I currently own a Rem 700 ADL in 270 win caliber, but wish I would have gotten a .30 cal do to bullet selection and weight/ versitility.
The 270 kick feels like nothing to me, and I want to skip the 30-06 and up the power a little to the 300 win mag. This would be my all around rifle to hunt with in the US and shoot steel with.
I've heard that Savage rifles are affordable, reliable, and accurate out of the box. My price range is $400-$600.
Would a Savage scope combo package be my best bet in this caliber? Anyone who has a Savage in the 300 win, how do you like it?
Thanks for any advice or personal experience you can give me on the caliber or a good rifle in this caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by gohip2000:
I currently own a Rem 700 ADL in 270 win caliber, but wish I would have gotten a .30 cal do to bullet selection and weight/ versitility.
The 270 kick feels like nothing to me, and I want to skip the 30-06 and up the power a little to the 300 win mag. This would be my all around rifle to hunt with in the US and shoot steel with.
I've heard that Savage rifles are affordable, reliable, and accurate out of the box. My price range is $400-$600.
Would a Savage scope combo package be my best bet in this caliber? Anyone who has a Savage in the 300 win, how do you like it?
Thanks for any advice or personal experience you can give me on the caliber or a good rifle in this caliber.

If you're on a budget or even if you're not, Savage package rifles are hard to beat for value for the money. What you will find is a substantial increase in felt recoil going from the .270 Win. to the .300 Win. Mag. If you want the added versatility of the 30 calibre, the 30-06 is a much better choice for North America and won't kick the hell out of you.

Savage may make a very accurate rifle but there's more to a rifle than accuracy. Besides being very ugly they have had serious feeding and other mechnical troubles and while I admit that it's been a long time since I've played with one they (at the last outing) had a very long ways to go.

They sell a lot of rifles on pure price and their accuracy. IMO they are not a hunting rifle.....trade your ADL for another Remington in 300 Mag and get on with life.

Keep the ADL and buy another in 300 Win just like it. Then get a set of Luepold QD rings and two base sets. You can share the scope until you get up the cash for another.

That's the cheap way to get there and there is something to be said for having two rifles that operate the same way. Unless you have the bug and want a safe full, of course.

CZ is another pretty good way to go if you want to try a different rifle.

I've had a few Savages including an FP in 300 Win. I think the Savage synthetic stock is very poor at recoil management, FWTW. My current 300 Win is a Colt Light Rifle in a ULA stock (synthetic) that was designed from the ground up as a recoil manager and the difference in felt recoil is profound compared to the Savavge. Two full pounds lighter and easy to shoot.

Point being, not all 300 Winchesters are hard to shoot, just the poorly stocked ones.

In the long run, it is going to be "cheaper" to buy another rifle, than take your 270 up to 300 Win Mag. The action you have will have to be modified, to accomodate the Magnum cartridge. The bolt face will have to be opened up, and the magazine rails will have to be altered as well, plus the new barrel. I caution you against buying one of the "economy" barrels that are offered, as the may be hard to clean, and not very accurate.

Good Luck

Jerry

FYI the scope combos are a gimmick ,a bad one, since the optics are junk.Don't pay a premium price for a POS scope get good optics:Leupold,Zeiss,Burris,etc.Gun dealers at all of the gun shows I've gone to have cheap POS scopes on used rifles so the dumbed down public will buy them thinking they're getting a bargain.I recommend buying a Savage better quality for the money w/o safety problems as in other brand

What I think interesting at one of our local gunshops.. is that for all the magnums they sell, usually for someone wanting it for elk hunting...... the hunters that bring them back in to trade them for something that kicks less usually trade them for 270s... the "smallest" caliber recommended for elk hunting....

They usually do it on the QT, without all the fan fare that they had when they bought the magnum originally...

recoil was the usual reason for turning it back in.....

the other point I make, is at our local range... you think the night before elk season opener, would be the busiest evening... it is pretty busy out there, but you ought to stop by on Sunday afternoon and evening....

