Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Magnum calibers loosing favor?

Are the magnum calibers like the 300 and 338 loosing favor?
It seems to me they are and am curious what others think. Seems like new bullets are making the big magnums not as necessary.

I personally don't use a magnum however nearly all of my friends do. In my neck of the woods I would say magnums are the fad still.

Shod

Ken,

I think as a lot of folks finally grow up and start getting old and losing that macho attitude... they find that a 24, 25 or 26 caliber on a short action case, sort of kills just as well as something in the 30, 33 or 35 Caliber rounds that have a big case and need an automatic tranny funnel for a drop tube to get all the powder one needs for 'maximum' performance...

..........Imo, any opinion as to losing favor would depend on one`s individual circle of friends and influences, any written articles which have indicated lack of favor with the magnums and individual hunting experiences where many feel the larger mags weren`t needed to get the job done.

As people get older some are unable or don`t want to deal with the heavier recoil. And many choose not to incur the additional expense of the bigger mags to begin with and stay away from them all together.

Imho the bottom line is this. Nothing wrong with any of the larger magnum cartridges as long as the individual is very capable of handling them and/or enjoys shooting them and who does not mind the added expense.

I`m reasonably sure that a few shooters/hunters have decided to add a big magnum or even buy one as a first rifle to later regret their decision.

Losing favor? Well imo, that is not the fault of the cartridge.

I don't think they are falling out of favor. They still occupy an important niche for lots of hunters who have use for the advantages they offer.

Modern bullet technology might have made 24 and 25 caliber cartridges more effective,give deeper penetration and more consistent bullet behavior than in years past....but they are still 6mm's and 25's,and are not the equivalent of a 30 or 338 magnum on game of elk sized and up,no matter how desperately some may wish it.

30 and 338 magnums have the same benefits of modern bullet technology as the little cartridges,making them more effective than they used to be, as well.

I shot a 308 Norma Mag for a good while, then for many years just medium power rounds like 308, 243, 270 303 Brit and 30-06. The Norma is long gone now.

Then in the last couple of months I got into my first ever 338 Win Mag. Really loving shooting this thing even though I am having to rethink my technique for load development at the bench.

Truth is there's no way I really need the magnum, but I am learning stuff about shooting and handloading and rifle tuning I perhaps wouldn't with just a standard cartridge.

Can't wait to try it on pigs!

bobnob the 338 is a great BG cartridge.

There's a common and persistent myth perpetuated here,and elsewhere, that no one can shoot 300 and 338 magnums well,and that the users are testosterone over-loaded egocentrics. This is mostly baloney.

Like anything else, if someone take an intelligent approach to managing recoil from these cartridges,they can be shot accurately,and well, by anyone who puts his mind to it,barring some physical impairment.

Our group back here had lots of 300 and 338 magnum shooters;they were all hand loaders,shot lots of cartridges extensively, and "lived" at the range We shot a LOT at a local range that allowed us to shoot to 600 yards,hand loaded to keep the cost of magnum ammunition down,and used those and other calibers on lots of hunts....I can't recall a single animal lost to wounding or poor marksmanship.

The "secret" to becoming proficient with these cartridges(if there is one),is familiarity obtained through frequent shooting but in small doses.....these aren't cartridges for running 100 rounds in an afternoon. I always found my "limit" to be about 20 rounds in a day.You need to stop when it ceases being "fun" to avoid developing bad habits.

When you sense fatigue,just stop shooting for the day,and pick up the smaller stuff to reinforce good shooting habits.

I noticed in a fair amount of hopping around and hunting and shooting, that the guys for whom the 300's and 338 magnums presented the biggest challenges were factory load shooters who shot very little of ANYTHING during the off season.

I recall one elk hunt where I had to sight in 2 300 magnums and a 338 for group from the midwest....these guys were all so terrified of their rifles,that they had not even checked zero before leaving home.No one is going to be any good, with anything, with that approach and leads to the myths stated above.

Expensive factory ammo precluded enough practice. The recoil was bothersome and they lacked the exposure and recoil tolerance to ever become any "good".It takes some work and dedication...the best, by far, were the hand loaders who spent a lot of time with all kinds of rifles,and whose annual round counts numbered in the thousands with all kinds of rifles and calibers.

For these folks, managing magnum chamberings presented little problem.

