I'm Considering a Savage 116 FCSS (Weather Warrior, Accu Stock, Accu Trigger)
In .300 Magnum. I have a fondness for the look and feel for Savage rifles and love the Accu Trigger on my other Savages.

So what is the Kiwi Aussie opinion in particular of the .300 Mag?

Strictly more power than necessary for most of the hunting we do in NZ but since when has that mattered. I like the down range ability it will give me and the variety of projectiles I can load it with. In the immediate future it will be used on everything from Goats to Wild Cattle (when I can find the buggers round here)

So come on what say you???
Yes our Yankie Doodle friends are welcome too and the rest


ANDY BOY

I have one,and sure it kills and does the job well but absolutely no better than my 7mm mag...atm I`m getting my gunsmith to review everything about the current rifle to have it re chambered to 338 Norma magnum as I said above its no better than my 7mm magnum.... now fellas make sure you read this HIGH CASE bit before quoting me facts and figures out of your books....IN THE FIELD for what where and when I hunt.

There is a whole planet outside New Zealand that needs to be hunted,300 mag is a great choice for everything up to Elephant,Hippo,Rhino and maybe buff.

180GR at 3000fps is something 7MM MAG can't do

As for Savage,you must really hate yourself get a Tikka T3 or Sako

quote:

as I said above its no better than my 7mm magnum.

Have another read

as I said above its no better than my 7mm magnum. In the field ,now having shot big mature sambar stags with both of them (my rifles) I can tell you that there is no difference in the kill part,maybe in your book of course,note i made ref to exactly this point in my original post.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
There is a whole planet outside New Zealand that needs to be hunted,300 mag is a great choice for everything up to Elephant,Hippo,Rhino and maybe buff.

180GR at 3000fps is something 7MM MAG can't do

As for Savage,you must really hate yourself get a Tikka T3 or Sako

Yeah That was my reasoning too, I have projectiles from 90gr up to 250gr to choose from.

Why don't you like the Savage?

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
300 mag is a great choice for everything up to Elephant,Hippo,Rhino and maybe buff.

Quite a few countries wont let you do that!! Prolly for a good reason!!

Won't let you do what Matt?? i said everything up to....

"Why don't you like the Savage" where do i start have you seen one

Go for it. I shoot 180gr BarnesX at a little over 3000fps out of 26 inch barrelled 300 win mag. My rifle is a Remington KS Mountain rifle with a fluted Maddco stainless barrel fitted. I have found the 300 win mag to be a very emphatic killer. It is probably overly powerful for most game animals in our neck of the woods but is brilliant and reassuring to take on a trophy hunt as long as you are confident with it. Nothing wrong with 7mm mag either but traded mine off as it didn't do any more than a favourite 06.

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
Won't let you do what Matt?? i said everything up to....

"Why don't you like the Savage" where do i start have you seen one

They look better than the Tikka T3s.
Other than looks do you see any other cons? My second choice was going to be a Left Hand Tikka T3 Lite SS. I don't like that there is soo much plastic and only one action length with the T3s. Action is a bit smoother with the T3s but I like the Savage actions. If i had the money of course It would be a Sako 85 Hunter SS.
The only other SS rifles in the same price range are the Howa 1500 and Weatherby Vangaurd.

Andy boy

I have never even picked up a Savage,i just see no to look past Tikka or Sako for most hunting rifles,well i quite like Sauer.

What about Tikka T3 Laminated Stainless??

quote:

Originally posted by TOP_PREDATOR:
I have never even picked up a Savage,i just see no to look past Tikka or Sako for most hunting rifles,well i quite like Sauer.

What about Tikka T3 Laminated Stainless??

Tisk Tisk! And here I was thinkin' you knew what you were talkin' bout.

As for the Laminated version, another $500 for stained plywood? Nah nah.

Sakos are too expensive and T3s are ugly hence the Savage unless someone thinks I can do better for the same money.

Phew I am glad my 300 Win mag is a Sako then!

Colour of that gun is a bit Gay!!!

300 win mag a great allrounder, certainly slaps the animals down.
I just been using one all this last week in Mauritania, whacking Warthogs, not many ran far from the 180gr Powerpoints. Shot a heap of them. Mostly one shot kills.

haha it doesnt 'hit' gay though...a surprisingly great colour in our sambar wilds when one is exposed to the many other would be`s that dont know the diff between a deer and a bloke...effective!

