Get the ought six and have at it. The first improvement to the .30/'06 was the .300H&H Magnum, which is still a wonderful cartridge. The .300 Win. Mag. was Winchester's ploy to sell new rifles because it was marginally faster than the H&H. The downside of the new cartridge is that it doesn't fire heavier bullets as well as the H&H, or even the .30/'06 for that matter. Considering that a primary reason to own a magnum rifle is the ability to push heavier bullets... let's just say I am not a big fan of the .300 Win Mag. They're not bad, by any means... but if you want a proper .300 magnum get a Weatherby. Otherwise, stick with the .30/'06. The difference between the .30/'06 and the .300 Win. Mag. is marginal enough that if you're a better shot than your competition, you will take him.
To chime in on the Savage thread... They are quite accurate, cheap rifles. They lack a lot of the finishing refinements, but that is more important to some than others. I would not rely on a Savage in the field though. Now, people will say "I've hunted with Savages for years and never had a problem!"... and it will be true enough... but the devil is in the details and I don't like leaving dependability to chance any more than I absolutely have to.
Well, I haven't heard that one in a while, 300WM not working with heavy bullets that is. I suppose some decided that because of the short neck,
which if coupled with a shorter mag like on the Ruger M77 could limit it a little, but not a longer box like the Rem. 700 with a decent throat. No, the '06 ( I have a couple of '06s & like them) does not compare to a 300WM with 180 or heavier or anything else for that matter. About the closest
thing I can find with like loads is 2,900 for light mag for the 06' ( this load & Fed. ext. range are it at this speed) & the 300WM at 3,100 in the heavy mag ammo (several 300WM loads are close to that). Overall with factory ammo the spread will average about 250-300fps.
With handloading both the 30-06 & 300WM to equal pressures again you are looking at 250-300fps spread, not close in my book. My Nosler manual
has about the fastest 30-06 180gr. load I have seen, which is 2,872fps with a 24" tube. The same manual shows 3,160fps for a 180 in the 300WM
& again with a 24" tube, so again right at 300fps. Looking at the Sierra Manual we have a spread of 300fps also. With my Barnes, it is 300 also, my
Speer also, 250-260 with my Hodgdon, well I think we get the point. With my own 30-06's & 300 I have seen the spread also. My Sendero will
shoot the 180's at 3,170 (it is a 26" but my brother's 24" Browning will go 3,160, fast barrel I guess). So, with factory, reload manuals & my own experience show most loads to have about a 300fps spread, sometimes a little less with the 180. And Oh, with the 200 & above, the spread will grow a little for obvious reasons.
Now the factory (when you can find them) 300H&H loads are a little underloaded in my view, but if you load the 300H&H & 300WM to equal pressures, the H&H does NOT outrun the 300WM, instead it is a little slower. This is why the 300H&H loads in a manual are listed BEFORE the 300WM, just like the 308 is listed BEFORE the 30-06. If you look at the Sierra, they show the H&H to be 2,900 with the 180 & 3,100 for the 300WM(not fair to the great H&H) & same 200fps spread for the 200 gr. bullet. Nosler shows a 127fps edge for the 180 & 34fps edge for the 200 gr. going to the 300 H&H. Barnes shows about the same small edge to the 300WM, etc. Bottom line is that if both cartridges are loaded to equal pressures
with proper throats for both & same barrel length the 300WM is faster by just a little, again the reason for the order in the manuals. I like the 300H&H but I don't see any logic in buying one now.
In regards to the 300 Wea. vs the 300WM, the factory ammo spread is pretty dang big, 200-250 fps in many cases, that is due to Wea. loading good, high pressure but safe loads & their freebore concept. If you don't believe this, look at the Rem & Fed. loadings for the 300Wea. & you will see how much faster the Wea. loadings are. But if you look at comparable pressure factory loads such the Horn 180 Heavy mag 300WM vs the Wea. 300 180 gr. loads then the spread is 150FPS tops which is more like it. Cartridges of the World says that the spread of handloads of equal pressure is about 100fps & that is what I have seen( I used to own a MKV). If someone wants to think 150fps, fine but with both haveing 26" barrels & the 300 seated properly like in a Rem. 700, 100-125 diff. will hit it most times. This is why I use a 300WM instead of a 300Wea., I looked at both hard when I bought my Sendero & most 300Wea. info was with 26" tubes & the 300WM was with 24", but when you level the playing field the diff. was not worth the more expensive brass, etc. If I ever feel I need more 30cal. power, I will have my Sendero chambered to the RUM & the rails modified, but I don't see the need at this point in MY application.
I try to not look at these cartridges as ones I like or those that I don't like(& really no one would care anyway), rather just look at them from the standpoint of the numbers & I have shown that. With any you can have an extremely accurate rifle made or with the exception of the H&H you can get a very accurate factory rifle in any of those. I feel that for most people the 30-06 will take care of their 30cal. needs & do it very well! I know I plan on always having one. But a 300 is a great weapon. I believe starting with an '06 is better for most folks & if you do the proper trigger time, you will know when a 300 will do you some additional good & that IS what counts.
Good shooting