Every guy who had a shot at an elk and MISSED, is out there, rezeroing his scope.....

Usually blaming his miss on the scope, the gun or the ammo... but never on himself...

And the vast majority of calibers for those that missed the Elk, are magnums....

But most of them, this is there first season hunting with a Magnum....

Just a few pointers that I wanted to pass along....

And if you are still set on a 300 Mag....then check out Wally World for either a Savage package, or another recommendation would be a Weatherby Vanguard in 300 Weatherby.....at times they also carry them tho in 300 Winchester and 7 Rem Mag...if you get a Savage Package with the Scope, scrap the scope... it will come appart in about 5 shots... budget to replace it with a decent scope....

cheers
seafire

The advice on getting a better scope for a 300 type magnum is a good one.

I had a Nikon Monarch 4-12 on my 300 win mag when I first bought that REm 700 BDL SS.

I liked the scope but it just can't handle the recoil. I'm about to send it back for the 2nd time and this time it went on a 270 and still broke.

The honest truth with buying magnum type guns is that if you want something that is reliable you're going to pay for it.

I've had 4 friends so far want to upgrade from a 270 to some type of 300 or 338. My advice is always the same and they've all thanked me for it after they finally bought their rifles.

-Expect to spend atleast $1K on a scope gun combo that is going to work reliably and shoot well on a consistent basis without failing. And be prepared to shoot a lot with it before hunting with the gun. I've found that on average it takes about 100-200 rounds before someone is really in tune with the gun to the point that it doesn't bother them.

$400-$600 is a nice figure for a new gun but it is really a gimmick. Unless you find the deal of a century on a Rem 700 or Win 70 with a VX-III on it, you're really kidding yourself that is going to come out positive.

I apologize if I bursted your bubble but with the experiences I've had and mostly everyone else on this site has had, it's the truth.

I have a ADL in 270. Wanted something a little bigger. Went to a Howaby Vanguard in 300 WBY.

quote:

Originally posted by Magnum61:

The honest truth with buying magnum type guns is that if you want something that is reliable you're going to pay for it.

Magnum61 is absolutely right. The gun was only $299..but

Bell & Carlson Medalist stock $200. Comes with a Decelerator pad. Recoil isn't much more than my 270.

Nikon Buckmaster 4.5x14x40 SF scope $249+shipping. You can bet there will be another scope, set up and ready to mount if this big fancy Nikon takes a dive.

Decent sling $40

Add scope covers, rings and bases we are up over $800 now.

Then there is brass, powder, dies and bullets.

ZM

Very good advice everyone, I appreciate it. To clear up a few things, I'm not looking at rechambering, I'm looking at selling the 270 and replacing it with the 300 win mag specifficly as my all around rifle.
After hearing about the crappy scope that come with the savage, the combo packed is now looked at by me as the rifle with scope rings. So on that note, I am looking more at a ruger. I've heard a lot of good about them, so tell me about the rugers now.
As far as recoil, I'm honestly not worried about it. My 270 feels like a 22 to me. I don't want to bring up the 45-70, but it's all i have to compare to for recoil besides a 12 gauge. My marlin with heavy loads took a little practice to get accurate with, but now that recoil doesn't bother me with heavy loads and I feel I could learn to shoot the 300 Win mag. I'm not the giving up type as far as learning. I'm use to shooting with iron sites and am use to learning my rifle to it's fullest. I don't like the M-16, but I learned to operate it accurately from 0-300 meters with iron sites through practice. I truely enjoy shooting and feel I would not get scared of the 300 and stop shooting it.
That being said, I have no experience with scopes. Is it possable to find a decent scope for under $200. I don't need anything fancy, don't need high magnification, and don't need it ajustable. I would just want it to hold up to the recoil and I think 4x magnification will do me just fine since I am use to accurately shooting with iron sites.
Once again, I am open minded and still am interested in any advice or thoughts
again, thanks for the replies

I'm not at all trying tell you you have to buy expensive gear.

