RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

Maybe so if he is a reloader

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

I have rifles in both the 308 Win. (Styer Pro Hunter Mountain, Ruger 77 Mk-II) and 300 Win. Mag.(Remington 700 ADL). I hand load for these 3 rifles. The all do under 1 MOA, so ... my $.02, no inherent difference in accuracy. There are great bullets available for both. Great factory stuff as well. I love the 308 Win. for hunting deer. If you go with the 308 Win., try something in the 165 gr. weight. If you go for the 300 Win. mag. , try 180 gr. or 200 gr. bullets. The 300 Win. Mag. has substantially more recoil, but it is also a much heavier hitter. In my opinion, this is an advantage only at the the very long ranges such as 400-500 yards ... which I'll likely never see or even try if I do !!!. I suppose for Elk or Moose the 300 Win. Mag. would be a better choice, but I have zero experience hunting these.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

Wow, the stuff you read on the internet..... Things that make you go..... What the ****

The fact is, isthat no one is goingto beentering 1000 yard competitions with an off the shelf production rifle.

The difference in trajectorybetween a 308 and a 300 win mag firing a high BC 150 grain bullet is only about 40 yards advantage to the 300magin maximum point blank range (+- 3" from line of sight). So this basically means that you would have to start compensating by holding high or adjusting your scopes elevation at 275 yards with the .308 and at 315 yards with the 300 Win mag.

The biggest advantage a 300 win maghas over the .308 is that it will handle the heavier bullets that aredesigned forbigger animals better than the 308 due to he increase in case size and powder capasity which will result in greater KE deliverd at extended ranges.

The differnece in available KE at 300 yards will be about 600 foot pounds firing the same 150 grain bullet as above.... which is about a 200 yard advantage to the 300 mag.



For any one to claim that either one is absolutely better than the other is simply rediculess.
Both have won their fair share of long range matches.
Both have killed their fair share of large game animals.
Both can be either extremely accurate or extremely inaccurate as this is a function of the quality of the firearm and the loads being shot and not what the case looks like.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

bigbulls, it's a bad comparison to handicap the 300WM comparing it to a 308 both with 150gr bullets. If you are shooting a 300WM and doing anything but watering it down to a close range deer gun, why on earth would you use a 150gr bullet? That is not what the round was designed to do.

Now, run the comparison again with 180-200gr bullet in the 300WM and compare to a 308 with 150gr bullet and see how that comes out. The energy will not even be close, and the ballistics of a 300WM throwing a 200gr bullet at 3000 fps vs a 308 150gr bullet at what, 2600-2700 fps will not be in the same ballpark.

If you hunt stuff smaller than elk at 300 yds or less, there is no compelling reason to opt for a 300WM. If you hunt elk or larger and shoot further, there is an argument to be made. Not that one is inherently better than the other.

When I was tightening my trigger on a bull elk at almost 700 yds this year, I was darn glad it was a 300WM in my hands. I wouldn't have bothered with a 308.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

I'm fairly shocked you admit to thinking about shooting a elk at almost 700 yards! There are FEW rifle cartridges that are even accurate/powerful enough to CLEANLY harvest a elk at that range,and a darn sight fewer shooters qualified to do that. That's NOT hunting-THAT'S shooting! Pretty irresponsible if you ask me.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

I think it is a very fair comparison considering that the vast majority of deer hunters will use a 150 grain bullet in either cartridge. It is an apples to apples comparison. Same bullet, same BC, same SD. If I wanted to skew the numbers like thatI could show a 200 grain round nose bullet fired out of the 300 and a 168 grain match bullet out of the .308 but that wouldn't be exactly a fair comparison now would it?

And if you can show me a standard factory loaded 300 Win mag firing a200 grain bulletat 3000 fps I will drive to your house and kiss your rear end. Try about 2700 fps.

How do you know what the round was designed to do? The only thing it was designed to do was fire a 30 caliber bullet faster than the 30-06 fired the same bullet and do it in a standard length receiver.






But since you want aheavier weightcomparison..... :eek:

Using a MPBR of +-3" and firing the same 180 grain high BC bullet, the 308's velocity is 2570 fps and the 300's velocity is 2960 fps.... standard factory loaded velocities.

The .308 will zero at 220 yards and be 3" low at 260 yards
The .300 will zero at 250 yards and be 3" low at 295 yards.

So now the ballistic advantage is 35 yards to the 300 and the same 600 foot pounds of energy.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

I am not unbiased. I love the 308. When I was "in" (Sandbox 1), I carried an old M-14 instead of the -16 because of the range and "punch" advantages. Now that I am out, I have 3 M1a's / M-14's. My GHOOD / SHTF rifle is an M1a SOCOM in a Sage stock. I love the 308.

That said, in a bolt gun for longer ranges, and assuming you won't flinch with the recoil, the 300WM hits harder and shoots flatter. That is what I'd choose.

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

Most of the reloading charts I've seen put the 200 gr. 300 Win Mag at about 2800. So your load is probably pushing some limits... And, the .308 150 gr loads are usually in the 2800-2900 range. So, you're loading up super-duper mag loads in your WM, and milquetoast in your .308... So... As long as you're instructing people on "bad comparisons"....

I think okboarhunter needs to define what he considers "long range." It's different for different shooters, and 700 yard shots are well past "long range" for about 99.999% of the folks in the field.

Earlier in this thread, you said "FWIW I just shot an elk at 683 yds with a 300WM, it hammered him."

Yet, in another thread, you said "I cannot speak for closer ranges for certain, but I shot a mule deer at 438 yds (down in 1 shot, added a second for insurance due to terrain so 2 shots total) and a bull elk at 683 yds (4 hits, he just stood and took it like nothing was happening) with the 200gr Accubond."

So, I'm curious... did it "hammer him" or did he "just stand there like nothing was happening"? 700 yard shot stories are difficult to believe, even if they're true. It helps to keep them consistent...

RE: 308 or 300 win mag
 

It is pretty interesting how some of these comparisons go to the extent that one is good the other is no good. The 308 has won many long range competitions and is often touted as being very accurate. I think that for most hunters it is more than adequate for taking any deer they would take a shot at no matter which gun.The numerical superiority of the 300 over the 308 cannot be disputed but what advantage that gives you is mostly opinion. So I think it depends on what the gun will be used for and the hunter's ability to take the recoil as well as having the ability to afford the ammo.

I hunt in PA woods so most of the deer I have shot are inside 100 yards with a few just outside of that range but I would think 200 is for the most part an impossibility. I have had more deer drop on the spot with my 243 than with my 7mm Mag. Compare those stats and they are most likely laughable compared to the comparisons made between the 308 and the 300WM.I have a friend that hunts with a 223 which is as small as allowed and I never saw one of his deer take a step and there have been many. Seems the velocity and energy numbers are not the only consideration.