Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 338 WM

Boy Howdy that sounds familiar......






I know,... I've said that a few Xs on different threads. I STILL have a Rem 700 8mm Rem Mag and it was/is much more pleasant to shoot.

I have shot a Rem 700 375 H H multiple times and it did not punish me like that 'tanger'.


Jerry

While I agree with you Bob, in general the .375 is often too much gun for anything in NA. However, I still use one...

You could sell the 7mm mag and the .375 ruger , buy a .338 win. and still be covered for anything short of a Big 5 hunt in Africa.......

That is the cheap man's anti Looney answer..
I see I was late in my answer , but it is TRUTH.

It works fine on three of the Big Five. I was more than prepared to use it on elephant but we didn't find the one we wanted. In full disclosure, however, I used a .270 on the leopard. Dead before he hit the ground. I used that rifle because of the scope on it, not the caliber.

I say buy it.

I owned an older tang safety .338 for a while. Killed a few antelope doe with it. My first year of serious elk hunting I clanked the scope, so the next day I carried a 7x57 ruger, killed an elk and made plans for the .338 to have a new owner......

Just curious where you were hunting. I know some African nations allow calibers under .375 (or 9.3mm) but I've never seen a comprehensive list. I personally don't really enjoy shooting anything bigger than a 338 Win Mag., 35 Whelen or 9.3x62, so that's why I ask. I have a nice .338 that I shoot well, and thinking about getting another 35 Whelen.... anyway...

Tossing bullet performance out of the equation, technically its supposed to be....but if we're talking anti-loony here.

I can't fathom lugging a 7 Mag around if one dislikes lugging a 338 either, for deer.

Exact same rifle in many cases, with a bit more weight in the barrel.

Zambia

I'm a 338WM fan. Mine is the stainless Rem 700 KS Custom Mountain Rifle . It's taken moose, caribou, and a ram. Kicks way less than my father in-laws old Rem 700 Mt Rifle in 30-06.

I do shoot 308 and 223 as well.

BobinNH,I surely hope that my wife doesn't read this post. I also hope that she doesn't realize that her 8# 12 oz.(scoped,loaded,and with sling) .338 WM,which she uses for deer,antelope,elk,bear,moose, and God willing a possible Alaskan and/or African hunt isn't really a practical all around,all purpose hunting rifle! Maybe with a rifle that heavy, it explains why she refuses to use a muzzle brake. Anyway,all things being equal it seems that a rifle with a "bigger" hole in the barrel,should weigh less than one with a smaller hole !!!!! memtb

Nothing like having a good strong Dutch woman by your side. Do you make here pack the whole animal out for you too??? . No seriously though, good for her. I hear all the time, here, that people don't shoot big guns well. You hear these guys that think they are guides say "the guys that showed up with magnums couldn't hit for chit"....."blah blah blah". The problem is these guys are probably business types that go out and buy a new rifle, scope and some factory ammo, go to elk camp without even firing said rifle and have no business shooting at critters.

I bought a Kimber 8400 in .325 wsm so that I had a little more frontal diameter for elk. That said, my 7mag kicks its trash at long range as far as energy levels and accuracy, but it weighs in just under 12 pounds. That Kimber is great for normal elk hunting in steep country. Debated on a .338, but realized that what I really wanted was a lightweight rifle, more than a more powerful cartridge.

That Kimber is light and let's you know it when you shoot it at the bench or heaven forbid, don't hold it right in field positions. Got a nice bump and reminder of that this past summer while practicing. Have found that some powders have a little sharper punch or jump to them, and have settled on the "Holy Grail" of powders in Ramshot Big Game as a good all a rounder. Hope they start shipping that stuff soon.

OlongJohnson, the problem with your original rational is that it's pretty sound to begin with. That is, a 7 mag and 375 Ruger has covered a lot of ground. On the otherhand, same could be questioned for any cartridge in between the two, not just the 338. So, you shouldn't be trying to rationalizing your way out of another rifle . If you put the rifle together right in the first place, you won't have to worry about carrying a 9lbs 338. For example,a kimber Montana or a Winchester 70 can start you out light. I got an Ultimate Shadow and bare with its 26" barrel weighs 7 1/4 lbs. Chop 2-4" off that barrel and drop it in any number of lightweight stocks and you'll be cook'n with town gas . Thoughtfully put together you might find you are taking out your 338 more than your 375. I find the 338s recoil stiff but not prohibitive in ordinary shooting positions.

Get a 338 wm.

bsa,

Actually, most of the hunters I've known who can't shoot a "magnum" (let's day from .300 up, because that's where the problems usually occur) very well have shot theirs enough to start flinching.

Have often seen that when watching guys sighting-in their magnums at various hunting camps, but have also seen it with guys who can shoot one OK on one animal, but then go on an African safari. After a few days of shooting an animal or two a day, their shooting grows worse.

Some are smart enough to have brought along a smaller rifle, and are also smart enough to switch, whereupon their shooting gets better than they start killing animals--even the larger plains-game animals they brought the magnum for. But if they didn't bring along another rifle, they're shooting almost always continues to get worse.

Have seen a number of hunters who can shooting .300-.375 magnums well, even over a two-week safari. But have seen far more who can't, especially after they keep getting kicked for a while. This usually isn't due to inexperience as much as somehow being convinced a .300+ magnum is necessary for killing any big game animal larger than a mule deer, which simply isn't true.

This is the old O'Connor vs. Keith argument. Raw power vs. precise placement. There will never be a concensus but I'm firmly in the O'Connor camp.

I have found they were both right, within the parameters of their arguments, which may sound strange but there it is. However, Elmer apparently was recoil-proof and therefore assumed anybody else should be too, except maybe women.

I have had two 338 WM and could never get my head around them. Hunted with a 35 Whelen for a lot of years with good success, the caliber has had more one shot knock downs than the 338's, 7 mag, 30-06, and 280. The 35 rivals the 375H&H. To that end, forsaking all others, the 9.3mm fills the bill quite nicely in the recoil/accuracy/on game performance department, also with a 250gr Accubond the trajectory is surprisingly good as is the power of the 286's at ranges large big game should be shot.

Not fancy but served many a SA farmer well.