Hmm thanks for the advice. I am trying to get the rifle to the range a couple times a week and shoot about 12-15 rounds a time in it. Then about the same amount with at least one other calibre.

I am getting there!

A box of 30-06 cartridges can still be found for under $25.00 in places try finding a box of 300WSM or 300 WM etc for that money. When the economy is doing well, $40+ for a box of cartridges is not so bad, maybe people are making decisions based on their wallets these days, hence the Ruger American etc.

I can load a .300 WM for aboutvthe same $$ as an 06

kend: IMO - it depends. I really like 7mm bullets i.e. BC and SD are huge for their diameter (as are the 6.5mm's) but choices are slim in factory fodder. Prefer a .280 Rem over the 7mm RM but which one do you think you'll find in your LGS? Same with .338 Federal or .338-06. Great round's but I had a .338WM in the safe so I could use .338 bullets. Certainly don't need the .338WM's power but needed something. Local Wally World has six (6) WW brand boxes of .338WM on shelf - when was the last time you saw .338 Federal or .338-06 there? Homesteader

There is nothing I've done with a rifle that I couldn't have done with a .308 Win, including my longest shot ever, a cow elk last year at nearly 500 yards.

While I don't plan to give up my 7mm RM, .300WM or .338WM, this year I'll be hunting with a a .30-06 Ruger American Dad gave me last August, for no other reason than it is still a virgin.

The older I get the more I think something like this, at a light, handy 5.75 pounds, is all I need:

http://www.ruger.com/products/HawkeyeCompact/specSheets/37139.html

OP
Not likely at this address. BobinNH hit it pretty good but didn't say all that should have been said because he is polite. Using the price of factory ammo as a reason to not shoot much is a fairly retarded concept in my playbook. Those who buy magnums as an extension of their egos need to just stay home and quarterback from the couch in frt of their $1000+ flat screen. Reloading your own is a necessary part of becoming a proficient rifleman as well as seeing too your marksmanship abilities. Over the last few years I've become somewhat insensitive to all these butthurt posters that can't find the ammo they want at the price they want to pay a week before their season opens. If you don't shoot enuf to learn your rifle and the load it likes, it simply doesn't make a difference if it's a std cartridge or a magnum one. Anybody says elsewise is full of crap or they read that on the internet believing it. Shooting skills are learned and earned on the firing line not guaranteed by a std cartridge or magnum label on them period. A pretty basic loading outfit that will get the job done need not be expensive or take up a lot of room. Costing a lot less than the next wonder scope your drooling about. Reloading lessens the cost of your ammo or just lets you shoot more and develop whatever loads you need. I sure get tired of reading crap about how much more magnum ammo costs when no one forced you to buy a magnum in the first place. If hunting and shooting are important to you in the first place, man up and buy the components or ammo you need long before you really need them so you can develop the ability to use them at full advantage. Magnum Man

Or new bullets make "magnums" even better, depending how you look at it. I say if you're schlepping an 8# LA, might as well fill it up....

The manufacturers magnum sales production numbers would answer this question and they are not likely share them with the public.

The alternative in any ranking changes among the reloading die manufacturers for WSM calibers and belted cases.

Doc

Well this is another way of asking the same question.

"are we gravitating to smaller cartridges?" That thread is ALSO in this forum.

PS -- the answer is the same. No, except for a small % who participate on the 'fire'.

edited - I was thinking backward and it dawned on me that this was NOT reverse ?, just another way of asking the ?

For me, they're not.

It's all a matter of personal preference, just like cars. Economy cars (308's in comparison) today benefit immensely performance-wise compared to where they were 20 years ago, and in turn so do the high performance cars (300 Win). That being said, you'll never catch my ass in a Prius.

That's funny!!

The older you get the more you realize you don't need magnum cal's for most big game, especially Whitetail Deer. Magnums give younger people more confidence and bragging rights in the deer camps. If i could have only one rifle for my Big Game Hunting the rest of my life it would be chambered in the 270 Win

I bet people have been calling magnums a useless fad for a hundred years or so now...

I quit using magnums after Puberty.

To keep with the economy car analogy...
My oldest, in his early/mid 40's, looks like he finally grown up at least a little. Told me yesterday the Ford CMax gas/electric Hybrid commuter car he recently bought is getting 161 MPG on his 48 mile round trip to work....over the last 2000 miles.

