300 WSM, 300 WM, or 300 PRC for Freestate Plains Game

[AZDAVE]

Of those you mentioned the 300WM. Has the most history of the lot and will be around for as long as you are shooting. The others will always be on the fringe with availability of brass.

I am a classic old skool kinda shooter in most cases and also recommend a 300 H&H, get some 200gr or heavier bullets, range finder, and good scope and go hunt. I have eliminated all the 30cal's I had except my H&H.

 

[Ragman]

I agree with the others in that you already have the perfect .30 in your '06, but the fact that you want another rifle is a good enough excuse to me. Take me for instance... I have a .308 Win and a 7mm RM but i WANT a 7mm-08 so bad it hurts! That being said, of the three you mentioned I would definitely go with the .300 WM because it's cool and the WSM and PRC aren't!

 

[meigsbucks]

A friend of mine took a brownie, griz and moose with a .300 Win mag. (200gr Swifts on the bears and 180 Barnes on the moose. The brownie took three shots to put down. Four on the moose… admitted to poor shooting.
I’d rule out the WSM. Doesn’t handle longer bullets without cutting into the powder capacity.
The PRC almost duplicates the old .300 Weatherby but with a faster twist barrel. Also the PRC doesn’t have the distribution on of the Weatherby. The Weatherby is about 70 years old and has good ammo distribution. Both the PRC and Weatherby beat the Winchesters by ~200 fps.
The .300 Win mag is one of the most popular hunting rounds in the world and you can find ammo almost everywhere.
HOWEVER: For the large bears, I would much prefer a larger round such as a .338 mag (Win, Nosler, RUM, Wby, Lapua), a .35 Whelen, .358 Norma, 9.3x62 or x64, a .375 mag (H&H, Ruger, Weatherby).
If a Cape buffalo is in your future, a .375 would be the route I’d go.

 

[Scott CWO]

Decisions, decisions! As the saying goes, opinions are like azzholes, everybody has one. So, I guess I will bloviate for a bit.

If you want a lighter rifle, I recommend the WSM. I have a custom M70 in .300WSM that was built for sheep and mountain game hunting. The shorter action allows some weight loss, if that’s important to you. Mine weighs 5.6 pounds but it’s a custom build. The WSM is known as an inherently accurate cartridge. I shot a 2.5” group with mine at 400 yards. The flattest shooting and most efficient (retains the most velocity and energy) bullet weight for most .30 caliber cartridges at moderate velocities is the 165 grain bullet, followed by the 180 grain bullet. If you use a bullet that holds together, like a Nosler Accubond, Swift A-Frame or a Barnes TTSX, you are good to go. My rifle prefers the Accubond. I would consider the 180 grain a bit marginal for brown bear but I wouldn’t hesitate to use it or the 165 grain for all African PG and NA game. I’m not a fan of 200 grain bullets in .30 caliber, moderate velocity cartridges. It gives up too much trajectory for my liking and is unnecessary for moose and elk.

The .300WM is definitely a great cartridge, more popular and ammo is more widely available, especially over the PRC. Best load is the 180 grain bullet. A bit heavier rifle than the average WSM but not much of a difference in production rifles. Can’t go wrong here.

For me, the .300 PRC, while a great long range option, suffers from ammo and brass availability issues.

If you are not going to ever hunt DG in Africa and you want one rifle for all of NA and all African PG, I would go with @Velo Dog suggestion of the .338WM. With a 225 grain Swift A-Frame or Barnes TTSX, it shoots the same trajectory as your .30-06 but with a lot more punch. I don’t see any advantage to the 250 grain bullet because trajectories suffer and there’s not an animal in NA or an African PG animal it won’t handle with the 225 grain A-Frame, Accubond or TTSX, with better trajectory.

Do you really think you won’t want to shoot a cape buffalo? If a cape buffalo is in the cards, all of the above is out if you want just one rifle. While a .338WM will work on buffalo, it’s not legal in several countries. Then the .375 H&H would be my choice. Loaded with the 270 grain Barnes LRX, it’s great short and medium range medicine for anything in NA and for African PG. Most guys on AH would tell you to jump up to a 300 grain bullet for Cape buffalo.

