“magnum”

Introduced in 1965, the .350 Remington Magnum could be considered the original short magnum. Using the belted Holland & Holland case responsible for so many excellent designs from the 40s, 50s and 60s, but shortened to be wedged into a short-action magazine, the .350 Magnum would mimic the performance of the .35 Whelen.

Despite the magnum moniker, the .327 Federal Magnum is a pleasure to shoot, giving it a lot of flexibility. It is a viable defensive cartridge, and in a hunting rifle, is a great choice for when shot distances are on the shorter end of the spectrum.

If the .338 Winchester Magnum puts an exclamation point on the end of the hunting sentence, the .340 Weatherby Magnum highlights and italicizes the paragraph. After all, that’s what the Weatherby cartridges were designed to do, and the .340 Weatherby does it well.

What makes a magnum? Does a magnum cartridge need to be belted? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both designs? Contributor Philip Massaro takes a closer look at each to help you make a more informed decision.

Sig Sauer has debuted its Cross Magnum line of bolt-action rifles, answering the call to bring magnum-class calibers to the Cross family.

Phil Massaro dissects a short-action favorite: the .300 Winchester Short Magnum.

There are a few times when a company gets a cartridge design right the first time around; Holland & Holland certainly got it right in 1925 with the .300 H&H Magnum.

Despite an array of competitors being introduced since its 1944 debut, Weatherby’s original .30-caliber magnum cartridge is arguably still the best in class.