300 win mag ammo advice

[Terry aka Coydog]

I'm going to Wyoming for deer and antelope in October. I'm taking my 25-06 and thought I would take my 300 win mag as a backup. This rifle shoots well with 180 grain factory loads. I have only shot them. I was wondering if anyone had advice on what other size bullets to try before I go that might be suited for this hunt. I do not reload. Thanks for any help

 

[Ben Lamb]

180's are bread & butter for the 300. I like standard cup & core bullets (interlocks, hot cor, corelockt, etc) for lighter game. Might also check out the deep curl from speer, i think they load them in the Federal Fusion. It's a plated bullet that has bonded qualities but seems to be designed for thinner skinned game like deer & pronghorn.

 

[Bambistew]

Switching it up isn't worth the hassle for me. What you gain by going with "cheap or premium" bullets, or lighter/heavier bullets in the end is just mental gymnastics. I like to pick one load/bullet and learn how it shoots for as far as I plan on shooting, and forget about it.

I never understood the reason to switch from heavy to light bullets, to match the game. That is nothing more than a marketing ploy by ammo companies to sell more ammo... For instance do you think a 165 out of a 300mag is going to kill "less" than a 180 or vise versa? Really 15 grains and 100fps??? At the distances I shoot, the difference in trajectory is few inches, at most, between all 30 cal bullets. At 300 yards the difference between my 308 and 300WSM is 2 inches... with the same bullets.

People get all worked up over bullet construction and terminal performance. The only "failure" I've witnessed were from Partitions, go figure. I've seen hundreds of animals shot, tiny to giant, with all sorts of bullets, they all died with a hole in their vitals.

If the loads you've been shooting are grouping well, I'd stick with them and forget about it.

Good luck on your hunt and post pics when you get back.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Agree with Bambistew, don't overthink this. If you have shot it and know the load, run with it.

 

[Terry aka Coydog]

Thanks guys, that was what I was thinking would be best was to stick with the 180's but thought I would ask first. Besides I have like 200 plus rounds of 180's lol.