What 300mag out of the box would you suggest?

[HILL]

I got a question for you guys. I am thinking of geting a 300 mag. What would you say is the most accurate out of the box brand, or for that matter which would you suggest getting. (Remington, Weatherby, Browning, Winchester ......)
Any input would help. Thanks.

Hill

 

[csutton7]

Savage gets a lot of press about out of the box accuracy(in fact I just bought one, but I don't have it yet)--there's a lot of manufacturers that have test targets with their guns--go to the store and have them show you the targets of the guns you are interested in and pick the best one--you'll get a ton of different answers as most are decent unless you get the unlucky duck---I personally like Sako's, but I wanted another 300 mag and for some reason Savage seemed like the one to try---chris

 

[Calif. Hunter]

I believe Tikka guarantees 1-inch, 3-shot groups at 100 yards. Weatherby guarantees 1 1/2 inch groups. Savage makes no guarantees, but they usually shoot very well. So do CZs, Howas and Remingtons. I guess I would say Tikka or Sako, based upon their guarantee.

 

[Larry Landgren]

Remington from the rem. custom shops

 

[A-con]

Is accuracy your only concern ?
What is your price point ?
Most of the major brands will produce good accuracy, (really, whats the difference between .95 MOA and 1.3 MOA ?)
A friend of mine got a Win. Md 70 SS/Syn .300 short mag last year . Controlled round feeding, three postion safty and shoots just about any handload into .8 MOA. It feels and handles great, very light weight.
If I needed another elk rifle, I would get one just like it.

 

[hunting1]

I have a Ruger 77 wood/blue and it will shoot 1" all day right from the box. I have another same 223 does the same. Savages are accurate, but have never had a 300. Good shoot'n!

 

[Delw]

I am a .300 fanatic the best oen I have ever shot with factory ammo is a savage, the gun is uglier that hell but its a shooter.

I prefer rugers I find they shoot much better then rem, win, and weatherbys. They shoot very good with factory ammo and they shoot exceptionally well with reloads

#1's are my favorite but I have the m77's also and they shoot just as good.
Delw

 

[danr55]

Surprisingly, most all of the new rifles shoot pretty well. I've shot most all of them from Ruger to Dakota and from Remington to CZ to Charles Daly. Winchester, Sako, Tikka, Weatherby, ... they all shoot better than most hunters are capable of shooting. Just decide which 300 magnum cartridge you want to shoot then pick a rifle in your price range. For me, I prefer either Tikka or Sako. I have a partner who collects and shoots Rugers. Currently we are breaking in a couple of Montana Rifles guns. Look around and find one that fits you and buy it. Then you can concentrate on dialing it in to make it a real sub MOA shooter.

 

[GatoMan]

Dan nailed it.....most shoot better then people can shoot them...... a gun is only as good as the person behind it.

 

[tnctcb]

i have a ruger m77. i have never done anything to it but mount a scope (probablly need some trigger work) but i really like it. rugers are reasonablly accurate and nearly imposible to damage without neglect.

 

[Sako7STW]

As of right now the only two rifles I wont buy are Ruger and Remington. Rugers are nutorious for having ruff bbl's that take alot of work to get smothed, they also are known for having tight spots in the bbls causing pressure variences. Rem's quality control has flat went in the toilet. Still a great desighn but the older stuff has far superior quality control. Thats why on some other sites they are called SUCKS actions.

For a good .300 I recomend the .300 Weatherby in the Vangurad series. You can fit the rifle into a small budget or build it into whatever quality you want with upgrades. The .300 WBY is WBY's most popular round so numarous manufacturers have ammo at a decent cost for it. The Tikka's and Sako's are also my Favorites obviously. Sako had a recent recal, which although embarrasing for the company was the right thing to do. Alot of the manufactureres would have turned cheak to it. To me that says something. If you want a magnum be prepared to get pounded with a light weight rifle, keep that in mind.

Savages are butt ugly but most say they shoot like the dickens, cant argue with results

 

[Rogue 6]

SUCKS is a term of admoration, not an insult. But yes both the MkV Weatherbys and the Sako 75s are excellent rifles out of a higher end box. I have a MkV and my bro in law has a 75, they are both excellent rifles. For a mid priced gun the Remington Cdl I picked up last summer is a very nice rifle and using my handloads shoots right in there with my MkV and the 75 I've shot. I had an out of the box browning micro hunter in 260 that was incredible right off the bat. On the lower end my stock Adl 243 does just over 1/2 moa with sierra varmint loads and about .8 with 100 grain Partitions. Not to bad for a SUCKS. And with a SUCKS your upgrade options are nearly endless.

 

[Sako7STW]

Yep your right Rogue it is a term of admiration. After rereading my post that didnt quite come out right. Sometimes I think if Rem would sell just actions they could 5 actions to every one rifle. The best part about them like you said is the possibilities are about endless as to what you can do with one of the actions. Its just sad thay let their stocks and bbls and final wormanship go to the birds as much as they do. Every once in a while you hear of someone that got a goodun and shoots like crazy but not like you used to. You sure dont hear the same thing about Sako's and Wby's though, very seldome do you ever hear of someone getting a new one and they dont shoot as good as they can humanly shoot them. Of course they hurt the pocket book pretty hard but thats why there are Vanguards and Tikka's .

