Lets talk thump

[JD338]

Start your bench sessions with a 3 shot string using the 338 RUM. Everything else is a cream puff. :mrgreen:

I am sure it has to do with stock fit.

JD338

 

[SJB358]

I am shooting the same rifle and with the Limbsaver, it isn't too bad really. It does push me around a bit and the older VXII does bonk me once in awhile, but overall, it is a powerful combo that is just tailor made for big animals out to 350. I am running the 250gr PT at 2650 and man, it is a thumper. I zeroed for the Oregon elk hunt at 3.5" high at 100. End up being about the same amount high at 200, 5-7" low at 300 and 20" low at 400. I am expecting longer shots in Oregon, so I wanted to maximize the rifles trajectory. It still carries plenty of juice at 400 to handle any elk and I have alot of faith that big 250PT won't be bothered too much by elk.

Next year, I may mess around with the 225gr AB. That might just be the best all around bullet in the Whelen. Should be able to push it into 2700-2800 and have a flat shooting, hard hitting rifle that really puts big holes in animals. Scotty

 

[338 Ultra]

Start your bench sessions with a 3 shot string using the 338 RUM. Everything else is a cream puff. :mrgreen:

I am sure it has to do with stock fit.

JD338

I am tending to agree with you on that I think the good old measuring tape will discover that the lop is different between the two which would explain the difference in felt recoil. Really I do not mind my ultra at all with the 225's and I never experience shoulder soreness even after a 20 round day at the range. Actually My 300 win with 200 ab's to me feels about the same as my 338 with the 225's fast and pretty snappy but not anything I can't shoot off the bench. I always thought the whelen to be a brush cartridge I beleive now that my thinking was faulty. I have 30-06 180 grain trajectory and reach with a whole lot more thump when it gets to where it is going. Now if I can just find some nosler brass I am going to be one very happy man. I think one of those past recoil shields might be the anwser for my bench sessions.

Jeeze why I took so long to get a Whelen I will never know but I am now all warm and fuzzy that I did.

Here is to a full freezer this coming winter I think my 300 is going to be mad at me and give me the silent treatment for a while :mrgreen:

 

[JD338]

The truth be known, a fella could hunt NA with a 35 Whelen and never look back.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

JD338 - agree! Or just the .30 cal version... But the .30 might be a tad light for some of the oversize stuff up north if the bear or bull developed an attitude problem. I'd go for it with the 220 gr Nosler Partitions loaded! :grin:

"I am running the 250gr PT at 2650 and man, it is a thumper. "

That's roughly the same as I'm using from the .375: a 260 at 2620 fps... Your load is indeed, A Thumper!

 

[338 Ultra]

The truth be known, a fella could hunt NA with a 35 Whelen and never look back.

JD338

I am going to agree with you on that but for only a fraction...... well that is untill I knock some animals down with it. I have put down enough moose and elk with the 30-06 and 300 mag to know they work well if you know what you are doing. Ditto with the 338 ultra which is more than enough for either. I am not happy that I do not have a moose or elk tag this year I am just itching to use this rifle on something big and tuff right now! But in retrospect this gives me a year to work on loads and learn the rife over various ranges as I will have a moose tag next year and fingers crossed a cow elk tag too. Guess I could use her for spring bear next year and plan on using it this up coming season out of my ground blind for Whitetail. Whitetails up here get really big as do muledeer. A 300 pound dressed animal of either is not an uncommen event in my neck of the woods. I think the old whelen with the 225 should lay them out where they are hit.

 

[SJB358]

JD338 - agree! Or just the .30 cal version... But the .30 might be a tad light for some of the oversize stuff up north if the bear or bull developed an attitude problem. I'd go for it with the 220 gr Nosler Partitions loaded! :grin:

"I am running the 250gr PT at 2650 and man, it is a thumper. "

That's roughly the same as I'm using from the .375: a 260 at 2620 fps... Your load is indeed, A Thumper!

I remember reading about your load for the 375 before. Kinda brought a little smile to my face. I love the Whelen a bunch. Seems like one of the good ones. Plus, I hope it continues to keep catching on. With some diligent handloading, it is a HORSE!

338Ultra, You have a monster in the 338 Ultra, no doubt, that thing is a beast, but I think you are going to enjoy the Whelen. It is just a great shooting rifle and is really easy to load for. Cases seem to last forever and pretty much everything through my rifle has been accurate as heck. It is pretty easy to bang 300 yard steel with mine for most any decent position and to me, that is what counts. Good luck with yours, I am pretty sure those big deer will be impressed. Scotty

 

[338 Ultra]

JD338 - agree! Or just the .30 cal version... But the .30 might be a tad light for some of the oversize stuff up north if the bear or bull developed an attitude problem. I'd go for it with the 220 gr Nosler Partitions loaded! :grin:

"I am running the 250gr PT at 2650 and man, it is a thumper. "

That's roughly the same as I'm using from the .375: a 260 at 2620 fps... Your load is indeed, A Thumper!

I remember reading about your load for the 375 before. Kinda brought a little smile to my face. I love the Whelen a bunch. Seems like one of the good ones. Plus, I hope it continues to keep catching on. With some diligent handloading, it is a HORSE!