But the $200 scope is really unfeasible even with a 4X scope that is going to handle that type of recoil.

I have no doubt that you will learn the gun as you have said but I cannot stress enough that you are getting into a whole new club of firearm compared to the 270.

If you read enough on this site in back logs of threads. You will find that there is a trend that scope companies are making their $400 and under scopes only strong enough for the mass purchased standerd calibers( non-magnums).

I've found that the only scopes that are up to the task of handling that type of recoil you are suggesting are high-end Burris, Leupold VX-III, Zeiss Conquest, Kahles and everything above.

Some get lucky with a less expensive scope sometimes but most of the time it's nothing but a giant "?".

I've seen an 06' nock the reticle loose in a VX-I and I've seen 7mm Rem Mags make jokes out of Burris's and Leupold VX-II's and a 300 win mag a definate increase over those two in dealing with the abuse that is going to be dished out towards the scope come range-day.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=47914524

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=47700961

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=47918448

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976658692.htm

http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976678721.htm

Maybe that last listing will trade for your 270.

I would stay well away from a Ruger. JMO

good advice as useual.

b h

Good call on the Ruger.

My buddy owns one and after replacing the trigger, refinishing and bedding the stock, and running a Tubbs Final Finish kit through it to clean the barrel up, was it finally a nice reliable accurate shooting gun.

They're good guns once you've "polished" them up a bit with a few needed upgrades.

I had one before taking big jump to .375H&H. The .300Winie with 200gr slug has 800lb rating at 300yrds., excellent.

The Nice thing about the Howaby Vanguard in 300WBY Mag
is that because Remington sold their "Classic" not too terribly long ago you can get REMINGTON priced brass and ammo for the 300WBY instead of having to pay Weatherby or Norma prices.

AllanD

All the Savages that I own are extremely accurate. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and an accurate rifle is beautiful to me !!! I've never had any sort of feeding problem, or any problem at all with my Savage bolt-actions. Of the 2 that I currently own, a .300 RUM that shoots .6 MOA and the other is a .270 WSM that shoots .25 MOA, I couldn't ask any more out of a rifle.

I have a Savage 116 in 300 Win mag. It shoots very well, 3/4" or less with almost any load and .5 with the best ammo. I have never had any feeding problems with my rifle. The plastic stock is junk. I bought a Duramax stock for $90 that is much better. The scope package is not a good idea. As others have said you want a better scope on a rifle with this level of recoil.

Don't be afraid to find a gently used .300WM! There are plenty of guys who want to trade them off after shooting them a few times.

That said, I have a Ruger M77 in .338 WM that has been wearing the Leupold VX-II since it was new in '90. No problems, no POI change, not one problem! I shoot mostly .250gr loads and push them as much as I think is reasonable.
There are bad scopes of every manufacture, including the expensive ones. Luepold has recieved one scope from me, fixed it and sent it back in a week. It broke because it was adjusted to the edge of travel. It was on a 7mm RM that gets shot quite a bit.

Look for a good rifle you like. Buy the best scope you can possibly afford, and shoot it enough to gain your confidence with it. You won't look back at the .270 unless you need one for your wife. Nate

quote:

Originally posted by Allan DeGroot:

The Nice thing about the Howaby Vanguard in 300WBY Mag is that because Remington sold their "Classic" not too terribly long ago you can get REMINGTON priced brass and ammo for the 300WBY instead of having to pay Weatherby or Norma prices.

Yes. I have one of those Remington Classics in .300 Wby. I have a Bausch & Lomb 3000 (3-9X) scope on mine, in a Leupold QR mount, and it has not given me any trouble.

