300 & 338 magnum debate

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TexasEd

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In my search for a magnum I would like your thoughts on the pro's and con's of each caliber & any rifle you feel is good in the field. I'll go for deer, boar & sometimes elk. I'm looking for the do all magnum. I have it down to the Winchester Model 70 Left hand. I have a Tikka and feel it is a great rifle however I feel that the 70 may just be a bit better I feel the trigger and the whole system is proven...not that any others are bad it just seems that the Model 70 is less prone to problems. I know the 70 LH is not in current production however I have a few lined up LNIB. Thanks in advance.
 
Either one will work fine for deer, boar, and elk.

Do you reload? Your options are seemingly endless with these 2 calibers when hand loading.
I'd go with 300 Win Mag though, if you're to take the occasional elk. Load the 300 Win Mag down a bit for deer, then have your elk/boar shells loaded and ready to go when season starts. Both are versatile rifles.
 
Both are great rounds and I own both, my 300 Win Mag is for my longer shots and "smaller game" and my 338 is for my bigger game, and bigger heavier bullets.
 
.338 if it's an elk rifle.

.300 is it's more multipurpose -- flat shooting high-velocity loads for faraway deer, heavy bullets for elk. .30-06 on steroids.
 
If you don't reload, I would suggest you look around at ammo availability. I made the mistake of getting a 300 Weatherby Mag and I'm not having much luck finding it.
I think either will kill anything you mention that you may hunt.
 
my favorite multi-use rifle is a 338 win mag.

i find the recoil to be less bothersome than a 300 win mag. that does not mean recoil with either is light, but i think the 338 is more shootable than a 300 win mag.

i also do not think either is a bad choice. the 338 win mag, 300 win mag, and 7 rem mag are my favorite 3 chamberings, and i feel pretty confident with either of the 3. really, there's no bad choice.
 
either will kill anything on the north american continent. but, if i were to go after the larger bear, i would take the 338. simply because of the heavier bullets which = more a imidiate knockdown.
 
The .300 Winnie is plenty of rifle for any game in the North American continent. I have successfully hunted elk, moose, and bison with the .300, all being one shot kills. (The bison was 350 yards.) More important than bullet weight, is bullet placement. Heavy caliber will not make up for poor marksmanship. You have it all with the .300, distance, power, large bullet selection, and it wont punish your shoulder. That being said, both are good calibers, and you will be happy with either.
 
If it means anything to you, in factory loads, bullet for bullet, the .338 is actually a smidgen flatter shooting than the .300 Winchester. I mention this, not because I think it means anything in terms of practicality but because a lot of people I know have the mistaken notion that the .300 Winchester Magnum has a flatter trajectory than does the .338 Winchester Magnum.

Like dakotasin, for whatever reason ("perceived" recoil), in rifles of equal weight and configuration, I find the kick of a .338 less objectionable than that of a .300. And, no, I cannot defend this opinion empirically. Physics and ballistic realities being what they are, I'm sure ("on paper", at least) the .338 kicks harder. My shoulder (brain?) argues otherwise...
 
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I've shot a .338 all my life and killed plenty of deer with it, my friend killed a black bear in Canada with it.


If store cartridges are cheaper for whichever one, and that's what your going to be shooting (if your not a reloader), that's how I'd choose.

lol


My .338 does not blow up deer, but my friends .300 does. There's that also.

.
 
I just went through the same debate as you. I was considering the 300 win mag and the 338 win mag.

The 300 win mag offers you lighter bullets ranging from 150 to 220 grains. The velocity of the 150 grainers is 3420 fps loaded hot and the 180 grainers 3160 fps.

The 338 win mag offers you a heavier range of bullets ranging from 180 to 250 grains. The velocity for the 180 grainers is 3260 fps and the 250’s are 2750 fps.

If you consider 180 grain bullets the 338 will offer higher velocity and a larger frontal area than the 300 which should mean a harder hit on animals. The velocity for the 338 is about 100 fps faster with the 338.

The way I looked at it was this. If you look at what a 338 win mag will do with a 180 grain bullet, it is about 80 fps slower than a 300 ultra mag. If you want to drop whitetail or just about anything else (with a premium Barnes Triple Shock or Nosler Accubond) bullet, you can do it with the 338 win mag. If you are a hand loader, you can reduce the load to a more comfortable recoil level and still have a large diameter bullet that will kill efficiently. If you want to shoot larger game like elk, moose or tyrannosaurus rex, you can upgrade to a hot loaded 250 grainer and get huge penetration (and recoil) and quick humane kills.

For me I decided to go the route of the 338. I think this caliber is more versatile and offers more large game possibilities. I will probably still run my 270 win for whitetails as my primary gun, but I am going to go with the 338 this year to see how it performs.

Both rifles will be efficient killers of all game you mentioned. Either way you go, you will have made the right choice. This is my 3 cents. Take it for what it’s worth.
 
The 300 win mag offers you lighter bullets ranging from 150 to 220 grains.
Click to expand...

Gee...I've loaded 110 grain HP in my 300 Win Mag and had no problem downing a deer at approximately 300 yards. In and out both sides of the deer, and not even close to max load (max load is around 3,450 fps, so I'm guessing mine were in the 3,000 fps range).
 
I didn't mean to offend Bang Bang. I think both calibers are great. I simply stated that I leaned towards the 338. I had a tough time making a decison between the two. Just my opinion. No need to get crabby.
 
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