300 winmag in comparison to 30-06

[Tarvis]

It seems like every chart I look at, the 300 winmag out performs the 30-06 across the board. True, not a whole lot in some cases, but i have yet to read a chart that disputes the fact that the win mag shoots flatter with more energy.

That being said: it seems like folks on here claim the 30-06 is the ballistic "twin" of 300 winmag and that the gains are so negligible on the 300 that there is no reason for its existence. Is this true, or is the claim that the 06 is just as good as the 300 winmag like saying, uh, 2 other cartridges that are really close are the same... sorry couldn't think of two. Was considering 243 vs 6mm rem but don't know much about either .

Note: Please stick to 300 vs 30-06 arguments, as opposed to things like "You can't/won't need to shoot over X yards," or "30-06 is enough to kill any North American animal so you don't need the 300 wm" as they don't answer my question. Also, comments on recoil don't really help me, as I put a brake and a different pad on my rifle.

My reason for asking is to justify the 300 winmag I bought. I hadn't spent much time reading or thinking about what to buy when I got it; I saw it on the rack one day, then came back the next week when I had a bad day and bought it. After countless hours spent reading online, I have a much broader understanding than before, and am trying to make sure I bought the right rifle.

Anyhow, answer away .

 

[skinewmexico]

I think it's pretty obvious that the 300 Winmag does what you say it does, compared to the 30-06. You've already bought it, so enjoy. I bought a 300 Winmag for a Nilgai hunt that got cancelled. I dislike shooting it so much, I'm going to make it into a 6mmBR for F-Class. Great looking gun though, even for a Savage.

 

[slzy]

you did fine,don't look back.

 

[Geno]

The .300 Win. Mag. is a tremendously powerful, and efficient round. It has inherent accuracy to boot. While the .30-06 Sprg is a great round, it has limits with heavy bullets 200 to 220 grains.

Depending on where you hunt, check into handloads of 165 grain projectiles, and set your zero at 300 yards. The drop at 400 yards should be around 10" to 11", and the drop at 500 yards should be around 18" to 20". For a 400 yard shot, aim off of the deer's spine. For a 500 yard shot (using a Leupold scope) aim with the duplex (ranging) post.

I love my Weatherby Mark V in .300 Win Mag. I also love my .30-06s. You made a wise investment. Enjoy your rifle!

Doc2005

 

[ArmedBear]

There is a reason for every cartridge's existence. The .300 Win Mag is a proven round that works well, particularly with big bullets or at long ranges.

When the .300 Win Mag came on the market, the .30-06 didn't suddenly stop killing deer. Neither did the .30-30. You'd think so if you read some posts.

If someone already has a .30-06, hunts deer, doesn't have an infinite amount of disposable income, and wants to know if he should drop a grand on a .300 Win Mag rifle and scope, the best answer is probably "No."

But that sure doesn't mean the .300 Win Mag isn't a great cartridge in its own right.

Furthermore, it's a real do-it-all round. You made a good purchase decision, no worries about that.

 

[Geno]

Listen, next time a .30-06 zealot froths at the mouth, ask them,

"But I thought the .270 Winchester is superior to the .30-06 Sprg?! It's faster, shoots flatter. Why would I down-grade to a .30-06?!"

As their head spins on their neck like "Chuckie" get ready to run. Don't even get them going about the .25-06 Rem or the 6mm-06 (i.e. similar to the .240 Wea. Mag) that corrected the .30-06's inherent deficits!

Doc2005

 

[USSR]

it seems like folks on here claim the 30-06 is the ballistic "twin" of 300 winmag and that the gains are so negligible on the 300 that there is no reason for its existence.

Hmmm, have never seen anyone here make that claim. Factory loaded .300WM is obviously more powerful than factory .30-06. However, if you reload, the .30-06 can be safely loaded to pretty much duplicate factory .300WM ammo. I have been essentially duplicating the 190gr Federal Gold Medal Match .300WM load in .30-06 for the past 6 years. Of course, if you reload for the .300WM, you can bump up it's performance as well.

Don

 

[GearHead_1]

The .300 WinMag out performs the .30-06 the same way the .30-06 out performs the .308. Using this mind set you can have a .308 and .300 WinMag and have no needful purpose of an .06. Now there are those that will reverse this and say if you have a .30-06 you don't need a .308 or a .300 WinMag. Me? Well I think you must have one or more of each.

 

[Shawnee]

You can also load the 300 Winnie down to less exuberant levels if you so desire. Shoot it and enjoy it until you decide you want to trade it for something else.

Sorta with USSR on the claims of the 30-'O-fuddy-duddy crowd. Granted, they put out a whale of a lot of over-ripe apple sauce but I don't actually recall any of them claiming outright that the Thirty-Ought-Baloney cartridge is the "ballistic twin" of the .300 Winnie. I could have been out that day though.

 

[Geno]

I haven't heard the comparisons here at THR; I have seen them published years back, speaking specifically of hotrod-loads for the .30-06. The proposal is to load the .30-06 with 165 SPBT loads at 3100 FPS. These loads are for bolt-action only. The authors have claimed that such loads are what .30-06 loads should be save for the factory down-loaded ammo for autoloaders. The direct comparsion was to claim that loaded as such, the .30-06 strikes with only 150 to 200 FPS less than the .300 Win Mag loaded with a 165 SPBT at 3,300 FPS.

No, I no longer recall who wrote the article. I read it back in about 2000 (8 years ago). But, it was like a large journal such as a Peterson, or Field and Stream. Can't recall which.