Let us know what you decide and good luck!

 

[Doug3006]

There’s no practical difference between most of the 300 magnums. The outlier is the 300 Remington Ultra Mag, it’s significantly faster. The original fast-30 is the 300 H&H and it sends a 180-grain bullet at 2,925 fps, which is about 200 FPS faster than the 30-06. It’s my pick, only because of nostalgia. The Remington Ultra Mag sends that same 180 gr bullet at 3,250 fps. The rest (Win mag, Prc, Lazzeroni) fall somewhere in between. So, any of the 3 you mention will do a similar job on plains game. The WSM and PRC can be housed in short actions if weight savings is important. The PRC handles longer, heavier bullets which theoretically make longer shots more doable, but IMHO shots at game over 500 yards should be considered very carefully.

 

[RTG]

I know that this has probably been asked before, but I can not find the thread. I just got back from hunting in the Limpopo region and I used a 30-06 with 180 grain Barnes TTSX. I want to build/buy something that would work for African Plains Game AND Alaskan game (moose, caribou, black bear, mountain goat, elk, maybe brown bear). I have been looking at the 300 WSM, the 300 WM, or the 300 PRC. I reload so I’m not too worried about ammo (as long as I can fine powder and primers). Please make your suggestions so that I can “buy once, cry once” and have a gun for all of the larger game both in my area and Africa.

This Wyoming hunter chose .300WM after a couple years of torturous deliberation. It can do just about anything and ammo/brass are more widely produced, and more widely available.

The PRC is a great round but it offers nothing extra that I would need against deer, elk, moose, black bear, etc. PCR does have a fair bit more recoil however.

The use of a short action 300WSM is attractive but to me, not worth the limitation with heavier bullets.

 

[Justbryan]

My vote is an ultra light 300 WSM. I have taken a Kimber Ultra Light 300 WSM on 2 trips with great success. 200 grain TSX and 200 grain Accubond, Swarovski Z8i, 22" barrel, great for walking.

 

[PBrick]

300WSM was an answer to a question nobody asked and suffers from not being able to shoot heavier bullets (200 grain and above) without compressing the powder, so it's off the table.

The 300PRC was specifically designed as a long range cartridge and because of that, it is capable of ethically taking game out to 600 yards...if the shooter is capable. I'd like to know how many times a PH has green lighted a 400+ yard shot. So it's a great caliber but not likely for use in Africa. However shooting a western mountain sheep at that distance isn't off the table so it's a consideration.

The 300WM performance falls between the other two cartridges and is also the most likely to be found if your ammo is lost in transit (both in Alaska and Africa). If you are OK with limiting your shots to 450 yards or less (again with a capable shooter), it will get the job done with premium bullets ranging from 165 to 220 grains.

So you know where my vote lies...375H&H. Sorry for the curve ball but the 375 would be my go to for all African game as well as most of the other game you mentioned in Alaska. With solids the 375 can take the T10 with very little to no hide damage and you can still hunt DG in any country. Range of the 375 is limited to 300 yards, but some gains can be made with 270 and 250 grain bullets to extend that.

Lastly, I agree with @Mtn_Infantry on the fact that a 375 makes a 30 caliber nearly redundant. A better choice would be the 257WBY to compliment the 375.

Great information! Thank you

 

[Joker12]

I know that this has probably been asked before, but I can not find the thread. I just got back from hunting in the Limpopo region and I used a 30-06 with 180 grain Barnes TTSX. I want to build/buy something that would work for African Plains Game AND Alaskan game (moose, caribou, black bear, mountain goat, elk, maybe brown bear). I have been looking at the 300 WSM, the 300 WM, or the 300 PRC. I reload so I’m not too worried about ammo (as long as I can fine powder and primers). Please make your suggestions so that I can “buy once, cry once” and have a gun for all of the larger game both in my area and Africa.

