Ok, I need a new .30 cal magnum like I need a new hole in my head, but lately the itch to build one gets greater and greater.

I've narrowed it down to a used .300 Win mag in a blued Interarms Mark X or a new .300 Wby mag in a stainless Vanguard. The cost difference is about $200. The stocks don't matter because I will be putting a new Richards on whichever one I buy. I also only shoot handloads, so there is basically no difference there.

I currently have two Mark X's, a .257 AI and a .22-250. I am happy with both of them. I don't have any experience with the Vanguard.

Any thoughts?

.300WM, not as loud, not as expensive shoot, kills stuff just as dead.

The .300 Weatherby, for the nostalgia and legacy factor, if nothing else.

It's also about 100 f.p.s. faster than the .300 Win. Mag. (as if that matters at all!).

If you handload, the cost is the same if you use Remington brass in the Weatherby -- and there's no good reason to use anything else.

If you ever messed with a small block chevy engine you know performance gains usually have a price. Same with rifles. If you think you can benefit from the added performance go for it. Either will take anything on the North American continent with the right load.

and besides, the wby cartridge are prettier, older and to me there is something with the weatherby name.
and you can refer to your friends .300win as short mags.

just my subjective thought.

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
.300WM, not as loud, not as expensive shoot, kills stuff just as dead.

+1

Winchester mag that is

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by dogcat:
.300WM, not as loud, not as expensive shoot, kills stuff just as dead.


+1

Winchester mag that is

+2 Since you didn't have a 308 Norma on the list.

300 Win, no freebore should be easier to get good accuratecy. I have a blued Vangard in 300 Weatherby and it takes some dinking around to find accurate loads (but they do exist, especially in heavier bullets). I really like the Vangard rifle itself, very nice rifle for the money. $200 seems like a big jump for stainless.

Mox nix roger

Although I am not a 30 mag fan, I have owned and reloaded for both. If it were me, I would chose the the ubiquitous 300 winnie. Brass is cheaper and it fits into a standard length action. Moreover, ammo is much more abundant and there are more factory options, especially if you don't reload. Lou

Either is fine - I'd rather have a Mark X than a Vanguard.

I'd go with the Winchester offering...

Gains on the Weatherby aren't worth the extra expense...

either rifles are darn good rifles...

put the money saved into better optics..

.300 Win mag.

Advantages,

Available in a standard length action and gives you all you're going to need out of a 24" barrel.

The only place a .300 win is possibly lacking to the Weatherby is with 200+ gr bullets.

I've had both and I couldn't tell a pennies worth of difference when it came to killing game or long range shooting.

quote:

Originally posted by LE270:
The .300 Weatherby, for the nostalgia and legacy factor, if nothing else.

It's also about 100 f.p.s. faster than the .300 Win. Mag. (as if that matters at all!).

If you handload, the cost is the same if you use Remington brass in the Weatherby -- and there's no good reason to use anything else.

Having used both, I agree.

I have used both a great deal.
get the one that YOU like the best.

Both of them have worked great for me.

300 WIN MAG all the way

I prefer the .300 Win Mag. This have more accuracy that the Weat and about the some power.

Faina

I've had/used several of each. They both work great, the WBY is way cooler. As far as guns, I'd rather have the Mark X.

I have several of both and many of the .300 WM. I find the WM much easier to find a good load for. I don't think ANYTHING you would shoot with one will ever know the difference. Since the .300 Weatherby is no longer king of the hill, which is always one reason some buy a rifle/cartridge combo, I'd go with the .300 Winnie and never look back.

interestingly, I just saw a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby on sale at the local Walmarts for $400. They had 700 ADL synthetics for $325. I passed on both but they were good deals.

I lost track but I think that makes me + 7 or 8 for winnie. Most importantly. Get the one you like best.

Is either cartridge going to have a case of bad throat erosion?

They all erode throats, the real question is "Is the user ever going to shoot it enough to notice?" In 99.9% of users for this class of cartridges the answer is no.

Get both.

When I saw the title of this thread, I imagined many more votes for the Wby than for the Win. After all, more is better, isn't it?? Surprisingly, this has not been the case.

