Mag. I believe more experienced hunters will agree that the question is too complicated for such simple answers, and accurate conclusions can be made only after a close look at a few details. Instead, most who shoot a magnum cartridge continue to stick with the .300 Win. Since the .400/375 and .375 H&H cases have virtually no shoulder and the shoulder of the .300 H&H is long and mildly tapered, the British figured all needed a belt for positive headspacing, and they were right. The short and fat .300 magnums are no better than other magnums of the same caliber, but the author likes them because by working in a short action, they help trim ounces from lightweight rifles like the Browning A-Bolt Mountain Ti in .300 WSM (top) and the Remington Mode. Therefore, I have chosen to use a minimum KPS of 12.5 for Class 2 game in many of my articles. The Winchester .350 Legend is a no-nonsense whitetail thumper tailored for rifle hunters in... A half-century in the making, the new DGX Bonded is Hornady's best-ever dangerous-game bullet. Jeff-I did a lot of testing and load development with .300 Weatherby. Obviously, even among vastly experienced game departments, there is plenty of disagreement about rifle cartridge killing power! Riflemen who shoot competitively at extreme distances know a lot about accuracy, and if cartridges like the .300 SAUM and .300 WSM were more accurate than the others, you can bet those guys would be using one. LIST OF CARTRIDGES AND LOADS (bullet weight and MV - 100 yard KPS): .32-20 Winchester (100 grain at MV 1210 fps) - 2.6, .327 Federal Magnum (Rifle) (100 grain at MV 2000 fps) - 6.2, .223 Remington (64 grain at MV 3020 fps) - 7.2, .30 Carbine (110 grain at MV 1990 fps) - 7.4, .22-250 Remington (55 grain at MV 3680 fps) - 8.0, .220 Swift (55 grain at MV 3680 fps) - 8.0, .223 Remington (68 grain at MV 2960 fps) - 8.4, .223 Remington (75 grain at MV 2790 fps) - 9.2, .357 Magnum (Rifle) (180 grain at MV 1550 fps) - 9.5, .22-250 Remington (64 grain at MV 3500 fps) - 9.7, .223 WSSM (64 grain at MV 3600 fps) - 10.1, .220 Swift (64 grain at MV 3600 fps) - 10.1, .44-40 Winchester (200 grain at MV 1190 fps) - 10.1, .44-40 Winchester (200 grain at MV 1310 fps) - 11.0, .25-35 Winchester (117 grain at MV 2230 fps) - 11.9, .357 Magnum (Rifle) (158 grain at MV 1830 fps) - 12.7, .30-30 Winchester (Light) (125 grain at MV 2175 fps) - 12.9, .25-35 Winchester (110 grain at MV 2425 fps) - 14.4, .300 Blackout (125 grain at MV 2175 fps) - 14.5, .300 Blackout (135 grain at MV 2085 fps) - 14.9, .250 Savage (100 grain at MV 2820 fps) - 15.1, 7.62x39 Soviet (123 grain at MV 2365 fps) - 15.7, .257 Roberts +P (117 grain at MV 2650 fps) - 17.9, 6.8mm Rem. Refine by Caliber: 338 Norma Magnum 33 … The new Benelli Lupo bolt-action rifle is just as unique, innovative, and performance-oriented... Tom Beckstrand and Neal Emery of Hornady highlight the 6MM Creedmoor ammo. Perhaps it is time we sift through the rumors and seek out a fact or two. Looking at it another way, when the three cartridges are loaded to maximum velocities with 180-grain bullets, the .300 WSM burns an average of 3 grains less powder than the .300 H&H and 5 grains less than the .300 Win. Mag. I am saying all this to say that whether or not a cartridge has a belt on its case is of no importance. The.308 Win. 9MM.223 / 5.56 45 ACP.22 Long Rifle.22 Win Mag 12 Gauge.308 Winchester 40 S&W.38 Special View All Calibers. We ping steel with a .300 WinMag at over a mile. Mag. Short Magnum .30-30 WCF ... 308 Norma Mag 338 Norma Magnum. Just ask a few brown bear guides in Alaska what they think of the .338 Winchester Magnum and the .375 H&H Magnum, and their answers will likely be quite positive. Refine by Caliber: .300 Win. Then came a new breed of magnum cartridges without a belt, and suddenly that little band of brass just forward of the extraction groove of a case had more critics than Michael Moore at a soap-makers convention. Here's an objective look at the vaunted .30-caliber magnums. So what it comes down to to me is .300 Win Mag vs 300 Weatherby. Under perfect conditions and with perfect bullet placement these cartridges will kill deer, of course. Magnum-size cartridges, such as those developed during the early part of the 20th century by Charles Newton, were exceptions, but other magnums that came along after the 1920s had belts on their cases. I am not alone with this opinion. While the 257 weatherby mag is perfectly capable of killing elk I would consider it to be way down the list of fine elk rounds. Others consider them too much for deer and not as good as cartridges of larger calibers on larger game. The .300 Weatherby is not renowned for extreme accuracy, but Boddington has found it plenty accurate enough. As illustrated in the recoil comparison chart, there is very little difference in recoil between the .300 H&H Magnum, .300 WSM, and .300 Win. It is into this market that Weatherby unleashed the world’s fastest production 6.5 mm cartridge—the 6.5-300 Wby. As you can see, when the maximum loads of five .300 magnum cartridges listed in six reloading