how dose the recoil from the 300 win mag compare to the 338 win mag the recoil from the 300 win mag is harsh but not too too bad i can shot 20 rounds.

I'm afraid the answer is "it depends". As a small list, it depends on:

- weight of each rifle
- stock design of each and how well it fits you
- loads used in each (bullet weight, powder charge, burn rate, etc.)

But you probably already know that. I'll say that I've never found the .338 Win Mag to be particularly objectionable and that I've shot .300 Win Mags that were less pleasant to shoot than some .338's. In some of these I think stock design made the .300 feel sharper vs. the strong push of the .338 but that's VERY subjective.

For most uses in NA, I'd say pick the one you like, work up a good load (or find the factory load your gun likes with an appropriate bullet) and go hunting. You have a very versatile rig with either with the nod going a bit to the .338 for the really large stuff (but only if you can hit with it just as well). Put a good bullet from either in the right spot and the animal will die.

one of my 300 is a model 70 post 64 super grade and the 338 is a ruger and to me the 300 is way more unpleasant to shoot then the 338 even my 338 ultra mag is a model 700 isnt not that bad to shoot now my buddy has a boat paddle 300 and it makes your teeth feel like they are going to fall out so i no this is comparing apples to orangeses but hope this helps

In my opinion and from my experience with the two, if you can shoot a 300 WM well, you will LOVE a .338!

I find a 300 WM to have a pretty harsh, unpleasant recoil. Whereas the .338 is more like a big push.

Mind you, my 338 is a sporter while my 300 is in a Sendero, so.. they are different rifles. But then, the Sendero is MUCH heavier rifle and the recoil is still noticeably faster and harsher.

Both of my .308 Norma Magnums seem to have a sharper nastier kick than my .338.

They all have decelerator pads and the .308 Normas are heavier, by about a pound, than my .338.

Go figure.

another thing i dont get is with the 300 win mag a 200 gr swift a frame bullet will go threw the 2 shoulders of a moose but people use more the 338 win mag and if the 300 can do that to a moose it can do it on a big brown bear and the ammo is less expensive 204 for cheep practice ammo with the 338 its effin 40$ just to practice.

if u relode how much is the 338 win mag to reload how much dose it come for 20$ using cheep practice bullets

I've shot several 300s including the WBY, Win, and H&H. I felt all were pleasant to shoot. Not like a 243 is pleasant, but not much more than a 30-06. My 338 without scope weights 7.5 lbs on my scale. Since shoulder surgery and more age(Maybe) I find the .338 with hotloaded 250s unpleasant to shoot. More of a sharp kick than a shove.

I completely disagree with the notion the 338 can be less aggressive than any of the standard 300 mags in equal rifles.

At the range yesterday a friend was shooting my new 6# 8oz 30-06 and his 338 700XCR... He was not liking the 338 at all, yet the ultra-light (he shot 150, 165, 180, and 200gr bullets for group) he found pleasant enough he wants one.

Because the 338 is so common I have seen more people afraid of their 338 than any other and by a wide margin.
art

I dont like to shoot 250's out of my .338 especially prone. IE read scope bit. But 210 ttsx loaded hot are not a problem for me. The 210's shoot well penetrate well and are my bullet of choice for elk.
If I need more gun than my 30-06 then I jump up to .338 win mag. Dean

I have that exact .338- the M700 XCR- and find it completely easy and fun to shoot. Though it weighs several pounds less than my .300, I'd do any position for as many rounds, with the .338 as I'd do with the .300.

Now, is it a 30-06? No. But it's a similar recoil impulse. Just more of it.

To each their own I guess.

After shooting a .300 weatherby and a .338 win mag, both in weatherby vangaurds with the same barrel length (both synthetic, one stainless) I would say the .300 weatherby is nastier to shoot. Same recoil pads as well, now I can easily handle both and enjoy shooting them, and haven't fired a .300 win mag, I would imagine a .300 win mag in a similar set up would be less than both? It isn't a huge increase on a 30-06.

I guess it goes to show that everyone is different. I shot a Vangaurd 300 WBY with Factory 180s and thought it pleasant to shoot. The owner thought it was a terrible kicker, but the largest caliber he had regularly used before that was a 257 WBY.

