Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting All hail the wonderful and mighty .338 Winchester Magnum

DAMN I like my .338.

Here's a chambering that, in a relatively light rifle (M700 XCR) is completely shootable with maximum 225-gn loads... is sub-MOA accurate... brass life appears to be eternal (have not worn any out yet and I'm trying!) and it puts large animals DOWN!

And, in terms of velocity, it slots nicely in there in my favorite "window" where just about all bullets work great: a MV of 2800, 2900 fps or so. Impact velocity of 2000 t0 2800. Perfect.

What's not to like? This may be the single best caliber there is, for general big-game hunting.

I'm in love. You should be too.

-jeff

I've owned six 338's... really never found it did anything a 30-06 couldn't do. Good bullets have leveled the playing field. Did I mention I got sick of the recoil?

WOW that was fast! You replied while I was editing my original post... quick-draw Brad!

I love my 30-06 equally as much. But the .338 has an undeserved rep as a hard kicker, and it just isn't, at least to me. My XCR is a shoot-all-afternoon rifle, in fact that's what I did this afternoon.

I guess a feller can't start an all-hail thread without being ready to defend their demi-god, so here goes!

Within the context of also loving the 30-06, I feel that the .338 is well-described as a family member to the '06. A big brother. It's got a similar trajectory, is equally easy to load for, is not an extreme, "big" magnumb by any stretch... just a well-behaved, moderate-recoiling, caliber that will do whatever the 30-06 does only with more authority.

You Montana guys have it easy. You kill a lot of elk over there. It gets boring. For those of us hunting in low-percentage areas the extra power (in all ways) of the .338 is a nice bonus and comes at very little cost compared to another long-action rifle like a 30-06.

Now, you wanna talk SHORT rifles...

-jeff

you dang right .338!!

my only prob with it is that I didn't buy myself a M70 SG in 338 when I could have & should have for years strung in a row.

I've looked at the XCR, good to know you like yours.

Also curious about a savage, wishing they offerd the 114 in 338... looked at the ruger m77....

my first love for the 338 is in that damn M70 SG though...

oh, well, a guy's gotta want for things right?

till the day comes... a 300 WBY does the chore.

The XCR coating does as advertised; it is TUFF. The stock is... eh... kind of funny-looking, but you know what, with frozen icy gloves, those overmolded pads really make it easier to hang onto the rifle compared to a wood or laminate stock (carried all three with frozen icy gloves!).

Mine is astoundingly accurate. I have no idea what it can do in the hands of a real shooter, but I can put 3 shots sub-MOA every single time. Can't say that about most of my other rifles. I put a Jewell triggin in it. It rocks. Everyone should own one.

:-)

-jeff

very cool Jeff, makes me smile to read such enthusiasm.

that's what it's all about right?

FNA!!

good for you.

good luck with that beast.

gonna grab one more beer & it's off to bed for this dude.

Dave

Well Jeff, I'll hail it too. I have much confidence in the round. It has always taken care of business for me without a hitch. My Ruger is heavy so recoil is not an issue.

When I started hunting elk out of state I had the only .338 in the group. After four trips together, everybody in the group had gone .338. They liked the results, I guess.

We should meet at the top of the pass and burn some powder together sometime. I'm curious about the recoil level in your XCR.

That XCR does sound nice.
My 338 is a Ruger, recoil with 225gr bullets @2850 is not bad at all.
Does your XCR have a 26" tube?

Worse than any 458 I've shot........


Casey

Recoil
Maybe, that's why I shoot my 338-06, more than my 338 RUM.

Tim, yes the 26" tube is the only thing I don't like about it. I've gotten used to it, but I'd prefer 24". But, it's such a shooter I'd be an idiot to mess with it. It still has the pressure point in the stock, too (not floated). I ain't messing with success!

-jeff

Jeff,
Sounds like a very nice rifle-I don't mind 26" barrels myself.

I would like to get an XCR in a 338RUM, and put a McMillan on it, and get a nice after market trigger.

Yeah man! I'm up there sometimes to see my dad, who is one of the retirees driving all you guys nuts up there.

I'd love to do some central Oregon shootin'. Likewise, if you are ever down this way I have a pretty fun steel plate course set up from 250 to 650 yards, cross-canyon, and it's right by the 100-yard range I shoot at all the time. All informal, on BLM land.

Soon soon soon, I'll be able to start hunting mulies "over there". I've described my dilemna before to you: I have too many mulie points to waste on anything other than the absolute best hunt Oregon has to offer... so I'm holding out... which means no in-state mulie hunting until I hunt the damn premium hunt!

My .338 might even be my longer-range blacktail rig this year, if I do any of that (mostly I still and stand hunt blacktail up close). It's just really working well and has been for 3 years now, and with the new scope with the B&C reticle in it I am solid out to nearly 500 yards, wind permitting.

-jeff

I will say this about the RUM: I have a friend who has sold more rifles than most of us will ever own. Including some pretty heavy artillery. He bought a XCR in .338 RUM and found it completely unmanageable from typical hunting shooting positions. His was also a very accurate rifle, but he sold it due to the brutal recoil.

This is a guy who's owned multiple .338's, some .375's, etc.

So go into a .338 RUM XCR with your eyes open!

-jeff

Seven and a half pounds. 22-inch barrel.

She's a pussycat.

rb

I hear you, Jeff.
My last 338RUM was in a Sendero, shot great, but I hated the stock.
It kicked about like my 340wby accumark, but I want something that weighs a bit less.

No free lunch, I suppose.

Wow, Rick.
Nice lookin rig you got there.
What kind of velocities you get with that 22" tube, if I may ask?

The plain ol' 338 WM XCR, however, is a real joy to shoot. I put 40 rounds through mine day before yesterday and another 25 today (new scope to sight in, verify, practice with the new reticle at long range, etc). No worries.

A RUM in a heavy enough package would be a very interesting "landing" rifle. Guys are doing astounding things with the .338 Edge and 300-gn bullets, which is a slightly more powerful wildcat off the .300 RUM if I am understanding it correctly.


But I'm just a plain ol', non-assuming, blue-jeans wearin', truck drivin' .338 Win Mag kind of guy. If I want more range than I am currently getting (500 yards), I'd go with something like a 7 STW, not a bigger .338.

-jeff

I agree, Rick has a good one there.

Does RL19 work from a 22" barrel? I wouldn't even know how to load my .338 without that stuff!

-jeff

One of the rifles that I kept of the 50 that I sold off, it got out of hand some. Is a Sako 75 SS in 338 Winchester Mag. One of the finest out of the box rifles I ever owned. Along with the Blaser R-93 that I now shoot. The Sako shoots and carries well and I can shoot it well too. That in the end is what matters, you have to be able to shoot the rifle you choose well enough to place those bullets where they need to go.