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

Stock design is still number one in felt recoil. I can't see any reason for a noticeable difference in recoil between a .300 and .338. I have an old FN actioned .338 with a McMillan stock and Limbsaver pad. To me it is as comfortable to shoot as my 7Mags, but it fits really well. It is a baby to shoot and not that heavy either. The impressive thing to me is the way a .338 puts down elk-sized game. I shoot a 7x57 more than anything, and to get a noticeable difference in real game-dropping power, you have to step up to .338 or .375 caliber in my experience. For all the others, from .270 through 7Mags and .30-06's, pretty much identical results. The .338's and .375's step up the power a notch.

This is very true in my experience also. Once you hit the .375 H&H, you do not see that same varience until you get to the .460 Weatherby. The increases noted by some of the other .40's pale, when compared to the .460 which cannot be accurately described in text.

JW

Every time I have owned a .300 Winchester, I always come back to shooting 200 grain bullets. So, in my experience, recoil from what I like to shoot in my .300s varied little from your average .338 loads in similar rifles. Stock fit plays a big part in the equation as well.

I agree 100% and when I owned a .338WM it was for about two weeks. But found I could shoot a .300WM with no problem at all. The stock on the .300 at the time was the B&C Medalist which IMO helps with recoil very well.

CLB

Plus one. It's in the rifle.

My .338 is a lightweight with a plastic stock (M700 XCR). My 300 WM is a heavy in a HS fiberglass stock. I prefer the recoil of the .338 even in a light rifle to the sharp snappy poke from that .300.

Rost mentioned how the recoil impulse itself is different. Plus one to that too.

I've only run up to 225's in my .338 so perhaps that's part of it.

.338 recoil is like a bigger 30-06. A big push. 300 is much sharper.

IME a 338 is easy to live with until you start shooting 250's.

Anybody know?

What the recoil going to be like, haven't shot the gun yet, .300 H&H, remington 721, 200 grain bullets, new decelerator recoil pad. I am assuming slightly more than my 30-06 shooting 180 grains.

i always loved to shood my 338 win mag in win 70 sporster and disliked to shoot my old whitetail 300 win mag tikka.
one in 250 grain NP the other with 200 grains swift a frame so the stock and action might play somewhere.

the easiest to shoot up to now is the 9,3x62 ... on my way to build another one with ruger action ...!!!