Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 300 H&H vs 338 Win mag.

I grew up (from the time I was 12) with a heavy barreled sporterized m1917 (11.5 pounds all up). So when guys talk about 8-9 pound rifles being heavy, I just sit back and laugh my azz off....I like the older Sako's too. They are damn good rifles, they just don't fit me as well as the pre 64's. I'm especially fond of my new "Alaskan" . One of my favorite .338 win mag bullets has a BC of .565 and hammers the heck out of elk. I wouldn't be afraid to use it for elk past 600 yards. The 300 H&H is sweet and has more nostalgia than the 338. Like I said before, I'd load up some accurate ammo for each rifle and see which one performed better.

I run 150-168g in my .30-06s, 180g in my .300WM and 225g in my ..339WM. The .338WM definitely kicks hardest.

.30-06, 150g AccuBond @ 2975fps
.30-06, 165g North Fork @ 2901fps
.300WM, 180g North Fork or Barnes MRX @ 3032 and 3033fps respectively
.338WM, 225g AccuBond @ 2742fps


3 elk with the .30-06s, 2 each with the .300WM and .338WM and the elk taken with the .30-06's traveled the least after the shot. Next in line was the .300WM with the .338WM coming in last. Granted, one of the elk shot with the 165g NF went straight down, got up, took a couple steps and went straight down again with a second but unnecessary shot.

Give me any of the above and I'd be confident in the results.

Damnnation, it's too early to put in for 2014 tags.

Try some 200 gr. partitions in that 300 winny since you already had a 30-06 that can shoot 180's. Run those 200's at 2900+ and let me know how it recoils.

Long range, 300 H&H with 200 gr pills. Pre 64 300 H&H is just cool.

While I don't own either calibers (300 H&H or 338 Win Mag) I do own a 300 Win Mag which is a fine caliber for most large game in NA. I do however reload for the venerable .338 Win Mag for a hunting buddy. From my limited experience, the 338 Win Mag seems to readily accept the (heavy for caliber) 250 grain bullets, and it would probably be my pick. If I didn't already own a 9.3x62 I would probably own a 338 Win Mag. The recoil from my 300 Win Mag, my buddy's 338 Win Mag and my 9.3x62 (with 286 grain bullets) are fairly stout but, very manageable. That said, any caliber followed by H&H has to be considered a classic. Flip a coin!

If your model 70 originally came in .300 H&H, that is a pretty rare bird indeed!!! My brother loads his 30-06 Model 70 classic Sporter up to what I can "300 H&H Lite" velocities with 165 Game Kings and 180 Partitions. The H&H is pretty close to the 300 Win Mag in factory loads, but my brothers .300 WSM is actually a bit faster. With that said, remember that the H&H is pretty much loaded to original specs which is to say 1925! A LOT of the improvement in gunpowder came as a result of US artillery propellant developed before and during WW2. Those powders were he basis for Roy Weatherby's loads in the late 40's and early 50's. Before that, we were lagging a bit behind the Germans. That's why the old 8mm Mauser could run pretty close to the original 30-06 load even with bigger bullet and smaller case capacity. The factory spec for a 180 grain in the H&H is 2880 fps, but the normal "safe" reload will run that same bullet out at close to 3100 fps. Supposedly, you don't need a 26 inch barrel either with the factory loads, but can get away with the 24 incher like with the WSMs. The funny part about the H&H is even though it does not have the fat, straight walled case that you are supposed to need for super accuracy and efficiency, it is supposedly a tack driver. It also has a longer neck than a 300 Win Mag, so maybe less problem with long, heavy bullets. My understanding is the 200 grain plus bullets is where the 300 Weatherby really outshines the standard length magnums. One of the gun writers made a 300 H&H wildcat a few years back that had the case blown out to more of a 30-06 30-06 Ackley improved type case taper and shoulder profile and what he found was that it really wasn't enough of an improvement over the good old original to really be worth the effort. It mostly just burned up more powder for not a whole lot of gain. I think it would be cool to to rechamber a new 30-06 FN built Model 70 Super Grade in 300 H&H.