Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles .300 Win Mag vs .338 Win Mag

I’ve been browsing the net looking for a Ruger all weather Skeketon stock in .300 Win Mag for Elk and possibly Moose. Haven’t seen one in .300 Win Mag but there are a few .338 Win Mag for sale. This has me thinking......

How do you compare these two? Would you choose one over the other? Ammo availability / price? Recoil comparison?’any and all info is we scones. I have no experience with either caliber. Thanks!

The rifle is to be fed factory ammo? Both are going to be pretty stout kickers with the boat paddle stock and I doubt 180-200gr .300 loads are going to feel much different from 200-225gr .338 loads. Ammo is going to be bit cheaper in the 300, with more available options. The .338 can be cut back to 22" without much loss in velocity, while the .300 generally can't claim the same. If you are going for the flattest trajectory with a duplex reticle, a guy can shoot fast 165-180gr premiums in the .300 and stretch things out a bit more than the .338, but if most of your shots are inside 300-350yds, it is really not a big deal. There's not really a bad choice between the two.

There was a laminated SS .338 M77 in the classifieds in the last couple weeks. I remember it being a good buy.

You tell him jpro. Ill just go and make some popcorn because this thread mag get interesting.

I have a .338 in a Winchester M70 with a 26" barrel. It weighs ~8.5 lbs with scope. I also have a pre64 M70 in 300 H&H with a 26" barrel that weighs about a pound more with scope. I have the 300 loaded 2950 fps with 180s and currently using 200g at 2750. So very similar to the 300 Winchester. The .338 has too hard of recoil pad and the 300 H&H has a steel buttplate. I try not to shoot 250g out of the .338 anymore. Too much for my shoulder now, although a better recoil pad would help. I shoot 225g at 2800 fps out of it with no problem. As far as recoil goes I would much rather shoot my 300 than the .338 and I doubt the animals I have taken with the rounds would notice the difference in the two. Mule Deer wrote about expansion results between the two recently. He said their was really no difference between the mushroom of a .300 and .338 so should have similar effects on game. I have shot a few 300 Winchesters over the years and they have quite a bit less recoil than the .338s I have shot.

I’ve shot bulls with both, and while the 300 mag is certainly more than adequate, there’s just something about my 338. I’m thinking it’s the frontal diameter buts that’s just me. The 338....it just stops em dead in their tracks....just stomps em. There is no question about what’s happening when the 338 impacts a bull at any of the ranges I’ve shot bulls at (48 - 351 yards).

That’s just my opinion...that’s all. I’ve never shot one with a Creedmor so I can’t compare. 😏 I’m hearing it’s better than a 50 cal.

All this assumes a good, lethal hit, of course. Gut shot is gut shot, no matter what caliber.

Very respectfully, but strongly, disagree.

That's the truth. You tell em JPro.



Jerry

I have had several of both.. For me the .338 is good, but no better than the .300.. Not nearly as flat either.. With the modern bullets we have you can shoot a 150 in a .300 for super flat traj.. If a guy were in deep timber like northern Idaho or Ore. The .338 would be fine especially with heavy bullets... Otherwise the .300 is more of an all around rifle... I have shot a number of elk with the.338 and the .340.. Both kill well but no better than the .300... For a time a bunch of my shooting pals and I went the ,338 route.. After a couple seasons , most either sold them or stacked them in the safe.. Here there is much, much open country elk hunting and it was far easier to hit and elk with the .300 across a canyon with the .300..

If you want a 22" barrel, get a 338.
If you want a 24" barrel, get a 300.

There's no difference between them IME.

Fair enough. I likely should have said 180-200gr .300 vs 200-210gr .338 compare somewhat favorably. 225's might indeed be a notch more in recoil. My most applicable comparison experience is somewhat secondhand there, as my father was shooting while I was watching. Shooting walnut M77 rifles in 300win (180's at 3,000) and .338win (210's at 2,900) did not feel too much different to him. One of my neighbors also owned and hunted both, and he was convinced that the .300 recoil hit him faster. While I've owned rifles in .300win and .338win, I've not personally shot them back to back on the same day. I lean towards 200-210gr stuff in the .338win.

I shot a lot of 300 and 338s from Ruger baotpaddle stocked rifles in the late 90s through the early 2000s. I never saw a lot of difference in recoil between the 2. If you like to shoot heavy bullets above 200 grain, get the 338. If you like lighter bullets get a 300. Get a prefit recoil pad for either

I think a big thing about the 338 that might be better that the 300 mag is the 250gr bullet. Actually I no longer shoot magnum's, recoil to much for me and fr more power than needed. If you can kill it with a 505 Gibbs, I'm quite sure you can kill it with a 223 and the right bullet also! Never rely on a cartridge to make up for the shooter's deficiency's

My wife has very little experience with the .300, but, loves her .338 WM. She’s running 250 TTSX’s @ 2950 from a 24” barrel. Unless ranges are exceeding 600 or 700 yards, the .338 would get my recommendation! I simply prefer the larger bullet diameter, and heavier weights! memtb

I have both, ain’t much difference in recoil with the same weight bullets.

Get a 300 weatherby if you can’t decide.

2950 FPS with 250s is Smokin!!!

Yea.

I doubt he's doing that with anything less than 75K PSI. That's about where you would be with RL-26.....if you could get enough into the case.

I have both in Winchester M70s. Both have synthetic stocks and 26" barrels. Weigh for all practical purposes is the same. Recoil on the other hand is not. I can easily shoot 10 to 15 rounds from the .300 off the bench but more than about 6 rounds from the .338 mag. and I've had it for the day. I had a brake put on the .338 and it still hurts, yet the stocks on both rifles are identical. Still haven't figured out why there is that much difference.
Paul B.

A 300 Weatherby has more recoil than a 338