300 mag vs 338 mag?

[1899]

I had a .300 Win Mag in a Mauser 96 straight pull that had worse felt recoil than my Sako Fiberclass in .338 Win Mag, but a 700BDL in .338 Win Mag was way worse than the .300 Win Mag, and even worse than my .416 RM, although a .300 Win Mag in an AV Sako was very nice to shoot, as was a .300 Win Mag in a Voere Titan II, although neither was as nice as a custom Mauser 98 in .338 Win Mag.

 

[cody c]

Im partial to the 300wm as I use one alot, though I have used a friends 338 wm before, and I cant say how impressed I was, it had a hogue stock and was a kitten in terms of felt recoil. Smacked a couple doe's with it and it didnt waste alot of meat.

After shooting that thing, I would say the 338 wm is a bit like a secret fishing spot, you want to tell everyone how great it is, but you also want to keep it for yourself...

I'd say if you take more distance shots, with praries or what not, go with the 300, if you do more bush hunting, go 338.

 

[John Y Cannuck]

I look at the 300WM as a fast 30-06. The 30-06 is boring. so, for a real change, I'd go 338WM.

But try out the rifle if you can. I had one that didn't fit me properly, and it would leave a mark when fired.
Tried a friends 338WM, and it was positively pleasant to shoot same MF too (Browning).
Another friend had a similar experience with the 300WM. They are hard hitting rounds at both ends if everything isn't just right.

 

[Huntsman]

As for recoil, anyone care to share their experiences with the recoil felt from a Tikka T3 Lite from the two calibers?

 

[Boomer]

For my purposes the .30/06 is the optimum .30 caliber cartridge and out to 300 yards will do what is required of any .30 caliber cartridge. What cartridge then provides the next logical progression in power? If we compare the available bullets, we see that there is quite a bit of overlap in the .30 and .338 line ups. This can be a good thing if you want a bit more than a .30 can give, as it adds to the .338's versatility. But if you already own a 7mm or .30 caliber rifle, acquiring a .338 is a bit redundant when you could simply move up to a .375 something or other and have something that is a significant step above a .30 caliber rifle's power level. As to recoil, if you can manage a .300 or .338 Winchester, you can manage a .375 Ruger or .375 H&H. If you can handle a .338 Lapua or a .338/378 Weatherby you can manage a .375 Ultra or a .378 Weatherby. As with most cartridge discussions, there is no right or wrong answer, providing your choice does what needs to be done and does not intimidate you while doing it.

 

[Tumbleweed]

As for recoil, anyone care to share their experiences with the recoil felt from a Tikka T3 Lite from the two calibers?

99% of felt recoil is a result of stock fit to the individual shooter. You'd have to try one to see. I shoot a L61R SAKO in .338, lightened to 7 pounds, all day long with no problems - but I have a 788 Remington in .308 that I find downright nasty.

When I see all this 'recoil' jabber, my eyes roll so hard they ache. An ill-fitting .308 can hurt, while a properly fitting .458 WM won't hurt at all.

I do admit that those .375 Rugers are different. Since they're built for Libs and Dippers they recoil sideways, hard to the left.

 

[t-star]

there's nothing a 300 mag can do that a 308 can't with the exception of the heavier bullets- think of it as a 308 on SPEED - with the accompanying ecscaltion in powder- and there is NO difference between a 3006 and a 300 with the exception of speed; the 338, on the other hand, is at least 30 grains heavier in factory loading, and has condierably more "whomp" downrange- the difference in mpbr between an 06 and a 300 using 180 grain bullets is 276 for the 06, and 325 for the 300- roughly 50 yards- there's 11 yards diff between the 06 and the 308- but the 338 also has about 30 pounds of recoil, compared to the 15(308) 17( 06) and 24( 300) - the thing i have against all the magnums is how much powder they use for very little gain over the standard calibers, and the fact that you always lose 2 rounds due to the belt-

 

[shot 32 spl.]

i would go with 338.

 

[Laurel Mtn.]

I was a Elk guide in Colorado some years ago, and own both of these. I would say for game up to deer the .300 WinMag, bigger than deer the .338 WinMag. A cartridge that is the best of both worlds is the 8mm Rem Mag. You have to hand load for it, weak ammo is why it never caught on. A Sierra 220gr GameKing at 3100 fps is awesome at long range! If I ever get to go on a Canadian hunt, that is the rifle I will bring.

 

[t-star]

I was a Elk guide in Colorado some years ago, and own both of these. I would say for game up to deer the .300 WinMag, bigger than deer the .338 WinMag. A cartridge that is the best of both worlds is the 8mm Rem Mag. You have to hand load for it, weak ammo is why it never caught on. A Sierra 220gr GameKing at 3100 fps is awesome at long range! If I ever get to go on a Canadian hunt, that is the rifle I will bring.

try finding bullets for it; they're almost non-existant in canada- you've got more chance finding a 338 /250- i would also question that velocity as my r/l manual lists the hottest loads for the 8mm mag as 2996 using a 200 grain bullet- roughly the equivilent of a 300 weatherby

 

[savagefan]

try finding bullets for it; they're almost non-existant in canada- you've got more chance finding a 338 /250- i would also question that velocity as my r/l manual lists the hottest loads for the 8mm mag as 2996 using a 200 grain bullet- roughly the equivilent of a 300 weatherby

As he stated you have to handload. 8mm (.325") bullets are very available, a good hunting friend uses his 8 mag for everything that he hunts. Factory ammo was anemic hence poor sales, and if I remember right, in a pinch you can neck-down and fire-form .375 H&H brass.

