Opinions on .338 Win Mag

[bstrasheim55]

I recently picked picked up a Ruger M77 in .338 Win Mag. It was just too cheap to pass up.

Anyhow, I'm not sure if I really have a use for it right now. I've already got a .300 and that's enough gun for me. Is it worth keeping in the safe or should I trade for something I'd actually use?

 

[robsev]

I have a Remington 700 in .338 and I love it. I've killed a half dozen elk with it using Barnes bullets. Only one didn't drop straight in it's tracks, and he only went 10 feet.

 

[MT.PERCHMAN]

Keep it , run a 250 gr. Bullet great Elk cartridge.
I'm running a 338 Rum with 285 Eldm and love it . I share your same problem ...I have 1 300 win mag and 3 300 Rums !!

 

[SFC B]

I am the other side of it.....if you are unsure you will use it but could trade for something you know you will I think it is a no-brainer unless you just like collecting. Personally, unless you are hunting Brown/Griz I just don't see the allure of anything bigger than a 300. Here are some felt recoil averages : 30-06 (180gr)-20.3 lbs 300 WM (180gr)-25.9 and then with the 338 WM- (200gr-250gr) 32.8-35.2 lbs. At up to 75% more recoil than an '06 I just don't get it. Granted I have a questionable shoulder thanks to Uncle Sugar, but even without that I would just not be interested in that much recoil. JMO.

 

[brockel]

I am the other side of it.....if you are unsure you will use it but could trade for something you know you will I think it is a no-brainer unless you just like collecting. Personally, unless you are hunting Brown/Griz I just don't see the allure of anything bigger than a 300. Here are some felt recoil averages : 30-06 (180gr)-20.3 lbs 300 WM (180gr)-25.9 and then with the 338 WM- (200gr-250gr) 32.8-35.2 lbs. At up to 75% more recoil than an '06 I just don't get it. Granted I have a questionable shoulder thanks to Uncle Sugar, but even without that I would just not be interested in that much recoil. JMO.

I've owned half a dozen 338 win mags and 300 win mags and for whatever reason the 338 win mag seemed to be more of a push for recoil with 225 compared to the jab of the 300 win mag with 180s. Rifles were dang near the same weight so that wasn't the factor I just found the 338 more pleasant to shoot. Anymore a 7mm Remington is about as much recoil as I like to thump myself with

Also could be my hatred for 30 cals too

 

[mtmuley]

Why the .30 hatred? And why does recoil always come up as a reason do get rid of a rifle? Not every shooter is sensitive. To the op, if you won't use, provly best to get rid of it. mtmuley

 

[Gunner46]

I had a 338WM in a Win 70 many moons ago. Just had to have it, cuz of all the hipe about it being the Ultimate American Cartridge. I spent a couple of years getting my back teeth rattled around in my cranium with every single shot when shooting at the range. Take a shot, set it down, shake it off, wait a couple minutes....repeat. 10-15 shots and I was done for the day.

I did actually use it to take a B&C black bear and it did simply hammer the big guy.....@30yds. (7'3", 525lbs, flipped him a full 270 in mid-air)

And that was the last time I used it. When the money got a bit tight around the household it was the 1st to find a new home, pronto.

If you're diggin' on your 300WM then I would stay with it and use the profit from selling the 338 to A) get the wifey something she wants (bribe for the future, B) Improve the quality of any weak link in your gear, C) stash it in the 'my secret account' until another day.

 

[Millsworks]

I have a .338 and a .300 win mag .
I think the .300 is much more versatile and flatter shooting. But I am keeping and using both.
I use the .300 win mag for long shots and the .338 for places I will shoot less than 400yrds and need to push through thick brushy conditions.
My .300 has a 26" barrel and the .338 has a 22".

But if you don't think you need or will likely use it, that is the best reason to find it a new home.

 

[Dias454]

Keep it load 210 nosler part at 2950 and u can hunt anything in north america u want with that one round from pronghorn to brown bear your covered

 

[Don Fischer]

I've had two and the recoil just doesn't work for me. But if I had one right now, I'd keep it telling myself I may go on a brown bear hunt! Of course if I did go on a brown bear hunt, I'd take my 30-06! But just in case, I'd have a 338 mag!