I have my own personal reasons to prefer the .300 Win over the Wby. I used to own 2 .300 Wby rifles, and the sad truth is that they turned me all loose when I shot them from the bench. The .300 Win does not produce that reaction, so I guess it is just below the borderline of the amount of recoil I can tolerate, although it also gets a bit pushy after a box of ammo or two...

Sad, but there it is. I got rid of my Wbys, and I can't really say I have missed them much since, although the .300 Wby is a formidable caliber for people who can shoot it well.

- mike

JIMO,

If you like hunting with heavier bullets, ie. 180gr and up. Then go with the 300WBY.

If you like 150gr and 165gr the best the 300Win is a better choice for you.

Sounds to me like it's more of a chouce between blued vs stainless. The Mark X does have a cool facter in the mauser style action, controlled round feed and the Weatherby being more of a conventional style in the Vanguard action with pushfeed. I have both chamberings 300Win in a model 70 and 300Wby in a Vanguard both are very accurate for over the counter factory rifles. Personally I would look harder at the Mark X, besides you could maybe run a weatherby chamber reamer into it's breach and slightly lengthen the mag well if you ever just wanted something different. R.

quote:

interestingly, I just saw a Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Weatherby on sale at the local Walmarts for $400. They had 700 ADL synthetics for $325. I passed on both but they were good deals.

I got my 300 Weatherby Vanguard at walmart for $299 and I never looked back. It's fast and accurate and that's all I can ask.
Ken

Vanguards are great rifles. I love my .257.

Having said that, if you want to be really retro, find a .300 H&H.

quote:

Originally posted by JLHeard:

Having said that, if you want to be really retro, find a .300 H&H.

Ditto. Something very sexy about a H&H...

Hank

Thanks for all the response. By my count, so far its Interarms .300 Win -- 12, Vanguard .300 Wby -- 9. Although this thread did get me thinking about a Mark V...

And about the .300 H&H, sorry guys, I'm not a fan of tapered cases, and my .30 Gibbs matches or beats the .300 H&H balistics.

quote:

Originally posted by buffybr:
Thanks for all the response. By my count, so far its Interarms .300 Win -- 12, Vanguard .300 Wby -- 9. Although this thread did get me thinking about a Mark V...

now you're talking, get a woodstocked MkV and don't look back

my 300 Weatherby Vanguard best group so far is .552 with 180 grain @ 3161 fps

my vote 300 wby

Jason

I don't have a 300 win but my Sauer 202 in 300 wby shoots incredibly well. Shoots as flat as anything out there, it hits hard and can handle long heavy bullets. I find it is had not to reach for this gun for a hunt because you are never limited.

I have both the 300 RUM And THE 300 Win Mag. That Rum Is for long distence and the Win is for
not as long distence.

300 WinMag I have two of them....as far as needing 200gr
plus perfrmance...that is what a 338 WinMag is for anyways
and if that won't do it then a 375 Ruger will...or should...

They are both good calibers - no doubt. I have a 300 Wby in a MK 5 and love it.

The 300 Wby has to be a better bet with its longer neck for heavier projectiles.

Looks better too!

Its the 300 Wby for me in a MK 5. I love it!

A better looking case and its got to be a better bet for heavier projectiles with its longer neck.

Go with the Weatherby, better with 200 and 220 grain bullets

Thanks for all of your input.

I finally decided on a new Weatherby Vanguard in .300 Wby with a 24" blued barrel.

Next is a call to Richards for a AA Fancy Claro Walnut stock, then Midway for dies, brass, bullets, scope rings and bases, and then Brownells for Accu gel, bedding blocks, an in-stock recoil reducer and a Limbsaver pad, then ? for a Leupold VX I or II 3x9x40 scope.

Then a couple of weeks of putting things together and tinkering, and maybe by the time Spring gets here, I'll have a new man's toy to make noise with.

Awesome choise. By the tin you get the nice stock on it you will have one awesome rifle. The vanguards I have been around have all shot extremely accurate and the 300 weatherby would be my choise.