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Joined: Jan 2007
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 35,900 |
If we read JOC completely, we find that he believed in medium and large bores when he felt they were needed.
He used them quite a bit,including the 338 in Africa.
The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 31,007 Likes: 11
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 31,007 Likes: 11 |
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. On the other hand I've had more one shot knock downs with the 338 win mag than with the 374 H&H. Just how it works sometimes, doesn't mean much other than that's what happened.
I got banned on another web site for a debate that happened on this site. That's a first
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,319
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,319 |
Fill the gap! Every gap needs filling.
I bought a .338WM many years ago in the dreaded M77, and it is a very good shooting gun. It is the worst kicking gun I shoot, but it is also the most well worn. It serves well as deer and elk season overlap and the .338WM has been quite good for me on elk. At this point I don't see myself ever getting rid of it.
If elk aren't on the ticket my .257R is usually my choice.
“You never need fear a man, no matter what his size. When danger threatens, call on me, and I will equalize.” Samuel Colt.
�Common sense is genius dressed up in work clothes.� - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Joined: May 2015
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Campfire Regular
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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. On the other hand I've had more one shot knock downs with the 338 win mag than with the 374 H&H. Just how it works sometimes, doesn't mean much other than that's what happened. True enough, I guess what it means is the medium calibers are quite capable. Some folks try to make the 338WM a trajectory magnum with lighter bullets while I always considered it a 'power' magnum.
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 20
New Member
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New Member
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Thanks! I didn't know that Zambia allowed smaller than .375 for dangerous game. Good to know!
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,831 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 19,831 Likes: 2 |
Thanks! I didn't know that Zambia allowed smaller than .375 for dangerous game. Good to know! That was a while back and we didn't have game rangers around all the time. I wouldn't count on it being approved now. But it will do the job if it gets the chance. The bullets were Bitterroots and Hornady solids.
"Be sure you're right. Then go ahead." Fess Parker as Davy Crockett
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Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 354
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Feb 2012
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I like ElkHunters way of thinking...ScottyO.
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 20
New Member
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New Member
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Thanks! I didn't know that Zambia allowed smaller than .375 for dangerous game. Good to know! That was a while back and we didn't have game rangers around all the time. I wouldn't count on it being approved now. But it will do the job if it gets the chance. The bullets were Bitterroots and Hornady solids. Thanks for the follow-up. I'm thinking that Mozambique still allows the use of other smaller medium bores (.338/.358) for at least buffalo. It seems as if I read something about that not too long ago. Not planning anything real soon anyway, but some time down the road I will be.
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Joined: Sep 2014
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OP
Campfire Regular
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Posts: 624 |
Only one of those Hawkeyes left. There were seven on the weekend, four this morning. Hurry up if you want one. It may be the last of its kind. Everybody else who has one to sell wants a lot more money, and that will be your only option by this time tomorrow.
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 2,169 Likes: 6
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Remember, if you buy a 338 you will never be able to hunt in Africa and it will be the worst decision of your life
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Joined: Sep 2014
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OP
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I was wrong. Still one left.
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Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 17,737 Likes: 1
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2004
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I agree with MD, that the 30-06 is a "better" in terms of filling the gap than a 7MM RM. But we do have to include those of us who really are loonies, the 338WM must fit in between the 30-06 and the 375 other wise it just makes sense for me to have one there.
NRA LIFE MEMBER GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS ESPECIALLY THE SNIPERS! "Suppose you were an idiot And suppose you were a member of Congress... But I repeat myself." -Mark Twain
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Joined: Aug 2010
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 48,415 Likes: 51 |
I really believe the 375 bore is more rifle than any 338. 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. My 338 win mag is 7 3/4 pounds all up and it is a damn fine elk rifle... I don't know how heavy bob's 7 mag is, but I've seen his custom with the echols legend stock and I'd wager it is heavier than my 338.....
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style. You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole. BSA MAGA
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Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,270 Likes: 42
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,270 Likes: 42 |
bsa,
My .338 is a little heavier than yours, eight pounds on the nose with a sling and three rounds in the magazine, but that feels about right to me, since most .338's are carried far more than they're shot.
