Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 300 WM vs 338 WM

Pretty sure you got all bases covered with that combo!

Lousy bullet selection was it's down fall. Today there are more quality bullets avaiable than when it was in production. Still available in the Remington custom shop. It will do anything the 300's and 338 Wm ever hoped too.

Rick - it may be tweener but too me any of the big 30's seem like ideal elk rounds. Flat shooting, hard hitting, tolerable recoil. They definitely shoot flatter than the 338 WM and make up any energy loss with higher BC.

I think I'm talking myself into selling the 338. What rational gun looney would do that??????????

Thanks for the thoughts.

Rationale has no place here.

Get the .338, GREAT round.

To my way of thinking both are superb rounds and I can find micro mgt reasons to like both of them over each other.

Bottom line is you can't go wrong with either.

I see it as the 33 has the edge in terms of bullet weight, although I don't think that any bullet in the 33 will penetrate any better than a 200 in a 300.

Depending on rifle I've found the 33 to normally be a bit more user friendly of a round.

Lastly, both rounds past 400 yds will need the help of turrets/dots/ballistic plex so to my way of thinking the trajectory is a moot point.

I've never been much of a fan of the big 30's, most likely as I've found my big 7's to do the same thing exceptin for they're more user friendly and just as capable. So I'd go with the 338 and perhaps for fun and giggles punch it to .340.

Dober

Can the 300WM fit into the medium magnum actions out there like the CZ550 Medium Magnum? That might be a reason to choose the 338WM. I have one, but don't have 300WM ammo to test. Cartridge book shows cases different lengths, but OAL the same.....??

The CZ 550 medium is chambered by the factory in 7mm or .300 but no .338, go figure.

Yes. The .300 winny was designed to function through a standard length action(30-06 length). The full length magnums:.300 H&H, .300 WBY, .8mm Remington Mag, .375 H&H, etc...; require a longer action.

Okay. So, the 300WM will fit. Mine is a 7mmRM on its way to being a 338WM or 358NM. I like the idea of the heavier bullets in the 338WM.

Mark,
You and others have expressed the 7mm vs 300 sentiment before. I've had a 7mm RM since 1981, have 2 at the moment. I've had a hard time thinking of it in the same terms as my 300's for elk mainly due to my experiences with it on deer during the 1980's. I had a matched pair of Ruger 77's - 280 and 7mm RM. I shot alot of deer with them but my issue was the fact that I couldn't get bullets to exit on deer size critters. Admitedly, I was using standard cup and core's of the day - mostly Speers and Sierra's. They dropped deer like lightening, made a hell of a mess, usually didn't exit.

I'm having trouble shaking that bias with 7mm's even though I've seen a few at work on elk. I've always thought of the 0.284 bore and the 7mm RM in particular as ideal deer catridges.

I'm hoping to shake that bias 'cause I could really like the 7mm RM, 140 TSX at 3200. Not many rifles shoot as flat and recoil so little in a lightweight rifle.

Well now I almost forgot. These rounds are all belted and therfore "useless"


8mmwapiti

B-it about amazes me that your bullets were staying inside especially on a venado. But weird things do happen. I am sure I've recovered a bullet out of my big 7's at some time but I sure can't recall it now. I'll have to think a bit about it but I really can't recall ever seeing one. I did find a 175 Horn out of a STW on an elk once but that is all I can recall.

Believe it or not I've found more bullets in game from my .340 than with all other cals combined. Weirdo eh!?

And yes the 140 TSX out of a big 7 is one mighty fine round. I shot a nice sized 5 pt bull a couple of years back with that bullet out of my Mashburn @ 520 yds. The bullet took out both fronts and exited and that bull was flat out electrocuted!

Just imagine how that bull would of reacted if I hadn't been using a belted round...

Good luck to ya on your decision.

Dober

I've been hunting with the 338 Win. Mag. for over 27 years off and on, and about the same with the 300 Win. Mag., but I really started hunting in earnest with the 300 in 1994. Anyhow, they're my two favorite all-around hunting cartridges, and I've shot everything from + or - 100 lb. to 2000 + lb. animals with either or both of them in many states and several foreign countries. I've killed more stuff with the 300 than I have the 338, but that gap is slowly closing.

Quite honestly, I haven't seen a dime's worth of difference in killing power between either one of them. Except for about a dozen animals on which I've used 168 gr. bullets, I've always used premium 180s in the 300 Winchester, and I've never felt the need for anything heavier, even on moose, eland, Cape buffalo, and African lion, and I've long since come to the conclusion that anything lighter than 180s is a waste of time for any sort of hunting, even on Coues deer and pronghorn.

