ORIGINAL: stubblejumper
Also IMO in the west the wind is normally a larger problem than bullet drop, and I am pretty sure the 338 with a large bullet is superior in wind bucking capability. Tom.
Using the calculator at the link below.
http://www.eskimo.com/~jbm/calculations/traj_basic/traj_basic.html
I chose the 140gr partition for the 7mmremmag and the 225gr partition for the 338win mag to keep the bullet style consistant.Checking in several manuals the 140gr partition can usually acheive 3200fps out of the 7mmremmag,while the 225gr partition can usually acheive 2800fps out of the 338win mag.
Let's start with trajectory.Both with a 200 yard zero
7mm-140gr partition drops 5.8" at 300 yards and 17.1" at 400 yards.
338win mag-225gr partition drops 7.9" at 300 yards and 22.8" at 400 yards.
wind drift-10mph wind
7mm-140gr partition 6.1" at 300 yards and 11.3" at 400 yards
338-225gr partition 7.0" at 300 yards and 13" at 400 yards.
I agree Stubble and the foot pounds of energy pretty much evens out beyond 300 yards although I choose to compare my 7 Rem Mag in 160 grains with the more commonly used .300 Winchester Mag in 180 grains. Our 7 Mag with the round weights given pretty much beat the .300 Mag beyond 300 yards ballistically in all categories including windageexcept for trajectory. So you see, bigger is not necessarily better. Now get prepared for the .277 to get entered into this equation, HA HA HA!