My .338 Win Mag has LESS recoil than my .300 Weatherby.
Denying simple physics is not a good idea.
I don't know Owl, but will draw a little heat away from him anyway.
I've got one .300Win and one .338Win. It's an apples to oranges comparison that should favor the .300 for lighter recoil but that's simply not the case.
My .300Win is a Ruger #1B with a 20yr old Burris 6-18X. Burris didn't know how to make light scopes back then (maybe the still don't?), and the whole rifle weighs a lot. I tried packing around the alpine country for two seasons then wised up. I forgot the weight, and it's in the back row of the safe right now.
My .338Win is a much lighter Ruger MkII with a much lighter Burris 3-9x from about 10yrs ago. Again, sitting in the back row right next to the .300 (I know there's a pattern here).
My .300Win load is a 180gr BTs over enough H4831SC to reach an accurate 3100fps.............and easily accomplished.
My .338Win load is a 225gr NPT over enough H4350 to make 2900fps on the nose. And yes, I realize that's a lot higher than normal, so I'm lucky or that pound of powder had fairly dust in it or something.
Anyway, not being a mathlete, I can't calculate whatever energies need to be compared to make sense of this, but my much heavier .300Win shooting a lighter bullet (albeit faster by 200fps) kicks like a miserable SOB (hence it's sitting in the back row), while the ligher .338Win shooting a heavier bullet with a faster powder isn't miserable at all. And honestly I had to talk myself down from a flinch before taking that first shot with the .338 because I'd heard all the complaining about recoil, and was sure I was about to receive a beating. Both are equipped with OEM Ruger tank track pads.
Please feel free to explain this for me, because it's been a head-scratcher for years. All I've come up with is the Ruger#1 is somehow a "bad design" for felt recoil, and/or the muzzle velocity factors higher than rifle and bullet weight. A friend of mine
owned two #1 .300Wins and both of them ate scopes and kick like a bastid, so I know it's not just me. He sold one and rebarreled the other to a heavier contour for more weight.
Stepping away from the recoil and energy discussion for a second, I'll mention one REAL difference between the .300's and the .338...............and that's bullet price and availability. If the two cartridges are too similar to tell a difference in the field, I'd pick .30cal simply for the economics.
