Was at the range the other day and had a newbie to the sport touch off a 300wsm next to me. He was telling me how he picked this caliber because he could get over 3200fps from a 150gn bullet. I asked what he intended to shoot with this cannon and his response was foxes, rabbits, goats, pigs and roos the majority of which in the area he intends to hunt would be under 200pound (pigs), everything else could be dropped with a 223.

I wished him a merry xmas and had a little chuckle as he climbed into his WRX and drove off.



Now be clear, This is not a 300wsm or a WRX bash because both would be fantastic toys to own, but it did get me thinking about the influence marketing has when it comes to power and speed, and how a lot of us don't see the logic in choosing something more suitable to the task.



When I got home I decided to do a few calcs on a 150gn projectile with a B.C. of .350 leaving the muzzle at both 3200fps (300wsm) and 2900fps (308 win) and the results are a little tighter than one might expect.



I picked a zero of 200yds because I figure most things that would be shot by joe average with either of these calibers would be under this distance.



At 200yds the 300wsm would have 10% more energy.



The greatest deviation in bullet drop is around the 120yd mark where the 300 would be 0.5in flatter than the 308.



Take a 5 mph cross wind and the difference in bullet drift is no more than 0.2in over the entire distance.



If your target was travelling at 8 mph across the bullet's path, you would need to take about 10% extra lead with the slower bullet.



As for the drag race, when the 300wsm has travelled 200yds, the 308 has covered 185yds.



So are the advantages of an extra 300fps worth the extra 20% powder required, plus the added recoil and muzzle blast?



I'll leave that up to you!

Have a happy and safe New Year.



Cheers....

Boof.

Eventually, most hunters realize that the biggest factor they have control over is themselves, not the cartridge. If they can't hold up their end of the equation, the name "Magnum" doesn't usually make up the difference.

Once the shooter has his skills up to par, improvements in the cartridge and rifle do start to matter.

Personally, I see a lot of emphasis on the secondary things by some hunters/shooters. I guess thats OK, but it rarely means meat on the ground.

Boofead--Only 20% more powder? That was only stat you gave I would question.

Boof

I will mount the defense for the 300 WSM

It is of course true that for the animals and the ranges you selected the 300 WSM is a toy. However, let's make the assumption that 2900 f/s of the 308 is at the bare minimum.

The 300 WSM will achieve the 308's 2900 f/s with very low pressure. It can also do it with a very wide range of powders, could probably go close using balck powder . Perhaps neither rifle will deliver the desired accuracy with 150 grain bullets but only 180 grain bullets. In that case the 300 WSM can still do the 2900 f/s.

Now let us say our shooter has the opportunity to shoot larger anaimals at longer ranges. The 300 WSM shooter loads 200 grainers at 2800 f/s. In fact he could load 200 grain Noslers at 2800 and simply use that load for everything from roos to elk etc.

Economy you say!!! If we load the 300 WSM back to 2900 and neck size and neck anneal the case life will be just this side of forever. Also, it is generally accepted that the barrel life of calibre with a bigger case capacity if loaded back to the ballistics of the small case loaded to full pressure, will be longer.

But there is more Our shooter is hit with the desire to go for long range shooting, roos and pigs across the flats. The 300 WSM is a rebarrel (maybe a switch barrel)to 270 WSM. The 308 shooter needs a new rifle. As a by the way, check trajectories when both calibres are zeroed to same height at 100 yards as opposed to sighting them in at the same distance.

Maybe our shooter is going to step up to much bigger game. Our WSM boy rebarrels to either 338 WSM or 375 WSM. Again, a new rifle for the 308 shooter.

That will do for starters

Mike

Boofhead,
MOST EXCELLENT application of logic! I commend you, Sir!
Be safe and of good cheer,
Punch

You are certainly right. I learned essentially the same lessons the practical way. When I returned from three years at Ft. Wainwright, (Faibanks) Alaska, I was the proud owner of a .308 Norma Magnum, a .375 H&H, and a .270 Winchester with a 20" barrel. I had been reassigned to Ft. Carson, Colorado, which had known-distance rifle ranges out to and including 1000 yards. So I started shooting the .308 Norma with 150-grain (3350 FPS), 180 grain (3150 FPS), and 200 grain (3000 FPS) bullets. I was comparing it to the short-tubed .270 shooting both 130-grain (2875 FPS) and 150-grain (2800 FPS) bullets.