I have an old .300WM that originally was a Model 70 Winlite. It just rocked you hard. Had it re-barreled with a No. 4 Hart which took the weight over 8.5lbs and it still hits hard with 180's. Although when shooting at game it doesn't seem like much.

The stock seems to have more drop than normal and may be the cause. I'd sell the thing if it wasn't so lucky. With either one I would want a straight essentially parallel comb and good recoil pad.

Doesn't make sense, but I shot a .338WM in a wood Ruger 77 and it didn't seem as bad. Maybe it was because I just thought it would be worse. Physics says the .338WM has to come back harder in equal rifles.

"Physics says the .338WM has to come back harder in equal rifles."

Yup, hard to argue with that one...

Stock design is huge in handling recoil...

Dang it Art. Keep on spouting logic and common sense and this old forum will just up and die it will.

who would of guessed given equal 8.5 pound rifles that a 300grain at 2400 would kick more than a 200grain at 2800? I guess we have to rely on the formula.

Seeing a 300 grain loading for a 338WM now has me thinking that cartridge could sure cover a lot of applications!

E=MVV should be V squared

So does shooting form at the bench as well as the mental picture the shooter has about recoil.

Some shooters seem to have preconceived ideas about recoil that hinder their ability to handle it. On two separate occasions I have taken young teens to the range with me that have never fired a CF rifle before and by the end of the trip, these two young men were effectively shooting my 375H&H and getting good groups. Neither of these fellows came from a "shooting" family, so had no mental baggage before the trip. They did great and based on that positive experience would be able to handle pretty much any reasonable rifle after that.

.

I hate to argue with ARt, but physics predict a measurable amount of recoil.

The issues there are not arguable, but FELT recoil is totally different.

If you calculate speed of recoil thats a huge factor. I can take a healthy belt as long as its not super sharp... Super sharp IE fast hurts me.
Heavier folks feel more recoil than lighter ones.
Stock shape and fit and recoil pads make HUGE factors of difference.

I had one 06 that I hated to shoot, it was my buddies, it wasn't overly light but not heavy, I'd have shot my 338 any day next to it and I'd have told you all day long the recoil between the two was identical basically.

Personally if you are in the realm of 300 mag recoil and can handle that, then the same setup in 338 win mag won't be much if any different in recoil IMHO.

As to Luiss comments, the 300 mag is not the only round that will go through a mooses shoulders... some folks simply like other rounds. How many moose are killed with 6.5x55 and you don't ever NEED to break both shoulders or even one to kill...
Point being you can use what you want to.

This is true. I did the same thing a while back with a 15 year old boy who had never fired a rifle, so I give him my .458 and walked him through the bullet weights from 300gn, 400gn, 500gn and 550gn and exoplained the reooil differences. He was great.

JW

SuperCub,

so true my girlfriend is not from a rifle family shooters. they used to shot handguns. her first rifle was a 300 wea mag and she s really a good shot. you imagine the face of other shooters at the shooting range when she said i dont know what caliber is it and the guys were trying to shoot a 223 and they tried once the 300 wea mag. too much to handle they said .... will try the 375 ruger there too ...

I've long thought that recoil problems are about 95% mental and are the result of the shooter being told that "this thing will kick the #$^% out of you." My wife is 120lbs and shoots my .338wm with skill and grace. Never told her it would hurt her and it never has. She loves the .44mag 629. With that being said all of my .300's have a more noticeable recoil phase than the .338's.

I've shot and hunted with both...For a few shots,neither one will kill you;but if you shoot a great deal,you will be effected,sooner or later. I have never felt the recoil of either when hunting,but good shooting habits are acquired on the range before you hunt,not in the field.

Recoil is most certainly not just mental; it has physical ramifications as well....

I spoke with an African pro a few weeks back and naturally the subject turned to rifles....he told me a lot of clients bring 300's and 338's but very few could really shoot them well.....even if they thought they could....

Hi Art. I agree. The most obnoxious rifle to shoot off the bench short of my Lott was a friend's Browning Stainless Stalker in .338. We called it the "flying wedge" due to the small surface area of the butt plate.

But, as has been said, it depends on many factors but a main one is ejectate: the volume of powder and weight of bullet. Then of course follows rifle weight and the platform nuances such as drop at comb, surface area of butt plate, and so on. Then there is the very subjective perception of recoil (which like pain) varies a bit from person to person.

