308 VS 300 wm

[tequillaeagle]

My question to all is i have the oppertunity to get either a 308 or a 300 win mag and im not sure what to get.. the main pourpose of this rifle would be punch paper @ 300 yards with the occasional trip to 600+ But i would also like to have a rifle that i can Elk hunt with in New Mexico

Now im not to concerned about $ bc i will be reloading and well powder is pretty cheep and they share the same Lead
as for recoil im not sure bc i can shoot a 12 Ga all day and i have shot some others like a 7mm a couple of times and it didnt bother me but i was flinching bc i didnt have hearing protection on ,

so what do all of you think?

 

[P.B.Walsh]

I would buy a .308 for your needs, mainly for cost.

 

[dullh]

If you want more retained energy farther out, and you think you will be taking long shots at Elk, go with the .300 Win Mag. What weight bullet you going to use?

If using bullets weighing 180gr or less, have you considered a .300 Short Mag? I have one and while I haven't shot an Elk with it, it seems to have alot going for it. Only time will tell as I log time with it out hunting. I will tell you this - I put it side-by-side with a Winchester in .300 Win Mag and recoil is noticeably less with the short mag. Same bullet weight in each rifle. The .300 Short Mag pretty much mirrors the ballistics of the .300 Win Mag in a short action package; if you're going to use heavy bullets over 180gr you'd be better to stick with the .300 Win Mag.

 

[edelbrock]

If you are going to reload then go for the 300 Win Mag. A lot more potential there. You can download it to .308 levels if you want to shoot light loads. Then you have the extra capacity for that elk hunt.

 

[TnBigBore]

If your main objective is to punch paper, definitely go with the 308. The recoil of the 300 from the bench will get old really quick. You would learn to appreciate the lighter weight of the 308 hiking up and down the mountains/hills of NM elk country.

 

[planetmobius]

Get the 300 WM. First, the recoil of this round is routinely overstated. Second, it is capable of match type accuracy, depending on the rifle of course. It is actually used by many different military rifle teams because it can handle heavier bullets with superior wind bucking charicaristics. Consequently, load data for this round is almost as abundant as that for the .308. third, as stated above, the .300 is much more versatile than the .308. You can load it down with light bullets for varmints, deer and all the way up to hunt moose and large bear with confidence.

 

[berettashotgun]

IF - IF - IF you reload -get the 300wm, then you can load down.
Punching paper formally or informally?
308 if formal.
I used a 300wm for years and somehow traded down to a 7mag. Never have broke out the 308 stuff yet, punching paper around here has become kinda serious and seems like everybody is using a 6.5 something or other.

 

[USSR]

Since you reload, consider the .30-06. I match Federal's .300WM 190gr Gold Medal Match load with my '06, and you don't have to contend with that stupid belt.

Don

 

[Kingcreek]

Since you reload, consider the .30-06. I match Federal's .300WM 190gr Gold Medal Match load with my '06, and you don't have to contend with that stupid belt.

that right there is your best advice yet.

 

[Uncle Mike]

Quote:
Since you reload, consider the .30-06. I match Federal's .300WM 190gr Gold Medal Match load with my '06, and you don't have to contend with that stupid belt.

that right there is your best advice yet.

I was giong to say.....

30-06... more than enough for elk critters, needs no hype from me as to a paper puncher, the 30-06 has proven itself time and time again, both setting records on the line and dispatching elk.

 

[BornAgainBullseye]

I ring steel at 600 on a regular basis with my .308. It will get the job done! and it will be lighter, cheaper to shoot and reload, and you will not have a numb shoulder after a range session. Go and shoot the two. The .300wm is a kicker!!! It will go the distance, but for what you want unless you want to throw 190SMK's 1100 yards then the .308 will do anything you set your mind on.

 

[Acera]

.300 Win Mag. All the other posters for the 300 gave enough good reasons.

 

[Maverick223]

I agree .300WM for paper and the big beasts of NA, and dang it I want mine...should have received it a couple of weeks ago. :banghead:

 

[snowpro440]

300wm vs 300wsm vs 308win.

I have all 3 and to tell you the truth 300 win mag will do everything but it comes at a price , look at the cost to shoot paper with it vs recoil and it will shoot heavy bullets, but the wsm will shoot 180 gr or les great with great recoil but not as much as the 300win mag and is good accuracy at 1000 yards and you dont have to worry about the belted mag caseing and the last , the mighty 308 will take elk to 1000 yards with the right bullet an is cheaper to shoot an you can achieve great accuracy with the 308 because you can comfortably sit at the bench an shoot an easy 50 rounds without flinching and less heat on the barrel with 5 shots

 

[diggler1833]

Didn't read the rest of the replys, but for your needs the .308 is perfect.

 

[browningguy]

I own and hunt with .308's, but my elk gun is a .300 Winnie. I like to shoot 180 gr. loads at elk and the Winnie does it a lot better.

And you can download a .300 to .308 velocities for paper punching.

