.300 VS .338 Winchester Magnums

[sprice]

What one do you think I would be better off getting?

Rifle would either be a weatherby vanguard sub moa or a customized remington 700 (which one of these too?).

I want to punch paper at around 1000 yards and I want to use it for Elk and mule deer, other big game (maybe bison and bear) and also antelope at longer ranges (~700 yards if I can pull off a clean shot). I will also reload this round.

 

[tango2echo]

.338 in the Vanguard would be my choice.

t2e

 

[huntershooter]

The .338 Winmag would be a poor choice for "paper punching at 1000 yds.."
Arguably overkill for mulie, certainly Pronghorn.
The .300 Winmag is the best choice (of the two you mention) for your stated purposes.

 

[Zak Smith]

Advice for long-range shooting cartridges


article | Practical Long-Range Rifle Shooting, Part I - Rifle & Equipment

To answer your question, the .300 WM would be better.

 

[kenno]

yes; I doubt you could afford to buy a box of 338 so a 300 is your fall back. The 338 is no world beater, and since you are unsure of what you'll be shooting your hypothetical rifle at: might as well go on the cheap.
OH and BTW all that advertising crap about the Sub-MOA is dependant on the shooter, ignore it.

 

[saturno_v]

My vote would be for the 338 WM...it offers more versatility, especially if you already own a 30 cal rifle.

The 338 it is indeed a very good long range cartridge (in the right hands and with the right hardware).

The 300 gr. Sierra Matchking perform extremely well at the 1000y mark.

However, as much as I love the Vanguard (I own one) I do not think it is exactly the right rifle for punching papers at such extreme distances.....the combination of words "1000 yards" and "inexpensive rifle (and optics)" do not match...

 

[FlyinBryan]

i picked the weatherby in 300wm.

(but if it were me i'd go with the weatherby in 30-06 because i have experience reloading it, not to mention 1000's of rounds of brass, and lots of dies for it. but thats just me. it would be enough)

 

[Arkansas Paul]

I voted for the .300 WM in the Vangaurd Sub MOA. For the long range stuff, the .30 cal takes the cake. It's also plenty big enough for any animal in North America. There would be some argument about it being big enough for the big bears. Don't know if they're on the menu.

 

[saturno_v]

....For the long range stuff, the .30 cal takes the cake....

As far as I know, it doesn;t exist a 30 cal bullet (in any weight) capable to have a BC to match a 300-350 gr. match grade .338 bullet...

 

[xmanpike]

In my opinion, the 300 mags ballistics are still too close to the 30-06 type rounds. If youre going to go big, go big. Get the 338. If your reloading, the cost of the ammo isnt too bad. I just went through this same dilemma. Rem 700 XCR .338 win mag. Its awesome.

 

[Zak Smith]

Here's how 338WM falls out for long range shooting compared to some others

_Bullet_           _BC_ _MV_         0     200     400     600     800    1000    1200    1400 | YARDS
338LM 300SMK      0.77* 2755 >    0.00    1.67    6.95   16.35   30.45   49.94   75.66  108.32 | wind (inches)
338LM 250SCNR     0.675 3000 >    0.00    1.69    7.08   16.71   31.23   51.42   78.21  112.53 | wind (inches)
338WM 300SMK      0.77* 2450 >    0.00    1.97    8.27   19.50   36.42   59.87   90.50  128.86 | wind (inches)
338WM 250SCNR     0.675 2675 >    0.00    1.99    8.35   19.76   37.02   61.11   92.91  133.17 | wind (inches)
338WM 180         0.400 3100 >    0.00    2.81   12.16   29.81   58.14   99.68  155.57  223.93 | wind (inches)
7RM 180 VLD       0.698 2850 >    0.00    1.76    7.35   17.33   32.37   53.24   80.88  116.07 | wind (inches)
7RM 168 VLD       0.640 3000 >    0.00    1.79    7.51   17.77   33.31   55.03   84.01  121.21 | wind (inches)
6.5-284 139       0.640 3000 >    0.00    1.79    7.51   17.77   33.31   55.03   84.01  121.21 | wind (inches)
300WM 210gr VLD   0.640 2850 >    0.00    1.92    8.08   19.15   35.95   59.48   90.80  130.80 | wind (inches)
260 139           0.610 2900 >    0.00    1.97    8.31   19.74   37.16   61.66   94.40  136.34 | wind (inches)
3006 190VLD       0.584 2900 >    0.00    2.07    8.72   20.78   39.22   65.30  100.21  144.92 | wind (inches)
3006 210VLD       0.640 2800 >    0.00    1.97    8.29   19.66   36.91   61.10   93.23  134.19 | wind (inches)
300WM 190gr SMK   0.53* 2950 >    0.00    2.22    9.42   22.58   42.99   72.24  111.92  162.87 | wind (inches)
308 155           0.508 2925 >    0.00    2.36   10.07   24.22   46.21   77.72  120.18  173.99 | wind (inches)

338LM 300SMK      0.77* 2755 >   -0.00    0.42    1.79    3.45    5.37    7.57   10.11   13.06 | drop (mil)
338LM 250SCNR     0.675 3000 >   -0.00    0.31    1.47    2.91    4.60    6.57    8.88   11.60 | drop (mil)
338WM 300SMK      0.77* 2450 >   -0.00    0.60    2.40    4.55    7.04    9.92   13.26   17.14 | drop (mil)
338WM 250SCNR     0.675 2675 >   -0.00    0.47    1.98    3.83    6.01    8.57   11.60   15.17 | drop (mil)
338WM 180         0.400 3100 >   -0.00    0.31    1.57    3.29    5.56    8.57   12.57   17.74 | drop (mil)
7RM 180 VLD       0.698 2850 >   -0.00    0.37    1.67    3.27    5.13    7.29    9.82   12.78 | drop (mil)
7RM 168 VLD       0.640 3000 >   -0.00    0.31    1.49    2.96    4.69    6.74    9.16   12.05 | drop (mil)
6.5-284 139       0.640 3000 >   -0.00    0.31    1.49    2.96    4.69    6.74    9.16   12.05 | drop (mil)
300WM 210gr VLD   0.640 2850 >   -0.00    0.38    1.70    3.35    5.30    7.60   10.34   13.60 | drop (mil)
260 139           0.610 2900 >   -0.00    0.36    1.65    3.26    5.19    7.48   10.23   13.55 | drop (mil)
3006 190VLD       0.584 2900 >   -0.00    0.36    1.66    3.31    5.28    7.66   10.54   14.04 | drop (mil)
3006 210VLD       0.640 2800 >   -0.00    0.40    1.78    3.49    5.52    7.92   10.77   14.18 | drop (mil)
300WM 190gr SMK   0.53* 2950 >   -0.00    0.35    1.63    3.28    5.30    7.78   10.86   14.70 | drop (mil)
308 155           0.508 2925 >   -0.00    0.36    1.69    3.41    5.54    8.18   11.49   15.62 | drop (mil)

 

[NWCP]

I like my .338 Win Mag. It's not a sub MOA shooter. More like a 1.5" to MOA (on a good day). I've never taken a shot over 350 yards with it, but it does take large game down with some authority. The rifle is an older Belgium made BAR. There's nothing in the lower 48 it won't handle and it is good for most anything Alaska would have for it. While the .300 Win Mag is a really popular round these days for distance shooters the .338 has been around a while and put a lot of meat in freezers and trophies on the walls. Both are hard hitting rounds and neither are cheap to shoot. This reminds me, I need to take my BAR to the range sometime this week and run some ammo through it. I haven't had the opportunity to use it for quite some time.