I wouldnt be raving about a .300 whacking little wart hogs,they wouldnt be much of a challenge for a 180 @ 3000 eh!

Nothing wrong with Savage as long as you don't look too hard at the fit and finish. If you don't mind sharp edges and flexable plastic stocks they shine in that area too.

For reliability and accuracy they are as good as any other, better than some.
Be sure to get the .300 Win Mag, not the .300WSM.

As already stated: "180GR at 3000fps is something 7MM MAG can't do"

It is my strong beliefe that a 180gr bullet traveling at or in excess of 3,000fps is the key to the retirement system.

You can make a Savage rifle look just as gay as a Sako with a couple of cans of spray paint.

I traded my 300 Winchester in on a 300 Remington ultra magnum. I found the Remington to be a more reliable feed a.

I have really gone cold now on belted cases

Ok then my 358 Norma mag will drive 180 grains quicker again

Thats why the Sako is being converted if possible to 338 Norma mag...the 300 Wmag will be redundant in my camp.

The 300 winny to me is where Magnum rifles start. I've killed everything up to and including a really big bodied moose that would have been 500 kg on the hoof. No problem with 168 gr TSX at 3200 fps.

7mm rem mag won't do that either.

Crap!

quote:

I wouldnt be raving about a .300 whacking little wart hogs,they wouldnt be much of a challenge for a 180 @ 3000 eh!

Theys tougher than ya think. How many have you shot???
Not too many exits. Chunky buggers. 30-80kg. I'll write up a report in the appropriate place sometime, but here's a pic. Took two of us to lift this one onto the truck. Similar size to an average wild boar in NZ. I'm picking it was about 150 pound. The Mauritania/Senegal pigs are bigger body size than the ZA ones.



Hunting was mainly Batida (Driven hunting) so lots of running shots, through narrow shooting lanes, between scrub an stuff.
The 300WM was a great compensater for my sometimes average shot placement....

Back to thread question. I've used 300WM extensively on NZ game, mainly Reds and Tahr, and can't complain about the results. Usually I use Barnes TSX 180gr bullets. Certainly gives the big bull Tahr a good thump. Accurate and flat shooting, good for long range shots. Plenty of bullet options, and factory ammo easy to come by.

quote:

Theys tougher than ya think. How many have you shot???

Its not how many I have shot..its about a 150 pound animal that is exposed to a 180 Grainer out of a 300 W Mag...theres not a 150 pound animal on earth that wouldn't die after being smacked through the shoulder with the same combo,especially when that same combo will and does on a regular basis quilt many animals way bigger.

Nice grunter btw too.

I've seen many a verified load pushing a 180gr at over 3100fps actually 3150 with a 180gr Scirocco after lighting the fuse on 75gr of IMR 4831, in a 24" Barrel. That's a full tank in anyone's language and at almost 4000fpe not a load I'd try in a hurry.

What I like about the .300 mag over the 7mm Mag is the wider variety of bullet weights. Id rather face a wild cattle beast, scrub bull if you like, with a .30cal 200gr TSX at 2800fps than a 7mm 175gr TSX at 2700fps or a 250gr 30cal RN at 2400fps for that matter.( note none of those are max loads )
Or I could smoke over a distant Stag with a 150gr at 3250fps. There is nothing wrong with the 7mm Rem Mag in fact they are so close in performance with similar weight projectiles that there is nothing to argue about.

Andy

Hope you have a handbag to match that rifle Gryph - its a mans mans shooter

Any comparisons between your 308 Norma Mag and the 300 Win Mag ?

The Norma Mag is the round the US should have marketed - but it didnt have an American name ....

It depends on who owns what and who does the bragging rights Muzza..I looked through my 308NM`s old barrel last week at my `smiths and as he said "theres heaps left in the bastard" hahaa so now Im thinking of getting another commercial `98 and screwing her back in,I have the old stock too and the mounts and the scope so its back to square one eh!

The NM supposedly/apparently shades the WM in the foot pounds dept,either way its a great calibre and i have always thought highly of it...fast flat and hard!

For Andyroo over there in NZ also the 7mm actually starts out doing the 300 at those way long cross mountain shots you can often have at chamois and tahr.


Obviously I wasnt read well enough by some with my original line of

"I have one,and sure it kills and does the job well but absolutely no better than my 7mm mag."


