Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Should I give up the .338 win mag?

It’s pays big time, especially NOW, to reload your own ammo, regardless of whether or not it’s rifle, pistol or shotgun.

Sounds like the OP has a more modest rifle selection. If he did decide to reload, he could easily download the 338wM and shoot the fire out of it. I seem to recall buying 800 or so 185 grain .338 bullets this year (or was it last year?) for about $0.18/each. Couple that with some reduced charges of 4895 and he can shoot the rifle to his heart’s content. Well, maybe if primers didn’t cost $0.10/each. Sheesh. Still beats paying $70 for a 20 rd box of factory ammo. Ridiculous. Nowadays, if you shoot any volume at all beyond a box or two a year, you should be reloading.

Handloading has always paid off big time. Some guys are just slow to learn that.

I would keep the .338 if it was me.

I have used annealed 7 mm rem mag brass necked up to 338 win mag works good .I have used the 338 win mag 35 years still like it just ad good .The ammo price is crazy use to be $18 a box 18 years ago now $100 box crazy its a must to reload for it

I have a.338 (M70 SS Classic - barrel shortened to 23 in) and a .375 H&H (A Kimber Talkeetna - barrel shortened to 21 in). Based on my experience I would keep the .338. They are much more flexible as far as available loads go and perform better at long range.

Of the rifle choices, I would go with the Savage. Since I mostly handload, I dont see avaailability as a concern.

NOT for the 338/06. I have one, a rebored 270 Win. I have plenty of 06 brass and it is nothing to easily neck a shot round, up to 338 bore. My most commonly used load is with a 250 grain RN, which I've got plenty of since coming across a post hunting season sale, at a big out door store over in Idaho like 20 years ago... they put in a big order and the Hornady 250gr RN bullets showed up after the season was over..

One thing I like with my 338/06, is 50 grains of 4064, with a 200, or 225 or 250 grain bullet... ALL have pretty much the same POI at 100 yds, and their MV is pretty much 2500 fps. I find this sorta handy.

H380 with the 250 grain Hornady will give me 2650 fps MV if I need it, and that is only like 50fps behind my 338 Win Mags I have ( a pair of them, a Browning A Bolt and a Model 70 ). And its recoil is noticeably less...

and if one reloads, a 338 Win Mag can be tamed down quite a bit. Consult cast bullet load data for it.

I've loaded it with 4198, SR 4759, 3031... heck even Blue Dot ( yup! ya read that right), Unique, Alliant Steel..

and you don't have to use max loads with IMR 4895, 4064, RL 15 etc.

a heavy bullet is going to work well, even if you slow it down some... in fact PROBABLY better if it is slowed down, because less recoil, the shooter can place their shots better. Put the bullet in the right spot, a regular Soft Point should do its job.

I don't know why everyone seems to want a 1000 yd capable elk load, to take an animal at a couple hundred yards, which is the distance most game is taken at.

Took a kid out hunting with one of mine, who was 14 at the time. The load was 22 grains of Unique, with a 225 grain SP Hornady. 2000 fps MV... the bullet had no problem going in one side and out the other on a Blacktail... he went elk hunting with Dad the next season, and they wanted to use the same load, because he could handle it... he brought home a pretty good sized cow elk, which was downed with 1 shot... dad said it was shot at approximately 100 yds..

Try thinking outside the box a little Boys! you don't have to get rid of that 338 WM if you don't have to... just load it with cast bullet data with a SP bullet.. you're way below SAAMI specs for pressure.. and a high sectional density 338 caliber bullet is awfully forgiving and would easily do a job on an elk or a black bear.