Are the claims true? Yes. However, the .300 Win Mag holds it truest strength with 180 to 200 grain projectiles. In these weight projectiles, the .30-06 is not near as "vivid". As I said, I own both, and have owned .300 Wea. Mag as well. They are all excellent. It doesn't matter what you shoot; it only matters how well you shoot it.

Doc2005

 

[Brasso]

On paper, I can't see much difference. It can shoot 200+ grain bullets farther. If you need to go past 300 yards I guess it's what you need. Under 300 yards, I don't imagine there's anything that you would shoot with a 300 that an 06 won't kill just as dead.

 

[SimpleIsGood229]

You did fine. The .300 Win. Mag does, in fact, outperform the .30-06 by a good margin. To me, the .300 Win. Mag's real advantage over the -06 is its ability to push heavy bullets, fast.

Don't look back.

 

[browningguy]

I've got both, the .300 Winnie is better with 200 gr. and up bullets, anything lighter I stay away from the extra recoil and shoot the 30-06's.

 

[CB900F]

Tarvis;

Been there, done that, voted with my money. I have hunted with the .30-06 for decades, and with some success I might add. However, because economic circumstances allowed, I thought about getting a dedicated elk, moose, bear rifle.

The 300 Winchester magnum immediately came to mind. So I did my research, and passed on the .300. To my mind it simply didn't offer enough more than the .30-06 to justify the considerable expense of a new rifle, scope, dies, load work-ups, et al.

I purchased a .338 Winchester magnum instead. And a happy camper I are.

900F

 

[Geno]

The following is one of the best sites I have found for ballistic information. It is seriously fun!

Link: http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/calculations.html

Doc2005

 

[PercyShelley]

With a longer barrel and heavier bullets the .300 pulls far into the lead.

If you have a friend who has a .300 WM handy, try shooting the thing. It doesn't kick like a. 06; it propels a lot more stuff downrange a lot faster. A mindful handloader can make something fearsome of it.

 

[SoCalShooter]

I like 300 winmag and I purchased a secondary hunting rifle.($400 weatherby vanguard, wood stock and scope, blued) I also have two garands both in 30-06 and I have a 300 weatherby mag. Both mags use expensive ammo and both have great specs and definetly some long range capability. I use my 300 weatherby mag as my primary hunting rifle.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/300Win_Mag.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/300Wby.htm

http://www.chuckhawks.com/30-06.htm

 

[jkingrph]

I have several 30-06's, no 30 cal mag,nor shall I buy one. I just do not see the need. Back in the days when I could only afford one rifle, I learned to shoot my 30-06 well and have stuck with it. I load it from varmit level to heavy bullets, 200 gr. as well as a wide range of cast bullets, my favorite being a 205 gr lyman.

 

[Geno]

PS said:

With a longer barrel and heavier bullets the .300 pulls far into the lead.

If you have a friend who has a .300 WM handy, try shooting the thing. It doesn't kick like a. 06; it propels a lot more stuff downrange a lot faster. A mindful handloader can make something fearsome of it.

So true! With both the .300 Win Mag and the .300 Wea Mag, my handloads would fully penetrate a plow blade at 300 to 400 yards. I have seen my uncle's handloads fully penetrate a plow blade at 500 yards with his .30-378 Wea. Mag.! We're all pretty fortunate to have so many 30 cal rounds available to us. Seems there's something for everyone.

Doc2005

 

[Regolith]

I'm not sure why this argument keeps getting replayed. Its starting to get as bad as the 5.56 vs 7.62 arguments...

The .300 Winchester Magnum does outperform the .30-06, but for most hunting applications, its extra performance isn't quite as necessary as some would like to believe, and it comes at a cost of a lot of extra recoil.

The .30-06 is easily capable of taking every big game animal in north america; hell, so is the .308.

Where the .300 excels is for long distance shooting. So if you're taking a lot of shots at targets, large game animals or various other critters past 400 or 500 yards, the extra recoil might be worth it. Otherwise, it's both cheaper and easier on your shoulder to get a .308 or a .30-06.

 

[Art Eatman]

I've read an awful lot of threads and posts in these ten years at TFL and THR. I don't recall a lot of controversy between the '06 and the .300 WinMag.

I've sighted in a few .300s for friends. I've never seen that I, personally, had any particular need for one, but so what? So the '06 does all I need. So what?

Seems to me that if one wants the .300 WinMag performance, that's what they oughta have.

I've always figured that if a rifle/cartridge package does what you need done, that's as good as it gets.

Art

 

[Bartkowski]

The poll is not necessary. The .300 win mag out performs the .30-06.

Whether that performance is required is another story.

 

[aspade]

One of the standard talking points is that the .300 WM does better with heavier bullets.

I've never understood that. The .300 doesn't start to shoot faster with 200 grain bullets, it shoots faster with every bullet.

Is plus 250 fps and more boom the kind of better you were looking for?

 

[PercyShelley]

One of the standard talking points is that the .300 WM does better with heavier bullets.

I've never understood that. The .300 doesn't start to shoot faster with 200 grain bullets, it shoots faster with every bullet.

Very true, although I think there end up being a momentum or KE efficiency curve that favors heavier bullets. .300 Win Mag throws things faster, but it throws heavier things especially faster.

 

[Tarvis]

I can't remember which thread it was, I think it might have been a 300 vs 338 thread, possibly what CB900F mentioned. Several posters claimed the 30-06 was as good as the 300, which in turn sounded like "300 winmag = not necesary."

I'm not sure why this argument keeps getting replayed.

I don't recall a lot of controversy between the '06 and the .300 WinMag.

I searched for 300 vs 30-06 before I posted.

Thanks for the replies guys. Very helpful. Keep 'em coming if you have more ideas/thoughts.