I mean by that dead is dead and it doesnt kill big stags any different to my 7mm,regardless of what the print out in the reloading manual says.I wasnt saying it was faster flatter bigger blah blah!

Nope it kills them but doesn't throw them sideways or anything differently.

keep your eyes out for a Parker Hale 1200 action for that 308 Norma barrel. Pretty easy to find , adjustable triggers , nice actions .

Ballistically there isnt anything in it between the 300 WM and the 308 NM , for practical purposes. The Win Mag got to be more popular cos it was made in the US , the Norma Mag is older and didnt get the press it deserved from US gunwriters.

You cant have too many mausers!

Since my last post Muzza i grabbed my dogs for a run up the paddock behind the bike and bugger me here was a red hind and her calf,I had seen them twice previously but this time i went home grabbed my cam and although low light and a long way off i managed two ordinary pics.
They had moved to the hill top by this time where the calf couldnt get through the electric fence behind which the hind was waiting after hurdling it herself..anyway at 600 plus metres the calf would have been great fodder...for my 7mm But its not red season now!

Ok so I've thought about it and done some more research. I've decided on a Tikka T3 Lite SS Left Hand in .300 Winchester Magnum. Now...... the funds......

Glad to hear you saw the light Tikka will not let you down

quote:

Sakos are too expensive and T3s are ugly hence the Savage unless someone thinks I can do better for the same money.

Andy what overcame your 'ugly' thoughts?

Winchester 300 in the all weather stainless is my pick especially over that 'ugly' tikka

Tikkas are old hat. Go for a Sauer 202, now thats a nice rifle!

Not 100% sold on Sauer safety

quote:

Originally posted by gryphon1:

quote:

Sakos are too expensive and T3s are ugly hence the Savage unless someone thinks I can do better for the same money.

Andy what overcame your 'ugly' thoughts?

Winchester 300 in the all weather stainless is my pick especially over that 'ugly' tikka

I looked again, and decided all SS synthetic stocked rifles are ugly so I might as well get the best of the lot. You cant beat the accuracy , build quality and silky smooth action of the T3s for the same coin.

Andy

Beauty is only skin deep yeah right

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
Tikkas are old hat. Go for a Sauer 202, now thats a nice rifle!

Sauer 202's are nice, Rather have a Mauser M03. If had that sort of money I'd be building a rifle, Colour case hardened left hand M98 and Trueflite Chrome-moly in the same finish in a custom semi-target style stock.


Andy

Same old same old:
Why not check out something like a Strasser:
www.hms-strasser.at
Not as spendy as a Blaser.
I met the gun maker in Austria, and played with the guns...wow...absolutely blew me away.
Applicable to NZ conditions...questionable.
But a real engineering feat.
Strasser is a small company that I beleive was started by Mr Blaser himself, after he sold out some 20 years ago.
I think Deadeye Dick's has the agency for them in NZ.

Same old same old:
There's more out there than what you see on the shelves of your local "Hunting & Fishing" store
Why not check out something like a Strasser:
www.hms-strasser.at
Not as spendy as a Blaser.
I met the gun maker in Austria, and played with the guns...wow...absolutely blew me away.
Applicable to NZ conditions...questionable.
But a real engineering feat.
Strasser is a small company that I beleive was started by Mr Blaser himself, after he sold out some 20 years ago.
I think Deadeye Dick's has the agency for them in NZ.

Very nice guns the HMS, but may end becoming a safe queen here in NZ. Do you have an idea of local cost? probably around the Blaser + Sauer price class.

Most hunters accept what they have and can afford and yes its nice to dream of the lux makes of course but that old Win/Rem/Ruger in the hands of the right blokes will do the job every day and all day.

There appears to be a modern trend to having the best scope and the best rifle..most of the 'best" hunters dont have those luxuries yet year after year they come up with top shelf animals for the wall.

I look at the guns some blokes post pics of that they have had hunted (?) with for years,they are dead give aways in that theres nary a scratch on them.

If you do hunt a hell of a lot your rifle will show it externally especially the mountain hunters. Even bush rifles get the shit knocked out of them in spills and falls.

Those top of the line jobs could be a worry for some in that your mind would be on caring for the 'baby' and not on that big stag while you were sneaking about the bush.

Bugger HendrikNZ I had those 300 grain Hydro pills on the bench and went into town today and forgot them mate,next week eh!

I just saw them then!JG

Tikkas are comman