Magnum
The U.S. Army has ordered 38.4 million rounds of .300 Winchester magnum ammunition for its newly modified M-24 sniper rifles, as well as similar SOCOMs Mk13 models. The new ammo will cost about $1.30 per round. The .300 Winchester magnum will be ordered in minimum lots of 56,160 rounds (117 boxes of 480 rounds each). The entire 38.4 million rounds will last a while.
Seems they want more range than the 308 but less weight than a 50.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:44 am
But… that’s a cartridge designed solely to kill animals at long range, it has no place on a foreign battlefield.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:57 am
I have a .300 WM and a .300 WSM. Great for mule deer and especially good for elk. It’s a .308 on steroids. The 50 cal is in an entirely different class.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:15 am
No idea about the cartridge, but I find it interesting that the Army is joining the Marines in a “one shot-one kill” protocol, from a bolt-action rifle, away from its previous, and the Soviet Union’s, repeat shot philosophy, from a semi-automatic.
June 19th, 2009 at 11:36 am
I imagine that they expect us to be out of range for a .308.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Wow, a 38.4-million-round, and they can’t get the price below $1.30? So much for buying in bulk.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:42 pm
Hmmm. I knew a few snipers used .300 WM but I had no idea it was spreading so widely in the Army.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
What’s interesting is they’re not using one of those newfangled short magnum rounds but an old belted magnum standby.
June 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
The article says they have to replace the barrel and the receiver on the M24 to fire the new round.When we turned our M21’s into DPDO and got the new M24’s in 1989 the M24’s all had the long receiver.This was so the rifle could be rebarreled for the 300 win in the future.I wonder why they are replacing the receivers?
June 19th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Kirk, a buck thirty a bang for match-grade ammo is a bargain these days. The benchmark price for that ammo, assuming you could find it, would be at least double that.
I was about to order a 300 WIN Mag too. Might have to reconsider, since all the brass to make even hunting ammo for it will be bogarted by the Feds now.
Probly go with my second choice, a 7mm Mag.
June 19th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
In a perfect world, that would be enough to last me a year or so.
June 20th, 2009 at 5:56 am
On a different note:
First over $50 million from the FBI, now this … winchester is doing pretty well after being “demoted” to just cranking out cartridges.
June 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Hmmm… I thought the rumor mill said the snipers were all snuggly with the Lapua?
June 20th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I guess they didn’t fallow suit with the Marines and put an ad out for a .338 caliber sniper rifle. IMO it’s a better “bridge the gap” round between the .50 and .308.
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:01 am
300WM is probably the best all-round cartridge… for hunting. But after my SHOT show experience I think the 338LM is the better cartridge for the military.
Just my opinion based on VERY limited experience w/ the 338LM.
Regards,
Albert
The Rasch Outdoor Chronicles.
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Tim Buckner: It is clear that Strategy Page has no clue what they are talking about when they say that they need to swap M24 receivers for the conversion. If you have to swap the barrel, the receiver, the bolt, and the magazine assembly, all you’d have left from the original rifle would be the stock, trigger assembly, action screws, optic, and other accessories.
The other big giveaway that Strategy Page has no clue is the fact that this contract was awarded by the US Navy (Naval Surface Warfare Center – Crane), not the US Army.
http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=4043
For a better account of the .300 WM contract, solicitation, and final product, go to Defense Industry Daily.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/USA-Orders-499M-in-300-Winchester-Magnum-Ammo-05493/