Flat shooting hard hitting cartridges rule in the fast changing shooting market. The magnum class cartridges represent the new standard. Many people find the names confusing and while the ever popular and classic .300 Winchester magnum is still a fine and relevant cartridge it has been surpassed by the new generation of super magnums.
What is a Magnum?
The word “Magnum” was originally used to describe a stretched case and more powerful round. When cartridges were adapted from black powder to smokeless there was more room in the cases. This was because of the denser smokeless powder. When these cases were filled to full capacity they were lengthened slightly to keep them from being chambered in guns that weren’t strong enough for the pressure of the full load.
The best example of this is the .357 magnum handgun cartridge. There was extra room in the .38 special cartridge but the guns of the era weren’t up to snuff so they lengthened the round for safety and labeled it a magnum. The new world of magnums hasn’t followed this nomenclature and it can be very hard to decipher what is and what is not a “magnum.”
As a general rule a magnum cartridge is a round designed to surpass most standard cartridges in velocity or power. A .30-06 is generally considered the standard in power, thus the .300 Winchester magnum is a step up in power from the .30-06. This is only a step up in velocity but not in bullet diameter.
One can generally expect magnum performance from stepping up in bullet diameter regardless of velocity. For example, a .35 Whelen could be considered a “magnum” of a .30-06 because it offers more power than the .30-06 but is a step up in bullet diameter.
Understand that a “magnum” has become more marketing than anything else and is just shorthand for more power than standard cartridges. You have to dive deep and look to ballistic tables and real world data and decide for yourself what a “magnum” is.
300 Winchester Magnum vs .338 Lapua Magnum
300 Win Mag | .338 Lapua Mag | |
|---|---|---|
Ballistics | 165gr bullet @3,100 fps | 250gr bullet @2,900 fps |
Recoil | 26lbs with 8lbs rifle | 37lbs with 10lbs rifle |
Barrel Life | ~1,500rds | ~2,500rds |
These two cartridges while labeled magnums aren’t even in the same league. The .300 Winchester magnum is an all-around cartridge for north American big game, European hunting and African plains game. It is a superb, fast killer of game out to extended ranges.
The .338 Lapua has limited uses as a hunting round. It has plenty of power for almost anything that walks or crawls on this planet but doesn’t meet the minimum requirements for bore diameter that many African countries require for dangerous game hunting.
While the .300 Winchester magnum shines as an all-around hunting cartridge out to extended ranges the .338 Lapua magnum is really only good for extreme long range cartridge on large bodied game.
The .338 Lapua is a boomer on both ends and requires a heavy long rifle with a deafening muzzle break to make it a useable rifle, it is only really useful for militaries.
.300 Winchester Magnum
Image by sloth2048
The .300 Winchester magnum is one of the classic American cartridges. Among the best cartridges for hunting all North American game, a sportsman is likely to encounter the .300 win mag. It is a full length magnum based loosely on a necked down .338 win mag but with a longer case and the shoulder stretched as far forward as possible.
The barrel life of a .300 win mag is around 1,500 rounds for its best accuracy. Known as a barrel burner the accuracy of the .300 win mag is also called into question because it has a belted case. The belt on the back of the case is to keep the round from being forced into a standard receiver, but it allows for wiggle room because it indexes so far back on the case.
The best use of the .300 win mag is for hunting large bodied game and target shooting at long distance. The recoil of the .300 win mag is substantial with heavy bullets. The ability to push 200 grain bullets with high ballistic coefficients is its strong suit. The long range potential of a stout, heavy bullet at long range is the reason the .300 win mag is so popular.
The Good
- Extremely versatile, good for about any game in North America
- Stout recoil, but manageable without excess weight or muzzle breaks
- Common bore with many bullet options
- Well stocked and common cartridge available in abundance of rifles
Not So Good
- Barrel life can be short on a hard use gun
- Accuracy can suffer because of the belt on the case
- This round is expensive to shoot
.338 Lapua Magnum
Image by Beau Jaramillo
The .338 Lapua magnum is perhaps the best serving “super magnum” to come out in the past few years. Developed by Lapua as a light anti-material round for the military as a stand between the 7.62x51 and the .50BMG it is a smoking round. It has the effective range of just a tad over 1 mile and arrives there with enough punch to penetrate 5 layers of body armor.
The .338 Lapua also has the distinction of being the first cartridge dedicated specifically for sniping. This cartridge delivers a mountain of power and kicks extremely hard at both ends. It's also exceedingly accurate. It is a freight train of energy and is almost impossible to shoot without a muzzle break.
So does this military power house have any real sporting uses? Yes, but with reservations. First, it’s tough to shoot well and requires long heavy rifles with loud muzzle breaks. If you light one of these cannons off without ear protection expect permanent hearing damage. This relegates it to range work and extreme range hunting.
On the range it’s fun to shoot, really, really fun to shoot. But expensive and banned on many ranges because it penetrates too far and damages steel targets and berms. However, if you don’t mind the bulk, price and kick it is great for hunting big, heavily bodied game at long range. Ethics of shooting at an animal at 1,000 yards aside, if you were so inclined this is the tool to do it with.
The Good
- You can hunt anything on planet earth with one
- Penetration, with a properly selected bullet won't ever be a problem
- Distance is no longer a problem
Not So Good
- Lacks utility because of the extreme power but isn't legal for dangerous game
- Requires long, heavy rifles with muzzle breaks that aren't suited for hunting
- Very expensive and hard to find ammunition
- Rifle selection is somewhat limited and very specialized
Final Word
The main selling point of the magnum cartridges are the increased range and killing power. But it comes at the cost of increased recoil, muzzle blast and an exceedingly high price of ammunition. If you need a magnum for long range hunting, target shooting or chasing heavy bodied game. The argument of 300 Win Mag vs 338 Lapua Mag falls into how much killing power you need for the job at hand. Paired with a muzzle break an iron clad shoulder and a pocket full of cash these rounds are blast to shoot.
