Tell me I am making the right choice!!

[Scott Spencer]

Fellow shooters and hunters, I need reassurance on a rifle I am about to buy. For two years I have been set on a .338-06AI and after talking with my gunsmith, without going into all the details, I have decided to just buy a standard .338 WM and forget the .338-06AI.

I do realize that only "I" can know what is good for me but I need some feedback. My situation, I live in Alabama and 95% of my hunting will be for whitetails. I do hope to do more hunting in the west and look forward to one day making it to Canada for a Shiras moose, caribou, and a giant black bear. I know the .338 is a great elk, moose, and bear round but is it a round that is too much for a mule deer, a caribou, or similar size game?

My current arsenal consists of a .270, .308, and .30-06. I've always wanted a .338 to shoot and to hunt with but I do realize it is overkill on Alabama whitetail that avg 150-175 lbs. I don't want to consider a .300WM since I already have two other .30 cal rifles, even though they all have different ballistics.

Sorry to be long winded but I hope some of you have been in the position before and understand what I am going through.

Thanks!

 

[cloverleaf]

Well- I have toyed with the idea of Acklifying my rifle but decided against it as ammo is hard enough to find as is. Your 338WM aint exactly gonna be easy to find but doable. guess it really dont matter if you like to reload etc. As for mulies etc., yeh- your probably a bit over-gunned, but it will work. Besides that 270 and 30-06 will really cover all the animals you are talking about I would think with the possible exception of a really big bear. But what do I know? My yardstis is if you gotta wipe the tears from your eyes every time you pull the trigger you got to much gun. But then you are probably tougher then me. All that said, if you really want a new rifle...??? Have fun! CL

 

[JDMAG]

Howdy!
A .338 may be considered too much for white tails and mulies but I don't Think they would notice. Also you can use reduced loads, and not have as much recoil, and when you go on the western elk, or Canadian Moose or big bear hunt, you can load back up, and NOT be under gunned. I had a .338 once and loved it! just not as much as I did something else! Go get your self a new gun and enjoy it.
JDMAG

 

[JD338]

Scott Spencer

Most importantly, get what YOU want. Either 338 cal will be great for all your targeted animals to hunt.
The 338 Win Mag is a pretty flexible round. Load it up with a 250 gt PT and there isn't an animal you couldn't hunt with confidence. If you switch to the 200 gr AB or 210 gr PT it makes for an awesome deer round. A solid hit will usually drop game in their tracks. No such thing as over kill in my book.

Also, you can load down a 338 Win Mag to 338-06 levels, it is still an awesome deer round. :wink:

JD338

 

[FOTIS]

It will fit in with the rest nicely. Go for it.

 

[Scott Spencer]

Thank you so much for the responses, fellas. I'm not much of a "man" on recoil as I am only 6' and 165 lbs. I've never shot a .338 but a couple of friends have told me it pushes you more than cracks you like a .300 WM. My gunsmith said he would add a mercury recoil reducer in the stock and that, along with a decelerator pad, may help me a little.

Yes, I reload and that is why I'm glad to see that I can down load the round to something more like a 338-06 level with a 200 gr bullet and a little less powder.

I'm 48 and figure I can hunt out west every 3-4 years. I may get to Canada once or maybe two times, if I am lucky, before I get too old to hunt.

To be honest, I really want a stainless steel rifle that will cover the game I mentioned but I don't know if a second 30-06 is too much of the same thing. Does that make sense? I don't want to get rid of my current 30-06 (Win Mod 70 FW) as I love the gun - its wood and blued.

The gun I have found is a good as new Winchester Mod 70 CRF stainless steel .338 WM for less than $700. It really is pristine.

 

[FOTIS]

The gun I have found is a good as new Winchester Mod 70 CRF stainless steel .338 WM for less than $700. It really is pristine.

Go for it.....

 

[Scott Spencer]

Thanks, Pop! I suppose I could always sell it if it gets to be too much for me. :grin:

 

[jtoews80]

I haven't ever used a mercury reducer, I have used a muzzle break.

The noise level is higher, but the recoil goes away. Heck, try the mercury, if it doesn't work a muzzlebreak will. I'd wager a 338 RUM wouldn't even be that bad with a muzzle break, but then again I am a gunpowder/velocity junkie too.

Just think of how a moose or grizzly would collapse when hit with a 250 grn AccuBond at 2975FPS........ :twisted:

JT.

 

[BK]

My buddy has killed his last 4 or 5 mulies with his .338, and he's smaller than you! If I wasn't so into unusual chamberings, I would definitely have a stainless M70 just like the one you mentioned. I just happened to come upon a deal I couldn't pass up... the same rifle in .300 WinMag. It's my wet weather gun... normally hunt deer with a wood stocked .25-06 and elk with a Whelen.

 

[Scott Spencer]

Excellent feedback everyone! Just what I was needing. My plans are to put it in a HS Precision stock and then rebarrel it if I have to. I'll shoot it to see what it does before going with a new barrel.

