Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 300 Win Mag vs. 338 Win Mag vs. 338-06

First IMO the 338WM is not a heavy recoiling round.... really

That said....

The 338WM will do it all, there are faster 338s but (IMO) will just give you more recoil and a longer range. Before I would go faster I would get a bigger caliber and keep 338WM Velocities� but that may be just me.
The ammo is reasonably easy to find, and have a wide choice of manufactures.
So Go 338WM and don�t look back
That�s my story & I�m Sticking to it.

Limbsaver recoil pads do work. Added one to my 8# Tikka T3 Lite 338WM. Noticeable reduction in felt recoil for me.

I have a 338WM,a 338-06 and a 308Norma. With grizzly possible,I favour one of 338s,usually the 338-06,that's the rifle.

No 338-06 I have seen comes within 100 fps of a 338 Win mag, more like 200 fps.

I would just get a good 300 mag in your prefered persuasion and all those other rifles will become useless.

I agree,

Pressure for pressure no 06 is going to come within 200 fps of a
magnum case.

SU: Ditto. There seems to be this tendency here (and elsewhere,I guess)to assume little cases can go as fast as bigger cases in the same bore diameter. I don't know where this got started, but it is simply not true.There is no magic; if you want more velocity, you have to burn more powder.

Remfak �

If the bears you mention include browns/grizz I�d opt for a .338 Win Mag given the cartridges you mention. If you�re just talking blackies the .300 Win Mag provides everything you need and a lot more versatility than the .338�s. (First thing I did with my .300 was build .308 Win and .30-06 equivalent loads. For the non-reloader there are reduced power loads available.)

For elk I�ve found a 7mm Rem Mag is a reliable one-shot cartridge when used with a good bullet (I used 160g Grand Slams for 20+ years but prefer North Fork/Trophy Bonded/TSX/A-Frame these days). The .300 is also reliable but the elk are no more dead nor did the one elk I�ve taken with the .300 die any quicker. That said, if you can�t get it done with a .300 Win Mag I�d opt for a .375 Ruger.

That Job description SCREAM 35 Whelen to me. Of the listed choices, 338-06 gets my vote.

BMT

I'll tell you where I think it got started Bob.

P.O. Ackley and running pressures into the 70K psi range and that might be a conservative number.

SU: Yes, you may be right. I have no doubt been guilty myself at some point, but I try not to do that stuff anymore. If I want more velocity, I just get a bigger case

Your vel's with the 300 WSM are in line with what I have gotten from them. Slick rifle; enjoy!

I guess I'm not hanging with the crowd here...not to throw cold water on any new rifle buying...but for the game you mentioned, I don't think that more oomph is really necessary...any of those calibers would get the job done when loaded with the right bullet, and the rifles are handy.

But if you want more oomph...(and who doesn't)...a larger case is not needed...just use a lighter weight bullet. Load any of those rounds with a lighter weight TSX and enough powder to drive them to magnum velocities...it is not difficult to do this and stay within normal pressures.

If you don't like the 223 for large game...and I respect the opinions of those who might feel that way but perhaps have never tried it...a 243 with an 85 gr TSX at 3200+ fps is a deadly Black Bear round...or deer, Elk too...it's hard to recover one of those bullets.

With the 130 TTSX available for 30 cal, the 308 can drive those over 3000 fps pretty easy, even from a short barrel. Out to 300 yards and beyond, the 130 X will be hard pressed to stay inside any of those game animals. These lighter X bullets do penetrate as well as heavier standard bullets...and better... The end results are at least equally devastating when comparing wound channels to say... a 180 out of a 300WM that is traveling at the same speed...you end up with the same holes.

Now granted, some of this Magnum level performance is primarily from hand loaded rounds. There are a few manufacturers that load the X, but not all do, and I am not sure that the light bullets are available yet in loaded ammo, so reloading is an important part of the overall equation.

Nothing wrong with the larger calibers. A 300 WM is a pretty great all arounder... recoil is manageable, and the advantage of a faster, heavier bullet of similar construction starts to excel at extended range past 5-600 yards...but how far do you really want to shoot at a game animal...that large of a case is not necessary anymore for most game at normal ranges.

Extra power doesn't hurt...but once a bullet has achieved Magnum velocity, achieves full expansion, with 99% weight retention and full penetration...what's the real difference on target?

The biggest difference is on the other end.

TC