I want either a 300 or 338 for long range work and play...like out to 500 yards on the play side or more.
Which one will give me more accuracy out to 300-500 yards? Which is the more accurate inherently?

I've never shot my .338 WinMag at anything over 350 yards so I don't know if it would a better long range gun than my .300 WinMag. My .300 WinMag is my long range gun and I enjoy shooting it out to and beyond 500 yards. Of the two calibers, IMHO, the .300 is more inherently accurate. I think that at 500 yards the .300 and the .338 will kill about the same. As for me, I keep my .338 and larger for things closer than 300 yards, maybe even closer.

Namibiahunter

I use a 300 Win Mag and love it. I thought I had the prefect long range run until my father and I went Antelope hunting. He brought his 30-378 Weatherby and I was impressed. That is now the family’s long range gun. I have never fired a 338 and I love my 300 but if you want a very, very long range gun I would look at the 30-378.

30-378 burns a ton of powder to juussst barely beat the RUM over the chrono. The RUM burns about 15gr more than the 300win. I would opt for the 300win between the 2 you listed as a higher BC pill can be launched at higher MV from a 300win vs the 338win. Plus, the recoil isless from a 200gr pill in 308 than a 250gr pill in 338.

My choice was the 300RUM and it is baaadddd azzz but burns a lot of powder ~90gr +/- for 200-210gr pills and only drops 23 moa from a 100yd zero to 1000yds.

I've got a 300 weatherby and a 338 win mag. I never use my 300 weatherby othan than the occassional long range plinking/gopher killing/coyote eradication. I love my 338 winny because I can load it with bigger bullets, and it doesn't destroy game at short distances like the wetherby.

However, this really doesn't answer your questions. My 300 weatherby shoots quite a bit flatter out past 250 yards. It is also probably more accurate at ranges past 300 yards. That said, that's never mattered to me b/c I never shoot at anything other than varmints out past 300 yards (pigs are varmints in my book). In my mind, the 338 is a better buy.

Depends on what you are shooting at.
The .300 WM is generally much more accurate period. I have had half dozen .338s, and was never satisfied with their accuracy. My Sako .300 WM will put 3 shots in one ragged hole at 100 yards. The other 2 rounds opened the group to 1/2". I've had a hard time getting 1-1/2" with my .338s unless I use a heavy round nose, which cuts into the long range trajectory.

300 Weatherby is better. Shoots flatter than either one.
Ken

Both are accurate, but the 300 Win is the better choice as .308" bullets come in every conceivable shape and weight. Why not consider the 308 Winchester? It will do anything the others will at 500 yards, and it will do it with less recoil.

For long range work the 300 wins hands down!
338WM aint no slouch though

300 win mag hands down. I own 2 identical rifles in 300 win mag and 338 win mag. I like to run bullets close to 3000 fps. The 300 win mag will push the 200 gr Accubond to 2950 and the 180 gr bullets to 3100 fps. The best I have been able to do in the 338 win mag is 2875 with 210 gr bullets and 2775 with 225 gr bullets.

The 300 win mag always seems to exceed my expectations while the 338 win mag just doesn't quite get there.

I am contemplating rechambering the 338 win mag to a 338 RUM. For me, it is more preferable to load down to where I want to be than push max all the time.

I'm with JustC and the 300 RUM would be a great choice.

JMHO, flame away.

The 338 RUM With the 300 gr Seirra Match bullet @2650 -2700 fps or mayby the 225 gr GSC SP @ 3000 fps ....The 338/378 Is pretty AWESOME also ,., and not nearly as violent as I thot it would be ......

Either the 300win or 338win can do what you are wanting to do.

If you are wanting faster, 300rum is a good one also

Apples to apples, 338 bullets will tend to have a higher BC than 308 bullets. Most 1000 yd shooters look towards a 338 lapua or a 338-378 Wby. In practicality, .308 win, 300 win, 30-06, and 338 win are all good to 500 yds.

quote:

Originally posted by gumboot458:
The 338 RUM With the 300 gr Seirra Match bullet @2650 -2700 fps or mayby the 225 gr GSC SP @ 3000 fps ....The 338/378 Is pretty AWESOME also ,., and not nearly as violent as I thot it would be
......

