loaded anything heavier than 165s for it because it was designed exclusively as a sheep and goat rifle and I wanted velocity and trajectory more than penetration. Settled on 150 gn TTSX, it didn't like any of the 165s I tried, but will do moa with the 150 TTSX so................I'm curious if the T3 lite is really that bad or if I'm just totally desensitized to recoil, but like I said others have tried it and found it easily manageable if not pleasant. The whole rest of the world can't be that sensitive to recoil, you shoot that 375 CT and yet warn about the T3 lite..................I'm curious !!!!

I don't even worry about recoil in rifles until someone hands me a mouth guard with the rifle and says you may want to use this !!!! LOL
 
SuperCub said:
I think once you shoot that T3 300WSM, you're gonna wish it was a 308. Them T3 magnums are kickers.
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I don't agree, my Savage 16 in 300wsm has less recoil than my Rem 700 in 30-06. I guess it depends how sensitive one is to recoil as well as the design of the rifle.
I recently spent some time at the range working up loads for two rifles in 300wsm, one rifle definitely had more felt recoil than the other, even though I was using the exact same hand loads in both.

My Savage 16 with the accustock is not only a tackdriver, but seems to absorb recoil quite well compared to some other stock designs.

If one is sensitive to recoil, and you reload, you have options available, lighter loads, bullets etc.
I know small people including women who shoot large magnum caliber rifles with no issues.

I really believe people who think they are sensitive to recoil actually have bad shooting habits or little shooting experience.
I'm not a very large person myself, but maybe because I've been shooting for 40 years, I don't really know what recoil is, other than a friendly little push in the shoulder.
It's really mind over matter!
 
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would like to here your comments after shooting 300wsm in that t3. Was looking at buying my first hunting rifle but can't decide between 308 win, 30.06 or some other caliber in that same range.
 
The Outsider said:
I don't agree, my Savage 16 in 300wsm has less recoil than my Rem 700 in 30-06. I guess it depends how sensitive one is to recoil as well as the design of the rifle.
I recently spent some time at the range working up loads for two rifles in 300wsm, one rifle definitely had more felt recoil than the other, even though I was using the exact same hand loads in both.

If one is sensitive to recoil, and you reload, you have options available, lighter loads, bullets etc.
I know small people including women who shoot large magnum caliber rifles with no issues.
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You are trying to compare apples to oranges and SC was speaking exclusively of the Tikka T3 Lite........not the same rifle as a salvage, he wasn't referring to the caliber/cartridge, he was referring to the rifle in question and I have heard this complaint time and time again regarding the T3 lite...........
 
c-fbmi said:
The whole rest of the world can't be that sensitive to recoil, you shoot that 375 CT and yet warn about the T3 lite..................I'm curious !!!!
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I've owned T3s and they are quite light and tend to exaggerate recoil esp in a magnum chambering. The pads are hard and stock butt footprint fairly small. I am assuming (given the question) that the OP is a newer shooter and that recoil may be an issue. This seems to be a common concern with these rifles.

Next time I come to Whitehorse, I'll bring that 375CT. I'll let you try it, but t's really not that bad to shoot. I don't bother with larger bores than that. :)
 
c-fbmi said:
You are trying to compare apples to oranges and SC was speaking exclusively of the Tikka T3 Lite........not the same rifle as a salvage, he wasn't referring to the caliber/cartridge, he was referring to the rifle in question and I have heard this complaint time and time again regarding the T3 lite...........
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Thank-you ....... saved me the reply.

c-fbmi said:
Settled on 150 gn TTSX, it didn't like any of the 165s I tried, but will do moa with the 150 TTSX
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Those 150s would go a long way to control recoil in that rifle, which is a very nice rifle indeed!
 
SuperCub said:
I've owned T3s and they are quite light and tend to exaggerate recoil esp in a magnum chambering. The pads are hard and stock butt footprint fairly small. I am assuming (given the question) that the OP is a newer shooter and that recoil may be an issue. This seems to be a common concern with these rifles.

Next time I come to Whitehorse, I'll bring that 375CT. I'll let you try it, but t's really not that bad to shoot. I don't bother with larger bores than that. :)
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I killed my cape buffalo with it's big brother the .416 Taylor !!!
 
I had a .300 WSM on a T3 Lite for awhile, .300 Win on a T3 Hunter for quite a bit longer and shot a friend's .300 Win Mag T3 a lot.

The WSM was a pussy-cat, partly due to the Limbsaver pad but mostly because I can swim faster than that thing shot 180s. It couldn't produce enough recoil to bounce on the bags.

The same rifle in .300 Win? Lets just say that you didn't have ask anyone if it went off. It got more than a little lively. The wood stocked .300 was right in the middle.
 
I don't quite agree with them being "big kickers" as I had a T3 Lite in .338 win mag and it was no worse than any of my .300wm rifles. I kept the loads sensible, and it was a real thumper. Kind of miss it, but have a .375 ruger to wipe away my tears with..........
 
SuperCub said:
I've owned T3s and they are quite light and tend to exaggerate recoil esp in a magnum chambering. The pads are hard and stock butt footprint fairly small. I am assuming (given the question) that the OP is a newer shooter and that recoil may be an issue. This seems to be a common concern with these rifles.

Next time I come to Whitehorse, I'll bring that 375CT. I'll let you try it, but t's really not that bad to shoot. I don't bother with larger bores than that. :)
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I'm not new to shooting per se, I have allot of experience with small game hunting and and .22's. But I have only really been shooting center fire rifles for the 2 years. I don't mind recole, but I was curious to how it compared to other 30 cal rifles.
 
I find the t3 to kick harder then other rifles due to stock design. It kinda pushes up and smacks you in the cheek. I really wanted one but they just don't fit me right the high narrow comb just feels cheap and I have to force my head down it seems. I shoot a savage 110 in 300 Wm and it feels like half the recoil but fits perfectly
 
SuperCub said:
I betcha it wasn't built on a T3. :)
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Nope sure wasn't........not a Tikka fan..........it was on an old Ruger 77 round top, not sure if you're familiar with them. I didn't have it built, I bought it that way.





And yes this photo is nearly 1/2 a life ago..........32 at the time, my first African adventure !!!
 
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