The 30-30 Winchester and the 300 Win Mag are two iconic 30 caliber cartridges. Both of these rounds have a reputation of being reliable, dependable, and have been used to take all kinds of game animals. However, these two rounds are not often compared, so, in this article, we will compare these two rounds to see which is better and why that cartridge is better.
Here is the short answer:
The 300 Winchester Magnum has much more energy than the 30-30 as well as much more velocity, less wind drift, and can be hand loaded with a wider variety of bullets. However, the 30-30 has been around much longer and is less expensive to shoot.
Now that we have looked at the short answer, we can look closer at each cartridge, and compare these two rounds in-depth to see why one is better than the other.
30-30 Winchester
One of the more historic cartridges to have been made is the 30-30. It was invented in 1895 as one of the first smokeless powder cartridges ever made. Since its invention, it has been used to take just about every animals in North America with the exception of moose and grizzly bear.
As far as what you can use the 30-30 for, it is best used for medium sized game to the smaller big game animals. These include wild hogs, whitetail deer, and pronghorn. The 30-30 has been used on elk on a few occasions but is generally considered too light to reliably take game of that manner.
The one major downside to the 30-30 is that it doesn’t have good long range ballistics. It loses much of its energy past 200 yards. If you are hunting at close range this isn’t a huge deal, but if you want to take shots past around the 200 yards mark, a round such as the 243 Winchester would be a better option.
Here is a ballistics chart of the 30-30 Winchester with a 170-grain soft point bullet:
| range (YD) | drop (IN) | wind drift (IN) | velocity FPS | energy ft-lb |
| 0 | -1.5 | 0 | 2200 | 1827 |
| 50 | 0.3 | 0.4 | 2044 | 1577 |
| 100 | 0 | 1.8 | 1894 | 1354 |
| 150 | -2.8 | 4.3 | 1753 | 1159 |
| 200 | -8.4 | 8.1 | 1619 | 990 |
| 250 | -17.2 | 13 | 1494 | 843 |
| 300 | -30 | 19.4 | 1380 | 719 |
| 350 | -47.5 | 27.3 | 1279 | 617 |
| 400 | -70.3 | 36.7 | 1191 | 535 |
| 450 | -99.3 | 47.6 | 1118 | 472 |
| 500 | -135.4 | 59.9 | 1060 | 424 |
300 Winchester magnum
When most people think about getting a cartridge for western big game hunting, they think about the 300 Winchester magnum. That’s because it is one of the most popular big game hunting cartridges. It is often considered to be able to comfortably take all game animlas in North America, so it is bound to be a popular choice for those who are looking at hunting the bigger and even dangerous game of North America.
The 300 Win mag isn’t just popular among big game hunters, but also long range shooters, and it is even used by many militaries around the world. This is because of its reliability and, more prominently, its powerful energy.
There are two main issues with the 300 Win mag. The first it that it has a lot of recoil which can be hard for some shooters to handle. The second issue is that the 300 Win mag is an expensive round to shoot. It often costs upwards of 2 dollars a round which is quite a lot and can run up a range bill quickly.
Here is a ballistics chart of the 300 Win Mag with a 180-grain soft point bullet:
| Range (YD) | drop (IN) | wind drift (IN) | velocity FPS | energy ft-lb |
| 0 | -1.5 | 0 | 2960 | 3502 |
| 50 | -0.2 | 0.1 | 2852 | 3250 |
| 100 | 0 | 0.7 | 2746 | 3013 |
| 150 | -0.9 | 1.6 | 2643 | 2791 |
| 200 | -3.1 | 2.9 | 2542 | 2582 |
| 250 | -6.6 | 4.5 | 2443 | 2385 |
| 300 | -11.6 | 6.6 | 2346 | 2200 |
| 350 | -18.2 | 9.2 | 2252 | 2027 |
| 400 | -26.5 | 12.3 | 2160 | 1864 |
| 450 | -36.6 | 15.9 | 2070 | 1712 |
| 500 | -48.8 | 20 | 1982 | 1570 |
In-depth comparison
Ballistics: The 30-30 has about 1800 less foot pounds of energy at the muzzle, nearly 100 more inches of drop at 500 yards, and 40 more inches of wind drift at 500 yards. So overall, the 30-30 is the ballistically inferior cartridge and will be worse for long range hunting or hunting big game.
Versatility: Because the 300 Win Mag can be loaded and is available with a wider array of bullet weights, it is a more versatile round. Additionally, the 300 Win Mag can effectively be used for everything from grizzly bear to deer while the 30-30 is really only best for deer, hogs, and pronghorn.
Recoil: Since the 300 Win Mag has a much larger case than the 30-30, it is going to have a lot more recoil. So shooters who are sensitive to recoil should stray away from the 300 Win mag in turn for the 30-30.
Price: Also because of the larger case size of the 300 Winchester magnum, it is going to cost more than the 30-30. So if you are looking to shoot more without worrying about your budget, then you would prefer the 30-30.
Conclusion
Both of these iconic rounds are respected for separate things. The 300 Win mag is better for long range shooting and taking big game like elk, moose, grizzly bear, or bison. The 30-30 is a less expensive round better for close range shooting and deer size game rather than the North American giants.