It's a riot to shoot for sure... It's not their most accurate round but if your luck is with you, you can get an accurate one... I was lucky on my Accumark and it shoots sub MOA (5/8 to 3/4 in at 100) with my hand loads... I'm shooting 225 grain Barnes TSX and MRX at roughly 3150 to 3200 fps and just love the "thump" you get when you touch it off ...

Ken....

All true posts but that does not tell the whole story, the difference in trajectory in all the mentioned calibers is very very little indeed, and in the field it cannot even be taken into consideration as it has no validity under field conditions, you can wiggle on just as easy as you can wiggle off..

Hold over is the easy part, doping the wind is very hard to do..

The 300s with a 200 gr. bullet or the .338 with a 200 or 225 gr. bullet are real close. I shoot both the 300 H&H and the .338..for hunting purposes I like the heavy .338 bullets and use a little more holdover I suppose, but they are less wind effected..

Bottom line is you won't be able to tell the difference except the .338 is a slightly better killer and that just my opinion.

Its a push in the real world...On paper the 300 has the edge, but paper kills poorly.

I use the 338 win mah on deer out to 400 plus yards.I like the 338-378 better for longer rang work.It adds 250-300 yards to the 338s range.Look at longrangehunting.com They shoot deer out to 1000 yards and further with the serria 300 gr match king and elk.I am not sure about using it but they kill alot of stuff way past 500 yards.I use my 338-378 on the tundra and my 338 in the woods.I have 3x9 scopes on my 338s and 6.5x20 scopes on my 338-378s.Its a big differece.If you were building a rifle for long range I would go with the 338-378 in a 30" bareel it adds 250-300 fps over the factory 26" barrel of the 338-378.I like both the 338 win mag which I have 12 of those and I have 2 338-378s .I find myself hunting with the 338-378 about 95% of the time on the tundra and the 338 5% of the time in the woods.The 338 is cheaper to shoot and rifles are less.

I fully agree with Ray on the 300 killing poorly.I had two of them.I couldnt find a decient bullet for short and long range.It either blew up or zipped through deer.It ruined too much meat when it blew up and acted like a solid when bullets were too hard.When I first used the 338 win mag I used 210 nosler partitions on deer they were too tough for up close deer so I switched to 200 gr Winchester power points.I have shot 95 deer from 3 yards to 425 yards with all TKO .You will be suprised the first animal you shoot with the 338.I have not used it on elk buts I heard its awesome for Elk.I sold my 300 and shooting mostly my 338,338-378 and 416 rem mag for all the game I shoot.

Big Cabin
We have both .300 & .338 Win. Mags in our gun room. Both are M70's, purchased at the same time, & each is topped with a 3X9.

Accuracy is more than you will ever need with either one in a field situation. Recoil is a bit sharper with the .300, & more of a hard push
with the .338. The .300 does ruin meat at close range.

Some years ago, Rick Jamison did an in depth article on comparative accuracy among various cartridges. His conclusion was that the .300 Win. Mag. was the most accurate big game chambering. If memory serves me, the .338 was not far behind.

I am told that Nosler uses a .308 for 30 caliber testing up to 168 grains, & either .300 Win. Mag. for heavter stuff.

IMO, the .338 is a better pure big game hunting caliber, while the .300 would be a lot of fun with lighter bullets at extreme range.

Ray, how do you figure that the 338 is less effected by the wind? Data I have for the 308 bullets in both 180 gr. and 200 gr. vs. the 338 in either 225 gr. or 250 gr. loaded to standard velocities for the calibers shows just the opposite!

I have tested both of my guns at 400 and 500 yards here in Southern Idaho on very windy days and the .338 was a consistant winner, I suspect the heavy bullet had something to do with it..I was using the 300 H&H

I wouldn't argue the difference as any way you cut it I doubt that the difference would be decernable in the field...and like I said both work well.

Agreed that they're not that different w.r.t. wind deflection on paper, but quite a few Long Range Competitors use the 300 WM very successfully out to 1000 yds and beyond but I have yet to see or hear of one shoot a 338 WM at longer ranges, at least in competition. At those ranges, wind bucking ability and doping the wind is EVERYTHING! Same holds for the H&H, which has won at Wimbledon and can be loaded very close to 300 WM velocities, as you well know.