In Defense of the 300 H&H magnum.

[Doug627]

People that laugh at old cartridges and rifles are just showing their ignorance. Not stupidity. Ignorance means they know no better. Anyone who has hunted with an old well kept rifle with a proven cartridge knows their true value. You do not have to dislocate a shoulder to take game.

 

[comtedeloach]

This past season I took an old Army buddie's offer to come hunt with him and his dad who is a guide. When I arrived there were a lot of guys around camp (customers) and I spent a few days packing game and gear, (camera equipment) out and field dressing, in exchange for a cull elk on private land. It was a good deal all the way around. Sitting around camp all these guys were toying with their elk rifles. Lots of short, and super short, and ultra mags. Lots of stainless and synthetic. I just sat and listened to these guys extolling the virtues of their respective newfangled nonesense and didn't say much. The night before I was going to hunt I pulled out my rifle which is a 50's era Winchester model 70 in 300 H&H with a Zeiss conquest 3-9x44 on top. My rifle formerly belonged to an Alaskan guide who used to grab it by the muzzle and knock the snow off his boots with the stock. It maintains a solid 60% of its blueing and I wouldn't sell it at any price because it shoots 3/4" 10 round strings at 100 yards if you take it slow. I was instantly greeted with light hearted ridicule by all the guys around the fire pit. I simply ignored most of it except a comment by one old timer saying that such a good old gun shouldn't be subjected to the rigors of the hunt anymore, and I should get something more modern. After anchoring a past it's prime plains elk at just under 400 yards I was surprised when the cajoling didn't die down, guys started drunkenly explaining to me that muzzle loading season was over; and I had just set the world record for longest shot with a musket. I got home to California and started looking at a modern replacement for the old H&H because after all it would be nice to hunt with a gun that I wouldn't mind if something happened to. I handload my H&H, I worked up the reloader 25 load from the 48th edition Lyman except I substituted the 200 grain jacketed spitzer for a 200 grain nosler accubond. I use 73 grains of powder and a standard rifle primer for 2900 fps. What I discovered upon researching these new 30 caliber magnums is that with 200 grain bullets their ballistics didn't offer much better performance. the ultra mag in particular gave me an extra 200 fps for an extra 10 grains of powder! I couldn't safely match the performance with the WSM, WSSM, or the SAUM in that bullet weight. I could with the win mag but I don't like how short it's case neck is, uniform neck tension is really important in my book. So it seems like I shouldn't second guess the old super 30; I could have saved myself a lot of time by remembering the old adage. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

F'em. If you like the rifle, shoot the rifle. Now, if I was going to make or get e new rifle, it would be in .375 Ruger. That cartridge interested me. But in a pinch I would use what you got
and be happy.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DWalt]

Sort of like a .270 or .30-'06. Most newer hunters and shooters think those two are useless antiques and hopelessly outdated and don't recognize just how good they are for any North American hunting.

 

[LittleCooner]

I know someone who inherited a Model 70 in .300 H&H Magnum from his grandfather. The rifle is from the early 50s. He was complain9ng that the rifle was not using a modern cartridge. He wanted the rifle to be rechambered for the .300 Winchester Magnum. I told him that I would be willing to buy a new Winchester Model 70 for whatever cartridge he wanted and trade for that old rifle in the obsolete cartridge. He is thinking about it.

Why not just do an "improvement"to the chamber to a "modern case". Does he not understand the very famous and very modern 300 Weatherby Mag. is nothing but an improved (blown out) 300 H & H? To each his own. Also agree that anyone who would even consider selling his grandfathers rifle which had been handed down to him should as a minimum be banded from all shooting forum sites and I can think of other sanctions that I believe should be also instilled.

One last comment on a hunting gun - you can not kill them deader that dead. A 180 grain good hunting bullet moving at 3000 fps and hitting a game animal, well test have shown that the animal did not know if he had been whacked by a 104 year old H&H or a super modern 30 super short, super fast, super expensive new 2016 released magnum. All ask in this survey were just dead and did not comment

 

[Drm50]

My most favorite rifle was 375H&H, 300H&H second. I never had any trouble killing anything with either one. When 7 mag Rem
came out I spent a few bucks having a custom 98 made up. It
was a excellent rifle, but wouldn't do anything the 300H&H couldn't do.
I run into ridicule all the time on my guns. My favorite woods
deer rifle is a 1895 Win/ 30-06. I shotgun hunt with A5 Belgian
Brownings and carry S&W revolvers matched to the occasion.
They all say I need wheels on my WW1 guns. Don't bother me
a bit. When the smoke clears, guess whose got the meat on the
pole.

 

[Lt JL]

the .270, as mentioned above, seems to kill better than some of those big bore shoulder thumpers. The H&H cartridges do the same thing. You get more Buck for your Bang, so to speak.

 

[Snapping Twig]

Along those lines, I shoot a wildcat - 6.5-06.

The 6.5/.264 bullet is not so popular here in America, but it performs well above what statistical analysis would have you believe.

The .260, 6.5-55, 6.5-284, etc are all performers, buck the wind and do the work when they get there.

Figure that for caliber they are long with exceptional SD and BC and in function they are more like a spear than a ball.

I shot a deer with it and it was DRT, fell like the switch was flipped.

In Europe, the 6.5-55 is used for large game - and it works.