 

[sarduy]

308 vs .300WM ummm...... i go with the 30-06, it's right in between plus you can find ammo under a rock in the desert ( i mean everywhere )

but if you have to choose between those two great calibers....i would go with the .308 because it can kill an Elk at 100/150 yards and you can shoot at 600 yards too, BTW .308 is cheaper than .300 wm

 

[Maverick223]

i go with the 30-06

I agree, why have you excluded the venerable old '06? I know it's not the sniper round of choice...but tell that to all the Germans in WWI & WWII. Assuming it is offered in a rifle that fits you, I think it may be the happy medium that you want. FWIW I went with a 300WM for long range because the .30-06 wasn't offered and I was dead-set on the rifle system that I chose.

 

[noob_shooter]

.308.. After a few rounds of 300 win mag, you will start to feel it real good or maybe it's just me...? haha.

For me when choosing the caliber for me, I always choose the one that can do my job with the least recoil and $$$$. Comfort/$$$ > power

 

[Maverick223]

Comfort/$$$ > power

Wrong...Power=Work/Time

 

[Reid73]

Both the .308 and .300WM are excellent rounds and I don't think you'll be ill-served with either one.

The .308 has some theoretical benefits that have not been mentioned above, probably because they are of limited importance for practical purposes:

• typically a .308 will hold more cartridges in its magazine than a .300;
• the .308 can be chambered in a shorter action, although for some reason one sees so many .308s in standard (.30/06 length) actions;
• the .300 magnum really needs a 24" barrel, whereas you can have a 22", 20" or even an 18" barrel on a .308 without dramatically decreasing the ballistic performance.

Again, the above advantages are largely subjective. More objectively, here are some things to consider. The magnum has more power but more recoil, more muzzle blast, and more barrel wear. Ammunition will cost significantly more than the .308 if you reload (substantially more if you don't). None of those facts are meant as criticism: just be aware that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

(1) If (as your post suggests) your emphasis is on paper-punching, but you would also like to do some occasional hunting, .308 should get the nod.

(2) If you reverse those priorities, the magnum is the more appropriate choice.

(3) If you can't make up your mind, the other posters who have recommended the .30/06 as a [de facto] compromise cartridge halfway between the .308 and the .300 are quite correct. With appropriate twist the .30/06 can also use heavy bullets fairly effectively, which is not really an option for the .308 or the magnum.

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

How much are you going to shoot, do you reload, and what distances will you need it for? I have a .300 Whisper and .300 WM. I used to have a nice .308 Rem 700 to go with the other two (both M700's), but got to the point I never used it. The Whisper serves for close range and target shooting (mostly suppressed, but it does ALMOST what a .30-30 does, so I have used it for whietail hunting), and the .300WM got used for hunting Colorado and long range events at Camp Perry. I know my ballistic tables for the Win Mag, and have a Mildot scope that gives me fast ranging and shots from 100-1100 yards without any elevation adjustments. My load is 68.5gr of IMR4350 under a 200gr BTHP Sierra match. I can go to 1200 yards with a few clicks up on the target elev turret should I ever need to go that far. This far outclassed my .308. Except for excellerated throat erosion over the .308, the .300WM is superior in performance (it gives you about 200-300 more yards with an equal trajectory & a heavier bullet, and stays supersonic out to 1000 yards). IF you reload, you spend more on powder.....bullets, primers, and brass will be about the same. So the number of rounds you fire, and ranges to be used, will probably dictate your need of one cartridge over the other. I shoot many lesser cartridges, reserving my .30's for limited uses. They get fired, but I usually only fire 250-200 rounds through the Win Mag in a year. My barrel still gets 3/4 minute groups at most distances if I do my job ( and don't let the wind mess with me). I verified my zero a few days ago and shot 1.5" groups in a light gusting wind at 200 yards. Good enough for me!

 

[RSVP2RIP]

One thing you never mentioned was weight. All things being equal, a 308 will weight less than a 300mag because of the action length. Maybe only 4 oz, but if you are going to be walking, ALOT, 4 oz feels like 4 lbs. If you want a little more gusto and a light rifle, look to a 30/284 winchester wildcat maybe. Same volume as the 30/06, same action length as a 308. You might not mind the extra trouble of necking up the cases. A little harder to find/expensive brass though. You could also improve the 308 chamber, but thats not gonna give you a whole lot of practicle difference.

 

[rcmodel]

One thing you never mentioned was weight.

The guy that said a .300 Mag doesn't kick never mentioned it either!

Put it in his 15 pound match rifle and he is right.
Put it in a 7 pound sporter hunting rifle and it will knock the snot out of you.

Cabala's used gun rack is full of light 7mm & .300 Mags the former owners wished they had never bought.

rc

 

[Reid73]

You are right, but I suspect that - within reason - weight is not a particularly important consideration in this case.

For paper-punching purposes, he will not be carrying the rifle very far. And even if he does some occasional elk hunting in New Mexico, a horse will likely do the majority of the heavy lifting.

That said, I like a reasonably handy rifle. I hope that our friend does not wind up with one of those overbuilt, bulky psuedo-sniper rifles that are seem so common these days.