.338 Shooters

[Jar Head]

Hi Guys,
I have now talked with 3 different people who use a .338 win. mag. as their go to rifle for deer & elk. Their claim is that with the right bullet they can " eat right up to the bullet hole ". I have never used the .338 or hunted with anyone who has. So my question is, how many of the .338 shooters out there can stand by the claim of little meat damage to a deer with the .338 wm. Just curious!


Semper Fi

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

I wouldn't count on it...Every deer and elk I saw hit with a 338 theres no way you could eat to within 4" of the hole...He was using 210g Partitions or 225g corelokts.

Little big for deer, great for elk though!!

I think a little more versatile caliber for deer/elk is a 300 Mag, but thats just my opinion. Hit harder at long range and shoot flatter.

 

[buckfever]

I'v herd people say that but have yet to see it.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

I've seen it.
A .338 does a lot less meat damage on a deer sized critter then something like a .270 Win. This is especially true if using something like a traditional style bullet in the 250gr range. The problem is, those big heavy bullets just don't expand very well on something deersized or smaller. 200 grain BT's aren't bad. You will get a reasonable amount of expansion out of them, but big bullets just punch right on threw and keep going.

One year dad shot threw a deer with his 338 the long way....with a 200gr speer at 75 yards.....the bullet still didn't expand much.

If you are going to use a .338 for deer, you need light fast bullets...

 

[remingtonman_25_06]

Light, fast bullets in a 338 especially a 200g NBT will result in a big hole that I gauruntee you wont be eating up to. If you hit the shoulder, might as well plan on throwing the front half away....

 

[old #7]

My brother in law hit a deer on the run @ 150yds or so with his 338 wm.
The exit hole was basicly the whole right shoulder. No kidding.
I can't tell you what ammo he was using but I can tell you the deer was DRT.

 

[jtoews80]

I've heard a 375 H&H does very little damage because of it's slow velocity as well. No idea if it's true, but have heard alot of reports that .338 bullets won't expand well on light game. They are not designed for it.

My own opinion is most likely bad advice, shoot for the neck if it's that important. Unless the animal is a decent trophy, I often end up shooting for the neck or head. I know it isn't the greatest idea, but if I'm relaxed and the range is moderate(200 yds>), it works well.

CC.

 

[Richracer1]

Well, a couple of years ago I shot a cow elk at about 75 yds with my 338WM loaded with 73gn of RL-19 to push a 225gn AB. The cow went about 50 yds and piled up. The meat damage was minimal as I shot her behind the right shoulder and it exited behind the left shoulder.

I don't care what bullet you use, you shoot an animal in the shoulder or other heavy bone, and you're going to have some meat loss. This is why I personnally will never use a B-Tip to hunt big game with. Yes they work, but think the AccuBond and Partition are a better choice.

 

[R Flowers]

I have seen both extremes when shooting game with the .338 Win Mag and .340 Weatherby.

If you use a good bullet in the 250 grain range you will not have much meat damage. I have shot several mule deer with the 250 grain Sierra and the meat damage was quite minimal. Dropped the deer on the spot, but not a large exit hole. I once hunted with a guide in Idaho who was giving me hell for bringing a single shot (Ruger No 1) and for bringing a .338 Win Mag. After I dropped a great 4X5 mule deer at a dead run he had to take back what he had said. (Very little meat damage on this deer.)

On the other hand, a friend used to use 200 grain Hornady's in his .338 Win Mag. He would shoot these small deer we have here in CA and just about cut them in half. I never could convince him to use a different bullet.

The now discontinued 200 grain Ballistic Tip does well on hogs, not a lot of meat damage at all.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

You can still get the 200gr BT, but you have to buy the coated Ballistic Silver Tip. This and the 225AB are my "go to" bullets in the .338.

 

[Greg Nolan]

Ditto
225/250 Accubonds normally won't tear up much meat with a rib shot but any of the standard cup and lead bullets will. Unfortunately that includes the Partition because up front it's just another un-bonded, expand at any velocity, bullet. I've had some my worst meat damage with these in 338 on deer while elk hunting. I would think the e-tip would be excellent for elk and deer combo hunts but I don't think they make them in .338 yet.
Beyond that it's mostly about where you hit them and the delicate balance between expansion and penetration of the bullet you choose.
Good Hunting
Elkhunt :grin:

 

[GooseHunter Jr]

Shot my last elk right behind the shoulder went all the way thru...double lung no meat damage at all!

 

[JD338]

It will depend on what bullet you use and where the bullet hits/exits the animal.
I shot a WT deer with a 250 gr PT from my 338 RUM and meat damage was minimal. The 210 gr PT is a different animal. :wink:

JD338

 

[RMiller]

I would not say right up to the bullet hole. The damage is average I think some bloodshot but not crazy.

I have shot a moose with the 210 Partition and 250 Partition and a sheep with the 250 Partition. They all had some bloodshotbut nothing excessive.

--

I used 200 grain speers at max speed for deer. I clipped on deer at the very tip of the shoulder and removed its head (head was still attached by some skin but no meat or bone.) . Had about a volleyball sized exit hole.

Another deer I hit in the tail and it came out the pelvis about a 10" from the tail killed it and the deer did not go far.

Shot another through the chest with the 200 speers and luckily it was a broadside chest shot and hit no shoulders it made a 2" exit out the opposite rib cage.

 

[Bigwheels]

I hit a whitetail just behind the shoulder @ about 75yds, & blew a football sized hole out the other side. The offside shoulder was ruined. I also hit a 6X7 bull elk @ 120 yds, & put a 4" exit hole in him. Both were with 225 AB's. Am working up a load for the 250's now.

 

[Alaska]

I use the 225 Nosler AB in my 338 Win and really like the less fragmentaion than I got with Partitions. The only other bullet with less is the Barnes TSX.......but my rifle groups the AB better so thats what I use.

 

[paolo65]

Good morning.
I am new to this forum and first of all sorry for my english that is really poor . I live in italy and I usually hunt in my country and east europe. I love 338 win and I use it in my blaser R93 barnes tsx 225 gr with 70 gr of vihtavuori n160 and gm 210. I usually use it on large red deer (cervus elaphus) and wild boars. It's really deadly and with this realoding it delivers great accuracy. Concerning the result on the meat animal I can say that the exit hole with this bullet is usually not bigger of 5 cm with very little meat damnaged.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

Paolo, your English is much better then my Italian. :wink:
Thanks for joining us. We appreciate you bringing a European perspective. Some of were curious about the Blaser rifles. Can you tell us a little more about how you like yours?

 

[paolo65]

Really thanks Antelope Sniper!!!
I hope not to get out of topic concerning Blaser Rifles. I have three blaser: two R93 and a K95 (a "kipplauf" single shot).
I know that you heard there some bad stories concerning "explosions" with r93 but I can confirm that I never had problems with mine with commercial or reloaded ammo. In my opinion great accuracy out of box and smooth movement of mechanical parts. Moreover (but in Italy there are a lot of crazy restriction) you can change very quickly the barrel. They are also light and as I hunt in the mountains this is a plus according to me. The caliber for my r93 are 300 win mag (and second barrel in 338 win) and another in 7 RM (second barrel 9.3x62 my favoutite choice for hunting in the woods shooting within 200 metres). The k95 is in 6.5x65r rws (i love this caliber). Of course I have other rifles that I love a lot such as my dakota (300 h&h) and weatherby (240,257,270).

 

[JD338]

paolo65

Welcome to the forum. We are glad you are here.
Thank you for the details of the Blaser rifles.

JD338