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I would like to develop a long range deer load in 300 WSM

I can fire my Ruger 30-06 with a 180 gr hunting load off the bench for about 40 rounds, before my shoulder tells me that is enough. With my 300 WSM and my 180 gr load I last about half as much. The amount of practice you need to devlope proficency to hit the vital area of a deer at 600 yds, plus load devlopment means a lot of bench time plus either prone or shooting sticks. You must have complete knowledge of your trajectory, and windage in order to hit your target. Range finders will help, but learning to read the wind only comes with practice and experience. My advice is to learn to hammer an eight inch target at 300 yards and be patient enough til your deer is at that range or less. Good hunting.
 
I recommend 180 Accubonds out of your 300 WM, but there are lots of quality bullets out there that are extremely accurate and built to open properly at 2000 to 3200 feet per second. I wouldn't use the lighter bullets myself unless you shoot them at or under 3000 feet per second. Up close they can be super destructive if they are moving too fast. And some will simply explode on a shoulder and not penetrate at all. A lot of guys are blowing up major parts of their meat with high velocity rounds developed to shoot at "600" yards when they shoot them at 100. If you are shooting for meat, aim at the ear hole for close shots. Once you get out to 200 yards you shouldn't destroy meat unless you hit the shoulder, butt, neck, hip, too high up on the back. If you hit the belly area, you will be in for a chase. That leaves only 5 inches of heart, and a little behind that for the lungs. Make sure you can hit a pie plate 100% at 600 yards after jogging 50 yards and dropping to a proper rest. If you can do that, then go ahead and shoot at 600 yards. I advise that you have a spotter with you to assure that you missed the animal and didn't wound it. Even with a muzzle brake your 300 WM will recoil enough for you to lose sight of the animal momentarily. If you hit it in the vitals it should drop on the spot or very nearby....certainly visible to you in your scope. Also, read up on tracking and be prepared to spend many hours in the effort to recover a wounded animal.

Bergonzi
I'm just a hunter.
 
Excellent post, Bergonzi. A .300 WSM is not a caliber suitable for the average hunter of whitetail deer, and especially so with factory-loaded ammunition. Practical only with proper light handloads, could one consider a .300 WSM rifle a "deer" caliber instead of a Polar Bear mauler. How far long-range is, depends on the practice dedicated to becoming proficiently accurate at THAT given RANGE. Three hundred yards is truly a long way aways, but some hunters can stretch the "300" envelope with lots of practice time and rounds spent. Recoil Harms Accuracy in most cases. Cliffy
 
Cliffy where did you come up with that crap. I can tell you have never shot a deer with a 300wsm. If you had you would not have said such a stupid thing. The 300wsm I have is actually my primary coyote calling rifle and I carry it just to stay tuned in for deer hunting.
 
Hi Killahog, since a .243 Winchester is my primary deer rifle, you are correct that I've never hunted deer with a .300WSM. I have fired a .300WSM on a rifle range, and found the abuse to my shoulder extremely brutal, not to mention the muzzle blast to my chest. Opps, I mentioned it. The scope also bent the bill on my cap. A .300WSM with factory loads is a wowzer powerhouse that I'd use strickly for Elk, Moose, and BIG Bears, the same as I'd use a gentle .30/06 Springfield load. I'm relatively "stocky" at 210 pounds, but I'm sure .300 WSM devotees are really big boys rippling with muscles. Cliffy, the recoil wimp, who shoots 70 plus rounds per session at the range.
 
Yeah, Cliffy!! I'm one of those big boys shooting one of those nasty 300WSMs. But sad to say, my big rippling muscles are hanging over my belt now!! :) It may make a difference that my Richard Franklin gun weighs approximately 20 pounds, but with the Harrel's brake and the decelerator pad,,, you can hardly tell when it goes off. That's with good ear protection of course. I would imaging your 243 might kick as much as my 300WSM loaded with 125gr Ballistic Tips.

Bottom line, Cliffy; I think you may need a few trips to the gym. :D

Barry
 

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Hi Barry, might surprise you that I attend a gym thrice-a-week for three months now. I've lost 2.5 pounds since I started. I do feel stronger, however, and display that strength by increasing the weights by five pounds per month on average. People who don't work-out regularly may decide that a .300 WSM is not the caliber for them. I was a couch potato for years, which didn't assist my shooting stamina. I now feel as though I could fire ten rounds in a row of mighty .300 WSM savage loads, or 100 rounds of potent .243 Winchester loads. Since accuracy is more important to me than sheer brute force, I'm looking to upgrade my power to .308 or .30/06 status. Cliffy, the less meek than before.
 
