338 All Around

[Oldtrader3]

Actually after I sold all but one of my Pre 64 Winchesters, I shot a .340 for several years. However now in old age, I shoot a 9.3x74R Number One Ruger. They all have been accurate and all will clobber an elk satisfactorily with one shot. Ballistically they are not all that different either in the effect on game.

 

[skidmark]

I believe the .33"s are an excellent all around
Caliber. However guns are tools and different tools for different
Jobs.I wouldn't use a sledge hammer to drive tacks...
I still love my .340 go for it.

 

[Hegland]

To address this thread directly. Vince, the 338 would be a hard one hunting rifle to beat

The more I play with my .338 Win Mag the more I come to that same conclusion.

Same here. Part of this, as you mention Vince, is the HUGE range of bullet weights available. On the other hand, I've sort of settled on the 210 PT, and am believing more and more firmly if that were the only bullet available, it would still be one of the most versatile cartridges out there.

Jim Carmichael wrote a great piece on the .338 at the end of the article linked below. Also includes some good work on the .280 and .458...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/node/1005004983

 

[Oldtrader3]

I still have a .338 but it is the Federal cartridge and not a magnum. The recoil is about the same or maybe slightly more than the .30-06 and it shoots 210 Partitions at about 2570 fps. The 180 Barnes TSX is at about 2630 fps. From what I have heard from others here and elsewhere, the .338 Federal kills elk to 300 yards just fine with the 210 Partition bullet.

 

[SJB358]

Jim Carmichael wrote a great piece on the .338 at the end of the article linked below. Also includes some good work on the .280 and .458...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/node/1005004983

Good article.. Enjoyed reading it.

 

[DrMike]

Jim Carmichael wrote a great piece on the .338 at the end of the article linked below. Also includes some good work on the .280 and .458...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/node/1005004983

Good article.. Enjoyed reading it.

Agreed, excellent article. I know that the .280 has served me well for many years. I've owned three and still own two. I've never owned a .338 Win Mag, but not because it is somehow unsuitable--it is a great cartridge that could easily serve as a one-rifle armory. I may yet have to rectify this deficit in my collection.

 

[SJB358]

Agreed, excellent article. I know that the .280 has served me well for many years. I've owned three and still own two. I've never owned a .338 Win Mag, but not because it is somehow unsuitable--it is a great cartridge that could easily serve as a one-rifle armory. I may yet have to rectify this deficit in my collection.

I do have alot of love for the 338 Win Mag. It has served both me and my father real well. Pretty easy to load for and in the field of over 30 caliber cartridges doesn't knock your hat off everytime you press the trigger.

I find it hard to NOT take my 338 when I go hunting..

 

[DrMike]

I've certainly loaded for a number of 338 Win Mag rifles over the years, just never owned one. All I shot from the bench were reasonable to work with and gave good to excellent results for accuracy. I know they are quite popular around here.

 

[JD338]

I would go with the 338 Win Mag so long as you use 200 gr or heavier bullets.
The 210 gr PT is cover everything you would ever want to hunt in NA. The 200 gr AB
has a better BC if you are going to shoot out past 400 yds, which is a pretty long shot.

JD338

 

[Oldtrader3]

I prefer the 210 Partition in the .338 but to each his own!

 

[Vince]

I'm going to try the 200 grain CT Ballistic Tip for light game and hope the 210 grain TSX BT shoots good in my new rifle as my all around and heavy game bullet.

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[JD338]

Sounds like a good plan Vince.

JD338

 

[Partisan]

You will be happy with your choice Vince.
If the 210 TSX doesn't work out, don't over look the 210 Scirocco. As others have said, the 210 PT is a proven all-around bullet also for the 338 if yours will shoot it.

 

[Blkram]

Vince,

The 338 Win Mag is a great round, and is largely ignored by those who succumb to the 300 Win Mag first, whether it be due to their friends' recommendations, or that of the salesman.

