300 win mag vs 308 - comparison shooting inside 500 meters

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300 win mag vs 308 - comparison shooting inside 500 meters

Post by threeoh » 22 Oct 2013, 8:10 am

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about getting a semi-heavy rifle mostly for the range, but also to camp out with here and there on a hunt.

In either case I wouldn't be shooting further than 500m max.

Any reason to go with the 300 win mag vs 308 inside this distance?

Or would .308 work just as well.

Cheers.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Blackened » 22 Oct 2013, 8:15 am

When you say "on a hunt" I assume you're talking about stalking deer?

500m is a far piece for deer... Surely the majority of your shooting is done well, well under 500m when hunting?
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by SendIt » 22 Oct 2013, 9:02 am

.308 in an suitable rifle is an 800m cartridge all day long.

To truly "need" 300 win mag you have to be shooting serious distances, like 1000+

Obviously it still does a great job inside that range, but .308 will do much the same job and you spare yourself the extra recoil.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Lorgar » 22 Oct 2013, 9:24 am

I would say .308 for 500m as it's cheaper and easier to shoot.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Rocker » 22 Oct 2013, 2:18 pm

I dunno how you're built threeoh, but I'm just and average size guy and I find 300 win mag wears out my shoulder too fast for more than a few shots.

I couldn't use one as a range rifle. That's me anyway...

Another vote for .308 win for what you've described.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by TPCKRT » 25 Oct 2013, 8:27 am

i love my 300wm. it gives ya a big kick but im used to it now. the 308 will do what most people want, i chose the 300 well cauze i could.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Lorgar » 25 Oct 2013, 10:33 am

TPCKRT wrote:It gives ya a big kick but I'm used to it now.


Yeah it's all what you're used to (within reason).

Way back when, I was tossing up between a .308 and .243 and ended up going with .243.

When shooting that to start I thought 's**t, this knocks you around a bit glad I didn't get anything bigger'.

Later I got used to it and bought a .308 and on first shots thought 'gaah, I've made a mistake, this is too much' :lol:

Now I put 70-80 rounds down range with my .308 in one sitting no problems.

Shooting the .243 after the .308 feels like a gentle push now.

300 win mag is currently in the 'borderline too much' stage but I'll get over it.

.416 Rigby next? :D
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by MeccaOz » 06 Feb 2014, 4:47 am

Love the 300 win mag, but for the game in Oz a 308 is InMO the way to go, cheaper ammo, will do the job, ammo is more plentiful ..... But in saying that 300 win mags are pretty awesome
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by boolia » 06 Feb 2014, 8:44 am

MeccaOz wrote:Love the 300 win mag, but for the game in Oz a 308 is InMO the way to go, cheaper ammo, will do the job, ammo is more plentiful ..... But in saying that 300 win mags are pretty awesome


I'm pretty new to shooting still and it's a bit of a thrill for me to shoot any magnum at the moment :D

Less shoulder friendly though... Maybe I'm just soft :lol:
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by SendIt » 06 Feb 2014, 8:54 am

boolia wrote:Less shoulder friendly though... Maybe I'm just soft :lol:


You're not the only one. I can certainly do without it.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by fuggle » 06 Feb 2014, 9:15 am

Google or youtube for hunting videos with '500m' or 600, 700 or whatever.

Plenty of 'bang flop' shots at those distances with .308.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by yoshie » 10 Feb 2014, 8:11 am

260 will match the trajectory of the big 300, with less punch than a 308, you'll be able to take most deer with it and varmint out to 500m. Or you could look at 6.5x284
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Warrigul » 10 Feb 2014, 8:41 am

threeoh wrote:Hi guys,

I'm thinking about getting a semi-heavy rifle mostly for the range, but also to camp out with here and there on a hunt.

In either case I wouldn't be shooting further than 500m max.

Any reason to go with the 300 win mag vs 308 inside this distance?

Or would .308 work just as well.

Cheers.


I won't get into the maximum hunting distance debate but perhaps the only compelling reason to have one inside shorter distances is the bigger weight projectiles you can run for use on larger animals up North.

I have both calibres and only keep the 300WM for use with big pills up North. Just my humble opinion but the .308 would be a better choice for cost, barrel wear(yes the 300 does wear barrels out at twice the rate of a mild .308) and long term punishment to your body.

I am over people who reckon you need huge powerful rifles for everything, especially down here on fallow(I use a .243 or a .303).

