Ok, so I've searched SH and a few other sites and I'm reading a lot of mixed thoughts on this subject. I've read the SWAT issue where mike at Tacops says that he didnt have any loss in velocity with the 22" barrel while shooting FGMM 190gr factory ammo, so this leaves me debating on whether to take a chance at 22" or to stay with my original plan of 24". This rifle would be used for hunting and target shooting and will be suppressed 100% of the time and because of that I want to try to keep the OAL of the rifle as short as possible. I would really like to try 208 Amaxes as well as the 210vld's. With all of this being said, is a 22" 300 win mag an effective setup at 1500-1600 yards? I most certainly will not be engaging an animal at this distance, but I have a lot of land at our family ranch and I would like to start playing at further distances. I currently shoot a 20" trg22 (308) and I have been very successful out to 1200yds using 178gr Amaxes and 44.5 gr varget. Does anyone on here shoot a 22" 300 win mag? If so, what were your results? Thank you!
22" 300 win mag
- Thread starter Dutch405
- Start date
I do not own a .300 WM myself but studied and researched them a good bit. At 22" you should be fine to 1500-1600. If your an accomplished enough shooter to shoot a .308 at 1200 and make even somewhat consistent hits, you should be able to do the same with a WinMag.
I would definitely run the 208 Amax, 215 Berger, or 230 Berger Hybrid if you keep it at 22". You should be able to run them all above 2750, and the lighter 208/215 at 2850.
I would definitely run the 208 Amax, 215 Berger, or 230 Berger Hybrid if you keep it at 22". You should be able to run them all above 2750, and the lighter 208/215 at 2850.
Thank you so much for the reply pusher! I've been reading about some guys having a blackops jaeger built and actually running them with a 20" barrel. I wouldn't want to go that short but I sure like the way they look. Is it true that the shorter my barrel is, the smaller the bullet needs to be? (Like the 190 smk) I also read somewhere that the military's new 300win mag is run with a 22" barrel. Does anyone know this to be true? Thank you again for the reply!
I recently gave this considerable thought and sought the advice of people who should know the answer. I just built a 300 Win mag that is 24 inches long. I almost regretted not making it 26" when I finally considered all of the relevant issues. There are costs and benefits to the 300 Win mag ground that I think need to be considered.
The benefit of the 300wm is very high velocity that can reach out to a considerable distance. But the only way to take advantage of that, is to have a barrel that is sufficiently long to allow all of the powder to be burned up before the bullet leaves the barrel. Most experts agree that 26 inches or longer is optimal. If one is trying to reach the limit of the round, then 28, or even 30 inches might be warranted.
There seems to be not too much loss by cutting 26” down to 24 inches. The day before yesterday, I fired 190 grain Sierra match kings, federal, out of my 24 inch barrel and chronographed them at an average of 2986 ft./s.
The downsides to the 300 Win mag are much shorter barrel life and potentially higher recoil, unless you plan on either suppressing or attaching a muzzle brake. Also, the factory match rounds seem to be at least a third to a half more expensive than 308. There is no point in paying all that in barrel life and in ammunition expense if you are not going to get a significant benefit at distance.
Since I was building a precision tactical rifle, and not necessarily interested in reaching the outer limits of the 300 WinMag potential, I opted for a 24 inch compromise. I think I gave up very little, 24inches is a little more maneuverable with a possible slight increase in barrel rigidity. With the velocity I am getting, I would not be surprised to get to 1400-1500 yards, if not a mile, but it remains to be seen.
The benefit of the 300wm is very high velocity that can reach out to a considerable distance. But the only way to take advantage of that, is to have a barrel that is sufficiently long to allow all of the powder to be burned up before the bullet leaves the barrel. Most experts agree that 26 inches or longer is optimal. If one is trying to reach the limit of the round, then 28, or even 30 inches might be warranted.
There seems to be not too much loss by cutting 26” down to 24 inches. The day before yesterday, I fired 190 grain Sierra match kings, federal, out of my 24 inch barrel and chronographed them at an average of 2986 ft./s.
The downsides to the 300 Win mag are much shorter barrel life and potentially higher recoil, unless you plan on either suppressing or attaching a muzzle brake. Also, the factory match rounds seem to be at least a third to a half more expensive than 308. There is no point in paying all that in barrel life and in ammunition expense if you are not going to get a significant benefit at distance.
Since I was building a precision tactical rifle, and not necessarily interested in reaching the outer limits of the 300 WinMag potential, I opted for a 24 inch compromise. I think I gave up very little, 24inches is a little more maneuverable with a possible slight increase in barrel rigidity. With the velocity I am getting, I would not be surprised to get to 1400-1500 yards, if not a mile, but it remains to be seen.
Last edited:
another member here shoots a 20' 300wm out to a mile I believe
search for post by member named JRob
search for post by member named JRob
