Need Help!!!!

[wsmitty01]

I'm having a shoulder replaced. I have a stevens 200 300 win mag. The recoil is something I don't want to put up with. Any suggestions on something lighter in recoil without changing anything but the barrel,,,,I use this rifle for deer-elk,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,THANKS!!

[tammons]

You will have to change the barrel, bolt head and mag which is not a big deal.

How about a 280 or 284 win with a premium bullet.
The straight 284 will push a 180 gr berger at 2950 over RL17.
Maybe a 260 ??

A 243 would be my suggestion if you had not mentioned Elk.
We load ours with 80 gr TTSX barnes bullets at 3300 fps out of an 18" barrel.

You can get over 3400 fps with a 22" barrel and RL17. Good low recoil deer round.

The 6.8 SPC is probably my favorite low recoil deer and hog round shooting the 95 gr TTSX
and a few people have killed elk at a distances like 300-350 with 110gr bullets.

Not my choice for elk, but with a good bullet it hits like a sledghammer and the recoil is very low.

Oh, edit #1 thing to do is put a duromax stock on it. IMO the recoil is a lot more tolerable with that stock
and decelerator pad.

[Tbob]

With a magnum boltface, that's going to be a tall order to fill. Most everything that uses that boltface will rattle your teeth. For a few dollars more, you can change out that bolt face and then the field is wide open to a host of lesser recoiling chamberings.

[wsmitty01]

Do I need extractor or anything else?

[Artpro]

You should consider having a Vais brake installed on the 300 WM. Makes all the difference.
Art

[tammons]

Do I need extractor or anything else?


Yup. You need a complete bolt head.

Bolt head and maybe a baffle.

Ejector, ejector pin, keeper pin.

Extractor, ball, spring, keeper I think. Its been a while.

Now I am thinking the magnum has a larger diameter firing pin too, but I am not 100%
on that. My magnum action is an older flatback and its the same but the later ones might be larger.

You better check all that out with some other people to make sure.
Its been a while since I have set up a new bolt head.
You can get all of that stuff from Midwayusa.

Might be better to just buy a complete 473 bolt.

[wsmitty01]

I have a couple of members willing to swap complete bolts from LA 30-06. Would that bolt head work with the .308? I guess now's the time to start thinking F-class build also!

[Blue Avenger]

.243wssm

http://www.gunnersgear.com/savage_pics/caliber_case_head_sizes.pdf

[Blue Avenger]

I have a couple of members willing to swap complete bolts from LA 30-06. Would that bolt head work with the .308? I guess now's the time to start thinking F-class build also!
yes the .308 family is the same dia.

[Cycler]

How about the cheap approach. Load the .300 Win down to 308 velocities with reduced charges and use 150 gr bullets for deer and 165 or 180's for elk.

IMR4895 or H4895 are a great powders for reduced charges. Hodgdon says they can be used at as low as 60% of the full charge to provide velocities as low as 1500 - 2000 fps and up to near maximum magnum velocities with full charges so you could use anything between those limits to get the velocity and recoil you can tolerate.

[tammons]

That is a good idea and worth a try, but it takes more powder to get the
bullet up to speed over something like a 308.
Still probably only about 2# difference in recoil.

I would probably try a reduced load with Barnes 130 gr TTSX, bullets and weight a duromax stock with 1 or 2 mercury recoil reducers
to about 9# total.

A 130 TTSX should drop most any animal with a good shot.

60-65 gr of H4895 should push a bullet to around 2900 FPS and in a 9# rifle total weight the recoil would be about 15#.
Minimum opening speed for that bullet is probably about 1600 fps.

1000 fpe limit would be about 400 yds.
1600 fps limit would be about 550 yards with 760 fpe.

I load that bullet in a reduced load for my Dad who is 90YO in 30-06 at about 2600.