Big Game with 300win mag vs 300 wsm? 338 win mag?

Buy the gun you fall in love with in any of the cartridges you listed, they will all do the job as long as you do yours. You could always jump up to the new king and buy a 357 ruger.
 
BCBRAD said:
Its not 1915 it is 2015 ! The 30-06 with modern powder and bullets eg: 200gr AccuBonds @2700 mv will surely take a moose sized animal with one shot on a consistently boring basis, It is a much more controllable round than the 300 WM, therefore good shot placement is easier. So, given the choice of a 1968 300WM or a 2015 30-06 , the 30-06 will be the pick.
To the OP, 338wm is a good all round choice for big game , think of it as 25% more than a 30-06, similar trajectory. Bison, here in BC, has a minimum power requirement, I think its a 7Mag with 175gr bullets, but check it out. Its difficult to have a reasonable deer cartridge and bison cartridge in one round, that's why I have a 30-06 and a 9.3 for big animals.
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The 30-06, 303, 8x57, 6.5x55, etc.., etc.., all took plenty of big game before the advent of today's powders. Seems the old ones worked OK too...;) Seems to me moose and bison are two rather different beasts, I know a moose will drop with a shot from a 30-30, and wouldn't hesitate to try it at 100 yards, if I ever got a chance to go for Bison I think I'd want something heavier. 338 Win is probably a solid choice for that task, though it might be more fun with a stoutly hand loaded 45-70 and a good bullet.
The advice on recoil is solid, if you're not used to a hard kicking light rifle. I learned that the hard way when I was in my late teens with a poorly fitting 300 Winchester that thumped my cheek solidly with every shot. It took a while to get myself calmed down around centre fire rifles again, but now I find myself leaning towards bigger again. Recoil can be fun with the right gun....

Oh, while the .300 WSM and .300 Winchester are fairly close in ballistics, the WSM is almost a dead ringer for the classic .300 H&H, ballistics wise anyways. That's the one I'll be after if I ever get another .300.:)
 
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hillbros_96 said:
Buy the gun you fall in love with in any of the cartridges you listed, they will all do the job as long as you do yours. You could always jump up to the new king and buy a 357 ruger.
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.357 Ruger? Are those devils trying to unseat the Whelen now? Jeez, the last time they tried this I recall a lengthy thread about how it didn't work out that well.......:stirthepot2:
 
I really prefer the 338 for Bison, but will second Boomer when he states that the 300 Win Mag is a very versatile chambering.

I have shot only 3 Bison, all with the 338 and the 225 Partition at around 2850 fps. It is quite effective for the job. No animal went 30 yards after the shot.

Would I have been handicapped with a 300 Win Mag and a 200 Partition at similar or slightly higher speeds? I think not.

The 300 WSM mimics the 300 Win Mag with bullets up to 165 grains, but the heavies tend to take up a lot of powder space in that short case,
thus speeds are a bit slower with 200 grain bullets.

Recoil, of course, is a factor with the 338....it being above the "comfort" level of most shooters. Cost of ammo is higher as well.

Regards, Dave.
 
Ha Ha , no emotion here just the facts as I see them :). Not against magnums at all, I have a 300wm for thumping steel at 1000+meters, suppose it would work fine on big animals out to 600 or so yards.
 
BCBRAD said:
Its not 1915 it is 2015 ! The 30-06 with modern powder and bullets eg: 200gr AccuBonds @2700 mv will surely take a moose sized animal with one shot on a consistently boring basis, It is a much more controllable round than the 300 WM, therefore good shot placement is easier. So, given the choice of a 1968 300WM or a 2015 30-06 , the 30-06 will be the pick.
To the OP, 338wm is a good all round choice for big game , think of it as 25% more than a 30-06, similar trajectory. Bison, here in BC, has a minimum power requirement, I think its a 7Mag with 175gr bullets, but check it out. Its difficult to have a reasonable deer cartridge and bison cartridge in one round, that's why I have a 30-06 and a 9.3 for big animals.
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for bc and bison the 7x64 brenneke and 280 remington met the minimun, will i have a rig in the 7mms for bisons no way there is way better choices for sure.

as Boomer (Mike) a 9.3 or .375 will be a good idea and all the points he brings with too ..
 
I've shot moose with all 3 and really couldn't tell the difference.

Although if I was buying a bison gun, bigger is better. I'd skip right past the .338 to the .375 Ruger. If I wanted an all around rifle that will kill a bison, I would find the rifle I liked and buy it in whatever it happened to be chambered in. Use 180+ grain premium bullets and go kill Mr Bison
 
Two things cause increased tissue damage and hopefully a more rapid death....bullet diameter and velocity. With the great selection of speedy lightweights for the 338 these days, it's fast becoming my favourite. A well constructed 185-grain bullet from a .338 is just about perfect for everything moose-sized down.
 
Wasn't it decided last winter that bullets kill by letting light in....the more light they let in, the quicker they kill! :) :)

The 338WM is a good choice, have fun and post pics of the bison after your hunt.
 
hawk-i said:
Wasn't it decided last winter that bullets kill by letting light in....the more light they let in, the quicker they kill! :) :)

The 338WM is a good choice, have fun and post pics of the bison after your hunt.
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The bigger hole lets more light in!
 
haha I will definitely post some pics when its done.

Thanks also Sheep Hunter. I was curious about weights while I have been shopping for ammo and reading up on what other guys are using. So you would use 338wm on a sheep?
 
MackForce said:
Thanks also Sheep Hunter. I was curious about weights while I have been shopping for ammo and reading up on what other guys are using. So you would use 338wm on a sheep?
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I don't use my .338 for sheep primarily because I have some lighter, lower recoil options but I would in heartbeat if I needed to.
 
A 30-06 is what most people that I hunt with think as "perfect for anything in N.A.". It might be, in the hands of experienced shootist. A 30 caliber magnum is what most of those folks think of as "big" / "powerful". If a 180 grain 30-06 won't do it, why would a .30 Magnum at 300 fps faster "get er dun" - what I mean is, when would the 30-06 "wound" but the 30 magnum "kill"? Several have mentioned the 338 Win Mag. I have one, use it, but decided that only with 250 gr. Partitions or some old 275 gr. Speers, does it actually step away from 30-06 180 grain performance. Now to muddle the thinking, I am still working out my 9.3x62 (i.e. the German version of .375 H&H). Writer John Barsness has published loads (pressure tested at Western Powder lab) throwing 285 Partitions at nearly 2,500 fps. He lists 250 Accubonds at 2,650. If a 30-06 is not enough, I am thinking we've got to jump up the "cartridge picket fence" into the larger caliber, heavier bullet. I do not have a 35 Whelen, but with 250 grain, it is probably in the same pool...
 
If you want to shoot heavier bullets and feel that speed matters, I get 2810 out of my 375H&H with 250 grainers. Guys do better with the Ruger. Nothing against the 9.3 but it kind of falls awkwardly between the 338 and 375....at least performance wise.
 
bearkilr said:
Really? The 9.3 can't top the 338 in velocities or energy. Check the numbers. And please compare equal weight bullets.

My flame suit is on in preparation for several nasty replies that are about to appear now that I've said something that could be construed as a negative toward CGN's star caliber. :)
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I run 286gr @2525fps and 250gr @2700fps out of a 9.3x66 Sako, 22" bbl. It lets the light in and the air out . :)
 
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