I own both a 300 WSM, which is an excellent round (and have owned a 300 Win Mag in the past, which also worked very well, but I did not enjoy as much due to its being Magna-Ported), and a 338-06 at this moment; and am currently in the process of re-acquiring my old Rem 700 BDL in 338 Win Mag, which I sold when priorities forced me to, and I had an offer for it. I am also building a 338 Federal on a Model 88 as we speak, for close range brush work. I have hand loaded for all of these cartridges, but the 338 Federal, and have also taken game with both 300's, and the two 338's.

There is no question, that I have found all to be effective, but I have found the performance on game such as rutting bull elk, grizzly bear, and bison to be much more effective, both immediately visible and in the time it took these animals to meet their demise, with the 338 Win Mag.

I know that a lot of guys prefer heavy for caliber bullets, and there is a time and a place for such use, such as on brown bear, Roosevelt elk and wood bison, but I tend to prefer a bullet weight in the mid-range, due to its ability for greater velocity, flatter trajectory and less recoil in the majority of instances where I am using the 338. My old BDL used to bruise me good, and a box of ammo off of the bench was a about my limit, but never noticed in the field. After replacing the factory buttpad with a LimbSaver pad, the rifle was a joy to shoot, even off of the bench!I could shoot 60 rounds in an afternoon and not have the slightest bruise, and could actually shoot more if I wanted (time usually ran out, as I usually take 3 rifles to the range at a time when I go). Love the LimbSaver pads.They are on all of my larger caliber rifles. Yes I have a number of rifles with Decelerator pads as well, but they do not soak up quite as much recoil on the heavier kickers, in my opinion.

Most of my experience has been with the 210 NP, and I have yet to be dissatisfied. I also enjoy the 225 gr bullets, and the accuracy that my old 338 Win Mag showed with those loads, and their performance on game, but have only taken elk and a black bear with this bullet weight. I have shot lighter bullets, in the 338 Win Mag (a friend's favourite load was a starting load under a Speer 200 gr Hot Cor, don't recall the powder and charge at this moment), and it was an absolute pussycat to shoot off of the bench. Sure a lighter load would be great for smaller game, but for me, I have other rifles better suited for that.

But for a one gun, all around performer, it is a nice option. I know you won't go wrong with your choice!
May all your shots be true.

 

[Guy Miner]

This continues to be a good thread. Vince, I don't disagree with the .338 Win in general.

Looking back, I'd say the problem is with my definition of "all around."

To me, that's a rifle that I can happily use for the majority of my hunting. Well, mostly I hunt coyotes, rock chucks and mule deer. Throw in an occasional whitetail hunt, and a couple of pronghorn hunts in recent years...

No wonder I think of my .25-06 as my "all around" rifle. And before it, the 6mm Remington for about 30 years. I don't need a lot of bullet diameter or weight for any of those - and they comprise the vast majority of my hunting.

I've taken only one big bull elk, and a few black bears. Those are the only things I've taken, feeling like I ought to throw a bigger bullet downrange. One poster here has taken several bear with his .25-06, and several have taken elk too, so maybe my .25-06 is up to those jobs as well.

IF I hunted up north where Gerry & Dr. Mike and others pursue moose and grizzly on a regular basis, THEN I'd likely want my .30-06 with heavy bullets as a bare minimum, and I'd feel better about calling something like your .338 Win mag, a .35 Whelen, or my .375 an "all around" rifle...

Yup. That's it. I'm used to thinking of mule deer as "big" so the light kicking, flat shooting, and very accurate .25-06 becomes my all-around rifle.

Enjoy your .338, it ought to prove an excellent "all around" rifle for you! Good thread!

Regards, Guy

 

[Vince]

Thank you all.
I've enjoyed, and hope to continue enjoying, this thread as my rifle is being built.
I really like the encouragement I've received here, and while my choice may not be the same as another's, I've never been made to feel I made a bad, or wrong, choice.

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