WB
.308 vs .300 Win. Mag
Monday, December 21, 2020, 07:47

Doug and I were discussing rifles for Africa. We know the game is tough and Doug said ranges can be 200-300 yds., in some instances, hopefully closer, but what if. We both have big rifles and get the snot kicked out of us playing on the bench. It’s tolerable and for the “money shot” you’d not notice anyway. I have my delicious .416 Rigby that is tamed a bit with proper stocking and brake. I can just shoot 350’s and hammer anything big or small. Doug’s 9.3 is a slick rig and well proven worldwide too. On his trip he used a .300 Winchester too and was impressed for the plains critters. It is a nice caliber but do you really, really, need the extra zip over the more domestic standards many of us already own?

I have a delightful little .308, a classic Remington Police Model or Varmint Special 700 HB with proper bedded synthetic stock. It’s a shooting machine capable of ½ MOA with the right loads. It nominally pushes a 180 gr. bullet at 2600 fps. They make the same gun in .300 Winchester. For the 40% increase in powder capacity you garner 13-14% more velocity. Looking at ballistics you indeed gain 25% more energy and ballistics have a 200 yd. head start. But it’s literally the same 180 gr. bullet. That edge is maintained with distance. So a 300 yd. hit with the .300 is the same impact as the .308 from 500 yds. A hit at 500 yds. with a .300 Mag. is still pretty substantial. Does it really matter with game? Also shooting characteristics come into play. The 10 lb .308 does not recoil to a notable degree, the .300 Win. mag in the same format recoils a lot more and is accompanied with a big blast using 75 gr. of powder compared to 45 grs. It’s up to the shooter to tie down that difference in shootability and harness the ballistic edge.

So does the .308 sniper rig take a back seat to the .300 in the hunting fields or is it more up to the shooter? Will a tough animal notice?