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

The .300 Win Mag is overhyped and...boring. Burns more powder and kicks harder to do not really very much more than a .30-'06, which is the ultimately boring cartridge.

The .338 Federal is interesting, at least.

Just depends on whether you'd rather be conventional or cool .

DN

This is a complete "no brainer",and I cannot imagine anything easier than choosing between these two cartridges as a general purpose big game rifle. The 300 win mag wins hands down.

The only thing I find "cool" or "interesting" about the 338Federal is the mental gymnastics you have to suffer through to figure out how to hit anything with it past 200 yards.With its low velocity and lobbing trajectory, I think it may be the "perfect" candidate for dotz,or other such stuff.A good rifleman with a 300 win mag will have a bullet in the chest cavity of an elk at 300-400 yards while the guy with a 338 Federal is still trying to figure out what dot to use.

I cannot imagine a job for a 338 Federal that a 300 win mag could not handle a good deal better.Still trying to figure out what the 338 federal is for.....?

advantages of the 338 Federal-

-less recoil
-less muzzle blast
-good performance with a shorter barrel
-chambered in lighter/handier rifles
-good performance out to 250-300 yards (most game is taken within 200 yards)
-better choice for close shots IMO

advantages of 300 Win mag-

-can buy ammo anywhere
-flatter shooting and packs more energy at extended ranges
-better selection of bullets

I use a 35 Whelen and a 300 WSM. I like them both, but carry the 300 more because it's a stainless/synthethic "all-weather" gun.

the 350 mag falls right between these two.. just something to consider... i see no reason to own a 338 fed for a large game (moose etc.)cartridge.. the 338 win will do all and more in the same package.. plus you have mountains of guns to choose from... and ammo is everywhere....

the fed is just less of a good thing...JMO

woofer

.338 Fed for me, I've got enough 30 cals.
I want to get an old style Rem TI and rebarrel it to a .338 Fed with a leupold 2.5 x 8......and then someday get another and do the same in a .358

Well if the truth be known,isnt the 300 win mag just a niche off the 300 H&H,I dont and probably wont ever own a 300 win mag,I do shoot 2 300 H&Hs that I just love and in my opinion all the other 300 mags can take a back seat to Daddy,Nope the 300 win mag Vs. 338 federal is not exactly a fair bout,but out to 200- 250 yds,that little 338 niche will still drop any thing that 300 win mag can.without planning to see your Doc. to relocate your shoulder..............

go with the 338 wm. tastes great less filling. 338 federal is cute but 338 wm is what you really want.

I would have no problem at all with the 338 Fed. in a 5 lb Kimber Montana. Keep in mind that the Kimbers all have thick soft Decelerator pads.

What other rifles do you have? From what I know of AZ there might be quite a few open spaces there? The two cartridges mentioned are not the only ones made you know.

As to the 300 WM I don't like its recoil either. Most shooters can handle a 270 or a 7mm Mag. Get something in that group for now if its your only rifle. If you have other rifles that lap over whats been mentioned and the 338 Fed is for regular distances then of course get one if you want it.

I just recently bought a 25-06 and I have a 30-06. I am looking for another large caliber rifle for a couple reasons. I am planning on hunting bear, moose and plains game(in a couple years) and would like a larger caliber for those species.

The reason I don't want to use my 30-06 is that it is heavy. 11-lbs heavy. I also don't mind adding another gun to the collection.

It seems some people like the 338 win mag. How does the recoil compare to a 300 win mag? What is the ideal barrel length for a 338 win mag? I am not really looking for a gun that can shoot out to 500 yards. I don't want to start a debate, but that is not much fun to me.

Thank you all again for your feedback.

Why not buy both and decide for yourself. Setting up 2 new rifles and working up loads would be a good winter project.

Norm

388 RUger Compact Mag . . . . .

BMT

Yea, I have to agree with whomever intimated it before that this is kind of like comparing Mutt and Jeff. The 300 Win is a general purpose cartridge with enough energy and velocity for near and far while the 338 Fed to my way of thinking is a specialized cartridge for the near and not too far. It's axiomatic that the general purpose cartridge covers the abilities of the specialized ones like an umbrella.

As to elk, moose, bear and African Plains game, the 300 Win could arguable be called the perfect choice.
Gdv

No denying the 300 Win. is a lot more gun, assuming you need it. But please define better.

Fit into a 6lb. scoped & loaded rifle, and be shootable?

Shoot farther into the bank behind the animal?

Make a slightly smaller entry hole going in, or wreck a whole lot more meat coming out?



Sorry, but you can have the 6lb. 338 win mags.


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they hurt in 300

woofer

Are these to cartridges even comparable???

Seems to me.........2 totally different applications!!!

You couldnt give me a 338 federal. Well maybe ya could, but I would still rather have a win mag if given the choice between the two.

Do you know how f'ing stupid you look shooting a whitetail at 30 yards with a 300 Win ?


_

I MUST look stupid also. I shot two little South Texas does inside of 50 yards last weekend with a 300 win. Also tapped out a 100 pound hog at 125 yards during the same sitting. No need to say, but they all fell quickly.

I don't suscribe to the "too much gun" philosophy. I suscribe to the school that says find the biggest cartridge in a gun that fits you well and shoot the barrel out of it. I have a lot of guns. My Rem 700 w/HS Precision stock in 300Win is my go to. Never fails me.

I'm also beginning to bond with my 375 Ruger African. With a replacement stock (when McMillan makes one!!), it may become my everyday rifle. I might just shoot some little deer with it too just to piss you off!!

It seems that quite a lot of us are forgetting that comparing the .338 Federal to a .300WM is comparing apples and oranges. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages, and each is not equal to the other.

Match the caliber to the type of game, and where you hunt, and choose one of the two. If you are a long range hunter, then the .300 has the reach, but if you kill game within 300 yards, and don't like the recoil of the .300, then the .338 Federal is perfect. That's all there is to it. Someone mentioned that the .300 has more bullet choices? Maybe yes, maybe not.

.338 bullet weights
160-grain
180-grain
200-grain
210-grain
225-grain
230-grain
250-grain
275-grain
300-grain

Perhaps not as many bullet weights than the .300, but plenty to choose from.

With good tough bullets(200-220 gr)in a 300 win mag you are not gonna see any difference between a 300 win mag, and a 338 Federal,on anything. There will be no magic in the 338 Federal by going to a 250 gr bullet and slowing it down to "whatever".

The higher velocity of the 200 gr in the 300 win mag also makes it easier to plant a shot in the ribs of an elk or whatever out to 400 yards or so,without the use of trick reticles or a lot of fooling around.With tough bullets in a 300 win mag, meat loss has not been a problem. I've been around when an Alaskan Brown Bear was killed at under 100 yards with a 300 Weatherby and 180 Nosler patitions. He looked like a pretty dead bear to me.I've used the same load on elk out to about 450;they died also;and have driven 200 gr partitions from a 300 Weatherby just forward of the ham,through the paunch of a mature bull elk,and into the off-side shoulder,breaking it.Also dead..That same ammo (accidently in the hands of my guide)killed two cow elk with one shot at under 100 yards. Don't know how you could ask for much more....

Yes, the 338 Federal can go in a lighter rifle, and will kick less; but that wasn't the question......