 

[t-star]

As he stated you have to handload. 8mm (.325") bullets are very available, a good hunting friend uses his 8 mag for everything that he hunts. Factory ammo was anemic hence poor sales, and if I remember right, in a pinch you can neck-down and fire-form .375 H&H brass.

i DIDN'T miss the note about handloading; it STILL isn't in the same class as the 338 win mag- even with handloads, it still gives NOTHING to the 30 cal weatherby mag

 

[savagefan]

I won't argue the .338 bit, just bought one in Savage (natch) for this year's moose hunt, buddy with the 8 has a Sauer in 300 WBY, damned accurate but rings his ears, supposedly shorter barrel life (1000 rounds or so for best accuracy) on those fast 300s too.

 

[savagefan]

i DIDN'T miss the note about handloading; it STILL isn't in the same class as the 338 win mag- even with handloads, it still gives NOTHING to the 30 cal weatherby mag

Have a look at the Hodgdon site, 220gr 8RM mv about the same as a 225gr 338 winmag and 220gr WBY mag.

 

[l1fel1ne]

Don't most mags have a accurate barrel life of 1k? To be honest both rounds will do the job and then some.

 

[t-star]

Have a look at the Hodgdon site, 220gr 8RM mv about the same as a 225gr 338 winmag and 220gr WBY mag.

i've found hogdon to be somewhat LESS than honest about their velocities- i PREFER to use speer which i have proven on more than one occasion with other calibers, and my data is from 1991- take a look at the powder charges and velocities for the 9mm and 45acp, and compare them to other manufacturers- their starting loads are lighter, and the max load is lighter, and yet they end up at roughly the same velocity- something's not right with those guys

 

[t-star]

Don't most mags have a accurate barrel life of 1k? To be honest both rounds will do the job and then some.

not only no, but hell no-barrel life depends on a lot of things , including what kind of loads you run through that rifle, and some folks get about 5k( which is a lot of shooting for a magnum) out of a tube, then re-chamber and re-crown if necessary, and good to go again- the center of the tube rarely "burns out"

 

[Dogleg]

not only no, but hell no-barrel life depends on a lot of things , including what kind of loads you run through that rifle, and some folks get about 5k( which is a lot of shooting for a magnum) out of a tube, then re-chamber and re-crown if necessary, and good to go again- the center of the tube rarely "burns out"

I must not live right.

 

[t-star]

I must not live right.

it's not just you- like i said, it depends on a lot of things- remember the 220 swift and how quickly it burned out barrels?- personally, i think it's got a lot to do with the 55kpsi pressure limit- step over that , and you start to burn barrels- the 338 win mag factory load uses a 250 grain slug, moving at roughly 2700 fps and that seems to give both good accuracy and barrel life- my bar is as accurate as the day i bought it , back in91- but i also know that's got a 1/12 twist, and i can't expect it to hold with maximum loads and heavy bullets- there's an envelope to each rifle, and step out side that and somethings GOT to give- i would love to try the 300 grain smks, but i know my barrel won't take it- i run out of twist at about 280 or so- i really loved the speer 275 semi-spitzers, but they don't make them anymore; you gained an extra 25 grains weight and only lost 15 fps- and if you shoot anything less than 250, you're handicapping the cartridge imo; remember . this is a 458 win mag neck down to 34 caliber, so the same rules apply

 

[Dogleg]

it's not just you- like i said, it depends on a lot of things- remember the 220 swift and how quickly it burned out barrels?- personally, i think it's got a lot to do with the 55kpsi pressure limit- step over that , and you start to burn barrels- the 338 win mag factory load uses a 250 grain slug, moving at roughly 2700 fps and that seems to give both good accuracy and barrel life- my bar is as accurate as the day i bought it , back in91- but i also know that's got a 1/12 twist, and i can't expect it to hold with maximum loads and heavy bullets- there's an envelope to each rifle, and step out side that and somethings GOT to give- i would love to try the 300 grain smks, but i know my barrel won't take it- i run out of twist at about 280 or so- i really loved the speer 275 semi-spitzers, but they don't make them anymore; you gained an extra 25 grains weight and only lost 15 fps- and if you shoot anything less than 250, you're handicapping the cartridge imo; remember . this is a 458 win mag neck down to 34 caliber, so the same rules apply

If you liked the 275 Speer, why not use the 275 Swift A-Frame? I use the 300 grain SMK in my current .338 Edge, and the one that preceded it. I can't seem to hurt a barrel in a .338 but a keg of powder and a few months plinking will lay a hurtin' on a .300. Granted, most people don't think of a .300 as a plinker, call me weird.