His employer has a pair of generic charging station on site, and he plugs the car in at home overnite. Sez he has spent about $60 in gasoline to drive that 2000 miles, plus of course the nominal electricity expense. His last lease car trade in was a 2012 V6 Mustang that got about 20-22mpg in North Dallas traffic and cost him about $200 a month in gas driving in North Dallas stop & go traffic. So $15 bux a month or $200 bux a month in fuel is looking real good to me. But I ain't moving back to town and fight North Dallas traffic everyday for love or money.

I put $60 in the '10 Crew Cab and got 3/4's a tank Saturday that'll last me mebbe 7-10 days and the 37 month old truck only has 22k on the clock... so I ain't exactly wearing it out in retirement.

How does that relate to the OP's ???'s ...Everything relates to usage and real life NEEDS and not ego or peer driven desires.

I've dropped, or am dropping all of my bigger calibers, except for a lone 300WSM Fwt that might go away too if I can find/rechamber a 280AI, and have begun to concentrate on 6.5's & 270's over the last 10 years, and not missed killing anything with the mid bore's and under 150gr bullets. My bud's keep yelling at me to get a 243 or a .25 cal something, promising me that they'll kill 300lb hogs & other bigger stuff reliably DRT out to past my self imposed 3-350 yards....umm I ain't ready to go THAT far yet....but could trust a 7x57 or 7-08 and run 120gr TTSX's & NBT's hard to take care of a 300lb porkers bidnizz.
Lots of choices NOW days in more comfortable shooters that were not available in the late '60s when I started this journey. JMHO & YMMV
Ron

CFVA has the correct perspective. Both on the personal preference aspect of rifles and on the Prius. I do think some of the seeming growth in the use of smaller cartridges may be due to bullet performance but that would mean using those bullets on hunts not just at the range. Once I make up my mind as to what is adequate for certain game it would be a poor second-guess to risk a hunt on something in which I did not have 1000% confidence. Some leanings toward smaller may be due to availability/expediture of powder. In my case, while my .338 WM is my #2 all-time game-getter I only use it rarely now as I do not hunt game in that size class. The .375 H & H gets spoon fed .375 Win recipes just so I can keep the dust out of the barrel. I know that .243/6mm, 7-08, 6.5 X 55, .25-06, .308, 7 X 57 and even the old relic .30-30 will kill deer and pronghorns as far as I can confidently shoot depending on the area. Besides, it's a lot more fun going to the range and making noise, shooting well and still being able to focus and raise my arms when I leave the range. Jm2cts

Only comment I can make is to quote a member of the board of directors of the private range I'm a member.

Just prior to last deer season here in Texas, the board director was at our range, checking the zero of scope on his 7mm-08 rifle. During the brief chat we had I had asked him how long he'd used the 7mm-08 for deer hunting. He replied it would be the first time to use it for deer hunting....that he'd used a 300 win mag for years. Then he commented, finally convinced myself I didn't need a 300 win mag to kill Texas whitetail, a 7mm-08 would do just fine. I chuckled and agreed with him.

I suspect geography and game type availability will still be the driving criteria for any hunting rifle choice. It's that easy really. There will always be those that want to hunt speed goat with 375 Hollands and brown bears with 223 Ackleys.

Yep-Got two of them and thinking about a Sako Finn Bear.

They never really were needed.

Guys don't need AR's either. Just fire 2 shots off the back deck.

Funny......that's when I started using Magnum

They fell out of favor with me. I never owned many though. Just a .257 Weatherby, 7mm Remington, and a .308 Norma. They all shot well for me but I never hunted any of them. I took the 7mm along on my NH moose hunt but ended up using my .450 Marlin instead. I took the .257 along on an antelope hunt but let my stepson use it while I used a .308 Win. I don't think I've hunted a day in my life with a magnum in my hand and I don't see that changing?

I've been pondering this very thing about downsizing and keeping only short action rifles in non-magnum chamberings.

The only long action I'd keep would be a fave 257Roberts which would do most of what my 270s would do and a 358Win would replace my 375magnum. A 223, 22/250, 7/08 & 308 would do everything else.

This is so true! Here in the east, anything over 100yds is "long range".

I often contemplate going the short action direction myself. I get all hung up between the 7mm-08 and .308 and can't make up my mind.