While many others are watching the Super-Bowl, I'm at the "Y" working out. What did I miss? Maybe someday I'll be able to handle a .300 WSMs recoil. Until then, I'll have to knock the snot out of a deer with my handy .243 Winchester. Concerning .300 WSM handloads, 130 to 150 grain bullets kick far less than 165 to 180 grainers. And 130 grainers go really fast downrange. For deer, no one needs a 180 grain bullet. Cliffy
 
Cliffy,
I commend you on making those trips to the gym. As I approach 70 my doctor is always on me about exercising. He's always telling me the more a person exercises the greater chance they have of reducing their Diabetes medications. Unfortunately I have Hypopituitarism which counter-acts any desire to exercise. So I deal with being diabetic and constant fatigue. Ahhhh, the 'Golden Years'!! ;D
I still feel quite fortunate to have one of those 300WSM that I can go Varmint shooting with and only be concerned about keeping the barrel cool.

Good shoot'n to ya and continued success with the trips to the gym..

Barry
 
Hurt my back exercising, but other than lowering my weight settings, I'll be there tomorrow. Barry, what size varmints are you shooting with a .300 WSM? Cougar-sized? My Canadian buddy shoots cougars with a .223 Remington, so as not to damage the pelts too badly. A .300 WSM would most likely make a sizeable dent in the backside exiting. I favor the .243 Winchester for assurity in downing the fierce beasties, even though I don't collect pelts. I believe my son has now considered a .30/06 Springfield adequate for deer hunting. This latest decision will make my reloading life easier. Young bucks with mighty muscles tend to OVERPOWER game with excessive horsepower. Yet, muscle power melts with mighty loads. Learning to flinch is not a good thing. Even I can concentrate with a .30/06, though I cannot conceive of requiring such massive force against a mere deer. Is a .300 WSM ever suitable? Yes, against Big Bears, Big Elk, Big Moose, and Massive Cliffies
 
I use 175 gr bergers and a full case of rl 25. Have only shot out to 300yds on deer, bullet completely disintigrated leaving a fist sized hole out the other side. This year shot a whitetail at 20 yds, not much expansion. So I would have to assume they work better once the slow down a bit. Not sure what would happen if you hit heavy bone? As for recoil I find 300 wsm quite pleasant to shoot now after about 1500 rds down the pipe. It was quite an eye opener at first but over time iv'e learned to relax,shoulder it solidly and just let it do it's thing.
 
Yep, I shoot those big varmints too :D ; P-Dogs and gophers. I just enjoy the pure accuracy of the gun and being able to push 125gr Ballistic Tips at 4000fps and be accurate with them. Needless to say these little guys vaporize when hit by these things. Richard Franklin is currently building a 30-338 Lapua for me. Should be here by summer so I can take it out to eliminate some critters. The new one will push the little bullets at 'warp speed'. Can't wait. It will also double as my Antelope gun.
 
I guess I've missed something. The 30-06 is but a kitten, but the 300 WSM is a fierce lion of a cartridge. The difference isn't that great, and I'd guess that the recoil in a moderate weight gun isn't going to harm anyone. A 300 yard shot isn't that far with a solid rest and reliable scope, especially with the ballistics of the WSM.
 
I like Cliffy! He tells it how it is even if nobody likes what he says! I'm a 150 lb. asian and I shoot 40 to 50 rounds through both my 7mm and 300 Ultra just for fun because I like to. I have guns ranging in calibers from 17 HMR and Fireball up to and including a 338 Ultra, none of which utilize a muzzle brake. Sometimes I wish a few did but I'm okay without. Some people can handle the abuse and some can't. I admit that it's not pleasant to shoot a "BIG" gun but some of us still enjoy it. I learned discipline in dealing with recoil and believe I take it better than most men of larger stature. You see, my body gives and moves with the recoiling rifle limiting what my shoulder feels. I believe that heavier men take everything the rifle dishes out as their body doesn't give and absorbs it all? Just a thought. I agree with Cliffy that you don't need a shoulder mounted cannon to dispatch deer sized game but it seems that everybody has witnessed an animal take a shot from a "big gun" and run away. There will always be tales of those types of shots and those types of animals. I have killed deer with a 223 rem. and my nephews favorite deer rifle is his 22-250. Everybody is free to hunt as they please right? I have probably killed more deer with my 300 Ultra than anything else I own and Cliffy will probably call me nuts but that's okay. I like to watch the animal die as quickly as possible. Good hunting to you all and thanks for the entertaining reading!
 

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