Lets talk thump

[338 Ultra]

Like the title says lets talk about something with some thump for game bigger than Deer, Black Bears and similar sized game. I see the 35 Whelen has been given great praise here by quite a few guys. My big hitter is the 338 ultra love this round to death and it has way more reach than I have been able to use. Easy to load for and very accurate. As I get older I am moving towards bigger cartridges within reason though. I can't invision a 460 Weatherby or a 458 Win nor a 458 Lott. I can though make a space in the safe for a 375 Ultra which is a mega potent round that I will have to have a break on with out a doubt. With the 260 AB it will shoot quite flat if I need the reach and with 300 grain bullets it will hammer that big brown bear that some day I am going to travel to the coast of AK to shoot before I die. Then there are moose and elk and perhaps a Bison or two in the future. For moose and elk I know the Whelen would work very well with 250 partitions 300 yards or less. For a Bison I would want a bigger hole not saying the good old 35 would not do it but I have this adversion about being stomped into a mud hole if I make a bad shot. Well for the big bad coastal brown bear I want him down right now with 2 broken shoulders and no chance to make me a sausage in camo.


Thoughts opinions experience?


:mrgreen:

 

[Guy Miner]

When I was a kid and graduated up from the .22 rim fire, Dad taught me to use his .30-06 rifles. Told me way back then that the .30-06 was enough for anything in North America. Now, 45 years later, I still have one of those rifles, and Dad still has the other. I strongly suspect that he was right all those years ago. I can't think of anything in North America that I'd hesitate to hunt with a well-loaded .30-06 rifle.

That said, it's been a lot of fun using some different, bigger cartridges from several different .30 cal magnums, to my current favorite "thumper" the .375 H&H, to the impressive .45/70 Marlin. They've all been great, and I've thoroughly enjoyed learning about them, shooting them and hunting with them.

What the thumpers haven't done though is do anything for me that the good old '06 couldn't... I won't be at all surprised if someday I look around and I'm back down to a good .22 and a good .30-06 for hunting rifles.

I know... What's the fun in that? :grin:

Regards, Guy

 

[sask boy]

I hunted with one (my cousin's) for one season. Very impressive cartridge but he traded it off for a 338 laupa.
I shot a average 4 pointer through the front shoulders we picked the deer up and it felt like a bag of jello :shock: . We were using depratation tags and used the meat for sausage. It would definitely reach out for the long shots on Elk or Moose

Blessings,
Dan

 

[BK]

I love my Whelen, and would not hesitate to use it on bears with a Partition 250. That being said, I definitely see a .375 H&H (and/or Ruger) in my future, and probably a .416 or two (Remington in an M70 first, then maybe a Rigby in a CZ). Not to mention vague plans for a .338 Edge.

 

[DrMike]

I've owned and used a 356 Winchester for many years. The 35 Whelen works very well, as does the 350 Remington Magnum. I've used the 325 WSM quite a bit during the past several seasons, and I often tote a 358 Winchester afield. I can testify that it will take down bison fairly well. I'm having a 9.3 X 64 Brenneke built, which should work very well on moose, elk, grizzly, or about anything else I might encounter in the north woods (Sasquatch?). There is no question but that the 338 WM, the 338 Lapua or the 338 Ultra Mag will drop game with authority. For that matter, the 338-06 will work quite well, as I have witnessed with my hunting partner on more than a few occasions. I tend to prefer more frontal area and mass; velocity is just icing on the cake. To substantiate my claim, I need to invoke the 45-70 or the 444, either of which kill far more effectively than they should. Without a doubt, the velocity generated by the 338 Ultra permits quite a bit more reach, but any of these bullets from an 8mm on up can be quite effective on game.

 

[BK]

Whoops, I keep forgetting about my .358. And I have had some interest in a Ruger in 9.3x62.

 

[Anonymous]

I've recently acquired another .375 Ruger that I'm pretty fond of. I have to agree with the poster who mentioned the '06...good for anything on this continent but what fun is that?

A good friend of my got his bison last year with an '06 shooting 200gr A-frames- for all he knows that bullet is still whistling across the fields. Total pass through- I was impressed.

But when you're prowling the alders that .375 sure feels comforting...

 

[DrMike]

hodgeman,

I'm with you on carrying lots of gun when prowling the bush. Frankly, when moving through the moose willows (alders) after a bear, you can't carry too much gun. You're only going to get one shot (maybe) and it had better be enough to stop a critter that is equipped to do you great harm. Your 375 would be very good in such a situation, as well as giving you a pretty good thump in the open.

 

[Richracer1]

338Ultra, which model of 338RUM do you have? I have all four RUMs. My 338RUM is the XCR model and my 375RUM is an LSS model. I can tell you the 338 kicks harder than my 375 does do to the weight. I've been toying ith the idea of putting a thumbhole laminate on the 338 as I did for the 7. The 7 was an SPS model.

 

[usmc 89]

I am a huge fan of the 338 ultra, I had one built five years ago for long range shooting. I also made my longest kill to date with it on an antelope. Very accurate and a 250 bthp going 3170 will keep it hyper sonic to the 2k mark. The only issue I had with it and the reason I sold it was the fact that remingtons brass for the 338 rum is horrible and they want a buck a piece for it. If norma or lapua made brass for it I would still own it and not be looking to build a lapua.

