Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters A Tale of Three Cartridges, "standard", "magnum" and "ultra"

So now what is it that your 308 will do that my 300 ultra will not do? Oh yea short light action, Thats what I got the 300 wsm for <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Who are you responding to?

I don't currently own a short action rifle, but I may as well admit that I do sort of like them (I hope you won't tell those who depend on me for daily argument...)

I shoot my .450 ackley, 338 Lapua, 358 Norma, etc, etc, for FUN, big booms and huge impacts are a hoot. For serious stuff, I go to a serious rifle. I have been hunting (including full-sized Alberta moose) mwith a .308 Winchester, but have decided to go down to a 6.5 X 57.

Why? The 6.5 that I picked up is a nicer rifle to shoot than my .308 hunting rifle, both are way more than adequate to put down any animal that I can get tags for with a single bullet. The real point is that I can shoot these rifles often enough to know exactly where that bullet will go under just about any conditions.

Bottom line (pretty low when dealing with a Badger) is that you should shoot what you are most comfortable with and not worry about what the rest of the world is doing. Most of them (non Camfire members, at least) are idjuts anyway!

I have some magnums also - just three at present - and can see both sides of the "conflict". Hunting (non-dangerous game) scenarios are highly fluid situations usually and one cannot predict how far the game will be sighted, when, and at what angle, and if the hunter can improve the situation much through stalking. Usually, mostly, a standard will do the job ok but there is a time when that 5" less of drop, extra bullet weight and momentum might be the difference maker.
However, we can also eliminate the trajectory advantage now with some of the new reticles and range finders that help make placement more precise with a slower projectile.

Is a sub-geezer a curmudgeon <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

George

41 Keith, thanks...I think. Anyway, just reporting my experiences. Until the range gets rather long it usually doesn't seem to make a difference if you shoot a magnum or not. I really believe many of those who decry magnums hunt where magnums don't, in fact, offer much of an advantage. However, I do most of my hunting in Wyoming or Colorado. I hunt "big country" where shots are often very long or not taken at all. When the bullet gets there it may not hit any harder than the average 308 or 7x57 but it started a lot farther away than most eastern woods hunters would believe you could ever hit an animal from. Now I'm not advocating Hail Marys or trying to see how far you away you can hit an animal but there are simply many times where you can't get closer. That is when that much maligned magnum comes in very handy indeed.

I hope that the big 3 ad guys are reading this thread, my medium caliber arsenal is going to be worth a mint!

I have a 250AI,257AI,7X57AI,308,and a 7X57.Have killed deer and all sorts of animals(hogs,coyotes,bobcats etc.)but I wanted a bigger caliber.I bought a 338-06 and mounted a Leupold 6x42 on it and it weighs 7.5 pounds.I wanted a gun that would make a bigger hole than a .30 and one which would leave my dental work intact. I can shoot the 160gr.bullet 3100fps so in essence I have a 7mm STW with a bigger hole.I can shoot the 180gr-200gr bullets 2850-2950fps and be within 2in of the trajectory of a 300wm at 400 yds. It is not finicky to load for and is an honest 1in rifle.If I want to shoot the 250gr at 2550 and that ain't nothing to sneeze at, I can.I will feel much better in bear country w/a 338 than any other reasonable cartridge if after elk or mountain mule deer and I can load the lighter bullets for whitetails.I know it's not for everybody and MuleDeer isn't a fan of it but it almost seems like the perfect "tale of three cartridges" rolled into one.I really like it!

I think you are on to something. Once I bought a .338 I sold my .300 Win. Mag. because I just didn't have a use for it any more. If a 30-06 can't get the job done I just skip to the .338 Win. Mag. I am about to decide it is almost as versitle as the 30-06. Mine is a second generation Model 70 Super Grade with 26 inch barrel and it shoots everything from 180gr to 275gr bullets better than I can hold. I wouldn't alter anything about it but I do have to be careful not to overheat the barrel if I am trying to shoot small groups. I guess it is the standard dia. barrel with a relatively big hole,anyway it is rather whippy and tends to throw the third or fourth shot a little out from a group that usualy has the rest touching at 100. Then again, it is a hunting rifle not a paper puncher.

That's close to what I have. Mine is 7.4 lbs with a 1.75X6 on top.
It's such a great, versatile cartridge, my other rifles are seeing less and less hunting time.

Ok, this is an old thread but I want to point out something. Magnums provide more velocity which relates to flatter shooting. Using BCBrian's criteria the difference between the 3 cartridges is minimal but that ain't how I view the advantage of a magnum vs. non-magnum.

I find in my non-magnum cartridges, I zero them for 200 - 250 yards, my magnums invariabley get the 275 or 300 yard zero. Big deal you may reply. Run the ballistics on various cartridges with the following assumption I use: My bullet can not rise much more than 3" above line of sight. I've found that any higher and I tend to shoot things in the spine at 100 -150 yard when the bullet is it's zenith.

Here's my calcs: 168 TSX'x boolits (BC=0.476), 30-06 vel = 2900 ft/sec, 300 WSM vel = 3125 ft/sec, 300 Win vel = 3225 ft/sec. These are actual chronoed velocities I've acheived in my guns.

Here is the data layout keeping the bullet close to 3" high at any distance:
30-06 - 250 yard zero
300 WSM - 275 yard zero
300 Win - 275 yard zero
300 Win1 - 300 yard zero

30-06 WSM 300 Win 300 Win1
300 -3.68 -1.61 -1.49 0.00
400 -15.96 -11.53 -10.6 -8.62
500 -35.4 -27.86 -25.44 -22.96

At 300 hundred yards, there ain't a whole lot of difference BUT bullets start dropping like rocks at ~ 300 - 350 yards. If you have the skill to utilize the magnum and conditions are right, the extra velocity makes a big difference between 300 and 400 yards.

I look at this not as wanting to shoot 400 yards but as an extra measure of insurance if I'm thinking the critter is 275 and he turns out to be 325 or 350. The difference in a magnum makes a difference.

All that said, I agree with BCBrian on most hunting conditions, especially here in NWPA. I shot my buck this year at 60 yards with a 7x57 doing a paltry 2750 ft/sec with a non-premium boolit nontheless (blasphemy). But when I go west, my manglum's are sighted in with a 275 or 300 yard zero just in case I foul up the distance.

Thirty years ago I hah to have a 7 mag and a .300 Winchester. I traded them off many moons ago. I am a firm believer the standards will git in done. Last month I bought a M70 featherweight in .300WSM.. Why? I got a screaming deal on it( with 1/2 a box of premium 180 gr. I also am way overdue on drawing a Moose tag. Do I need it ? Absolutely not. Is it fun to fool with? Absolutely..........Essex

What's so funny about this thread is I've got the Custom built 300 Weatherby Mag in a Remington 700 BDL Action with Muzzle Break mounted in a Bishop Left Handed Thumbhole Stock and it stays for the most part in the Gun Case and I reach for either the 7mm-08, 6.5x55 Swede or more than likely my tried and true 30/06.

Years ago one of my hunting partners tried to talk me into the the 257 Wea. Mag., but I looked at the ballistics tables for both the 257 Wea and the 25/06 and could only see a 127 foot pound difference between the two so I went with the 25/06 and haven't looked back. In my mind the 25/06 does 'the same job as the 257 Wea at about a third of the price of the Weatherby and is a much more pleasent rifle to shoot.