manuals were compared, the .300 WSM produced an average of 45 fps in velocity for each grain of powder used. The 300 Weatherby Magnum had the flattest trajectory, longest range and the greatest killing power of any 300 magnum on the market until the 30-378 Weatherby Magnum came along. Please note, the following information reflects the estimated average ballistics for each caliber and does not pertain to … As magnum cartridges of .30 caliber go, .300 Weatherby performance is awfully hard to beat, and cartridges such as the .300 Remington Ultra Mag and .30-378 Weatherby Magnum are a bit more of the same. The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber, belted, bottle-necked rifle cartridge. I think they are a wonderful idea, and I believe there is plenty of room in the hunting scheme of things for each and every one of them. In most sub-Saharan African countries where dangerous game is still hunted, the 9.3x62mm/286 grain load (100 yard KPS 88.2) or the .375 H&H Magnum/270 grain load (100 yard KPS 106.2) are the recommended minimum for hunting lion, yet the big cats are about 1/2 to 1/3 the size of the great bears. Any of the .300 magnums is an excellent choice for all North American game. Long experience has shown the .44-40 200 grain/1310 fps MV load (KPS 11.0) and traditional .25-35 117 grain/2230 fps MV load (KPS 11.9) are adequate 100 yard deer cartridges, provided the hunter drives the bullet directly into the vitals. The most powerful .30 caliber magnum until the .30-378 arrived, the .300 Weatherby has a cult-like following. Copyright 2017 by Chuck Hawks. There is no comparison between the two except to say that they are both .30 caliber. Among these are that the .22 caliber centerfire rifle cartridges are inadequate for any sort of deer hunting; ditto the .25-20, .30 Carbine and .32-20. Very sensibly, Winchester did not attempt to compete with the far more powerful and much harder-kicking.300 Weatherby Magnum. Fourth Place: .300 Weatherby Magnum, 65.0 Points. I worked up a load that is pushing a 150 grain bullet at 3620 fps. Based on the 300 H&H Magnum, the 300 Weatherby delivers 300 more fps than its British cousin. The rifle will be a JP Sauer, Weatherby, or Sako. Left to Right: .300 H&H Magnum, .30 Newton, .300. By now you are probably thinking I absolutely despise short and fat magnum cartridges, but nothing could be further from the truth. Another long held belief of mine is the .30-30/150 grain load is a more powerful 100 yard cartridge than the .243 Win./100 grain load. You can always load down the 300 mag to 308 levels of performance, on deer, but you dont need to do so, given the 25% reductionof recoil by the gas op BAR. It obviously can be quite important to an ammunition manufacturer who loads thousands of rounds annually, but far less so to the hunter who loads only a few rounds for his deer rifle each year. I am sorta surprised that quite a few people think the 257 may be a better choice. I know of at least one record set decades ago by a competitor using a rifle in .222 Rem. When it comes to magnum cartridges of .30 caliber, there seems to be no middle ground among hunters. Those guys switched from the long and slim .222 Remington to the short and fat 6mm PPC not necessarily because it was more accurate, but because they wanted to move up to 6mm, and the PPC proved to be the best cartridge of that caliber available. Hunters and shooting enthusiasts tend to get excited with the introduction of each new cartridge, and I am usually near the head of the pack. I have no experience with the Bergara, but do with Weatherby Vanguard. While writing this I posed the following question to a well-known gunsmith who builds big-game rifles capable of shooting three bullets inside half an inch at 100 yards: "If a customer were to ask you to build the most accurate rifle possible in .300 magnum and left the cartridge choice up to you, which would you choose?" – Gun brand doesn’t matter. You will also get the same response from professional hunters in Africa who have long been, and probably always will be, extremely fond of the .375 H&H Magnum as well as another belted number called the .458 Winchester Magnum. It does, however, give a general idea of the comparative killing power of various hunting cartridges and loads. A poor shot with the .300 Weatherby is far less effective than a single and perhaps rather easily well placed shot with a .308. Like a faithful old hunting dog that has become too old for the chase, it is not actually needed anymore, but keeping it around doesn't hurt anything either. It holds about 82 grains of water when accommodating a 180-grain bullet. 308 and 300 Win Mag are both great for taking big game in North America. While the belt was unnecessary on most of those cartridges, it spelled high performance to many hunters, and for that reason it sold lots of rifles and ammunition through the years. Please consider publishing a comparison of the 6.5–300 WBY with the 300 Win Mag. For that, I believe one of the .338-caliber magnums is better than any .30, and a .35 might be a tad better still. The FactsThe belted case was a British idea that originated with the .400/375 Belted Nitro Express in 1905, and it was later used in the development of the .375 H&H and .300 H&H Magnums. 