You can buy 100 Remington cases in .300 Weatherby from Midway for about the same price as 100 .300 Winchester Mag cases. I have been using those Remington cases now for some time, getting as many as 10 hot reloads from them. I have some Weatherby cases too, and I cannot see any significant difference between the Remington ones and the Weatherby ones.

thanks again. I know this is getting old, but what about Tikka, Weatherby, or any others. I'ld like to try something different than a Remington. I'm mainly trying to get an Idea of what brands have served people well in this caliber, so when I look in either a store or personal adds, I can judge a little better if I should buy or try to find better for the money.
I'm set on the caliber and have debated in my head 300 win, 338 win, and 35 whelen, , and 375 H&H, but have decided on the 300 and my next step up in caliber will be a 375 H&H. definately see how some people might be willing to trade me for my 270 because they can handle it better. my rem in very new, never been anywhere but the range, and has maybe 100 rounds through it.

I traded a Tikka away because of it's cluckyness. The action and stock both. I have several Rugers, and a few Winchesters, one Rem. I'm not stuck on one brand.

If I could trade them in though, it'd be for Win Classics, or pre '64s. Nate

I'm going to play the contrarian. If 4 power is sufficient than I assume that you are not planning to shoot beyond say 300 yds. If this is so why go for the magnum? It's real advantage over the 30-06 is that it holds it's trajectory over a longer distance. If you don't plan to shoot at long distance than the 30-06 will do anything that the 300 WM will do with less recoil. It's probably initially cheaper, given the shear number laying around, and if you can't spend much on a scope it will be much easier on that cheap scope.
Finally, what are you planning to hunt in the US? There ain't much that the 270 can't handle.

TerryR

Another vote for Ruger!

quote:

Originally posted by TerryR:
I'm going to play the contrarian. If 4 power is sufficient than I assume that you are not planning to shoot beyond say 300 yds. If this is so why go for the magnum? It's real advantage over the 30-06 is that it holds it's trajectory over a longer distance. If you don't plan to shoot at long distance than the 30-06 will do anything that the 300 WM will do with less recoil. It's probably initially cheaper, given the shear number laying around, and if you can't spend much on a scope it will be much easier on that cheap scope.
Finally, what are you planning to hunt in the US? There ain't much that the 270 can't handle.

TerryR

Lots of wisdom here. A 270 with Partitions is a superb all-around rig for North America, especially if you shoot well. Put the money you were going to spend on a 300 into ammo and range time and you'll be far better off.


Okie John

I've been shooting a .300 winnie since I was in high school- We just had our 30th reunion last summer. Wear a good recoil pad sighting in, don't shoot too many rounds, keep a light rifle like your .270 or something even lighter you can shoot to stay sharp. The only recoil problem i've experienced with a scope was a weaver K4 had a reticle failure on my first .300.

I've had 2 ruger M77's with burris fullfield 3x9 scopes and currently shoot a Winchester M70 with a leupold VX II 3 x 9. I've never had a scope issue- other than the burris I fell on and bent the tube. My brother has hunted with his ruger for 25 years(think he has a bushnell 3x9 )- killed lots of game-it looks like crap-it works.

I do not believe you need a VXIII grade scope- but you don't want a cheapo either- look for a deal on a burris fullfield or a leupold vx II.

john

quote:

Originally posted by TerryR:
I'm going to play the contrarian. If 4 power is sufficient than I assume that you are not planning to shoot beyond say 300 yds. If this is so why go for the magnum? It's real advantage over the 30-06 is that it holds it's trajectory over a longer distance. If you don't plan to shoot at long distance than the 30-06 will do anything that the 300 WM will do with less recoil. It's probably initially cheaper, given the shear number laying around, and if you can't spend much on a scope it will be much easier on that cheap scope.
Finally, what are you planning to hunt in the US? There ain't much that the 270 can't handle.

