.300 Winchester Magnum

A lot of new things have happened with the 300 Win Mag over the past few years. The US Army has made a major push to adopt it for their new versions of the M24 SWS and as such a new emphasis was placed on making it an effective cartridge for 1500 meter engagements. The 300 WM is an outstanding cartridge for military sniping, but as you might imagine, it offers a lot of power and penetration, which limits its role in Law Enforcement. The Secret Service does use the .300 WM, but they're situation is rare and unique and they do not typically have to be concerned with hostage situations. They just need to insure that the possible assassin is stopped, and the .300 WM is a good caliber to do that. The .300 WM is also a great round for going through media in order to hit the target. With the new heavier loads the .300 is very capable of extending well past 1000 meters reliably. One big criticism of the .300 WM is the amount of recoil that the round produces and how hard it is on barrels. Yes, it can punish the shooter but with heavy tactical rifles and even potentially the use of effective muzzlebrakes the recoil can be managed. Proper training can help as well.

Recommendation: The .300 WM is high recommended for military use, but not so for Law Enforcement use. If a suitable round can be found that limits over-penetration, the .300 WM could be a very flexible cartridge, even offering good armor penetration with the right ammo selection.

Military Applications

Note: We have selected two loads here, the A191 which is the same as the Federal Match .300 WM 190gr and the new Mk248 Mod1 220gr load. The A191 has been around for a long time now and has been very effective over the years. The new heavier Mk248 is a more recent development designed specifically for longer range engagements.

  • A191 = 190gr Sierra Match King at 2900fps
  • Mk248Mod1 = 220gr Sierra Match King at 2830fps

Bullet Drop (Inches)
  100y 91m 200y 183m 300y 275m 400y 366m 500y 458m 600y 549m 700y 641m 800y 732m 900y 824m 1000y 915m 1100y 1007m 1200y 1098m
A191 +20.6 +38.1 +50.2 +56.3 +55.4 +46.6 +28.6 Zero -41.1 -96.6 -169.1 -261.3
Mk248Mod1 +20.2 +37.1 +48.6 +54.2 +52.9 +44.2 +26.9 Zero -37.8 -88.0 -152.4 -233.0


Energy (Muzzle - A191 - 3547Ft-Lbs., Mk248Mod1 - 3912)
A191 3134 2760 2423 2118 1845 1598 1378 1183 1013 867 744 644
Mk248Mod1 3519 3159 2828 2525 2249 1996 1766 1557 1368 1199 1050 921


Wind Drift (Inches) 10 mph Crosswind
A191 0.6 2.4 5.5 10.0 16.2 24.2 34.1 46.2 60.8 78.0 98.1 121.1
Mk248Mod1 0.5 2.0 4.7 8.6 13.9 20.6 28.8 38.8 50.7 64.6 80.8 99.4


Law Enforcement Applications
Note: We have chosen two rounds that could be possible candidates for Law Enforcement use, and while the accuracy and ballistics performance of the two rounds is good, we have over penetration concerns about both the loads. Please ensure proper tests are executed to investigate the penetration potential of these rounds and insure that they will fit the needs of your department. Always insure there is a good backstop behind the target if the shot must be made.

  • HSM 168gr = HSM 168gr HPBT Sierra Match King at 3150fps
  • Win ETip = Winchester 150gr ETip at 3260 fps
Bullet Drop (Inches)
  50y 46m 100y 91m 200y 183m 300y 275m
HSM 168gr -0.3 Zero -2.5 -9.7
Win ETip -0.3 Zero -2.2 -8.8


Energy (Muzzle: HSM 168gr=3701 Ft-Lbs. Win ETip=3539)
HSM 168gr 3453 3220 2792 2408
Win ETip 3308 3090 2690 2333


Wind Drift (Inches) 10mph Crosswind
HSM 168gr 0.1 0.6 2.4 5.7
Win ETip 0.1 0.6 2.3 5.3

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