Sometimes, I think we think too much!

Jumbo's are bigger and more comfortable.

I look for excuses to hunt with my 375 H&H magnum.

223AI = stunt shooter
243 = tricks are for kids
260 = tweener
7-08 = Stick wanna be
270 = gay
30-06 = boring
7Mag= macho man

My dad can kick your dad's ass......

I've often felt magnum cartridges were gimmicks. That's probably harsh but I just could never buy into them. I know they serve a purpose for those who hunt beyond 500 yards, but I think that is moot for 99% of hunters.

Not with me. I load for every rifle I shoot (except rimfire of course) and I shoot my magnums a bunch at the range-- just as much as my non-magnum rifles. I carry them all hunting as well. I may deer hunt with a 243 win one outing, and take a 300 win mag the next day. I've taken Black Bears with everything from 25s to a 338 win mag. I've shot more crows with a 300 win mag than probably any other rifle in the safe. I've taken several hogs and various varmints with a 375 H&H. I will not mention all the game that has fallen to my various handguns, but I have witnesses to a running coon catching a 350 grain XTP from my 500 S&W revolver (sometimes it's better to be lucky than good).

In the end, bullet technology has made a better cartridge out of any rifle you shoot, but a 338 Win Mag is still better medicine for Moose, Elk and big bears than a 243, IF you can put the big bullet where it needs to go.

As said above, the only way to be truly proficient with each rifle is to shoot them all. Often. Isn't it more fun that way?

Good post, exactly the way I see it too..

I'll just keep loving them all.

I don't need a magnum.....I have a 35 Whelen, "Nuff said.

Like Coyote Hunter said, he could have made his longest shot with a .308. I did make my longest two shots with a .308 and the fourth longest with a .300 Savage. (Windage and elevation.)

There was a period of about 25-30 years when I had at least one .338WM of some sort. Recoil was not the issue and it still is not as, unlike many senior citizens, my shoulders are still intact. (Knees, not so much). Experience has taught me that I do not like the additional weight of factory magnums, and they are not needed. Other than three or four long shots, I could have killed every white tail and mule deer that I have taken with a .30-30.

Nine to ten pound guns are no longer fun, so except for a std pre war M70 .270 with family ties, most of the heavies and all of those chambered for magnums are gone. Yes, I know magnums can be built lighter. Once had a barely 7# .338. It was fine stoked with 210NP, but full boat 250 did get my attention.

To each his own,

Jack

I do think there is a trend toward standard calibers, that the magnum business has been something of a fad.

A factor in the movement toward more standard calibers also gets to a more savvy approach by hunters and shooters, the game changing laser range finder, and more accurate rifles generally available.

We haven't paid the impact of the laser range finder in longer range shooting and hunting its due on this subject. Until this technology became readily available, we put a premium on flatter trajectories as a hedge against hazy range estimation. Now, with an accurate rifle and a shooter who knows how to use it (with a knowledge of its trajectory), the flatter trajectory of magnum calibers matters less than it used to in terms of hitting game. I think this factor plays a part of the renaissance of the 30/06, for example.

All that said, my favorite rifle just happens to be chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum. But I'll quickly add that it's more about that rifle than the caliber.

Yeah, drift doesn't matter with a LRF....

I can't think of 1 brown bear guide that doesn't have a belted magnum,, NOT EVEN ONE ,, most of us have a few. The 300 magnum is one of the popular small bores in the guideing community.

I'd say its popular in a lot of communities, except the 'fire community.

Well the wise one has spoken.

300's very popular here too, I've got five of 'em.

Gunner

We don't have many brown bear in Ar, but I'll always have my 300 WM.

It's not only one of my favorite cal. but a fav rifle. Win 70 Winlight. All up, hunt ready and loaded it's +\- 7 1/4 lbs.

Wind wins everytime..

[/quote] I've shot more crows with a 300 win mag than probably any other rifle in the safe. [/quote]

That made me laugh. .25-06 was the biggest puff of feathers I've seen.

Ella

The 35 Whelen is my only magnum.

Another thing I'd suggest is to wait a few minutes between shots. Not only does it keep the barrel from heating up quite as quickly, it lets the shoulder recover so subsequent "kicks" are on a recovered shoulder rather than a recently whopped shoulder. Its amazing what 3-5 minutes will do for you. FWIW, I notice this also with very heavy recoiling handguns.

