Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 308 verses the 300 win mag

Amen... A guy that really gets this place...

Any difference between the .308 and 300 WM? Absolutely not - except the 300WM may weigh up to 2 lbs. more and be two inches longer. It comes down to your proficiency with a quality bullet. As I am looking forward to my 20th elk later this year, I will be carrying a 6.5CM again to confirm last year's two successes - a caribou and cow elk. Both with a 143gr ELD-X at 2700 fps..

Both shoot a .30 caliber bullet. The only measurable difference between the two is velocity. Velocity matters for certain bullets to expand. I shoot Barnes Triple Shocks and I think the minimum velocity is around 180-2000 for full expansion. All this means is the 300WM will theoretically allow for a longer shot and still have the velocity for the bullet to perform. I like the 300WM as an elk round and it's served me well; ironically, I've never taken a shot at elk past 140 yards.

Cant all this be answered with a 30-06 shooting a 180 Partition or similar in an sub 8lb rifle with a NF SHV?

So don't shoot a bullet that needs high velocity to expand. There are plenty of them out there that are real elk killers in a 308 or 30-06. The 308 has been used for 1000 yd competition. It'll reach out there with the right bullets.

The .300 shoots faster flatter and hits harder.. If you don’t need the range and speed, don’t use it.. Much of elk hunting doesn’t require it or the rifleman can’t use it.. J. Jobson a O’Connor pal and .270 lover said the perfect rifle for elk if you can use it is a .300 Wea. With 180 partitions... If you are too weak to carry one, use something less.. There are times when it fits the bill, and a .308 doesn’t not often but some.. If you are happy using something in the .308 do so... I want to make the most of any chance I get so I will pack my .300 if I am serious about getting my game.. If I am just out to enjoy the day, a 6mm, .300 Sava. Or 06 is fine..

Hyper velocity with many projectiles inside of 350 yards perform less admirably than ones launched at 308 Win velocities. The best attribute of the 308 Win is most bullets perform very well at 308 Win impact velocities. Deep penetration with excellent expansion and bullet weight retention are hallmarks of the 308 Win as well as ease of shooting and accuracy with just about anything you feed it.

I use to believe that mattered until a friend dropped a huge Bull Moose in his tracks at 50 yards with a ballistic tip from his 300 Mag. Now I believe that the power dump from the magnum makes up for the bullet not staying together.

Might need to add 30 carbine and 300 blackout as the same then .

I might add on recoil...I've shot a few .308 light rifles than hurt/got in my face more than many 300 mags, In fact, I have had some 30-06 rifles kick far more than any 300 Mag I've shot, ha. when compared to shotgun fit, a person usually has time to adjust to a bad fitting rifle. I see lots of guys with 'standard" LOP factory rifles who hunt all bundled up...or get the top edge of the stock caught in their armpit before they can get on a "usually running" elk! The added "pressure" of desiring a trophy on a paid hunt, for me, has had me choose 300 magnums up through .375, all with monos for the added insurance, but they were rifles I shot extensively ( and wanted the experience of hunting with) long before. Every rifle I took to South Africa/Namibia on four hunts had all been shot at least 100 times, and some had killed deer/antelope, etc beforehand. All part of the fun for me! I hate "make do"...growing up poor did that to me. I'm sure I could have killed half the trophies in my life with my old Mod 94 Classic 30-30 carbine I bought myself at 16. You remember, the Friday Afternoon Special that had an "oval" chamber, 6# trigger pull? The one that shot about 5" at 100 and could only "nick" an antifreeze jug at 150...from the sit? ha Luckily for me, I had a place to hunt where I didn't have to shoot past 75yds most of the time! It was a beautiful rifle though, and I admired it many hours sitting in a tree or beside a big White Oak. But I'd rather have more options, ha.

The other aspect not yet mentioned; I feel much better walking through grizzly country with a 300win on my shoulder than a 308win.

I've killed elk with both, and they both work equally well at the distances I shoot. 308 is lighter and recoils less, so that's been my choice for the last 5 years. Ymmv.

Hey soup- I have a hunting buddy here who has used a Browning BLR .308 since HS, 50yrs ago! 150 corlokt on everything from antelope to bison.

The difference between a 300 WM and a 308 Win is ~190 yards.

What I am referring to is if you take 165/168 grn premium bullet with say a BC of .470 and launch it at 2725 fps out of a 308 and 3100 fps out of 300 WM and they you start looking at retained velocity you will find that the retained velocity is about equal approximately 190 yards further out for the 300 WM.

Why retained velocity? Bullets kill because of penetration and causing permanent tissue damage leading to loss of oxygenated blood to the brain. Penetration given the same bullet is caused by how much velocity it strikes the target with.

Before everybody starts arguing about the velocities above, these are typical velocities for typical powders. Not the best velocity with the best powder in somebody's 26 inch bbl rifle.

I always chuckle when somebody says their 300 WM will kill elk at 500 yards but a 308 won't at 300 yards. it's the same gun at those two distances.

I would prefer the right bullet and a 308 for under 50 yard shot at a grizz. to a 300 Win. Penetration and bullet integrity versus velocity. And a lighter handier rifle.

Not to mention less muzzle flip/recoil (getting back on target for the shot), and greater magazine capacity.

All my hunting is in grizzly country... I'm perfectly at ease with the 308, 7-08, 270, etc...

Yeah buddy!

Point blank shots at high velocity may cause problems.

Elk ain't hard to kill, but wounded elk are hard to find.

This rather robust study does not agree with that statement. Not entirely intuitive, to me anyway, but the study showed that very high velocity does not increase penetration. It doesn’t hurt with “premium bullets”, but definitely does not help with standard lead core bullets.

http://www.rathcoombe.net/sci-tech/ballistics/methods.html#308_caliber

Interestingly, the only TTSX bullet I’ve caught from my 338 Fed was a ~35 yd shot with a muzzle velocity of 3050. A PH I hunted with made the statement that for the relatively short ranges they typically see, a heavy bullet shot at 2400-2500 tends to work the best.

Food for thought.

I agree prm.

I usually still hunt with a lever action carbine in 308 or .300 savage. When still hunting I am ever hoping for a point blank shot.

But......
If I was to use a magnum like my 308 Norma, or my 7 mag. To still hunt with. I would use a monolithic or the heaviest nosler partition I could find. Because of the chance of a point blank shot.