Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 300 Win mag vs 300 Weatherby mag

I have a chance to go on a longer range elk hunt later this fall. Shots will be from 200-600 yds. I'm comfortable out to 700 with my heavy barreled 308.

Bought a 300 Win mag barrel for my encore, may have a shot at a 300 wby mag for not too much money.

Is one preferable for elk at longer ranges, in my limited research, my 308 is not packing quite the energy I would like at 600 yds.
The 300 win mag will get there with more ooomph for sure with a 165 or 180 either partition or game king.
Is the weatherby going to get it done any better.
I will be practicing quite a bit with either rifle set up once a great load is found.
What are your recommendations on bullet weight?
How much more kick should I expect with a weatherby mag than a win mag? If I hunt with it this year and do ok, how much more will a brake lessen impact in the future. I don't particularly like recoil, but know recoil felt = energy downrange.
Thanks for entertaining my thoughts,
Jon

I see zero reason to go wby mag over win in your scenario.

Smart man once said "Critters can't read headstamps. BULLETS are what matters"

Find a bullet you like - TTSX, Partition, GMX - whatever and then use that in the Win. Be fine.

Buy a 7mm rem mag....

2 bucks a piece for brass, why would you not go Weatherby? Hahaha. I have the Weatherby and love it! I load it down to Win Mag velocities to save brass. But I wish I would have went with the Win Mag. Mainly because I see brass everywhere for it. They do say the long neck on the Weatherby case is easier on the throat than a Win Mag, giving a little better barrel life....

After reading the Scenar thread on here, a 155 in that 308 should work?

This is only true for folks who don't use a muzzle brake.

You can fire Barnes 270 grainers at 2,950 feet per second through my .375-.416 Rem Mag holding it like a BB gun twenty or thrity times without leaving a mark on your shoulder. Since I use electronic hearing protection/enhancers my ears don't suffer as much as the guy without a brake.

Wish you luck on your elk hunt. Your 300 Win. Mag. is more than enough for the task. In a 300 mag. I like 180 or 200 grain bullets. The 200 grain bullets are my fav.
Take your 308 load up some 155 Skinners and Rock that.

Take care.

I have both, in all reallity, the 2 have very similar performance, not enough to worry about and both do the same job.
I run 200gr Accubonds in both. Recoil of either is about the same, both of my rifles weigh about the same.
If you don't like recoil, a 180gr Accubond is a good choice, I don't like using bullets lighter than 180gr in 30 magnums, that's where they shine.

If you handload, H1000 or RL25 are great choices in either magnum with either WLRM or Fed 215 primers.

Cheers.

Or the guy next to you at the range.

But what about the guy with electronic hearing protection and no brake, do his ears suffer as much as yours?

Jon, all things being equal (Price) have you thought about a .300 WSM?

I'd say, if you can get a .300 Wby cheap, go for it. 50 or 100 pieces of brass is a one-time purchase if all you use it for is an annual elk hunt. Or just get some Wby factory ammo, shoot it, and when you run out reload it.

smokepole,



The other day there were three of us at the range. I was at one end, another abopout four benches away, and the other guy another three or four benches away. All under the roof. One guy was firing an unbraked .280AI. The other fellow was firing an unbraked 7mm Rem Mag. My rifle was a 6.5SLR; which is about like a .26 Nosler. It has a Terminator 3 brake.

I thought the 7 Mag was louder than mine so I went to the .280AI guy and asked if my rifle was much louder than the 7 Mag. Without any hesitation he emphatically stated, "That 7 Mag is a lot louder than yours!"

One time I decided to do an informal test at my house with three guys who are not shooters checking me firing my .375-.416 Rem Mag. There are large oak trees all around. The load was 98 grains of MRP behind a 300 Sierra. I had my dad about fifty feet behind me, my brother beside me (suggested he get back but he wouldn't), and my uncle maybe ten feet behind and to the side of me. They had no idea what the brake is. All three agreed the shot without the brake was loudest. Different rifle produce sound differently. Period.

Never the less, everyone at the range should use very effective hearing portection.



At least he's doing something right.

I agree, but not for the same reason.

300 WTHBY, 300 WIN, 300 WSM are too close to differentiate. If you already have one, work up a load and be happy. No sense in spending more on something you dont have, unless you want to.

I wouldn't consider much of an increase in performance unless you want to step up to a 300 RUM or even better a 308 Baer (300 wthby IMP).

I agree with tarheelpwr. It's not about the power as much as it is about a well placed shot.

Does not matter what the critter is... If you shoot it in the lungs, it's going to die.

Shot placement is what it's all about. Sure, a .30 cal mag of any flavor is going to increase the distance that you can take an animal. But make sure that you're accurate in what ever you do. I'd hate to take a poor shot at a long distance and wound an animal instead of making a clean kill.

Just my thoughts. Good luck in whatever you choice you make.

jeff

My 300 Weatherby can push a 230 grn Berger as fast if not slightly faster than a 300 Win mag can push a 208-215gr bullets.as for the WSM its not even close to the Weatherby. That's like running a Beagle in a Greyhound race! The 300 Weatherby is closer to the Rum than the Win mag. As for the Baer it doesn't really increase performance it just gets rid of the double radius shoulder.I can run with the Rums with the right powder.

[quote=l..as for the WSM its not even close to the Weatherby. That's like running a Beagle in a Greyhound race! [/quote]

Are you saying a 300 WSM won't kill an elk at 600 yards? That's like saying you need a greyhound to run rabbits.

Are you saying a 300 WSM won't kill an elk at 600 yards? That's like saying you need a greyhound to run rabbits. [/quote]


Hahaha.
No it will kill a Elk at 1000 yards. But saying the 300 WSM and the Weatherby are so close you can't tell the difference is wrong. I shoot both and the WSM wont touch the Weatherby in velocity or energy. It wont hang with the Win Mag when both are reloaded to their full potential...

I bought a 300 win (Tall) mag barrel for my Encore and am going to play with that this weekend. At 6'4" and 200-210 lbs, I'm sure it won't be too bad, but I want to shoot it a bunch between now and then, so we'll see.
Going to load some up tonight and head out to do some load development.
Starting with 180 and 165 grain bullets, got some in partitions and game kings.

I guess it all depends on who's trying to tell the difference. To a guy who's interested in numbers on a chronograph, it makes a difference. To a guy who wants to kill an elk at 600 it doesn't. Except in the money he lays out for the ammo or brass.

More case capacity Is more velocity, plain and simple....The Elk wont no the difference at 600, but a WSM is no Weatherby. No matter how you put it. I can run a Weatherby down to WSM Velocities and the brass would last for many years.
The WSM is a great cartridge, but it is the most limited as far as performance, of the 30 magnums.

And the hunter won't either, except his shoulder. More case capacity is more recoil, plain and simple.

I drive to work every day in a Toyota truck. I could get a big Dodge diesel, and I'd have more horsepower, plain and simple.

I'd still get there the same time. But spend more on fuel.

I have a .300 Weatherby in my safe. It's very accurate. I don't shoot it as much as my other rifles though. There's a reason for that.