Need to downsize ...

Dropped my fist black bear with my 300WSM ,never felt so confident with a newer gun.That was last month and look forward to many more (not just bear)
243 never let me down either.

BB
 
Fourth vote for .243 & 30-06. Classic proven calibers that are widely available with many different bullets. You'll have to pay more for short magnum ammo. These two calibers will cover any small and big game in North America, plus the .243 would be fun for long range varminting! :D
 
H4831 and Littleboylefty are on the money, though I would stick with the 30-06 instead of the 300wsm , due to the wide selection of factory available bullets weights. This probably wouldn't be an issue though if you reloaded.
 
Any 30/06 is a keeper. You can find ammo anywhere in rural Canada and the world.
The 300 WSM may go the way of the .303 savage - and you usually won't find any ammo for it in rural hardware stores.
The 7/08 and the 243 make good varmint rifles if you handload. The 7/08 would easier to get accuracy from cast bullets though.
 
Given what you hunt and the fact the you have matching s/s Winchester 70 Classics in 243 and 300 WSM, that's what I'd keep provided that you practice enough to be good with the WSM. If not, then I'd be tempted to swap or use the $ from selling the others for a matching s/s Winchester 70 Classic in 30/06. Either way, handloading would help you take advantage of 30 cal. versatility. Also your range of game does not include varmints at the low end or the big bears at the high end. If you have opportunities of the former and want to minimize risks of the latter, I'd stick with the 243 and 300 WSM. But if you anticipate a big bear future and have no interest in varmint shooting at all, I'd hang on to the 7mm/08 and try to buy a matching 338 Win Mag. Again I'd recommend handloading to take advantage of wide range of quality bullets in these two versatile calibers. But it's the same issue with the 338 Win Mag as with 300 WSM. If you don't practice enough to shoot them accurately, then a 30/06 is the best thing for you.
 
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That is a pretty tough choice to have to make .Why are you downsizing that isn't a huge collection?And for what to keep, I would go with something bigger and something medium powered.
 
Not a fan of the WSM, so 243 and 30-06. Although if you're not attached to any one of them in particular, I might get rid of them all and buy 2 that I really like and that suit my hunting requirements.
 
10x said:
The 300 WSM may go the way of the .303 savage - and you usually won't find any ammo for it in rural hardware stores.
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whenever i go into a mom and pop place or small town store, i always check out their ammo selection. at present i think you have a better chance of finding 300WSM ammo than you do 7mm rem mag. if you want ammo that everybody has, you are pretty much limited to 30WCF, 303 british, and 30-06.
 
MiG25 said:
whenever i go into a mom and pop place or small town store, i always check out their ammo selection. at present i think you have a better chance of finding 300WSM ammo than you do 7mm rem mag. if you want ammo that everybody has, you are pretty much limited to 30WCF, 303 british, and 30-06.
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I was just having this conversation the other day with someone who runs a gunstore.

Your lucking in your part of BC as over here on Van Island 300 WSM is not as common as 7mm rem mag.
 
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