Magnum cartridges than for the same number of .300 WSM cartridges. For the .300 Win. Mag., an additional pound of powder is required for each 1,400 rounds loaded. Whether or not the slightly better efficiency of the .300 WSM is worth more than a hill of beans depends on how many rounds are loaded each year. It obviously can be quite important to an ammunition manufacturer who loads thousands of rounds annually, but far less so to the hunter who loads only a few rounds for his deer rifle each year. In other words, only the individual handloader can decide if the difference in efficiency is enough to make him choose one cartridge over the other.
Then we have the matter of recoil. Our perception of recoil is influenced by many things, including the shape of a riflestock and how well its pad soaks it up, but if the various .30-caliber magnums are fired in identical rifles, some are more comfortable to shoot than the others under certain circumstances. As illustrated in the recoil comparison chart, there is very little difference in recoil between the .300 H&H Magnum, .300 WSM, and .300 Win. Mag., but it starts to increase as we move up to the faster .300 Weatherby Magnum. We then have a substantial jump between that cartridge and the .300 Remington Ultra Mag. Do recoil energy figures on paper accurately equate to actually shooting those cartridges? At the benchrest, I find the .300 H&H and .300 WSM a tad more comfortable to shoot, and while the .300 Win. Mag. and .300 Weatherby do kick a bit more, those two feel about the same to my shoulder. I can really tell a difference when switching to the .300 Ultra Mag. On the other hand, when shooting game in the field, I am never conscious of a rifle’s kick, and for that reason all .300 magnum cartridges feel the same.
We have also been given several reasons why one of the new breed of super-short magnum .30 cartridges is the thing to have, while long, slim .30 magnums are out of style. One argument in favor of the super-stubbies is their greater efficiency. A look at the efficiency comparison chart on page 56 backs up that opinion with fact, but are the differences enough to really matter? As you can see, when the maximum loads of five .300 magnum cartridges listed in six reloading manuals were compared, the .300 WSM produced an average of 45 fps in velocity for each grain of powder used. Closest to it in propellant stinginess is the .300 H&H Magnum at 43 fps, while the .300 Winchester Magnum averaged 41 fps. Looking at it another way, when the three cartridges are loaded to maximum velocities with 180-grain bullets, the .300 WSM burns an average of 3 grains less powder than the .300 H&H and 5 grains less than the .300 Win. Mag.
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