300 WSM or 338 WM

[HogFan]

Well, I have a slim chance of possibly moving to AK.  Just thinking I need a new rifle, which would be better 300 WSM or 338 WM?  Largest animal I plan on hunting if we do go there is a moose.

[us920669]

I always liked 338 - throws more metal.

[semperfi1970]

How about a .308 win, its cheap to shoot and will take anything a 300 wsm will.

[Luckyducker]

I really like the 300WSM and find it to be extremely flat shooting but there is nothing wrong with the 338WM either.  The one plus for the WSM is that it can be had in a lighter and easier handling package than the long action cartridge rifle.  If there is any chance you will ever want to shoot a brown bear you should probably opt for the 338 as you can hurl heavier bullets from it which is a benefit.

[6x6 elk]

338 WM hands down. You can shoot 225 gr Accubonds for the far shots, and go with 250 gr. Partion for the dangerous stuff. I believe They also  make a 275 gr Swift A-Frame.

[jasonprox700]

I was wrestling with a similar choice; .300 or .338.  I decided that my .280 will handle most of what the .300 would, the .338 would be a much larger step-up.  Needless to say, I went with the .338.

[HogFan]

I was wrestling with a similar choice; .300 or .338.  I decided that my .280 will handle most of what the .300 would, the .338 would be a much larger step-up.  Needless to say, I went with the .338.

That is my thinking as well. I have a .280 Rem, and a .30-06. If I do end up in AK, I am thinking the .338 it is.

[mcwoodduck]

300 WSM is not that much faster than 30-06 so if you want to step up then 338 WM is the way to go.
I have had one for a number of years and so far it has proformed very well if I did my part.
I have been using 225 grain Remington soft points.

[stubshaft]

I have both calibers and if I was moving to AK I would take the 338 hands down.

[yooper77]

Well, I have a slim chance of possibly moving to AK.  Just thinking I need a new rifle, which would be better 300 WSM or 338 WM?  Largest animal I plan on hunting if we do go there is a moose.

I would choose the 338 Winchester Magnum, the 300 Winchester Short Magnum is of no comparison.

yooper77

[SGTOB705]

I've used a 333 WM and a 338 RUM on hunts in Africa and Canada and the 338 RUM/ 26 " barrel with a Vais Muzzle Brake and the upgraded Rem Recoil pad is a "killin machine" ...I used 250 gran Grand Slams and with that set up the recoil is about the same as a 308.
I sighted it in at about 2 1/2" high at 100 yards and out to 400 yards, one shot kills with about a 8" kill zone on all plains game and moose...chest shots and/or quartering

[Dand]

I live in Alaska.  The 338 win mag is very popular and ammo is pretty easy to find even in remote villages.  The 300 wsm would probably do all you ever need and not whack you as bad as the 338 - depending on the rifle.  And 300 wsm ammo isn't too hard to find but it still isn't super common either.  I like the options of heavier bullets than commonly loaded in the wsm.  Personally I shoot the original 300 win mag with 180 or 200 gr bullets for all my hunting - caribou, moose, and last winter a bison. I haven't seriously hunted bears but live in brown bear country.  If I was seriously after a big brown, 338 or bigger for sure.  A nice thing about the 338 is that with a 225 gr premium bullet you are good for everything  sheep to brownies. Tho if I was hunting heavy cover for big bears I'd go for the 250 gr partitions or swifts.  One moose season I ran into so many bears I seriously considered getting rebarreled to 338 - it really is an effective round.  But the last 338 I shot was real light and with 250 bullets it really whacked me.   Remember, an awful lot of Alaskans do just fine with the 30-06 year after year - they are so much more pleasant to shoot.

[mcwoodduck]

I have a customer that hates his 300 WSM but likes my 338 WM.  the 300 is a crack and the 338 is more of a shove.

[us920669]

That sounds like a rifle weight situation, and sheep hunters love those short magnums.  But I agree with you, the full-sized case is best.

[parkergunshop]

From an effeciency, cost and performance standpoint the .338 Winchester Magnum hands down.   If you ever decide to rebarrel the rifle you have lots and lots more options.

The WSM's are too expensive ammo wise and come up short in performance to the  full length magnums of the same caliber being some where between a 30-06 and the full length .300 Winchester Mag in performance.  In twenty years the WSM's will be rare out of production items with ammo as scarce as hens teeth.

My rifles for the situation described are a .308 Norma Mag and a .338 Winchester Mag.   The .308 Norma is just the .338 case necked down, a twin to the excellent 30/338 Mag.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

  While I don't feel the .300 WSM will disappear, it will not match the older 300 Win. mag. in performance or popularity..my personal choice for this situation is the old .300 Win. as for the .338, I have had several..for the size of the cartridge, they seemed to have lots of recoil...far more than the size of the case would indicate...my current .340 seems to have less recoil than my .338's did..and the last one had the same wt. and length barrel the .340 has...for most of our game the .300 is perfect...a flatter shooting: harder hitting .30-06...The only animal needing more gun would be the brown bear in heavy cover or near heavy cover...in this sitation, the old 375 H & H with 300 grain noslers would be the better round...My choice one made years ago would be two rifles... the .300 and the .375 H & H....all ones bases are covered, and you have the benefit of a spare rifle....

[parkergunshop]

Wyo,

I have both a .375 H&H and a .458 Winchester Mag.   Recoil in the .375 is not noticably greater than the .338  Winchester mag since the rifle weighs 2 pounds more anything pales compared to the 510 grain factory loads in my .458 mag, in a 11 pound rifle,  I have shot less than 3/4 inch groups  with it at 100 yards for 3 shots, but 3 or 4 groups from the bench is all I want for a session.     In a situation off the bench off-hand the .458 is not bad, and it sure is comforting to look at the end of the barrel with a .750 outer diameter muzzle it looks like a shotgun barrel.

My big bores all sport Shaw barrels on Enfield actions except for the .308 Norma mag on a 110 Savage action.

From a handloading standpoint I just perfer the longer cases and long actions.

[Wyo. Coyote Hunter]

   I am sure the .458 would be a comfort in a difficult situation...I've shot a couple rifles in that caliber...and sure enough, they get one's attention...there are a couple projects I have in the back of my head for the future...I am trying to focus on getting things I have never experimented with before...While I shot several 458's, I have never owned one...but the ones I tried were very accurate....missed a super buy some years ago...a customshop 700 Rem. in .458 for $600... Like a fool I thought I don't need that, drove home thought it over, called the shop, had the cash in hand, they sold it that morning... so, no .458 it and the Rem.416 often surface as one of the major projects I should focus on next...sooner or later it will be number one...the .338's I had I used reloads in them..to get any speed what so ever they had to be loaded heavy..at the time I was hunting my elk on a very steep mountain after school...I could get to the spot in time for a good hunt in the evening...the shot was usually a long one, but at a standing animal..my wife and I must have shot 20 elk on that mt., to get the .338 fast enough to reach the farthest shots, it had to be loaded heavy...and the recoil was pretty rough..my .375 is about the same wt. but I don't load it as heavy, but shoot heavier bullets from it...the worst rifle I ever owned for recoil was a Ruger 77 in .338...it kicked me right in the face...a pal and  I each bought one..he still has his, but the recoil didn't effect him that way...such is life..Sounds like you have built some neat guns...Next project, I will have to check out Shaw...used several in the past and they were fine...one of my most deadly .222's was a Shaw barrel....