I was amazed at how little difference there was in long-range performance between the "big ol' magnum" .308 Norma and the "pipsqueak varmint rifle" .270! So I continued to use the .270 almost exclusively (as I had the previous three years in AK!!), but changed from the 150-grain Nosler Partition to the 130-grain Nosler Partition, on the theory that the lighter bullet would be sufficient for all game in the Lower 48, just as the 150 had been for everything I shot with it in Alaska. And it was, and still is! However, I now use a 7X57mm or a muzzleloader for all hunting today!



I ask the same question of all these new cartridges that Elmer Keith asked about the 8mm Rem. Mag., which came out after his beloved .338 Win. Mag.: "Yeah, but what good is it?"



It really is amazing the influence the marketing types have on us. They don't know their collective arses from a hole in the ground when it comes to guns, shooting, reloading, ballistics, etc. But they can sell us anything, whether we need it or not!

Mike,

You are right with what you are saying and as I stated this was never intended to bash any particular cartridge just a mere comparison of what 300fps really means.

I think a lot of people are getting caught up in the faster is better mentality because on paper, a cartridge can look so good because of a two or three hundred fps advantage.
In reality, once your up around 3000fps what looks so great on paper is negligible at normal hunting distances.

Cheers...

I have a rifle chambered for 300 APEX. Very close to the #2 Short Ackley Mag.

150 grain Noslers, 3200 FPS

It is my go to gun! Very accurate and mild recoil.

I have a 308 and a 300 WSM because they're both fun! I don't need any ballistic charts or calculators, just bullets, powder and an open place to shoot. When I buy a new rifle it is because I want it and I don't have to justify it to myself. 90% of my shooting is for varmints at long range and the last gun I purchased was a 375 H&H magnum, and I looked for it for two years!

Boof,

I can see you and I think alike. It is amazing if a few more people looked at the trajectory charts on a lot of cartridges, then we would probably have a lot fewer magnums sold in the USA and elsewhere I am sure.

Accuracy and shot placement is the name of the game more than anything else.

Accuracy is not a weak point in some magnums, but then it becomes a weak point when a lot of shooters can't handle the recoil or will shoot a less recoiling calilber a lot more accurately.

After seeing a nephew take a 600 lb plus cow elk with a 30/06 loaded to 30/30 velocities with a 165 grain ballistic tip at 175 yds, on a broadside shot with the elk at a full gallup and only making it 50 yds before being down for the count;
and then he took a large mule deer at 200 yds with the same load this year. The mule deer went straight down when hit.

The load is 30 grains of IMR 4198 in a 30/06 with a 165 grain ballistic tip, chronographed at 2250 fps at the muzzle., and the scope is a 3 x 9 Tasco world class, in a Weatherby Vanguard rifle.

Nothing flashy, but this 18 yr old kid has seen such accuracy and good results on this load from Antelope to Mule Deer to Elk, that he doesn't want to change a thing. Some day if maybe it fails him he will be open to another load of some sorts. All this from a kid who also wants a 300 Magnum, but refuses to give up his 30/06 and that load to get one.

Sometimes kids can be smarter than adults.

Cheers and Happy New Year.
seafire

Mike375--Perhaps a .308 (and throw in 30-06 too) that wont shoot 150 grainers? Maybe so? I'd bet heavier on a baby that you never have to change its diaper. But what do I know? I used 150 grainers in my 30-06 on moose when I was stationed in Alaska. Everyone knows that wont kill a moose. But they might die laughing at you for attempting such a whimmpy set up.

carpetman

I am sure you are right but the basic point is that the 300 WSM does not need to go down to light bullets so as to get a good turn of speed.

Mike

I think we all have our reasons for buying what we buy everyone is diffrent.For me i just bought a .257-wby this past year i also considered the 25-06 and 243 both would have been great for deer hunting.But i went with the wby because i loved the speed of a 100gr bullet going 3600fps now i can tell you i never shot to many deer over 200yards in my time so the 243 or 25-06 would have been a good buy.So why the wby?I'M A MAN and i felt the need for speed and i love it.Did i need it NO i just plan wanted it