I realize in a state that allowed rifle hunting a .270-30-06 would be an obviously better choice, but here in indiana, rifles arent allowed because of how flat the state is. I’ve grown up hunting with shotguns, but last year a buddy of mine brought out his .300 - he said it was a pistol caliber, and I know pisitol caliber rifles are allowed here. He was the first person I’ve ever seen use one, and because my father used to guide, I’ve hunted with alot of people. He said the range on it is about 300 years, which is about twice what you’re going to get out of an average shotgun. What are the cons? I’ve priced ammo and it’s only $2 a round compared to about $4 per slug I shoot.
I assume you mean .300 Win Mag? There is no way in hell that that’s a pistol cartridge, that usually refers to something like a lever action in .357, or arguably but somewhat inaccurately .30 Carbine. Wikipedia has a few criticisms of .300 Win Mag which seem mostly superficial. I don’t know anyone personally who hunts with it but I’ve heard of a few who do. It’s the “most popular .30 caliber magnum with American hunters” for what it’s worth, although that sounds like an overly narrow superlative.
I find the OP to be confusing as well. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a very powerful rifle round. Could you be thinking of a .30-.30? It is a rifle round that is popular for deer hunting but the range is limited compared to rounds like a .30-06. .30-.30 rifles tend to be physically small and the round can be used in some other specialty configurations.
I have a hard time imagining a pistol-caliber round is going to reliably take down a large deer at long range. I’ve never done it, but from what I understand you have to get pretty close when you’re hunting deer with a pistol not only because of the accuracy limitations of a pistol, but also because your shots have to be really well-placed to bring the animal down. It’s no fun for you or the deer (relatively speaking, of course) if you just wound it and it escapes to die slowly somewhere.
I may be way off base (not being a firearms/hunting enthusiast) but my experience with the .300 Mag was as bear protection while my wife and I did stream surveys in Alaska. For a fairly light-weight rifle the recoil was unpleasant and the sound was deafening, to say the least. If a big Brownie gets upset with you in the brush, it’s probably best to have something with a little pop.
The o.p. seems to be referring to the .30 Carbine, which is legal for deer hunting in some counties in Iowa (and perhaps other states that prohibit hunting with full power rifles as well). However, you’re definitely not going to get a 300 yard effective range out of a .30 Carbine; I would say that 150 yards is pushing it, and I personally wouldn’t take a shot at more than half of that if I were so included to ventilate some piece of venison. I’d just as soon use a Winchester lever action or Ruger semi-auto chambered for .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum, which is cheaper and (in .44 Magnum) just as powerful.
I can legally hunt Deer in the northern third of Minnesota with my 1894 Cowboy II, chambered for .357 magnum (only shotguns are allowed in the southern 2/3 of the state), but I don’t think it’d be something I’d consider doing. I’d rather use my .308.
I had a Remington 700 chambered for .300 H&H Magnum. It’s most certainly NOT a pistol round. Hell the bolt throw on that damn thing was nearly three feet.
There is also a .300 Savage cartridge (not a magnum round). I killed my first deer with my buddy’s grandfather’s .300. It it less powerful than a 30-06, would go 300 yards, and is not a pistol round. The .30 caliber carbine sounds more like what the OP was refering to.
