On the fence on 338LM or 300 Win Mag

I'm sure it'll have already been mentioned but the only advantage as I see it is wind.

I just bought a 338 L, went through the same exercise you are going through now. The only real additional cost is powder, and brass. The price of new brass is nuts for the 338, but once fired is easy enough to find, I got 150 at $90/50 from some guy in Hawksbury. Most in really nice condition, all usable, just a handful with dented necks. Projectiles are about the same cost as the high BC 30's if you can live with plain jane 250/300gr HPBT.

Powder is where it really hurts. I loaded 30 to start, it put a good dent in that first 1lbs container. If you go this way, find a powder you like, and buy 8lbs.

The other thing to consider, is your glass up to the task. Mine doesn't appear to have the right stuff, poi was bouncing around so I'm waiting on a new one to arrive before I carry on with load development. The scope may have survived, I'm going to confirm that in a few hours with my 223.

I replaced the Savage Brake with an M-11, recoil is quite tolerable, but a bit sharp. I've added 1.5lbs of weight, that should help, and I can always add more.

Also this is the biggest extended middle finger to the PM I could afford. This is my hearty FU to the Liberals, the Media, and Natalie Provost...
 
redshooter said:
I'm sure it'll have already been mentioned but the only advantage as I see it is wind.

I just bought a 338 L, went through the same exercise you are going through now. The only real additional cost is powder, and brass. The price of new brass is nuts for the 338, but once fired is easy enough to find, I got 150 at $90/50 from some guy in Hawksbury. Most in really nice condition, all usable, just a handful with dented necks. Projectiles are about the same cost as the high BC 30's if you can live with plain jane 250/300gr HPBT.

Powder is where it really hurts. I loaded 30 to start, it put a good dent in that first 1lbs container. If you go this way, find a powder you like, and buy 8lbs.

The other thing to consider, is your glass up to the task. Mine doesn't appear to have the right stuff, poi was bouncing around so I'm waiting on a new one to arrive before I carry on with load development. The scope may have survived, I'm going to confirm that in a few hours with my 223.

I replaced the Savage Brake with an M-11, recoil is quite tolerable, but a bit sharp. I've added 1.5lbs of weight, that should help, and I can always add more.

Also this is the biggest extended middle finger to the PM I could afford. This is my hearty FU to the Liberals, the Media, and Natalie Provost...
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I think you just had me with that last sentence hahaha
 
If you want a boomer I’d go with a 338LM. The 300WM is a great cartridge but it’s hardly a boomer. More of a very big game cartridge. IMO a proper boomer should be way overkill for hunting.
I’ve never fired a 338LM but I have fired a 338 EnABler, there’s absolutely no comparison to a 300WM.
 
coleman1495 said:
If you want a boomer I’d go with a 338LM. The 300WM is a great cartridge but it’s hardly a boomer. More of a very big game cartridge. IMO a proper boomer should be way overkill for hunting.
I’ve never fired a 338LM but I have fired a 338 EnABler, there’s absolutely no comparison to a 300WM.
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The 338 Lapua is very similar to the 340 Wby, 338 RUM, and 338 Edge. All kick more than the 300 WM. But I really don't think of any of them as big boomers. - dan
 
dan belisle said:
No, I tend to figure boomers start with the 40's and up. A shoulder fired 155 does sound interesting though. - dan
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I dunno Dan, this 375 EnABler is giving me boomer vibes
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I believe the 375 Enabelr is the closest cartridge we have to the idiotic 10k joule limit imposed by the communists.
Not sure how close to 10kJ the 37XC gets, but it should be up there too.
The biggest cartridge my range allows is the 338 Lapua, so I'll be sticking with that case for now.
 
Bfranklin said:
The 300 Norma Mag is a barrel burner, allegedly.

+1 for the 300prc.
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The .300 PRC is probably not going to be that much better, especially if you hot rod it and try and get .300NM speeds out of a PRC cartridge (which a lot of reloaders try to do).

To the OP, it truly depends on your objectives.

- Do you reload? If so, some reloaders hate the belted rim of the .300WM
- Do you need the ability to buy ammo off the shelf?
- Is cost a concern? You can go bigger with a .338LM action, but that starts to narrow down your available components and depending on the action, you may need a larger OD tennon barrel, which raises costs and reduces selection
- Are you going to hunt with the rifle? Is weight a concern?
- Do you want the ability to feed from a magazine?
- Is recoil a consideration?

There's a lot to think about. No way to narrow it down if the only objective is to "shoot far" - which is a very unambiguous metric in itself.
 
m_falafel said:
I already have multiple .223’s… One 6.5 Creedmoor also. I’m willing to buy a heavy hitter for the longest range possible. Don’t have any other reason than because I want one. Part of why I want one is because I already lost my chance to get a .50 bmg since the OIC… At first I was sold on the 338LM, but since I’ve started researching the subject, I’ve read multiple sources stating that the US military mostly went with 300 Win Mag’s with heavy bullets in 230gr. One source even compares this load favorably with most 338LM loads.

Since reloading for 338LM seems to be about 3 times costlier than for a quality and heavy 300 win mag, I’m starting to wonder what I’d like most and even if I’d notice the difference. Also, I like shooting my firearms so the cost of using it definitely is a factor.

I’d like to have opinions of people who know more about these mind of firearms. I was mostly look at the Savages Precision or Elite Precision models. Maybe even the Savage 110 Tactical if I went for the 300 Win Mag since it seems way more portable.
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OP - I wonder if the source you refer to is Bryan Litz at Applied Ballistics.

He wrote a very interesting paper in 2021 entitled "Weapon Employment Zone (WEZ) Analysis of the Optimized 300 Winchester Magnum vs 338 Lapua Magnum With Various Ammunition Types"

Spoiler alert:
- Litz concluded that using certain projectiles can enable the 300WM to outperform the 338LM

It certainly opened my eyes - I have an excellent rifle in 300WM that performs incredibly well - I'm considering a 338LM (now that my 50 BMGs are prohibited since May 1 2020).

Handloading the 300WM is best accomplished by abandoning the idea of headspacing on the belt of the cartridge (it's a belted magnum after all) and simply focusing on headspacing off the shoulder.

Please keep us posted on your thoughts on whether you will go for the 300WM, 338LM or the other cartridges that other firearm enthusiasts have mentioned in this thread!
 
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