I'll often take a .22 rimfire and some handguns along with the centerfire. Shoot the centerfire only when the barrel is cool and shoot the others while I wait.

Tom

I shot a 300 Win. Mag. today that I got last year. I had bought it for the fun of it like we do.

It was a good deal money wise and I like the look of it's stock. While I don't favor the 300 WM it's ok, had another one before.

It put two shots into 1.4" at 200 yds. The load was a 150 gr Combined Tech bullet over H4350.

I like magnums and spending the time shooting thats required to be competant with them.

I always like the discipline it to took manage them. I drifted away to lighter cartridges over the last decade but am heading back upstream again.

I figure an 8# 7mag will probably sting like a 7# 30-06. No worries.....

depends on what I am shooting.

Hells bells no. I hunt with two buddies from the northeast and they use 300 Win mag and 300 SAUM for deer. They laugh at me when I pull out a 7-08 let alone something smaller than that...

Were they ever really necessary?

Regardless, group think swings like a pendulum. If a school of thought goes away, it will be back in some reincarnation and shooters will be enlightened...again.

Diversify--you'll always have something in favor...

Uber mags are back "in". Rumor has it they reliably "anchor" bear. LOL.

Not in my camp. As my signature line reveals, I have always been a magnum shooter even when I didn't have one.

It does?????

I changed my signature line right after I posted this. It read at the time,"The 300 WSM is what I wanted when I bought my first 308 Winchester in 1977."

Some just use the 45-70 to keep from getting chewed on

I've tried a couple 7mm Mags, and dropped them pretty quick. No need for them when the largest thing I hunt is a Missouri whitetail. They just aren't needed for me. The last few years, the shots have been under 150 yards at most, so to be honest about it, even a .30/30 would have worked fine.

I do like the precision I get from my two boltguns, though.

OK. That makes sense.

Magnums only for me thanks

Seems like my young nephews & grandsons gravitate towards the msgs. I have a 15 yo grandson that is pretty sure he Needs my 300WM. They all seem to like shooting the Whelens as well.
Conversely, anytime they can get their hands on an AR, well... an empty case will hard to find.
Last deer season I took several deer with 270's & a 300
Savage. Liking the Savage a lot!

For many years my light gun was a .338, and a .25-06 for woodchucks. No after living "Out West" for 5 yrs my heavy gun is a 7x57........Maturing or just being cheap with components I am not sure, but I have moved decidely smaller.

P.S. to keep some balance I still have a .458 in the closet that may go huntng this year!!!!!

No way.
.338 mag for me

YA!

Bolt action 30-06, 12 gauge pump and a lever .22 and you will never go hungry. Throw in an AR too and you are ready for doomsday.

I agree with the sentiments about hand loading to get enough trigger time to be proficient with your rifle, REGARDLESS of the head stamp on the cartridge.

To the OP's question, I think the .300H&H chambering has been around long enough to not be called a fad... And, I intend to keep mine. I can load it down to 30/30 level, or, I can jack it up to be in the same ball park as most of today's commercial .30 caliber loudenboomers. Like the old saying: "What is old is new, and what is new is old..."

As I "thin the herd", I am gravitating toward the middle. The .223's and .243's are gone as well as the .375's. Currently down to a .270Win and .300H&H in hand. I figure light bullets in the .270 can do everything I did with the lighter chamberings. The .300 will be handy if I get an opportunity to chase bigger stuff. And working on a .30-06 build just because I am a rifle looney...

According to this I'd say yes: http://www.chuckhawks.com/rcbs_2012_rifle_die_sales.htm

Imo the old guys like myself, don't want to deal with a lot recoil anymore. And theres not a lot of young people taking up the sport like there was when I was young.

ALL you would ever need in North America for big game

Yup, and you could get that down to a 270 and still want for nothing.

I use two rifles, a 270 and a 500 Jeffery, neither of them magnums ...

The 7 mag. and .300's are some of the most popular calibers in this area.. Over the years here, it seems the .270 has slipped, the old 06 is popular with those who care little for rifles, and occasionally hunt..

Judging from the contents of your other posts, that doesn't surprise me. Are you a tween?

Blasphemy!!

JOC has been gone for many years.. he was the primary reason this caliber was so popular.. It is a good one, but he made it popular..