When I first built it in the 1980's, most "authorities" said a .338 should be relatively heavy because of the recoil. It originally went a little over 9-1/2 pounds field-ready, and even in my 30's I got pretty tired of packing it up mountains, especially when holding it in my hands while sneaking through lodgepole thickets. So switched to a lighter-contour barrel and lighter synthetic stock, and found even 250-grain loads didn't kick all that hard.
Of course, by that time I also owned a .416 Remington Magnum that weighed 9 pounds all up. Recoil, like everything else, is relative.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,662 Likes: 12
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 42,662 Likes: 12 |
Buy it. As a consummate Rifle Looney, I love the 33s and to me the 338 just screams "Alaska" just as the 318WR or 333 Jeffreys scream "Africa". With a 250grain bullet, it shoots remarkably flat and there isn't much out there you can't kill with one. I have a 338 loaded with 210 TTSXs that will be my Leopard/PG rifle if/when I ever get back to Africa...
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 35,900
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 35,900 |
I really believe the 375 bore is more rifle than any 338. 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. My 338 win mag is 7 3/4 pounds all up and it is a damn fine elk rifle... I don't know how heavy bob's 7 mag is, but I've seen his custom with the echols legend stock and I'd wager it is heavier than my 338..... What are you guys talking about!!?? BSA my 7 Mashburn just went 7.5 pounds on the scale. i weighed it just for you. I had "your" 338 back in the late 1980's. -pre 64 M70,Krieger tube and Brown stock.Weighed like yours. -Ditto, another in a Sako McMillan with pre 64 action and Krieger tube. -G&H M70 338 Win Mag. -M70 SG Classic in a McMillan. I roll my eyes and walk away when people tell me how fabulous the 338 is as a deer rifle and that a 7 mag sucks.Please.... a 338 as a dedicated deer rifle is silly. My 375 H&H weighed 8 pounds on the nose. The 338 does absolutely nothing in North America that cannot be done easily with a 250 gr BBC at over 2900 fps.This load shoots with the same trajectory as a 338 with 210's.
The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 478
Campfire Member
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Campfire Member
Joined: Dec 2014
Posts: 478 |
I have often used one of my .338WM rifles as my "deer" rifle and several of my relatives, friends and former bushworking colleagues have done and do this as well.
IME, with 12 highend .338s and 7 similar .375s used in western/northern Canada since 1968, the .338 is THE one to have and mine are the last rifles I would part with.
We had several Grizzly attacks here last season, most on highly experienced, local hunters and this has become more frequent since I retired. I find a good. CRF .338WM-250NP to be optimal for the situation/game we have here and usually carry one.
Whatever, 51 hunting seasons, 58 shooting years and decades of longterm, solo work/life in this country has taught me what works for me and I am happy with my choice.
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Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 35,900
Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 35,900 |
SNAP: I never said it wasn't any good. I basically said, I only have room in my life for one medium bore,no need for more, and decided it would be a light 375H&H. There is really so little use for a medium bore in NA that one or two do it up nicely. I could never see the sense in having a 375 AND a 338 since they do pretty much exactly the same things. But in usual fashion on here, you make a choice,or voice an opinion, and people think you don't like anything else and don't see the merits of their favorites, which is NOT the case.The 338 is a great cartridge. i simply hate having bunches of unused rifles hanging around so only keep the things i use. I know it kills deer,but is still a long ways off what i would pick in a dedicated deer cartridge. Anywhere. That goes equally for a 375 H&H.
The 280 Remington is overbore.
The 7 Rem Mag is over bore.
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Campfire Regular
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Interesting thread, but what it tells me is that if the "base piece" in the battery is the 30-06; then everything else can take its proper place. If I ever want to hunt Africa, the step up is a 375 something. If I don't want to hunt Africa, but perhaps Alaska, then a 338 or 35 something will do. And, if I want to step below the 30-06, then whatever my fancy for whatever type hunting I want to do that doesn't need the power of the 30-06. It might mean a 243 to some folks, or a 25-06 to others, or perhaps a fast 22 for someone else... etc... the splitting of the hairs is where the looneyism takes firm hold.
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Joined: Dec 2014
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Campfire Member
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7mm, inc. .270Win, then .338. then .40+ if you guide in coastal bear country.
My latest flames are a custom 7-08 at 6lbs. scoped and a Kimber MA-.280AI and most of my other 30+ rifles are going as these and a custom sts .308UL plus four of my seven .338s are enough.
Lotsa choices, use what feels best to YOU within these parameters.
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