What about the scope?
A Leupold VXIII 3.5 - 10 40mm or Zeiss Conquest 3.5 - 10 44mm?
Perhaps something else?

 

[BK]

I would do a 2.5-8x Leupy VX3, or III or what ever the heck they are calling 'em these days. 3.5-10x is a good choice too. No experience with Zeiss.

 

[SJB358]

I don't think you can wrong with the 338 Win Mag. It is a truly versatile cartidge, that does alot of things well. I have a Model 70 Stainless Synthetic with the BOSS and the recoil is about like a 243. It is loud, but I wear ear pro so it really isn't a factor. I bought that rifle when I was 17, my father had to actually sign the paperwork, but it was mine. I put a 2x7 Redfield on it first and used it for deer and whatever else I cared to in Upstate NY. My father took the rifle to Alaska for Brown Bear and then to Saskatchewan for whitetails. It worked excellent in both cases. I think he was using the 225gr Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claws. Not positive. Either way, he was used to shooting his BAR in 30-06 and thought the 338 would knock his lights out. Instead, he ended up using it for everything. He nailed a nice 6x6 Elk and a 4x4 Mulie in Idaho with it also. I would say that is pretty versatile. I am a handloader, so I have even more options, but he just bought 8-10 boxs of the load that shot the best and went hunting. I recently brought the gun back to my safe in NC so I can start using it some. My old man did put a Leupold Vari XIII 3.5x10 with the bigger 50mm objective on it. He loved it, I am not a huge fan of it. I plan on putting a Vari XIII 2.5x8 with the B&C reticles and putting the 3.5x10 on my 7mm Rem Mag.

Long story, even longer is, the 338 Win Mag will cover you for any game you hunt. Factory ammo can be bought in about any store in the US and Canada. You might not find your brand, but you will likely find something that will work in a pinch. Chances are, it will kill what you are looking for also. I am a huge fan of the 338 Win Mag (and the 35 Whelen), because they can be loaded with lighter stuff to really shoot flat, or heavier bullets that will hammer the largest game we have here in the US. I would actually call it a really all around gun. Not perfect for everything, but you wouldn't really want for more most of the time. Scotty

 

[DrMike]

Your question has been covered quite well. I'll just add my two cents to say that the 338 WM is not brutal in the recoil department. Before I put in a mercury recoil reducer. I would put on a Limbsaver pad. The stock on the Winchester is a good design that does not transfer excessive recoil to the shooter. Try the rifle first before you begin to try to tame it would be my advice. You may find that you handle the recoil quite well.

 

[Scott Spencer]

Thanks BK, Scotty, and Mike.

My plans are to put on a HS Precision stock with a limbsaver or decelerator pad on it. I also have a pretty solid shooting rest so range work shouldn't be too bad. Besides, when hunting and taking a shot at wild game I really won't know when it goes off anyway.

Here are photos of the rifle I am buying for $670

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[DrMike]

Scott,

I have certainly had good luck with Winchesters, even those that were built in the last days of the New Haven plant. In all my years of shooting, I only had one that I could not get to shoot well. The price seems right on that rifle. I think you are on the right track.

 

[Big Squeeze]

Fellow shooters and hunters, I need reassurance on a rifle I am about to buy. For two years I have been set on a .338-06AI and after talking with my gunsmith, without going into all the details, I have decided to just buy a standard .338 WM and forget the .338-06AI.

I do realize that only "I" can know what is good for me but I need some feedback. My situation, I live in Alabama and 95% of my hunting will be for whitetails. I do hope to do more hunting in the west and look forward to one day making it to Canada for a Shiras moose, caribou, and a giant black bear. I know the .338 is a great elk, moose, and bear round but is it a round that is too much for a mule deer, a caribou, or similar size game?

My current arsenal consists of a .270, .308, and .30-06. I've always wanted a .338 to shoot and to hunt with but I do realize it is overkill on Alabama whitetail that avg 150-175 lbs. I don't want to consider a .300WM since I already have two other .30 cal rifles, even though they all have different ballistics.

Sorry to be long winded but I hope some of you have been in the position before and understand what I am going through.

Thanks!

.............Nothing wrong with a 338 for hunting whitetails. Overpowered yes! But as long as you plan to go for bigger game, the 338 WM is an excellent alternative, even though the cartridges you already have will do nicely.

 

[Antelope_Sniper]

There is no such thing as overkill, either it's dead, or it isn't.
I like you idea of the SS 338Win Mag and the HS precision stock. Load it with the 200gr AB for a versitle load.

 

[JD338]

Nice looking rifle. As mentioned, recoil is not as bad as some will tell you.
A good stock and recoil pad will really make it a pussy cat. Excellent choice on the scope, the VXIII 2.5x8 is one of my favorites.
If you want a single load for everything, consider the 225 gr AB. It will cover everything from mice to moose.

JD338

 

[BK]

I would shoot it a bit before you start 'fixing' stuff, it might shoot so well you don't want to muck it up.