ORIGINAL: Vapodog
From what I have seen, up to 180gr ballistically they are just about identical, 200gr on up the winmag gets the edge.
Absolutely.....and that's a major point IMO. If I wanted to shoot 165-180 grain bullets the .30-06 and .308 offer me featherweight rifles to do it with.......The single greatest justification for a .300 mag of any kind is to launch heavier bullets at long distances. Frankly, I see little advantage to send a 150 grain bullet 300'/sec faster than the old '06 can do. The magnums are primarily for heavier bullets and larger game.
The argument that the faster bullet will increase your range is a valid argument.....but I personally don't know anyone (including myself) that can make use of the difference.....we're talking about extreme distances now and the differences become mythical real fast.
Great Points! I bought a 300 WM for that very reason. I have a 308 that does all I need for most of my hunting. I bought the WM in case I ever go elk or moose hunting and need a little more down range power. I can load larger bullets if needed.
I do have one question. How does the recoil between the two compare? I was surprised the first time I shot mine. The WM doesn't punish you as badly as it's reputation. The salesman said it wasn't that bad because of the slower burning powder, but I thought it was just a sales pitch. I have never shot the WSM.