.300 win. mag. Pros & Cons

[warden1]

long story short, i'm thinking about getting rid of my 700 sps .300wsm in favor of the 700 sendero SF II in .300win.mag. what are the pros and cons on loading the .300win. mag.? is there anything different about loading a belted case? i know the .300wsm is very popular right now, but mine has given me nothing but headaches. i've replaced the stock with an HS precision stock, had the action bedded, trigger job and spent tons of time at the reload bench. with all this i have a 2" gun at best. i like the hs stocks and want a .30cal. mag. for hunting foothill country, so i've been thinking about the sendero sfII. my wsm is fairly heavy and the sendero sfII is listed at 8.5# so i figure the weight won't be much different. what do you think?

 

[JD338]

warden,

If you don't have confidence in your rifle, you will never be happy.
Although I have never had a M700 that wouldn't shoot under 1 inch, you may just have a bad one. 700's are very accurate right out of the box.
The belt vs non belt is more of a marketing gimic than anything else. The advantage will go to the 300 Win Mag due to its larger case volume. Also, the 300 Win Mag has been a 1000 yd target round for years and has a very good track record.
Reloading for a belted case is not an issue. You can even neck size your cases for your rifle and gett even better case life.
Go get the Sendero II 300 Win MAg, get the trigger adjusted down to 2.75-3.0 lbs, and put a good quality scope like a Leupold VXIII 4.5x14 and don't look back.

JD338

 

[340boy]

I would think that the new Sendero in 300 win mag would be hard to beat.
I have an original sendero in 338RUM. A nice rifle! From what I hear, the Sendero II is VERY nice! Come to think of it, I hear one in 264 win calling my name! :grin: :grin:

 

[Rogue6]

The Sendero will be a shooter. At the range last week a couple guys had matching senderos in 3win mag. They where pulling off some very nice groups with 180 grain ballistic tips and a stiff load of h4831. I have a CDL in 3Win mag, and really like it. A pound lighter than the Sendero, if you like walnut and blueing. I will always have a 300 Win mag, I'm on my 3rd now. I have loaded for 2 different 300WSM's and to me they're just hype. Hype is good sometimes. :roll:

 

[Desert Fox]

Versatile, that's how I describe the 300 Winchester Magnum. I own two rifle chambered for this venerable round. A Sako AIII and the now discontinued Model 70 Laredo LRH. Load a 300 hundred as close as you can get to the redline and you will see what I mean about versatility. The inherent accuracy of the 300 is legendary. Both my 300 shoots good with the Model 70 a tad better than Sako due to heavy barrel.
Below is the first 10 shot group by the model 70 during barrel break-in.

The top two bullet hole above the group of eight was prior to retorquing the action to 65 inch pound

The top two target is three shot group by the same rifle

 

[irocbarry]

to those groups above, damn :grin:

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

If I was to have 1 rifle, I would choose the 300 WM. There are several reasons. Its accurate, it hits hard, shoots flat all w/out burning 90+ grains of powder, and having pretty decent barrel life. It has the ability to shoot 200g's for bigger game such as elk and bears, and can shoot the 150's for coyotes and such. I would use a 210g Berger VLD loaded to about 2900fps and not look back. If that didn't work, a 200g AB at 3000fps would do the trick. Assuming they had 26" barrels. In my opinion, for burning roughly 75g's of powder, the performance cant be beat, reguarding power, barrel life. I had a ruger mk 2, stainless/synthetic in a 300 WM. I killed 2 elk with it and the 180g Partition loaded to 3100fps. Both were bang flop results. The cow was about 200-250, the other was a spike at 525. The rifle shot very well, .75" at 100 yards was great for me back then. I like the 7mm Mag as well, but I know if I had to choose, it would be a 300 win all the way.

 

[Guy Miner]

Odd that your WSM didn't work out. Perhaps a bad barrel?

I'm w/remingtonman on the .300 Win mag - great all around game cartridge! Well known, readily available ammo & components, capable of slugging it out with big game anywhere in North America with the right bullets. It's also known for wonderful accuracy at long range. I've hunted with the .300 Win mag, off and on, for many years. First used one over 20 years ago and have yet to be disappointed. A 180 grain bullet will likely do anything that needs to be done, but the 200's sure work well at long range... Yes, I have to confess to varmint shooting with 150's too...

The Sendero platform is great too! If you haven't hunted much with a varmint weight rifle, it may take a little getting used to. The fluted barrel on yours should help a little. Since you're going to the trouble of selecting a really nice, accurate rifle - I'd recommend a real nice scope base and ring setup, like those made by Glen Seekins of Idaho. His are machined from tough aluminum, so they're light and strong along with being very well made. A good rifle like the Sendero deserves to be topped with a great scope along with a top notch base and ring combo.

http://www.seekinsprecision.com

Regards, Guy

 

[FOTIS]

The sendero will be considerably longer, heavier and will feel that way also. That said if you really like it and you do not mind the "clunkiness" go for it! :wink:

 

[irocbarry]

the 300 mag is a great all around rifle

ive used mine for about 4 years
my dads had his model 700 for 32 years, only gun he has ever used and it is a tack driver

and my grandpa has been using his 1963 model 70 since then (damn i want that gun)

none of us have ever had a problem with the capability of the 300

 

[X ring 7mag]

Nothing that i can add that hasn't been said. You'll have no problems with the belt vs. non-belt. In fact, i like the extra capacity for breathing room. This is just my opinion, but i'm more comfortable with extra case capacity than i am with crunching powder while seating the bullet. That's not everyones' opinion...just mine. good luck, you'll have no problems.

 

[Desert Fox]

One thing to remember here, with the 300 Win Mag having a short neck, you will be experiencing a lot of powder crunching when setting bullet, especially boatail varieties.

 

[nomosendero]

I have a Laminated Stock(made for a while) 300WM Sendero & I am very fond of that gun. Last time I shot it at 500 yards I got a 1 1/2" group (3 shot) & that is the best that I have ever done, I am a hunter & not a benchrest shooter. I plan on this being a lifetime rifle except maybe the barrel if shot too much.

I think it would be hard to get 3,175FPS with a 180 & right at 3,000FPS with a WSM of normal barrel length, yet the Win has decent barrel life as magnums go.

 

[warden1]

for you 700 owners, is it possible to seat the bullets just off the rifling a few thousandths with the .300wm and still be able to fit the cartridges in the magazine? i've heard some .300s have a long throat that will not allow that.

 

[ps300wm]

Just started my 12 season with the 300 win. mag. by polishing off an antelope at long range in NM a couple of weeks ago. So after all this time with wt. deer, mule deer, elk, antelope, and pigs taken with the 300wm. All I can say is there are no "cons".