Guest Herd_Bull Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 I'm trying to choose between a .300 win. mag or a .338...can anybody help me decide???i hunt moose, elk, mule deer, and whitetails every year and i've been using a 7mm rem mag, but i want to get a new rifle, so if anyone could help me decide between a .300 or .338, please do speak up..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted May 2, 2007 Report Share Posted May 2, 2007 i have a 300WSM but i just got it and havent shot anything with it yet. But if you were hunting primarily elk and moose i would steer you towards the .338 but since you mentioned deer the 300 win mag might work better. Its perfectly capable of taking elk and moose and the choice of bullet weights gives you more versatility. I mean the .338 will KILL those deer but WILL tear up some meat if you dont make a good shot. The .300 will too but its just a better caliber for all 4 animals that you mentioned. Why are you switching from the 7mm? From my experience it does just fine on elk and deer. Dont know about moose though. but i think im rambling on here. Im sure you will get more input from others with different preferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearcat Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 For all around use, I would pick the .300 Winchester Mag. It shoots flatter and will cleanly kill all of the animals mentioned with ease. The ammo is cheaper and there are more loads available in the .300 Win. Mag. The .338 Win. Mag. is a great cartridge as well, but it's big bullet is not needed for deer and smaller animals. It is a little better than the .300 when you throw in Grizzly and Brown bears. A stout 250 grain .338 slug is hard to beat on these dangerous critters. By the way, the .338 Win. Mag. has the exact same case as the 7mm Rem. Mag., it is just necked up to .338 caliber. The .300 Win. Mag. has about 10 grains more powder capacity. On the other hand, the .300 Win. Mag. and the 7mm Rem. Mag. that you already have are very close in performance, so you might want to step up to something a little larger. I hope that I havent confused you any further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisherguy Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 The .338 is more gun than you need, and definately too much overkill for deer IMO. I have a 30-06, and 7mm mag. i sue for deer, bear and moose, and i just bought a .300 WSM. The 7mm is all the gun you ever need for moose or elk, and the .300 will do all the animals you named well. I just sighted mine in with 180 grain bullets today. Even that is getting to be a bit heavy for deer I think, but will still be reasonable if a good deer happens to wander out while i am moose hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I'd be going with the .300 if it was me, I've got both the .300 Win Mag and WSM, love them both. Both are very strong calibers and will knock down a moose no problem. I killed a big deer with the Win Mag 2 years ago at about 17 yards. Of course the bullet fragmented on impact, no exit wound because of the extreme close range for the energy behind that bullet. I was surprised how minimal the meat damage was, I've saw a lot more damage done by my dad with his .308. I don't really think I'd opt to use a .338 on a deer, that may be a bit too much. So it all depends if you still plan on using the 7mm for deer and getting the .338 for the bigger animals, it wouldn't be a bad choice at all to get the .338, but if you're going to be using the new gun for everything, go with the .300 IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_218 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I'm trying to choose between a .300 win. mag or a .338...can anybody help me decide???i hunt moose, elk, mule deer, and whitetails every year and i've been using a 7mm rem mag, but i want to get a new rifle, so if anyone could help me decide between a .300 or .338, please do speak up..lol With the above game mentioned; I'd think the .300 Win. Mag. would be the best choice. The .338 is okay for the big stuff (Moose), but a bit "over-gun" on Mulies & Whitetails or even Elk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Herd_Bull Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Thanx for the info., i think im going to go with the .338 for the big stuff and use my 7mm for deer, the reason why im buying a new gun is the 7mm is actually my dads, not mine and i just want a rifle thats mine instead of using one of his all the time...but i will still use it on deer and my new .338 on moose and elk when i get it(moose and elk are the main game i hunt, and i usually hunt whitetails with a bow, mulies with a rifle)...anywayz thanks for the info. everybody, it was lots of help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 The .338 is more gun than you need, and definately too much overkill for deer IMO. .......which is certainly no reason not to get one. I have yet to see a big game animal killed "too dead". Pick which gun you want and shoot it and shoot it a lot until you can shoot it well. A bullet through a deer's ribs will produce do any more "meat damage" from a .460 Weatherby than it will from a 30/30. Big, fast bullets kill big game animals just fine. Poor shot placement causes "meat damage". "Overkill" is a figment of SCOPE's imagination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 The .338 is more gun than you need, and definately too much overkill for deer IMO. Actually the .338 makes a great long range rifle using lighter bullets. It's all about bullet choice when it comes to matching a weapon for the game intended. Personally, if I was going with a rifle to accept .338 diameter bullets, I go with the .340 Wby Mag and choose the proper bullet for the game I intended to hunt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coles Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Actually the .338 makes a great long range rifle using lighter bullets. It's all about bullet choice when it comes to matching a weapon for the game intended. Personally, if I was going with a rifle to accept .338 diameter bullets, I go with the .340 Wby Mag and choose the proper bullet for the game I intended to hunt. my younger brother has a .338 and i really wish it was mine. it has a muzzle break on it which means the recoil is about like a .243 and it is very accurate. A couple years ago he shot a bull elk from about 450 yards away. and that was when he was 16 years old. The only down fall to the .338 is that the factory ammo is soo dang expensive. We reload all of his so we dont have to deal with the high prices(yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 We reload all of his so we dont have to deal with the high prices(yet). Same here coles. I reload for everything I have except shotguns and rimfire weapons. Reloading is a must for any Wby Mag with the price they charge for a box of shells. The biggest advantage to me though is being able to easily match a bullet and load to any size big game I choose to hunt with whichever one of my rifles tickles my fancy that day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 ....... Reloading is a must for any Wby Mag with the price they charge for a box of shells. The biggest advantage to me though is being able to easily match a bullet and load to any size big game I choose to hunt with whichever one of my rifles tickles my fancy that day.......... .......and not have to ever feel undergunned. You forgot to add the part about never feeling undergunned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 .......and not have to ever feel undergunned. You forgot to add the part about never feeling undergunned. Yep my mistake...thanks Don. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Not a problem, Al. I consider such corrections my civic duty...........being the grand, founding poobah of the internet's most revered shooting society and all. You know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ Posted May 5, 2007 Report Share Posted May 5, 2007 Since you have a 7mm Mag, the performance difference is really not that much different to a .30 caliber mag. I would definately recommend the bigger .338 Win mag for the bigger stuff. I have shot a handfull of whitetails with my .338 Win Mag and it worked well on them. Granted they were no deader than the deer I shot with my .243 Win but I was just warning up for an elk hunt the next month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest turfman Posted May 7, 2007 Report Share Posted May 7, 2007 The 300WSM would be my caliber of choice...shooting the 185 grain ballistic tip. This has virtually the same ballistics as the 300mag but with less recoil and seemingly is lighter to tote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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