TerryR

I do have my reasons. when I bought the 270, I really wanted the 30-06, but they were out of stock in a rifle I could afford as odd as that sounds. so i settled for the 270 I know the 30-06 is cheaper all around and it is perfect for the ranges I would hunt now, but I also like to shoot and like to target shoot at longer ranges and also shoot steel plating and that extra power from the winmag would make that more interesting. I'm afraid if I buy the 30-06 I will say to my self in a few years, why didn't I just get the 300 mag like I wanted. I know i wont get much for the 270 and it is one of the perfect hunting calibers for NA, but I want the choice of 110 gr to 250 gr and also the choice of FMJ and tracers. There is soo many bullet choices in the .308 diameter
I know you didn't say this TerryR, and I'm not trying to be a complainer, but one thing I don't feel like hearing is to practice more at the range with my rifle. If I could, I would have already worn out the barrel on my 270. I'm stuck in Germany right now, and you basically have to go to college for hunting just to own a rifle here. then there are a million other procedures to be able to own a rifle here. thats just to own it, it's a lot more if you want to shoot it at a range. I get back to the US maybe 1 a year and I have maybe one day out of the week i am there to go shooting. that hundred rounds I put through was in one sitting, then I put about 300 rounds through my marlin, and then I had to leave back to Germany. But I get to move back to the US now finally where things are a lot more simple. and I can get to know my rifles better.
once again, thanks for the input

I might sell my 270 to my cousing cheap because he wants to get a deer rifle. I'ld sell it to him for $150 since he's close family

check the safeties out on the rifles your looking at- think about them in a hunting situation. I loved my old ruger tang safety- very hard to accidently knock out of safe. I have a sako in a .25-06 that is a sweet rifle- but it has the safety on a tall lever on the right side of the action near the bolt. I was shoulder carrying the rifle one day and the safety must have hung up on my belt-heard a click- reached back (i know- stupid move) to check the safety and bumped the trigger first-BOOM- I love that gun- still can't bring myself to hunt with it. now I use the winchester M70- I figure that safety is another one that would really be hard to accidently move it from safe to fire- possible- but difficult. Reminton looks too much like the sako to me.

joh

I own 5 Ruger rifles. One is in 300 Win mag. I would never hesitate to recommend the brand or caliber. Mine are all accurate and would put them right along side Remington and Winchester. My rifles appearance is important to me so I would never buy a Savage. I think they are good accurate rifles but they are FUGLY! I have an inexpensive scope on mine but only use it at the range. It hasn't failed me but if I was going to use it for hunting or shooting competition, I would want a better scope. If you don't mind hand loading for your rifle then I think you owe it to yourself to look at the Weatherby calibers. You can get them in most manufacturers' rifles but the 300 Wby mag cartridge brings a whole new meaning to the 30 caliber. I'm not an expert and there are many here that are and can give you statistics. Some don't like the Weatherby brand but I believe very few would dispute the 300 Wby caliber.

Honestly if I were rebarreling an exsisting magnum rifle
(mag boltface anyway) and had a choice between a 300WinMag or a 300WbyMag I'd probably say "screw it"
and go with the WBY.

a touch more performance and only $3-$4 more for $100 cases....

But if buying a new rifle unless I was offered a great deal on a 300Wby (in a Remington classic) I'd probably go with the 300Win.....

As for converting an exsisting 270Win to a magnum?
between the cost of a new bolt and the cost of rebarreling?
you'd be atleast $150-$200 better off simply buying a complete 300WinMag Rem700.

If you wanna be a cheap bastard (like me) you can almost certainly find your choice of several slightly used 300Mags
at any gunshop that regularly deals with used rifles...

My favorite local hardware store has at this very moment FOUR used 300Mags on the rack and three 338Mags
(including a Sako for which they are asking $500)

Saying "many " people buy them then trade themafter two boxes of ammo are put through them isn't actually a fair statement.

Many times many is probably more accurate and it's likely that the rifles are traded in with only ONE box of factory ammo through them.

My brother absolutely STOLE a Remington Alaskan Wilderness Rifle in 416Rem that was special ordered by a customer for an alaskan brown bear hunt.

The customer fired all of twelve rounds out of a box of factory ammo through the rifle before he managed to trigger
a minor heart attack and detach the retina in his right eye.

My brother paid $800 for a $1900 rifle.....

Find the places that reade in used rifles and keep checking on them, I check my favorite place three times a week...
but it's less than a10 miles away...

AllanD