my son wants a lever gun in 300win smag. to take elk hunting Drew a tag in whoming unit 100-101. I'm not sure about the units. I don't know anything about them. He is especially concerned about kick.

Hard Luck, although I think the 300WSM is an excellent cartridge I would look at a different rifle if I were your son. I have heard of the BLRs having bolt problems in lesser calibers than this. I am talking about almost new rifles. A gunsmith in CO. that my S-I-L uses, had one in his shop a couple weeks ago that had problem with the rotating bolt and the gun hadn't had more than a box of ammo shot through it. He said they are notorious for this issue. I had a Tikka T3 Lite chambered in 300WSM that was very accurate and a joy to carry because of the light weight. My son needed a rifle so I gave it to him. I would recommend this gun without hesitation.

If he is concerned about recoil, no 300 mag is a good choice. Unless it has a muzzle break and that is a worse choice because of the noise. If recoil is an issue something like a 270 or 7x57 is a better choice and both will kill elk just fine.

Why is his choice a lever gun? It limits his options in calibers.

I agree taht if he is recoil sensative he'd be bettter off with a 270 or even a 30-06. Both calibers are available in the BLR I beleive. The elk won't know it has not been whomped by a magnum as it dies Shot placemnet is far more critical with elk than using a big hammer. A hit in the vitals with an o6 or 270 will kill any elk that walks. If he's afraid of the magnum, flinches & makes a bad hit, he will most likely lose his elk.

I have a Sako Tikka T3 Lite in a 300wsm. I love it, and I put a limbsaver recoil pad on it for $35 - money well spent. I too reccomend a bolt action as long as it is smooth. I am not very impressed with savage smoothness. Remington, Sako or Browning would be my top choices if he wants fast repeat shots on a bolt.

A person shooting a bolt 300 will likely put 3 rounds on a target accurately while a similar shooter on an auto 300 will put 4 IMO. I can usually have a round in the chamber almost imediatly after I have recoverd from the recoil.

If he wants a little less recoil, then look at the 270 WSM. I am impressed with this cartidge.

Hardluck, young men like what they like sometimes, sometimes you can 'show' them a little reason. I would vote with those that say go with a bolt gun. Lot's of options that way.

Having said that, here are some pros and cons of the BLR, which is pretty much what you are relegated to with a Lever 300 WSM off of the shelf.
1. The trigger sucks on the BLR's. It can be improved by a good smith, but it will never be a GOOD trigger. This is probably the most direct impact on accuracy for any rifle, and that is not easily altered in this case.

2. The barrels are pencil thin, this is probably mostly personal preference, but isn't really conducive to accuracy, but I have a BLR (with a reworked trigger) in .308, and it is very accurate.

3. The magazine system is simple and allows use of pointy high BC bullets, and it's nice to have a backup loaded, for your confidence if not necessity.

4. The rifle is very reasonable in weight, and handles nicely. I like my 308 as a woods gun, but that isn't what I would carry for Elk either, even in a different caliber (like 300WSM)

4. Probably a some guys attraction to them, they are cool looking guns, but I hate the high gloss finish on them, which is why I stripped it off of mine, and but some Watley's danish oil on there....

I would agree with the comment about the 270 WSM by the way. Same rifle otherwise.

Well, I don't know how to decifer this info. He is 6'2 and 210 pounds of pure muscle/ Even rodeo for a while now drives a big rig. I let him use my blr .358 and it didn"t seem to bother him also my .308 He says it is better in a saddle scaabard but is concerned about range the area he hunts calls for long shots . I've only shot 2 elk so I'm not much help. 90 and 65 yds.

Hardluck, from your original post, you stated he was especially concerned about recoil. From your last post it doesn't sound like he needs to be! If ya'll are wondering if the recoil from a 300 WSM is another level up from a 358, it is not! With a bull of a man like he is, recoil in this round is not an issue. Having said that, he shows some smarts by at least wondering about the recoil. The 300 WSM is a cartridge plenty capable of long range accuracy/lethality, (up to 400 yard easily) so if that was one of the overall concerns, that is not an issue either.

The CARTRIDGE is capable past where most folks ever practice or are capable of being a good shot, regardless of the cartridge. The BLR is not a platform for high accuracy, but is more than sufficient for hunting accuracy. I, and many folks smarter than me, feel that the WSM's are suited to light for caliber bullet weights, i.e. up to 180 gr. cartridges for the 300 WSM, which is light weight as a MAX for a 300 magnum.

Even if you accept this as the case, there are plenty of bullets up to the 180 gr. that are way capable as big game bullets, for anything in North America, except probably the big bears. I will tell you that I would load a heavier bullet, probably a 220 gr. which at bear ranges, would be plenty lethal for MY purposes for any bear.

Trying to help, I think the overall jist is, that the 300 WSM is just fine as a cartridge, the BLR is just fine as a hunting rifle, (as you know since you have one) and I doubt recoil should be an issue, if he handles your 358, the 300 WSM recoil won't be a problem for him. Get a good scope on it, a trigger job if it isn't too hard to get, and let him rock.

If you don't handload, try several factory ammo types, and see which one is the most accurate for his particular rifle, and then buy as many boxes as is reasonable from the same lot number if possible. If it's just a hunting rig, after finding the best ammo for it, buying 40 or 60 rounds can last a long time, if just confirming zero from time to time, and taking some shots while hunting.

Good luck--Don

Try this site to give you an idea about recoil
http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/recoil/recoil.html

or do a inet search for a recoil comparison chart. this way you can compare the recoil to other rifles that he may have shot.

Remember that the wieght of the rifle plays a big role in the felt recoil as well as a recoil pad.

Just because he is a really big guy doesn't mean that he will not mind recoil. I know women who are about 120 pounds that can handle more gun than some guys that weigh twice that.

Thanks guys. This will be his first elk hunt so he has lots of questions. Wen he comes off the road agsain, I will show him this thread.