 

[Woodycreek]

This is the kind of thread that keeps me up at night! What caliber/rifle setup for next years hunting season. The 300 RUM Sendero is going this year as a primary rifle for my Elk hunt. I hope to have it as my dedicated long range rig with a Nightforce sitting on top of it sometime next year. Currently trying to figure out what will be my my walk around Big game rifle??? Thinking I will stick with the 300 RUM but in a SPS stainless or semi-custom rig. I have looked at a few nice rigs that were for sale but could never make my mind up.

 

[wildgene]

...only thing I have in a "thumper" anymore is a .325 WSM & 2800fps w/ a .220gr. bullet ain't really all that impressive...

...but it does it out of a 8# rifle w/ a 23" barrel that's comfortable to shoot, & not real bad to pack around all day, @ 600yds. it's still got 2050fps/ ft.lbs w/ a trajectory on par w/ heavier loads in my .300WSM, 7mm RM, & I can shoot it w/ a high level of confidence (80%+ cold bore hits on a 16X8" target @500M)...

 

[Elkman]

I have a Ruger #1 in 45-90, a Marlin lever, 45-70 a 35 Whelen, and a gaggle of 300 mags., I am covered.

 

[DrMike]

I have a Ruger #1 in 45-90, a Marlin lever, 45-70 a 35 Whelen, and a gaggle of 300 mags., I am covered.

Yeah, that constitutes "thump."

 

[Woodycreek]

I have a Ruger #1 in 45-90, a Marlin lever, 45-70 a 35 Whelen, and a gaggle of 300 mags., I am covered.

I got to see that Ruger #1 45-90 when I get out your way.

 

[Elkman]

Woody

You will have to drive all of the way to the Ocean, its not with me!!!! Just a regular old stainles, #1 with a longer chamber. Does throw a 405 grain bullet out pretty fast tho! Do a search on 450 Alaskan I am using Harold Johnsons loads for this rifle, and finally got tired of the recoil. !
Headed for PT.

 

[BK]

I have a Ruger #1 in 45-90, a Marlin lever, 45-70 a 35 Whelen, and a gaggle of 300 mags., I am covered.

I got to see that Ruger #1 45-90 when I get out your way.

Yeah, that a whole lotta cool in one package!

 

[338 Ultra]

338Ultra, which model of 338RUM do you have? I have all four RUMs. My 338RUM is the XCR model and my 375RUM is an LSS model. I can tell you the 338 kicks harder than my 375 does do to the weight. I've been toying ith the idea of putting a thumbhole laminate on the 338 as I did for the 7. The 7 was an SPS model.

Same as me, mine is the xcr in stainless which are about 2 pounds too light with no brake. I am not a fan of muzzle brake's but they do have their merits when recoil gets up there. I am also thinking about swapping the tupperware stock out for something in a laminate to get some more weight. The recoil on my 338 is managable when I am shooting off the bench but it does get your attention. In the field no issues though, hell it is hard to remember if their was any recoil by the time the knife comes out. I know quite a few of you guys have a boat load of rifles I did too at one point but now I am starting to become somewhat more streamlined in the safe. I have only one 30-06 now and it is secure untill I die. Just sold one my second last one 2 weeks ago and it was never fired. So I used to have a couple or a few rifles in the same caliber now I am now down to one's for each caliber. I know I would seem to have some kind of disorder where the gun safe is considered, but thinking foreward university tutitions are looming in the future so being efficent to me makes sense. For sure I am going to get my hands on a 35 Whelen and fingers crossed a 375 Ultra whichever one is found first will be purchased first nuff said.

Yes Rem 338 Ultra brass is poor, but on the other hand I have been using Nosler brass for a few different cartridges and it is excellent. If that is not a blantant subtle hint I don't know what would be :mrgreen: . Love the cartridge but do not love the brass, an imperfect world but I can get by with things the way they currently are.

I can tell you guy's a funny story about shutting up at loud mouth at my rifle range with my ultra if you want to hear it I suspect you will get a chuckle out of it.

Thanks for the thoughts previous and experience forthwith guys.

 

[JD338]

I am a big fan of the 338 RUM. The on game performance is impressive to say the least. Every animal I have shot has dropped at the shot.
I am shooting a stock M700 LSS with a Mark 4 4.5-14x40mm and she shoots .5 MOA with everything I have loaded. At 9 lbs, recoil is manageable even from prone.

JD338

 

[Oldtrader3]

I have owned a .45-70 Marlin for about 11 years now and I like it really well for any hunting up to and including elk out to maybe 150 yards. This caliber with 350 grain bullets at 2000+ fps is not quite enough gun for me however.

For mountain hunting where elk are involved, I have used a .338 Win Mag and had great luck with it for 35 years. However, I had always wanted a .340 Weatherby for some itch that I had never scratched. So, 2-1/2 years ago, I bought one and have been fooling around with it since. I finally after burning about 400 bullets of different weights and configurations, installing a new trigger and stock, have the thing where it will shoot 225 Partitions at almost 3000 fps and at about 1.5 inch 200 yard groups consistently.

Now if I can just get enough Gamma Globulin pumped into my body each week to actually be physically able to go out into the hills shoot another elk, for the first time in ten years. Life would be wonderful again.