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300wm vs 300 norma in 22-24"?

jzerfoss

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 29, 2019
919
638
WV and VA
So I have had multiple long throated 300wms with 26" barrels. I normally run 225gr eldms at around 2860fps with H1000 and have had 230gr hybrids up to 2900fps with RL26. I plan on doing a shorter barrel(22ish") for my Desert tech so my question is would buying into a 300 Norma really get me much if any extra velocity from a shorter barrel. I wouldn't think that the extra capacity that the Norma has would help that much in a 22" barrel but I don't have experience with it?

Anyone out there shooting heavies from shorter barreled 300wm or 300 Norma that can give me velocities to compare?
 
I shoot a bunch of different long and short barreled magnums in my SRS really the main reason I even have the shorties is because they're lighter and handier to use in certain situations. My firebreather is an 18" .338LM that's not at all practical beyond 1200 yards, but those heavy bullets buck wind a lot better than 120s or 175s in high wind.

Crunching the numbers in QL, you're honestly not going to see a big improvement in velocity if you jump up to a .300NM. Don't get me wrong, .300NM owns, but if you've already got .300WM barrels, bolt, and reloading gear, it just make sense to stay with that cartridge.

1636484280902.png

.300NM shooting 220s @ 2888fps out of a 22" barrel

1636484389941.png

.300WM shooting same 220s @ 2736fps out of 22" barrel
 
I shoot a bunch of different long and short barreled magnums in my SRS really the main reason I even have the shorties is because they're lighter and handier to use in certain situations. My firebreather is an 18" .338LM that's not at all practical beyond 1200 yards, but those heavy bullets buck wind a lot better than 120s or 175s in high wind.

Crunching the numbers in QL, you're honestly not going to see a big improvement in velocity if you jump up to a .300NM. Don't get me wrong, .300NM owns, but if you've already got .300WM barrels, bolt, and reloading gear, it just make sense to stay with that cartridge.

View attachment 7737526
.300NM shooting 220s @ 2888fps out of a 22" barrel

View attachment 7737528
.300WM shooting same 220s @ 2736fps out of 22" barrel
Awesome, thanks for the data! Honestly 150fps might be worth it to me so I wonder how close that data is to real world results. I appreciate the info.
 
Not what you're looking for but I run a 22" 338 AI out of my DT and get 2704 fps using 300 gr bullets. Like Dogtownsaid, bucks the wind better bit not ideal for anything last 1400 for mine. I have a 26" 300 WM barrel but I'm running a DT... the 4" are almost a good muzzle break for me. Not sure that helps but I'd go 300WM. Lots bullet options to get the speed up. Can with the Norma but not sure it's truly worth it