The 338 Win., of course, is slower and it doesn't shoot quite as flat, but it makes up for the speed difference with bigger, heavier bullets. In effect, heavier and bigger cancels out faster in terms of killing power, so the net effect ends up being about the same.

The 300 Win. Mag. and the 338 Win. Mag. both hammer elk and similar animals noticable harder than the 7mm Rem. Mag. and the 30-06 do, and I prefer them for elk hunting, as well as moose hunting and for any sort of African plainsgame hunting. If someone thinks that 338 bullets kill light a lightning bolt, while lighter bullets out of the 300 somehow bounce off or otherswise don't work quite right, such a person is only kidding himself. Put a good bullet in the right place with either one of them, and the show's over very quickly. If you want flatter and faster, go with the 300. If you want bigger and heavier, go with the 338. They're both great cartridges, and it's hard to go wrong with either one of them.

For some reason, a lot of guys just don't get the 338 Win. Mag., but it'll do 99% of what the 375 H&H will do in a lighter-to-carry rifle, plus the ammo's lighter to carry as well, and in many ways the 338's more versatile and can be loaded to shoot flatter. A lot of guys also love to say that "there's nothing more versatile" than the iconic 30-06, yet whatever the 30-06 will do with 150, 165, and 180 gr. bullets the 338 Win. Mag. will match with 210, 225, and 250 gr. gr. bullets. So if anything, the 338 Win. Mag. is even more versatile than the '06 is as a big game cartridge - the only drawback being that the 338 kicks more and it's a bit heavier to haul around.

Most of the time, I've hunted with either the 300 Win. Mag. or the 338 Win. Mag. as the mood has suited me, but in recent years I've hunted more with the 338 since it isn't quite as loud, and I'm doing most of my hunting next year with the 338 as well.

Again, they both great, so take your pick......

AD

Ain't really much of a decision as I own all 3..........

The one that stands out for me was a little doe I shot with the 7 mag at about 30-40 feet in the base of the neck with a 160 speer hotcor. That one came out the far side of the neck but it was ugly. No doubt that bullet fragmented.

Thinking back, most of my bullets were 145 Speer's with a smattering of 140 Sierra's. I did shoot a couple with 139 Hornies. I recall the Hornies punching both sides. The 145 Speers almost never but I was (still am mostly) a shootem in the shoulder kind of guy. The more bones hit, the better. They don't go far when you do that. I learned (pretty slowly I might add) that that shot ruined most/all of the shoulders.

That is what I really liked about the TSX's I've shot. They can hit bones and not cause an absolute mess. And the deer goes DRT. I have a pic from this year of a nice dime size hole through both shoulder blades from a 25 cal 100 TSX. The shoulder blades were cracked but did not throw bone frags everywhere.

Ate right up to the hole as I heard a famous gunwriter say once

Thanks Allen.

To me the 338 kicks a bit more likely because I've shot mostly 225 and 250 from mine, 165 and 180 from the 300's.

I'm trying to thin the herd but you guys ain't helping.......

Within my rifle battery I'm in the same boat with a 7mm Rem Mag, 308 Win and 338 Win Mag. Never needed a 30 Mag with those in tow. The 338 Win Mag certainly drops elk better than the other two, but they get the job done as well. The 338 Win Mag can push a 250 grain bullet on the same trajectory as a 30-06 with 180 grain loadings. It can also push the 200 grain bullet on a trajectory very close to the 300 Win Mag with 180 grain loadings. The difference is less than an inch over 400 yards and creeps to a couple inches at 500 yards. The whole flatter shooting thing is peanuts. Just as the 338 Win Mag cannot produce the same muscle as the 375 H&H, the 300 Win Mag cannot produce the same muscle as the 338 Win Mag. I believe if one ran some penetration tests, they would find the 338 Win Mag with 250 gr loadings will consistanly sink em deeper than the 300 Win Mag with 200 grain loadings. However, I like the 300 Win Mag over all other 30 Mags, and it has a pile of game under its belt as well.

Isn't that the truth gettem on gentlemen.

A .270 7 .338WM is just about perfect in Alaska. I only have and use a .338WM. If I ever replace it, it will be with another .338WM.

I think The differance is Frontal,Until You get to the Heavier Bullets,

+1 for the 7mm Rem Mag and the 338WM - just don't see the need for the 30cal when owning the other two. I know I would rather take to the Northern Territory chasing water buffalo with the 338WM than the 300WM.