The 300WM is an awesome calibre but very punishing, over lots of rounds MOST people don't find it pleasant and all magnum calibres take a while to be able to shoot consistantly unless you are experienced.

Once again just my humble opinions.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by lole » 10 Feb 2014, 9:30 am

Warrigul wrote:...and long term punishment to your body.

I am over people who reckon you need huge powerful rifles for everything, especially down here on fallow(I use a .243 or a .303).

The 300WM is an awesome calibre but very punishing, over lots of rounds MOST people don't find it pleasant and all magnum calibres take a while to be able to shoot consistantly unless you are experienced.

Once again just my humble opinions.


I'm with you on that.

For threeoh, the only time I'd opt for the 300 win mag is if it was going to be a dedicated hunting rifle and you're only going to be pulling the trigger a couple of times per trip.

I see you're in VIC though so your obviously not hunting wilderbeast... TBH a .308 will do everything you want 99% as well. The only exception might be some huge Sambar or similar...

Not knocking the 300 win mag, if you wan't one just to try the calibre then all good.

For bench shooting though, there is no way I'd get a 300 win mag for 500m shooting. You're just punishing yourself with the recoil for no reason IMO.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by 1sikxt » 10 Feb 2014, 6:26 pm

yoshie wrote:260 will match the trajectory of the big 300, with less punch than a 308, you'll be able to take most deer with it and varmint out to 500m. Or you could look at 6.5x284

Iv got a 260 and love it
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by beerd » 10 Feb 2014, 7:55 pm

Warrigul wrote:I am over people who reckon you need huge powerful rifles for everything, especially down here on fallow (I use a .243 or a .303).


Keeping the .303 Brit alive :D
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Oldbloke » 10 Feb 2014, 10:22 pm

Perhaps compomise and go for a 3006.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by roob » 11 Feb 2014, 2:56 pm

Oldbloke wrote:Perhaps compomise and go for a 3006.


For hunting here I reckon that's the ceiling for what you need in Aus. Not much that will stand up to that.

For hunting I reckon 300 win mag is just extra recoil.

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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by threeoh » 14 Feb 2014, 9:08 am

Thanks for the detailed replies guys.

I was sort of dabbling with the idea of the 300 win mag for doing some real long range stuff from time to time, but it would only be for fun and a bit of mucking about occasionally. If I could do that and get some benefit inside my normal 100-500m range then I might have gone with it.

Not smart to go with it though for some fun 1% of the time while making it more expensive to shoot and more difficult the other 99% of the time.

I am going to go with .308
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by beerhog » 15 Feb 2014, 10:20 am

Slit the difference and buy a 30-06.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by loopal » 15 Feb 2014, 11:13 am

They don't seem to do many bench / semi-heavy barrels in 30-06 though?

Hunting rifles obviously, but not so much if it's mostly for the bench?
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by duncan61 » 10 Dec 2016, 2:41 pm

7mm rem mag with 160gr.If you can see it it is dead not too hard on recoil
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by deye243 » 10 Dec 2016, 3:05 pm

yes the good old 06 is a forgotten treasure for this kind of thing and still has a very good acuate barrel life where as most magnums are gone in 1000 rounds

or under .

so a rem 700 long range in 30-06 fits the bill just about perfect and still under $1600 , they shoot heavy pills far better than a 308W too .

EDIT I just had a look and they have a 1:10 twist so the berger 190g would be good at 2800 to 2850fps with a bc of .566 it would be a cracker

it has 1000ft-lb at 900y and still supersonic at 1200y with good barrel life .

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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by duncan61 » 10 Dec 2016, 4:31 pm

good option.Now I want one
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by sandgroperbill » 12 Dec 2016, 11:11 am

30-06 is also very, very versatile for the reloader. It really doesn't give much away to the 300wm when hunting, does everything just a bit better than .308, and easy to load nice and mild.
Different type of recoil, too. More a push than a punch. But, like anything a bit bigger, it's important to find a rifle that fits you properly.
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Re: 300 win mag vs 308 inside 500 metres

Post by Tiger650 » 10 Jan 2017, 7:51 am

Worth considering bore erosion in a range rifle, I have put 2K hot rds through a very accurate .308 without any loss of accuracy, no experience with the 300 but I reckon loading one up for max performance [and possibly max accuracy ?] may see you looking at a new barrel before that number.
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