 

[1_pointer]

If your questioning whether you have a use for it I'd trip it. If you got it cheap enough maybe use it as the basis for something you do have a use for.

That said I've had very good luck with my 338. 210grPartitions have worked on everything from doe pronghorn to cow bison and bull elk. That said, a whole lot of others would have done as well.

 

[brockel]

Why the .30 hatred? And why does recoil always come up as a reason do get rid of a rifle? Not every shooter is sensitive. To the op, if you won't use, provly best to get rid of it. mtmuley

Never said I got rid of the rifle because of recoil. My hatred for 30 cals I think comes from the guys I work with thinking because they have a "300 mag" that they have a giant killer and that they can sight in an inch high at 100 yards and still be dead on at 500 yards. Always has drove me nuts and drove me away from them.

 

[406LIFE]

FWIW, I have regretted getting rid of every gun that has left my hands. Unless you are hard up for money, or looking at the gun as an investment to flip, I say keep it.

 

[bstrasheim55]

I agree with both sides here. I do view guns as an investment, but on the other hand they're worth more to me in the field than in the safe.

Thank's for the input though guys.

 

[LopeHunter]

I use my .338 WM on everything but pronghorn. 250 gr bullets. I shoot 6" or tighter 5-shot groups at 300 yards all day long from the bench. Zero is set at 200 yards and I hold center of chest out to 400 yards which is further than I like to shoot anyway. Bucks the wind with the 250 gr bullet so drift is less than a lighter bullet you might fire out of a 300 RUM of WM.

I notice recoil when was putting a new scope on a couple of years ago and took 30 rounds to feel was tight and dialed in. I do not notice when check my zero to start a hunt shooting a couple of round then during the hunt do not notice recoil. Usually have a coat on during all but early season hunts so that softens things I suppose. I have a nice recoil pad on. No muzzle brake.

My advice is to never have more than two rifles for hunting. Use just one rifle if can. Use one load and bullet weight if can. Every time you shoot in varying conditions you learn more about that load and rifle.

I shot a .308 M70 with wood stock for years then added a .25-06 with high power variable scope for pronghorn and then got the .338 WM built with synthetic stock. I never liked the .308's wood stock when was in wet conditions.

The .338 was outshooting the .308 at distance so retired the .308.

If recoil is an issue, trade the .338. If weight of the rifle is an issue and plan to do some mountain hunts, trade the .338. If are confident in your shots with a rifle smaller than .338, trade the .338. If those are not issues, though, give the .338 a chance to be your main hunting rifle.

 

[338 win mag]

I love my .338. Got it when my father passed years ago. It's my go-to for just about everything. Dad killed moose caribou and bear with it and tons of deer. I've killed many deer with it and even coyotes. Many will say it's overkill and it probably is. On the other hand, it shoots well and kill anything in North America. I plan on stretching it out a bit past 500 this year. No reason why it won't hang with a .300 at distance. Push some .225s with a high bc at good velocities and it'll be no problem

 

[Sask hunter]

I have the same 338 and I load up 225 Barnes ttsx. It's a bear flattener!! My dad has a shot several elk with his and a moose. Think the furthest any have went was 10 yards.

 

[Nick87]

FWIW, I have regretted getting rid of every gun that has left my hands. Unless you are hard up for money, or looking at the gun as an investment to flip, I say keep it.

Agreed

 

[mtmuley]

Never said I got rid of the rifle because of recoil. My hatred for 30 cals I think comes from the guys I work with thinking because they have a "300 mag" that they have a giant killer and that they can sight in an inch high at 100 yards and still be dead on at 500 yards. Always has drove me nuts and drove me away from them.

I hear ya. I know guys like that. Some of them shoot 7's. mtmuley

 

[brockel]

I hear ya. I know guys like that. Some of them shoot 7's. mtmuley

Yep that's another reason I'm having a tough time not running a mashburn reamer into my 7 and playing with another mashburn