338Ultra, You have a monster in the 338 Ultra, no doubt, that thing is a beast, but I think you are going to enjoy the Whelen. It is just a great shooting rifle and is really easy to load for. Cases seem to last forever and pretty much everything through my rifle has been accurate as heck. It is pretty easy to bang 300 yard steel with mine for most any decent position and to me, that is what counts. Good luck with yours, I am pretty sure those big deer will be impressed. Scotty

Well If this rifle cartridge combo is what I think it might be with some diligent reloading shooting effort on my part. My 338 ultra might become a safe queen . I have never been able to tap this rifle's true potential so untill I become more proficent with my shooting skills it will still be a work in progress. I pride myself on always being able to get closer when I need to and the 35 currently seems to be fitting that bill with my limited experence with the cartridge.

 

[SJB358]

I can't see how you won't be happy. It is like a 30-06 with a 180. Only better. More weight, diameter, and uses the same case! It is the most efficient rig I own. Scotty

 

[IdahoCTD]

When a friend and I started teaching ourselves to do gunsmithing we kind of went crazy with bigger and bigger stuff. Before that I had Bruce Baer build me 2 .308 Baer's. One was for rockchucks and the second was for big game. I loaded 165 PT's at 3350fps and went hunting. I had to shoot a spike 4 times with that gun and I knew I needed something bigger (even though the elk was dead on it's feet with 3 in the lungs and the 4th in the liver as it took a step). So I had a .358 STA built by a local smith. I used it a few years and stuck it in the safe. There weren't a lot of good bullets available for it at the time but it still managed to dispatch quite a few elk with 250gr Hornady's. Then one of the first calibers I built myself was a .375-.358 STA. I used it for quite a few years and in the safe it went. I did take it to Africa and shot 5 animals and friends shot 3 or 4 more plus it accounted for half a dozen elk or so. It and the .375-8mm are great calibers IMO. I then built 2 .338 Baer's and never really hunted with them even though they shot phenominal groups because I also built a .416 Rem that shot really well (the bigger is better thing). I still shoot it quite a bit and it's still my go to gun. It flat knocks elk, deer, and bear to the ground. Since then I've built a .375 RUM and a .458 Lott. The Lott is a handful with heavy bullets. I rarely shoot it to be honest because there really isn't anything it can do better then the .416 except heavy bullets. I built it more to see if I could handle the recoil. I might try a bear with 500's if we get a decent spring for baiting soon. The RUM shot a 3 shot group in the .2's breaking in the barrel but hasn't shot nearly as well since then but I also haven't put the time into figuring it out yet. Almost all of them are clones with Sendero Contour barrels in HS Sendero stocks. Mixed in there I've also built a .30-.378 IMP, .338-.378 (this was a handful when 300gr Sierra's came out), .375 H&H, and a couple more .358 STA's plus a lot of smaller calibers. We actually shot quite a few chucks with the .375 H&H and .358 STA. My buddy built a .416 RUM we shot some chucks with as well as a couple .375-8mm's, a .338 Edge, a .470 Capstick, and a .458-.358 STA in addition to many of the same calibers as me. I still want to build a .416 RUM and maybe a .375-.338 Lapua IMP. to try out the high BC bullet from Cutting Edge. Fotis has got me beat with the BIG BIG thumpers but I've played with most of the sub .378 Wby, .416 Rigby, .460 Wby case magnum calibers.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I am getting older (nearly 70) and there is such a thing as "to much of a good thing" with larger calibers for me now. I will stick with my .340 Weatherby and .338 Federal as all that I need for what walks around locally here in Washington. Plus, I can sit and shoot the .340 for as many rounds as I want at the bench and not get too sore. Any elk that is well hit with a 225 Partition in the .340 is not going anywhere far.

 

[BK]

Then one of the first calibers I built myself was a .375-.358 STA. I used it for quite a few years and in the safe it went. I did take it to Africa and shot 5 animals and friends shot 3 or 4 more plus it accounted for half a dozen elk or so. It and the .375-8mm are great calibers IMO.

That's quite a list! But I gotta ask... Will the .375-.358STA or .375-8mm do anything differently than a .375 Weatherby, JRS, or AI? Pretty much all improved .375 H&Hs right? They all sound cool as heck!

 

[IdahoCTD]

A JRS is a .375-8mm and yes they are all various improved .375 H&H's. The easiest to form is the JRS/.375-8mm. There probably isn't 50 fps difference between all of the versions. The funny thing is I shoot 250-270gr bullets in the .375 H&H IMP's. within 50 fps of my .375 RUM. The RUM is easier for the dies but the brass is more expensive and it takes more powder to get almost no gain.

 

[FOTIS]

500 Smith Wesson with 300 gr Flex tips 440 gr cast and 700 grain T-rex bullet.

another 500 loaded with the 700 gr T-rex bullet

416 Bee with 330 GS Customs at 3100 fps and 300 tsx at 3150

 

[FOTIS]

Here are some of my thumpers


30-378

378 WBY

416 WBY

460 WBY

450 Marlin

 

[DrMike]

Some serious thumpers there, Fotis. They'll certainly deliver the lead.

 

[FOTIS]

Thank you Doc.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Although most of my guns are utilitarian (synthetic stock/stainless) I like the wood like on your .416 Fotis. Just a nice figured satin finish.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Fotis, nice rifles, I noticed that you switched suddenly to almost all Weatherby big bore? I only have one Weatherby myself, a .340 Mark V.

 

[FOTIS]

Actually the thread said thumpers so I kept it as such.

My non-thumping Bees consist of a Ultra light weight 257 Bee

and a all purpose 270 Bee. But it is painted now