100 yards was chosen as a reasonable distance at which to compare rifle cartridges and loads, since most big game is killed within or around that distance. While I agree that the belted case outlived its useful life almost a century ago, I am just as quick to add that I have absolutely no objection to a cartridge having one. What 308 and 300 Win Mag are both great at. Regardless of whether the .300 magnum you choose is old, new, short, long, fat, skinny, belted, or beltless, you are in good company. Being short and fat, it offers a squat powder column. holds about 48.6 grains of water. Magnum cartridges than for the same number of .300 WSM cartridges. Was shooting Weatherby 257 Magnum, purchased First Lite in 6.5 300, bore sighted, straight out of box first 3 shots 1 inch high with grouping touching each other. Truth of the matter is, most hunters who choose a magnum cartridge want the highest performance available and few think twice about cartridge efficiency. Even so, I do not consider any .300 magnum to be the ultimate brown bear cartridge. This means you have the option to read your magazine on most popular phones and tablets. Violate this principle by, for example, chambering a lightweight, short action rifle for a powerful Magnum cartridge like the .300 WSM and the result will be a dramatic increase in kick. AccuBond at 2950 fps. I can really tell a difference when switching to the .300 Ultra Mag. So will the lowly .22 LR rimfire cartridge. Most orders ship within 24 hours (excludes firearms). that has yet to be beaten by the 6mm PPC. The .308 Winchester and the PPC line of cartridges have been praised for their geometry, and the .300 WSM follows in that trend. Switching to a heavy for caliber (high sectional density) bullet generally, but not always, increases the killing power score. (These two are approximately equal in killing power at 200 yards.). The above list is only approximate, as a great variety of loads are possible for any centerfire rifle cartridge and no method of estimating killing power is infallible. However, conditions are seldom perfect in the real world and it is foolhardy to use an inadequate or marginal cartridge for hunting when there are so many better choices. The 300 win mag with 165 gr - 200 gr to me is clearly a better all around big game round. Caliber: 6.5-300 Weatherby Magnum: Capacity: 3+1: Barrel Length: 26in: Lop: 13.6in: Finish: Satin Stainless: Stock: Black w/Gray Webbing Monte Carlo Composite: Sights The G&S Online Rifle Cartridge Killing Power Formula and List, The G&S Online Rifle Cartridge Killing Power Formula: Implications and Applications, Determining The Effective Killing Range of Rifle Cartridges. Mag. When it comes to hunting larger game, a great many Class 3 animals have been taken by careful shots using cartridges/loads such as the .30-30/170 grain, 6.5x55/140 grain and 7x57/160 grain. They’re both readily available at sporting goods stores. Though both cartridges utilize .308″ bullets, the .300 Win Mag is also better suited for using heavier bullets in the 200-220 grain range than the .30-06. Big bore semiauto or a lever gun? All Rights Reserved. While it is true that a .300 magnum is a bit much for bumping off a skinny, little, 100-pound southern whitetail deer at ranges we commonly find in thickly forested country, try telling that to hunters who head to Alberta, Canada, where a buck can push 400 pounds on the hoof and the only shot you get after a week of freezing your fanny off may be 400 yards or farther in a strong sidewind. Mag. For the .300 Win. The latest breed of .30-caliber magnums with no belts in both full-length and abbreviated form has prompted a lot of dancing in the streets, and a number of claims have been made about them. The 300 Weatherby just starts to come into its own with the 180 grain bullets which would kill the .308 in … There is no comparison. Round off to one decimal place for convenience. A 100 yard KPS score somewhere in the 30s is probably a reasonable figure for most Class 3 game, although less powerful cartridges/loads have long been used successfully. and .300 Weatherby do kick a bit more, those two feel about the same to my shoulder. In other words, only the individual handloader can decide if the difference in efficiency is enough to make him choose one cartridge over the other. Their KPS scores tend to confirm this. Here is the G&S Online Killing Power Formula used to compile this list: Energy at 100 yards (in foot pounds) x Sectional Density (taken from reloading manuals) x cross-sectional Area (in square inches) = Killing Power Score at 100 yards. When hunting brown bear in really thick country, one of the most comforting things you can have on your team is a rifle with a very large hole down the center of its barrel and a magazine full of big, fat, heavy bullets. 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