Ever since the development of gunpowder, men have been trying to create more and powerful weapons. With the advent of smokeless powder in the late 19th century, engineers, shooters, and cartridge designer similarly sought to create more and more powerful cartridges. The mid-20th century was perhaps the heyday of “magnum-itis,” with numerous powerful, flat-shooting, long-range cartridges being developed. While many of them faded into obscurity, some are still with us, including the .300 Winchester Magnum.
The .300 Win. Mag. was formed by shortening the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum case and necking it down to .30-caliber. The resulting cartridge offered a significant increase in powder capacity over the .30-06 Springfield, while still retaining the .30-06’s overall length. This meant that instead of having to build large, expensive, magnum-length rifle receivers, gun manufacturers could build the same receiver as a .30-06 rifle but chamber the barrel for the .300 Win. Mag.
The .300 Win. Mag. offers significantly more performance than the .30-06 and the .308 Winchester. Whereas the standard loading in those cartridges saw a 150-grain bullet being pushed at 2,700-2,800 feet per second, the .300 Win. Mag. can push that same bullet to nearly 3,300 feet per second. But that’s not where the .300 Win. Mag. gets its peak performance.
The .300 Win. Mag. really shines with heavier bullets, as it’s able to push heavier bullets far faster than .30-06. The .300 Win. Mag. can push a 200-grain bullet at nearly 3,000 feet per second, and a 230-grain bullet at nearly 2,800 feet per second. That means that peak energy levels of 4,000 foot-pounds of muzzle energy for the .300 Win. Mag. are 35-50% greater than .30-06 Springfield and .308 Winchester.
That increase in energy means an increase in recoil too, but for many shooters of .300 Win. Mag. rifles that isn’t a huge deal. Because of the fast speeds of the .300 Win. Mag., the cartridge is used mostly by long-range hunters, snipers, and target shooters, many of them using rifles that are heavier to dampen the recoil, or using muzzle brakes to further eliminate recoil. The cartridge is in use with numerous militaries around the world, as its high speed and good bullet selection allow for flatter shooting and greater energy retention at long range.
The .300 Winchester Magnum remains one of the most popular magnum rifle cartridges in the US, beloved by many hunters, especially those facing long shots over open land in the West, or those hunting elk, bear, and other large game. Factory ammunition isn’t cheap, with the cheapest rounds coming in at 70-80 cents per round. But ammunition is readily available all over the country at sporting goods stores and big box stores. If you have the need to reach out and touch someone, and you can handle the additional recoil of large magnum cartridges, then the .300 Winchester Magnum could fill a very useful niche in your survival armory.
Image: Grasyl