Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Recoil - 300Win vs 338Win

Dufur huh....Which do you prefer to take elk hunting?

I don't understand why folks obsess about recoil. With practice and good technique you would be surprised what the average shooter can handle with no issues.

In general terms, how would you rank the recoil of the 338 compared to say a:

1. 3 1/2" turkey load
2. 12 gauge deer slug

*in the same weight gun of course*

IME, less but a bit faster. IMO, if you can handle those two, you can handle a 338.

Forgot to add, my main love for the 338 WM is that it works perfectly with a 22" barrel. Have had three of them that length and it's my favorite. Load a 210 NP at 2,950 and it's serious elk medicine.

I'd not run a 300 WM less than 24".

With 200 gr bullets the 338 win mag kicks less than a 300 win mag with 180gr bullets IME. Up the 338 to 250gr bullet and the 338 kicks noticeably harder.

Being pragmatic and all, which ain't necessarily a criterion for buying rifles, what would you expect a .300 Win Mag and/or .338 Win Mag will do that a 7MM Rem Mag won't? Near as I got 'er figured, dead is dead. Ain't any variation. A bullet in the boiler room, and bust out your gutting knife.

I own a .338 Win Mag I've had it for 30 years. I have fired exactly 3 rounds out of it. I've never hunted with it. I've never taken it hunting. However, my 7MM Rem Mag has seen its share of Rocky Mountain autumns.

Thar's magic in .284 projectiles. I got that figured out once I was learned 'bout the science of sectional density. Those long .284 passport bullets (they'll go international on you unless the forest has sturdy trees) & they'll penetrate better than Walter Peyton in an open secondary.

I'm a 7mm fan also. In addition to my 2 7Mags I also own a 280Rem which is one of my absolute favorite rifles. I have a serious 7-08 itch that I haven't scratched yet.

30 calibers just aren't really my thing. I have a 30-06 and that's enough. Not saying I wouldn't buy another 300Win if I fell in love with the rifle configuration. Especially since I already have dies, brass, and bullets.

I just always thought I would never buy a 338Win at any price due to excessive recoil. Some comments on here about the different type of recoil in a 338Win got me to thinking that I might try one if the right deal came along.

I've only fired a few .338's and one 300 WM. I do own both but they are quite different rifles.... the .338 is a sporter and the .300 WM is a Sendero. So, the .300 is quite a bit heavier and in a really different stock.

With all that said, I prefer .338 recoil by quite a bit... At least with 225's in the .338 and 200's in the .300 WM. It's a boom and a shove, not a crack and a jab.

I'm kind of a recoil wuss these days, which sucks.

I've always sort of seen the 338wm as the 30-06 of the 338 calibers more than a heavy magnum. It doesn't have the velocities you see with the other magnums. (ie.. 340wby, 300WM, ultra mags ect...) if that makes sense. In my personal experience the recoil difference between the 300wm and 338wm with SIMILAR WEIGHT BULLETS is negligible. However, as many have already said if you feed a 338 some 250's or 275's with a stout charge behind them the difference is quite significant.

I find the fast 30's to be more of a sharper recoil (a punch if you will) and the 338wm to be more of a "push". I do not find either objectionable but I do prefer the shove of the 338.

As others have said recoil is experienced differently by people and there are many variables to alter the experience.

I remember when I was looking at buying a 338wm but I had heard the recoil was nasty. I took a friend's, son's rifle out and was surprised at how mild it was after all the negative build up.

I've had similar experiences with my 300 Win which is a fairly lightweight fluted barrel T3. My load is a 200gr NAB at 2900fps using Ramshot Magnum. Perceived recoil, for me at least, is MUCH LESS than factory 180gr Core-Lokts at 2960fps shot over the same chrono. Fast powder in the factory ammo causing a rapid pressure spike? I know that the barrel gets hot closer to the chamber than my reloads which seem to heat the middle of the barrel instead (slower burning powder?). Just a wild guess.

TATELAW,

Were I to start anew at western big game hunting, I'd buy a good quality bolt action in .280 Rem and never look back & never buy another rifle.

There's gotta be a reason God creates us sans knowledge. He makes us work at acquiring it. And God knows, when it comes to big game rifles I've got a good grip on heuristic learnin', which turned out to be expensive.

TATELAW,

If I recall correctly, some four decades ago I read a gun writer's article the thesis of which was that the 160 grain .284 caliber bullet was the most effective rifle projectile for North American big game. He supported his thesis by comparing weights of various calibers that had close sectional densities. For instance, a 180 grain .308 caliber projectile has inferior sectional density vis-a-vis a 160 grain .284 projectile. Hence, a 160 grain .284 projectile at, say, 3100 FPS was superior to a 180 grain .308 projectile at the same velocity. The benefit was superior performance with reduced recoil.

Now here's the rub: I doubt if he developed a hypothesis and tested for it. Let's assume he did. Who cares? Dead is dead. Within the right range, which is testimony of a hunter's skill, a .30/30 Win will kill just as surely as a .300 WM. So if a hunter wants to use a mortgage cartridge (You'd have to take a second out on your house to buy a box of cartridges.), God bless him. I have never judged another hunter for cartridge choice so long as it could humanely kill his intended game.

As for me, I know my .338 Win Mag will not do anything my 7MM Rem Mag will do.

This post is as far as I read, Spot On!!

I've had several 300 Wins and have a Rem 700 BDL 8 RM.

I >>>HAD<<< a tang safety Ruger 77 in 338 WM.

That was the WORST kicking rifle I've EVER shot.

The 8mag shoots MORE powder w/ 220s than the 338 does w/ 225s.

I have shot/handled Rem 700 BDL in 375 HH and it was much more pleasant than that Ruger.

Stock fit & Recoil Pad makes a whale of a diff!!!!!

I have a rem 700 1 of 500 375 h and h mag that I can shoot all day. Im another who doesnt like the recoil of the 338 win mag, I also got rid of my 300, I fell in love with the 8m rem mag. Ive been playing around with it for a couple months, the biggest problem, finding brass.