You already have that in your 30'06 but I understand the attraction of a new rifle. Of the 3 that you are considering the 300WM hands down, its a worldwide standard for good reason.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I've got a bunch of Federal .300 H&H ammo if you're interested

I’ve got a case and a half of Federal 180gr trophy bonded tipped, plus 3 boxes of the old Federal TSX loads, and a few boxes loaded with partitions and Accubonds.
Let’s see how much trigger time the 300 gets over the 375 in a few weeks and I’ll let you know if I need to top anything off.

 

[Safari Dave]

My vote is for the 300 WM.

I use 200g. Sierra Gamekings.


Never lost an animal. 6 plains game, 2 North American deer (mule & whitetail)

On my plain game safari, I used a .375 for a kudu and gemsbok (Wished I had used the .300 WM)



Probably a bit of overkill on the duiker!

 

[lockingblock]

A modern 300 win mag is likely the most versatile cartridge in North America. It’s a fire breathing laser that wallops deer and antelope with 150s…solid Elk and Moose medicine with 180s…and absolutely lethal on griz with the heavies.

I’ve used it on moose, caribou, elk, and deer. It performed perfectly. I sank 3 180 gr X bullets into a giant moose at about 350yd. He walked about 25 yards. I recovered all 3 and they had 99% weight retention.

Only downside is rifle size and weight…plus recoil. A WSM is lighter and can really do the same work up to 180gr bullets. Nothing wrong with the WSM.

I’m not a fan of anything bigger as I believe you need to be able to shoot prone in the US and recoil in prone becomes a health and safety issue beyond a certain point. I shot my moose from prone.

 

[Tgood1]

I really love 300wm. But 3006 gets my vote. Hunt instead of shoot I've heard repeatedly

 

[PBrick]

Quick addition; I have had 3 shoulder surgeries and found out yesterday that I will need another due to torn rotator cuff. I would probably need to factor this in, especially since it appears that I am getting old

 

[Firebird]

You will find components for hand Loading far easier to find (brass but also some of the powders) for 300 wm than the other two-same holds true for that -06, even in time of bare shelves, you will find the common ones avaialble from time to time. Also just for fun get on gunbroker or visit any gun shop and look at the selection in each of those calibers. Lots more to choose from in the long standing older calibers. I love them all but those boring bread and butter 300 wm and .30-06 are my go to rifles.

 

[TNDave]

I hunted Free States last year with a 257 Weatherby before going back to Limpopo area where I shot 35 Whelen. My longest shot in FS was 387 yards and shortest was 186 yards. Granted I was going for mainly springbok but got a deal on a Blesbok and shot it as well. Since you’ve had the shoulder surgeries, from your choices I’d do 300WSM with 165 grains or 300 Win Mag with 180 grains, might be lighter on recoil and easier on your shoulder.

 

[rigbymauser]

I know a few farmers who use .223 on everything using cheap mimitary ammo...not very romantic but it works

 

[BeeMaa]

Quick addition; I have had 3 shoulder surgeries and found out yesterday that I will need another due to torn rotator cuff. I would probably need to factor this in, especially since it appears that I am getting old

Sorry to hear about your shoulder.

Highly recommend the 257WBY for everything up to 600#, with nearly 2000 lb-ft of energy at 300 yards. This will cut down on the recoil energy by about 50% over the 300WM (300WM is 30 lb-ft, 257WBY is less than 20 lb-ft).

 

[Graham Hunter]

Quick addition; I have had 3 shoulder surgeries and found out yesterday that I will need another due to torn rotator cuff. I would probably need to factor this in, especially since it appears that I am getting old

After 3 surgeries I'd find a better Surgeon.

 

[Tanks]

There’s no practical difference between most of the 300 magnums. The outlier is the 300 Remington Ultra Mag, it’s significantly faster...

Hence, why I went with the .300 RUM when I was looking for my "any distance" PG rifle.