 

[sra61]

I bought a new Rem. 700 Bdl, stainless w/fiberglass stock in .300 Rem. Ultra Mag. last summer, for an elk tag I drew. My old .338 Win. Mag. has never failed me, but I wanted a new gun. I put a Leupold 4x12 on it, and loaded up a Barnes TSX 180 gr. with alot of reloader22 and got .8" groups out of it at a chronographed 3369 fps. Accuracy was a little better a couple gr. less of powder, but I wanted all of the reach I could get. I used a 12" target diameter for a maximum point blank range of 456 yards. I honestly have never seen a mature bull react to a bullet the way this one did. The power of this cartridge was devastating, and the recoil, at least with my gun was not bad! Plus, because it headspaces on the shoulder instead of a belt I have the ability to load the cases many more times, even with a really hot load. I personally have always had good luck with Rem. 700's.

 

[Rogue 6]

Sako,
I had a Tikka 695 in 300 win that really was a excellent shooter. I have a hard time getting excited about the new T3. A hunting pard picked up an early on in 300 wsm. It shoots nice and is lite, I just personally don't really care for it. Next time your at a gun shop take a look at the 700 CDL's they are not a 75 but they are a way better than the average bdl for about an extra 50-100 bucks. The stock is the mountain stock conture, hinged floor plate, fine matte blued barrel, jewelled bolt, 24 and 26 inch barrels, no white lines and much better fit and finish. Its the better rifle instead of cartridge hype that alot of us have been hoping for.

 

[1_pointer]

Sako- Brownells does just sell 700 actions.

 

[Sako7STW]

Thanks 1 P!! I was unaware of that.

 

[nitro x]

300 mags are a good all around choice for North America.
I have deferent requirements from a tool like a rifle than most.they come from learning the hard way over many many trips.
Stainless Steel is the best way to go on finish.And laminated or synthetic for the stock.This keeps them ZEROED.I live in a very dry climate and have noticed this is defiantly a problem when I hunt humid areas with Walnut stocks.
I don't like rifles without iron sights,the best scopes are useless in a heavy rain.A single drop of rain on the objective makes them useless.I don't mean don't use a good scope in fact I think you should get a Leupold in 4-12 or smiler scope for it and put in see through mounts .
KDF make very nice brakes and I highly recommend getting The thin one if you are at all recoil sensitive.You will shoot it a lot better.The thin ones don't interfere with the sights.
Browning and Winchester make guns with an Adjustable brake that can be tuned for each load for accuracy.they work well.Most factory ammo can be tuned to MOA or better with the BOSS system with a little experimenting,At least on the rifles I have worked with.
Problem is you need a gun smith to put the sights on as they are not offered on models with the BOSS system.
Browning also have a {drop floor plate/box }magazine I like.It makes loading and unloading fast and easy.
Most modern rifles will serve you well if you familiarize your self with it.
Next Question should be Which 300 mag.Thats simple They are all about the same when it comes to the real hunting field. So the easy one to find ammo for is the 300 Winchester Mag and its cheaper than some of the others.and not its short fat brother but the old guy.
They don't make a 300 mag out of the box I wouldn't modify in some way but the browning A BOLT with the BOSS In stainless and synthetic stock,wouldn't take much.
Really any thing built on Remington 700,Ruger 77,Winchester 70,or Browning A Bolt have as good a chance as any to be a good one, at an affordable price.
If you don't mind single shot Ruger #1 is a good one.
PS I wouldn't use the cheap see through mount available on the market on a heavy recoiling rifle without a brake.But a good machinist can make good ones for just over $100.00

 

[Calif. Hunter]

My buddy and I took out his brand-new Weatherby Vanguard in .300 mag, that he bought off someone who won it at a Friends of the NRA dinner. First group out of it was 3/4-inch. This was from a sandbag on a tree stump, cut off not-quite-shoulder high, standing. Every load he tried, with H-4350, H-4831 or H-1000, went into about the same size group and a couple were smaller. (All were 180 gr bullets, either Hornady SST or Interlocks.) I was impressed. He stopped after a couple dozen shots, as the .300 Wthby is a bit much and it is easy to begin to flinch.

 

[Iron Buck]

I have (2) 300 mag rifles. The first one is a Ruger 77 MArk II topped with a 3.5-10x Leupold VX-III. A real acurate gun that shoots just uder 1" at 100 yards with several factory loads. The other is a Weatherby MArk V in 300 WBY. I picked it up used for about $700 a few years back. While I do not really care for the stock design (lines) of the WBY. it does work with respect to re-directing recoil away from teh face. And I LOVE the SMOOTH 60 degree bolt throw I have it toped with a Leupold VX-II 2.5-8x VX-III. It also shoots factory rounds to about 1". I will be trying some 200 grain nosler handloads this spring. If they shoot well, they will be my new preffered elk medicine