I think the most important factor involved in recoil is honesty-with yourself. If you find it next to having tooth pulled you will not shoot well with it; admit it and move on to a cartridge with lesser recoil.

That's certainly been my experience.

Sorry, but I missed the argument??? The most memorably onboxious rifles I have shot have been plastic-stocked 338s. The gentlest big rifles have been wood stocks with a touch of cast. Come to think about it, a Savage bolt rifle in 30-06 was memorable... A proper pad, tuned trigger, and it felt like an entirely different rifle.

So many things can increase felt recoil without changing anything real, like noise, to begin to guess what someone else is feeling.
art

Agree 100%, i've shot the 300 win mag, 375 H&H and the 338 and of the 3 the 338 had the worst recoil of the 3. IMO the 300 win mag is one of the best all around calibers ever created. I hunted with one for years and shot lots of deer, a few elk and bears and a few moose with it. I was shooting Federal Premium Nosler Partitions in all 3 rifles in various grains.

I like the old myth about Classic Stocks being better for recoil, as they deliver a rearwards push and do not raise up and belt you in the face.

After reading that a few hundred times, and shooting both classic and monte carlo stocks a few thousand times, the truth is pounded into you.

As for the 300 vs the 338, I think is it a matter of whether your interests lay in bullets or ballistics. Both are well suited to the majority of game either would be used, one shoots a tad flatter, both shoot well constructed light for caliber bullets well, and both have a top end bullet weigh that will suffice for all but the heaviest African game for which neither is legal anyway.

What do you like? Bullets or ballistics?

JW

I've shot both quite a bit in similar rifles. I can handle about 20 rounds from each in a range session before I get sore. I still walk away bruised.

Recoil isnt mental until the physical part of it has caused the mental part.

I would say they are even. But would also say that in the 300 180's are the norm and in the 338, 225's are the norm. There is a big difference between a 180 and a 225. That there is far more different than the step from 300 to 338.

A 300 mag with 150's is quite pleasant to shoot, but that same rifle with a 200 will thump you hard.

After neer 20 years of pounding the 300 sits in the safe and the 270WSM comes out to play. I dont need to pound myself to kill an animal. They realy arent all that tuff.

If you can handle the recoil of a 300 no problem, you should be able to handle a 338 in the same rifle.
I owned a 300 win, 338 win, and a 375 in the same exact rifle. The 338 kicked a little more than the 300 and the 375 kicked a little more than the 338. Then i shot a 30-06 in a savage rifle and it hurt more than any of those.

I personally like the 338 more than the 300.

In the words of EK, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." Shoot them and see. There really isn't much difference between a .300 and a .338 and in the field, at game, you won't notice it at all...most likely. MHO

I recently worked on my buddies Winchester 300wm and shot it about 30 times, in a short session. Recoil wasn't too bad.

I just ordered 200 rounds of Speer BTSP .338 Win bullets, and they ran me $45 w/ tax included.

At any rate, try to use "practice" bullets of the similar design (boattails for boattails, or flat base for flat base), grain weight, densities, etc. There won't usually be as much of a variance when you sight it in using your hunting bullets, and you won't dump as much moolah into getting used to how your rifle performs.

I own both and can't tell the differance when I pull the trigger with game in my sites. I shot a large 6x6 elk last fall and was glad to have the 338win. with me. First shot knocked him off his feet,he got up second he was done. I can't shoot either off the bench without pain,but sand bags make it possible.

As much as I hate the recoil of the .338 I would much prefer it over the .300 Mag. I do prefer the .375H&H above all others for shooting heavy bullets. But then I don't like being beaten by recoil.

I should add that I have acollection of Model- 70, all pre-64's and I know that the rifles I never shoot our my .338's, they hurt me far more than any of my .375H&H's. I haven't shot any of my .458's ever.

having both and shot them successfully with heavier than thou' bullet weights they do have some ooomph but generally not enough to hurt. Some yrs. back I picked up a J.C.Higgins in a .30-338, done some load testing and found the Woodleigh 240grn. PP to be ideal for accuracies but found no recoil @ 2564fps. Perhaps it is just me..but I do know that when you up the powder charge to 90 plus grains in the heavier calibers then your getting into some shoulder "wow".

