.300 Winchester Magnum

Winchester developed the 300 Winchester Magnum center fire rifle cartridge based totally on their 338 Winchester Magnum cartridge. This was done by shifting the cartridge’s shoulder area forward by .156” thereby elongating the case .120” and narrowing it down to admit .308” diameter bullets. It was in the year 1963 that Winchester first introduced the new 300 Winchester Magnum cartridge to the people. It was chambered in their 70 bolt action rifle model that had a 1 in 10” rifling twist. Ever since its inception, the 300 Winchester Magnum cartridges have gained popularity among long range rifle shooters and hunters and have been utilized to win quite a few 1,000 yard matches in shooting competitions. It was soon discovered by hunters also that the rifle has enough power to tackle all kinds of animals in North America.

It was in the 1980’s that the story of the 300WM’s use for military sniping purposes and the US Navy began. The Navy had been on the lookout for different kinds of cartridges for the purpose of competitive shooting and for the use of sniping where USMC and Naval Special Operations were concerned. In the beginning they played around with a few wildcat cartridges and some others but none of them suited their purpose. The 300 Winchester Magnum caught their fancy in the late 1980’s for quite a few reasons which included the fact that as it was commercially produced it could easily be procured. As mentioned earlier, the cartridge also has the advantage of successful functioning in long range competitions. Apart from the US Navy shooting team, the other main interested organization was the Naval Special Warfare Forces or the SEALS as they are popularly called. It was then decided by the Navy that a single pattern of the 300 Winchester Magnum cartridges would be made to the satisfaction of both the parties concerned.

It is a known fact that the 7.62 by 51mm NATO cartridge is still the most popularly used cartridge when it comes to combat sniping in NATO countries and other parts of the world. But this supremacy was recently challenged by the increasing use of country rifles that utilize the very capable 338 Lapua cartridge. However, the USA has taken a different route and adopted the respected 300 Winchester Magnum for its current long range sniping purposes. For as many as three decades, the 300 Winchester Magnum in its current state has a history of military sniping uses in the United States.

The common lengths where barrels of the 300 Winchester Magnum are concerned are 24” and 26”; these showcase the discrepancy in the ballistics of the 300 Winchester Magnum. The variables range from choices of the riflescope and the riflescope mounts. For hunters the 300 Winchester Magnums is the rifle of choice as it can tackle big game such as grizzly Bears, Moose and Brown Bears. As these animals are quite large in size they offer a target zone that is 8 inches wide for the accurate rifle sight-in and a 4 inch mid-range is needed for the least amount of bullet trajectory effect. As such, for hunters, this becomes a gun of choice.