Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska 300 win mag vs 338 win mag

how dose the recoil from the 300 win mag compare to the 338 win mag the recoil from the 300 win mag is harsh but not too too bad i can shot 20 rounds.

I'm afraid the answer is "it depends". As a small list, it depends on:

- weight of each rifle
- stock design of each and how well it fits you
- loads used in each (bullet weight, powder charge, burn rate, etc.)

But you probably already know that. I'll say that I've never found the .338 Win Mag to be particularly objectionable and that I've shot .300 Win Mags that were less pleasant to shoot than some .338's. In some of these I think stock design made the .300 feel sharper vs. the strong push of the .338 but that's VERY subjective.

For most uses in NA, I'd say pick the one you like, work up a good load (or find the factory load your gun likes with an appropriate bullet) and go hunting. You have a very versatile rig with either with the nod going a bit to the .338 for the really large stuff (but only if you can hit with it just as well). Put a good bullet from either in the right spot and the animal will die.

one of my 300 is a model 70 post 64 super grade and the 338 is a ruger and to me the 300 is way more unpleasant to shoot then the 338 even my 338 ultra mag is a model 700 isnt not that bad to shoot now my buddy has a boat paddle 300 and it makes your teeth feel like they are going to fall out so i no this is comparing apples to orangeses but hope this helps

In my opinion and from my experience with the two, if you can shoot a 300 WM well, you will LOVE a .338!

I find a 300 WM to have a pretty harsh, unpleasant recoil. Whereas the .338 is more like a big push.

Mind you, my 338 is a sporter while my 300 is in a Sendero, so.. they are different rifles. But then, the Sendero is MUCH heavier rifle and the recoil is still noticeably faster and harsher.

Both of my .308 Norma Magnums seem to have a sharper nastier kick than my .338.

They all have decelerator pads and the .308 Normas are heavier, by about a pound, than my .338.

Go figure.

another thing i dont get is with the 300 win mag a 200 gr swift a frame bullet will go threw the 2 shoulders of a moose but people use more the 338 win mag and if the 300 can do that to a moose it can do it on a big brown bear and the ammo is less expensive 204 for cheep practice ammo with the 338 its effin 40$ just to practice.

if u relode how much is the 338 win mag to reload how much dose it come for 20$ using cheep practice bullets

I've shot several 300s including the WBY, Win, and H&H. I felt all were pleasant to shoot. Not like a 243 is pleasant, but not much more than a 30-06. My 338 without scope weights 7.5 lbs on my scale. Since shoulder surgery and more age(Maybe) I find the .338 with hotloaded 250s unpleasant to shoot. More of a sharp kick than a shove.

I completely disagree with the notion the 338 can be less aggressive than any of the standard 300 mags in equal rifles.

At the range yesterday a friend was shooting my new 6# 8oz 30-06 and his 338 700XCR... He was not liking the 338 at all, yet the ultra-light (he shot 150, 165, 180, and 200gr bullets for group) he found pleasant enough he wants one.

Because the 338 is so common I have seen more people afraid of their 338 than any other and by a wide margin.
art

I dont like to shoot 250's out of my .338 especially prone. IE read scope bit. But 210 ttsx loaded hot are not a problem for me. The 210's shoot well penetrate well and are my bullet of choice for elk.
If I need more gun than my 30-06 then I jump up to .338 win mag. Dean

I have that exact .338- the M700 XCR- and find it completely easy and fun to shoot. Though it weighs several pounds less than my .300, I'd do any position for as many rounds, with the .338 as I'd do with the .300.

Now, is it a 30-06? No. But it's a similar recoil impulse. Just more of it.

To each their own I guess.

After shooting a .300 weatherby and a .338 win mag, both in weatherby vangaurds with the same barrel length (both synthetic, one stainless) I would say the .300 weatherby is nastier to shoot. Same recoil pads as well, now I can easily handle both and enjoy shooting them, and haven't fired a .300 win mag, I would imagine a .300 win mag in a similar set up would be less than both? It isn't a huge increase on a 30-06.

I guess it goes to show that everyone is different. I shot a Vangaurd 300 WBY with Factory 180s and thought it pleasant to shoot. The owner thought it was a terrible kicker, but the largest caliber he had regularly used before that was a 257 WBY.

I have an old .300WM that originally was a Model 70 Winlite. It just rocked you hard. Had it re-barreled with a No. 4 Hart which took the weight over 8.5lbs and it still hits hard with 180's. Although when shooting at game it doesn't seem like much.

The stock seems to have more drop than normal and may be the cause. I'd sell the thing if it wasn't so lucky. With either one I would want a straight essentially parallel comb and good recoil pad.

Doesn't make sense, but I shot a .338WM in a wood Ruger 77 and it didn't seem as bad. Maybe it was because I just thought it would be worse. Physics says the .338WM has to come back harder in equal rifles.

"Physics says the .338WM has to come back harder in equal rifles."

Yup, hard to argue with that one...

Stock design is huge in handling recoil...

Dang it Art. Keep on spouting logic and common sense and this old forum will just up and die it will.

who would of guessed given equal 8.5 pound rifles that a 300grain at 2400 would kick more than a 200grain at 2800? I guess we have to rely on the formula.

Seeing a 300 grain loading for a 338WM now has me thinking that cartridge could sure cover a lot of applications!

E=MVV should be V squared

So does shooting form at the bench as well as the mental picture the shooter has about recoil.

Some shooters seem to have preconceived ideas about recoil that hinder their ability to handle it. On two separate occasions I have taken young teens to the range with me that have never fired a CF rifle before and by the end of the trip, these two young men were effectively shooting my 375H&H and getting good groups. Neither of these fellows came from a "shooting" family, so had no mental baggage before the trip. They did great and based on that positive experience would be able to handle pretty much any reasonable rifle after that.

.

I hate to argue with ARt, but physics predict a measurable amount of recoil.

The issues there are not arguable, but FELT recoil is totally different.

If you calculate speed of recoil thats a huge factor. I can take a healthy belt as long as its not super sharp... Super sharp IE fast hurts me.
Heavier folks feel more recoil than lighter ones.
Stock shape and fit and recoil pads make HUGE factors of difference.

I had one 06 that I hated to shoot, it was my buddies, it wasn't overly light but not heavy, I'd have shot my 338 any day next to it and I'd have told you all day long the recoil between the two was identical basically.

Personally if you are in the realm of 300 mag recoil and can handle that, then the same setup in 338 win mag won't be much if any different in recoil IMHO.

As to Luiss comments, the 300 mag is not the only round that will go through a mooses shoulders... some folks simply like other rounds. How many moose are killed with 6.5x55 and you don't ever NEED to break both shoulders or even one to kill...
Point being you can use what you want to.

This is true. I did the same thing a while back with a 15 year old boy who had never fired a rifle, so I give him my .458 and walked him through the bullet weights from 300gn, 400gn, 500gn and 550gn and exoplained the reooil differences. He was great.

JW