Haven't shot a .300 much but a Sims limbsaver slip on pad over the stock pad and it really took the bite out of my current .338 in a Browning Stainless Stalker. The Browning had a magna port job before I got it and between it and the good pad even guys who are afraid of it are surprised at its good manners.
What I like is that there is no muzzle jump and I can stay pretty much on target. I had the slip on pad and was looking for a longer stock. Tried the slip on pad and it solved two problems for me. I am very tall with long arms so it may not work for all.
I had a Ruger with a boat paddle in .338. I really liked a lot about it, even the boat paddle, but it did bite! I think it was the thin butt and kind of hard pad.
Had another with a 25" slightly bull barrel and a great fitting stock that allowed a great cheek weld built on a Springfield action. It weighed over 10 pounds and wasn't as tame as you might think it would be. It was a shooter, however.
Had a BAR in .338 for a while that I never thought I'd give up but I traded it for the Stalker. Might get another one someday. Great rifle. The very nature of the BAR took the bite out of it. I'd put on one of the miracle coatings, magnaport and put a sims pad on the next BAR making for one great weapon.
I'd call it a dead heat on recoil between the stock BAR and Stainless Stalker with my set up.
I prefer the 250 grainers, otherwise why bother? They do come back at you harder than the 200's.
Heck I found my Savage 110e in 30-06 to be as sharp as about any.
I think the .338 is basically an 06 on steroids if you use the bigger bullets. Close to the same trajectory with more energy at every point along its path.
Get a good pad and cheek weld and you can do it!

This is no place to get a pat answer on that one!

Personally I can't tell any differnce between the two..I prefer the 338 Win. to the 300 Win mag...A 210 Nosler at 3005 FPS or a 300 gr. Woodleigh at 2500 FPS is pretty hard for the 300s to compete with under field conditions and if the recoil isn't a factor..

A 338 with 200-210 bullets is a very different beast than one with 250 loaded hot, in my experience

Stock design is still number one in felt recoil. I can't see any reason for a noticeable difference in recoil between a .300 and .338. I have an old FN actioned .338 with a McMillan stock and Limbsaver pad. To me it is as comfortable to shoot as my 7Mags, but it fits really well. It is a baby to shoot and not that heavy either. The impressive thing to me is the way a .338 puts down elk-sized game. I shoot a 7x57 more than anything, and to get a noticeable difference in real game-dropping power, you have to step up to .338 or .375 caliber in my experience. For all the others, from .270 through 7Mags and .30-06's, pretty much identical results. The .338's and .375's step up the power a notch.

This is very true in my experience also. Once you hit the .375 H&H, you do not see that same varience until you get to the .460 Weatherby. The increases noted by some of the other .40's pale, when compared to the .460 which cannot be accurately described in text.

JW

Every time I have owned a .300 Winchester, I always come back to shooting 200 grain bullets. So, in my experience, recoil from what I like to shoot in my .300s varied little from your average .338 loads in similar rifles. Stock fit plays a big part in the equation as well.

I agree 100% and when I owned a .338WM it was for about two weeks. But found I could shoot a .300WM with no problem at all. The stock on the .300 at the time was the B&C Medalist which IMO helps with recoil very well.

CLB

Plus one. It's in the rifle.

My .338 is a lightweight with a plastic stock (M700 XCR). My 300 WM is a heavy in a HS fiberglass stock. I prefer the recoil of the .338 even in a light rifle to the sharp snappy poke from that .300.

Rost mentioned how the recoil impulse itself is different. Plus one to that too.

I've only run up to 225's in my .338 so perhaps that's part of it.

.338 recoil is like a bigger 30-06. A big push. 300 is much sharper.

IME a 338 is easy to live with until you start shooting 250's.

Anybody know?

What the recoil going to be like, haven't shot the gun yet, .300 H&H, remington 721, 200 grain bullets, new decelerator recoil pad. I am assuming slightly more than my 30-06 shooting 180 grains.

i always loved to shood my 338 win mag in win 70 sporster and disliked to shoot my old whitetail 300 win mag tikka.
one in 250 grain NP the other with 200 grains swift a frame so the stock and action might play somewhere.

the easiest to shoot up to now is the 9,3x62 ... on my way to build another one with ruger action ...!!!